The Small Town Baseball Commute

Longtime ballplayer and current WBA Champion Travis Thompson kicks off season 2 of The Commute! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/baseballcommute/support

Ken Daly is one of those great characters within and around the town ball community. Ken has hooked up with several local ball clubs, serving as a guest PA announcer, building a collection of hats from each team, and rubbing elbows with locals around the grandstands, bleachers, and concession stands throughout central Minnesota. His appearance in the stands, a stranger wearing the home team hat, has caused many over the years to ask, "Who is that guy?" Here on the pod, we find out! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/baseballcommute/support

Drew Block and I graduated a decade apart, 1999 (me) and 2009 (Drew), from the hallowed hallways of Rochester's Mayo High School. The other thing in common we have is a life around amateur baseball, and in this pod we discuss the past, present, and future of the Rochester Royals. This one comes with a minimal amount of me saying "hey, ya know this guy?" but yeah, there's a little of that... --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/baseballcommute/support

Andy Niese has a wealth of experience in town baseball. Whether it was scanning the Eau Claire newspaper for box scores as a kid, breaking into the league with the Cadott Red Sox in the early 1990s, or continuing to grace the field with the Eau Claire Rivermen today. Niese has served in leadership roles in the CRBL and the WBA, and for this humble podcaster, he'll also be on the Mount Rushmore of Great Baseball Guys. Plus, in this episode Andy will teach you what a boutique is. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/baseballcommute/support

We spoke with a couple of the Hortonville Stars of the Dairyland League, Mike Bunkelman and Luke Baeman. The Stars have experienced a bit of a resurgence in the last few years, built on local talent and a long tradition of great baseball in Hortonville and neighboring Greenville. We talked with the guys amidst a snow storm hitting the area, and there's no better way to escape the winter than talking a little ball! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/baseballcommute/support

Gary Isensee has been the manager of Sparta Miller, near La Crosse, WI, for the better part of three decades now. In addition to serving in Sparta, Gary is currently the president of the Wisconsin Baseball Association. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/baseballcommute/support

When you were 13, did anyone call your mom to ask you to play in a town ball game? Me neither! Brooks Maurer started his career with the team in Atwater before heading to school and landing a teaching job in Luverne, Minnesota. He's gone on to be the manager of the Redbirds, so we talk some Redbird ball, a little about scheduling, and in general just had some fun baseball talk for this Wednesday evening ride home. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/baseballcommute/support

For our holiday-week episode, we talked with Jason Booth of the Brookfield Bulldogs and Land O' Lakes League. We talked a little Christmas prep before getting into our own smorgasbord of topics around managing teams and the role of local media in helping promote our game. Also - have you thought about a league-wide golf outing instead of all our own teams hosting one? I hadn't until this conversation... --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/baseballcommute/support

It can take a lot of hands to run a town ball team, and that's true of the Anoka Bucs too. What sets the Bucs apart, like some other notable town teams, is that it's a family affair. For this episode we speak with the whole Wells clan - player-manager J.D. Wells, his wife Megan, and JD's parents, Heidi and Dave. We talk plenty of Bucs baseball, and also get a chance to talk about what's enjoyable with each of their roles with the ball club. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/baseballcommute/support

"Baseball 365" is two things in Minnesota town baseball - a class A team in Minneapolis' Park National League, and a great baseball shop carrying everything you need just off 494 and 35W in Bloomington, Minnesota. The shop is run by brothers Nate and Ryan Cousins, both longtime town ball players originally from Moorhead. We caught up with Nate for this episode, where we talk about his town ball story, career as a pitcher, and what possessed them to start a this great shop where you can get everything from a new bat, box of D-1 Pros, or a rosin bag. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/baseballcommute/support

Adam Snyder has been serving as a player-manager for the Royalton River Dogs of Minnesota's Victory League for the past several years, and is set to transition to a managing-only role for 2021. Among the topics we get into: a real life example of why local music festivals should NOT be scheduled the same weekend as a baseball playoff series. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/baseballcommute/support

Dale Krumrie has been involved in Hofa Park baseball since as early as he can remember, when his he'd hop in the car with his dad after church, grab the team gear out of the back of the tavern, and head down to the ballpark. The Panthers are part of the Dairyland League in Wisconsin near Green Bay, and Dale gives us the low down on the Panthers, the league, and his great experience around small town baseball. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/baseballcommute/support

Josh Thygesen is a veteran ballplayer for the Red Wing Aces of the Classic Cannon Valley League of southeastern Minnesota. While Thygesen has been able to avoid the "manager" title over the years, he has become one the veteran leaders of the game that help teach all the traditions of amateur baseball to the generations who join the game. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/baseballcommute/support

Baseball historian Lee Kluck grew up in Rosholt, Wisconsin, just northeast of Steven's Point. Lee is a direct descendant of a group of 10 ballplayers, with their own team, that locals simply referred to as “the Kluck boys.” With his town ball roots running deep, he has made researching grassroots, small town baseball part of his professional life. Lee is the man with the answers to questions we have been asking throughout our first 30-some episodes! We broke this conversation into two episodes, and this one is the second of two. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/baseballcommute/support

