Cleveland Indians legend Carlos Baerga holds youth baseball camp at Field 44 in Concord

BY TIM SHIRER

PUBLISHER

(CONCORD, OH) - On Sunday morning at Field 44 Cleveland Indians legend Carlos Baerga hosted a camp for 9 to 14 year-old baseball players. Baerga as most Clevelander’s know was a huge part of reviving baseball in Cleveland in the 1990’s helping the Indians to the team’s first World Series in 41 years in 1995.

Field 44 is a newer indoor sport facility On Auburn Rd. in Concord that opened in January of this year. Facility owners are Joe Mariano and Kent Bondi. The facility has three collapsible batting cages and plenty of room where baseball and softball teams can practice hitting fielding and pitching all in the same practice session. The facility doesn't only host baseball and softball, it also hosts soccer, lacrosse, and flag football. It is really a state-of-the-art facility where parents can sit and watch their kids practice sitting at tables or any of the extremely comfortable chairs that are at the edge of the practice area.

Before the camp began, I had a chance to sit down with the legendary Indians second baseman and talk about a number of things. We talked about how his love for baseball comes from his father Jose. His love for the game started at a young age. Carlos commented that his father loved the game and wanted to be a Major Leaguer, but he pointed out that his father was a smaller man and back then he would have been too small to play in the big leagues. So, Jose turned his attention to Carlos, helping him become the major leaguer. Baerga also talked about how he retired from the game after talking to his wife because he decided he wanted to watch his son Carlos, Jr, play baseball. Carlos, Jr was 12 years old at that time of his dad’s retirement. His son spent four years in the Atlanta Braves minor league system.

Carlos also talked about how for the last eight years he has been a special advisor and ambassador for Cleveland Indians/Guardians. Also, for the last three seasons he has been part of the Spanish radio broadcast.

When I asked about the trade on July 29, 1996 that sent him to the New York Mets, he said, he was very disappointed because he knew that the team (Indians) was going to get to the playoffs again at the time the team was in first place and had seven game lead. But he also understood that baseball is a business. Then on August 16, 1999, while he was a member of the San Diego Padres, Padres management told him that the Indians wanted to trade for him. He spoke on the phone with Cleveland General Manager John Hart. He told Hart there were no bad feelings and he would be happy to come back to Cleveland. He went on to talk about how great it was, and how it felt when he returned to Jacob’s field as an Indian for the first time in 1999.

He went on to say that in late August of this year the Guardians will honor the 1995 Indians World Series team on the field at Progressive Field and a number of his former teammates will be there to celebrate the 30-year anniversary.

As Baerga started the camp he told the kids in attendance he wanted them to give a round of applause to their parents. Baerga talked to the kids about the sacrifices that their parents make so they can play baseball and that they should appreciate them.

He went on to talk to the kids about the mental side of baseball and understanding that they can be unsuccessful seven times and then be successful three times and they would be considered a good hitter. He went over the approach to the game and how to get better talking to the kids about the fact they must be prepared from the moment they get to the baseball field and how important it is to stretch before a game, so they do not get injured.

One of the most impressive things about Baerga was his attention detail with each camper. He watched every kid hit either off the tee or in the batting cages. Then when the camp shifted to the defensive drills it was the same thing as he watched every kid and gave instruction to every kid individually about fielding a ground ball and the throw afterward.

After the defensive work Baerga spoke to the kids again about life, including how important it is to get good grades in school and once again talked about respecting their parents.

The final portion of the day Baerga took individual pictures with the kids and their parents and then a group picture at the end.

Personal note: I have attended many camps over the years while my son grew up as a baseball player and the Baerga camp on Sunday was one of the best camps I have ever witnessed.

I highly recommend Field 44 if you have a youth sports team and you need a place to practice, it affordable and the owners Joe and Kent are phenomenal people.