Baseball historian Lee Kluck grew up in Rosholt, Wisconsin, just northeast of Steven's Point. Lee is a direct descendant of a group of 10 ballplayers, with their own team, that locals simply referred to as “the Kluck boys.” With his town ball roots running deep, he has made researching grassroots, small town baseball part of his professional life. Lee is the man with the answers to questions we have been asking throughout our first 30-some episodes! We broke this conversation into two episodes, and this one is the first of two. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/baseballcommute/support

Rick Riddle has had a long career around amateur baseball, starting with the Waupaca Lakemen out of high school. After his playing days, he and friend Tim Schwan went on to found the Appleton Legends of the NEWBL in eastern Wisconsin. In this episode we talk Legends, NEWBL, and Rick tells us about his next baseball journey. In everything Rick's done with baseball over the years, one of the key threads has been making teams and ballplayers assets for their community. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/baseballcommute/support

Chris Jackson has had the opportunity to see the game from lots of different angles, including behind the catcher as an umpire in Northwest Indiana and then in the Home talent league for several years, and now as a player and board member of the the MSBL league that's based in Madison. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/baseballcommute/support

Alex Brockpahler comes to us from Nimrod, Minnesota, home of the Nimrod Gnats of the Lake and Pine League. Among the topics are the great tournament the Gnats run, and what it was like growing up around the ballpark and looking forward to Sunday baseball in Nimrod. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/baseballcommute/support

We talk Spooner Cardinals with general manager Sam Holden - a team in the WBA that has built a great atmosphere for baseball where we love getting heckled the most! Their team serves as one of the great examples of building a true community of support. Among the topics, we touch on the importance of building relationships throughout your town. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/baseballcommute/support

Pitcher Ben Moore got his start in town ball, playing simultaneously in Spring Valley (WI) for the Hawks and across the river with Minnesota's Twin City Saints. From there he carved a path into pro ball that took him to mounds on at least four different continents. He's now coached at almost every different level, and currently is an assistant coach at Gustavus Adolphus College. For this episode, we talk about his town ball roots as well as some advice for town ball managers on working with college pitchers during the summer. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/baseballcommute/support

You might be familiar with the name Land O' Lakes, but it might not be the Land O' Lakes you're thinking of. We're not talking butter - we're talking amateur baseball in southeastern Wisconsin. League ambassador and long time town ball figure Craig Larsen joins us on the pod from West Bend, Wisconsin to talk about all things Land O' Lakes and all things amateur baseball as we continue to explore all the various leagues across the state. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/baseballcommute/support

After a lengthy time playing ball in Waseca and stepping away from the game for a couple summers, Scott Kaminski returned to the field of southern Minnesota's 13/60 league with the Janesville Jays, a new team to the scene in its third year of operation. Scott gives us a little info on the 13/60 league and Jays, and we also cover some of the strategy that goes into building a town ball schedule, aka how to avoid Rock Fest. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/baseballcommute/support

For this episode we head out to Sibley County in Minnesota and check in with the Arlington A's of the River Valley League. Arlington has a long history in town baseball like so many teams out there, and we got a chance to talk to a couple current A's in manager Alex Reichenbach and pitcher Dan Chess. We cover a lot of ground in this conversation, and I'll just say my main take away is that it sounds like a great environment out there and these guys love playing ball. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/baseballcommute/support

We interview Jon Frey, player/general manager of the Evansville Jays of Wisconsin's Home Talent League in south central Wisconsin. The HTL has an interesting different structure than many of the leagues around Minnesota and Wisconsin, but as we say...different name, same game. Jon talks about some of the history that's been preserved around the Home Talent League and how teams navigate their Thursday-Sunday structure. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/baseballcommute/support

For this episode we got the chance to talk baseball with two of Minnesota's great small town baseball ambassadors, Ryno and Marty of Town Ball Tuesdays. For the past seven summers, the dynamic duo have wandered the ballparks and warm summer nights all around Minnesota and Western Wisconsin, documenting their travels through their Twitter feed (@TownballTuesday) and online blog (find it at TownballTuesdays.us). Among the topics, we discuss some of the ties that bind us across the town baseball universe. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/baseballcommute/support

We check in with AJ Lorrigan, manager of the Branch Blaze from the Shoreland League in Eastern Wisconsin, just outside Manitowoc and south of Green Bay. In addition to helping run the Blaze, AJ has spent time over the past few years interviewing and recording the stories of several of the old timers of the Shoreland League, players who go all the way back to the 1930s. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/baseballcommute/support

We get into a variety of topics with Tyson Sonnenburg of the Minneota Mudhens from southwestern Minnesota, including what makes town ball teams tick, the fact that we had a random teammate in common, and his role in a viral clip from a year and a half ago you have definitely seen before. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/baseballcommute/support

Scott "Sarge" Sorenson has been a mainstay on the Chippewa River Falls Baseball League since the late 1970s. Like many before him, he's served as one of the fire tenders for the league, making contributions in lots of different places over the years to keep town ball alive and thriving in the Eau Claire area. We touch on a few different topics on this pod, such as lessons we learn from each other, how to treat an umpire in Sarge's View, and the challenges of connecting with you 20-year old ballplayers out there! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/baseballcommute/support

Tom Koplitz, currently manager of the Rum River Bandits, has spent a lifetime in amateur baseball, thanks in part to a chance encounter with the Minnesota state tournament in 1924. On this episode we cover that history, along with a variety of topics between Minnesota and Wisconsin baseball. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/baseballcommute/support

On this episode of The Commute, longtime East Side Merchants player Joe Paatalo covers a variety of topics from a long town ball career, including the dreams that come with a lifetime of playing baseball. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/baseballcommute/support

For this episode we talk about what amateur baseball looks like on the east side of Wisconsin, specifically the Rock River League and the Kewaskum A's. Among the things we discuss - what would it look like if Wisconsin had a unified amateur baseball title? --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/baseballcommute/support

We catch up to one of the speedier members of the St. Croix Valley League, Adam Churchill of the Elmwood Expos. Adam gives us some info on the Expos season and then we spend time talking about Sportsman's Field, the ballpark the Expos have built from scratch starting in 2016. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/baseballcommute/support

Pitcher Kyle Fritz, originally from Minnesota, talks about coming to a new team, having competitive drive, and some interesting strategy for family basketball games in the driveway. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/baseballcommute/support

Episode 13 - a little trip down memory lane, as former Spring Valley Hawk Brian Bosch (pictured at left) and host Josh Eidem discuss some of their memories of playing amateur ball together in their early and mid-20s. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/baseballcommute/support

We check into the North Shore to hear about the Upper 13 League from local town baller Anthony Bush. Ask yourself: “The game slows down but so do you…” Is that quote from Buddha or Anthony Bush? Listen to find out! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/baseballcommute/support

Matt Walker has a nameplate at UW-River Falls that says "Head Football Coach." We here at the Commute would argue it should say "Pitcher Who Coaches Football." From Coach Walker we get a couple great stories, and also some insight into what amateur baseball looks like in the state of Indiana. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/baseballcommute/support

Our first border hopping podcast conversation, where we catch up to Cannon Falls Bears pitcher Keith Meyers. (By catch up, we don't mean to his fastball!) Did you know what a ball hawk is? You will after this episode and might even start working on your resume. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/baseballcommute/support

What's it like to be both brothers and town baseball players? We check in with Brandon and Ryan Gilbertson, who got to have that experience for about a decade. Our first three-person conversation on The Commute! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/baseballcommute/support

For episode 8 we interview Lucas Luedtke, one of the emerging young leaders on the town ball scene. We discuss a couple of our favorite games this from the summer, how much easier it is to hit with metal bats, and you get to listen as Lucas pretty much takes over the show. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/baseballcommute/support

For episode 7, we talk with long time town ball player and fan favorite Joel Schaffer about a few topics, but most extensively some of the finer points of catching that Schaff has been passing on to younger catches over the years. We also discuss whether he did or did not get cut by the Cadott Red Sox in the late 1990s! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/baseballcommute/support

We get to talking baseball with Garth Olson, a long time volunteer with the Osceola Braves. Among the topics are what brings people out to the ballpark around town baseball, and the Braves' time so far as part of the Indy League in Wisconsin Baseball Association. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/baseballcommute/support

In this episode we talk with Ryan Gerber, originally from Exeland, Wisconsin, who currently manages the independent Windfall Lake Loons. Among the topics and stories on this episode, we focus on the role of families in driving town baseball, as Ryan describes the role his grandfather and great uncle played in town baseball in Exeland and what it was like to grow up around the game. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/baseballcommute/support

In this episode we talk with Chris LaBreche, better known as "Frenchy" around baseball circles. Frenchy currently serves as the WBA State Secretary, SCVBL President, and manager of the Hudson River Rats. We talk a about his long history in town baseball, the benefits to recruiting friendly groups of players, and a little about the 2020 Hudson River Rats and what lies beyond the season. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/baseballcommute/support

For this episode, we get a chance to talk with lefty slugger Zach Watkins of the Plum City Blues. We cover a brief summary of the Blues' 2020 season before diving into some of the great players we've played with and against in our years around the St. Croix Valley Baseball League and Wisconsin Baseball Association. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/baseballcommute/support

For Episode 2 on the commute, we check in with River Falls Fighting Fish pitcher Weston Lombard. Among the topics: his journey to town ball, the confidence that comes from preparation, what makes for a healthy team roster, and a couple of his best superstitions. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/baseballcommute/support

It's a simple premise: a 20-minute work commute and phone calls to local yokel amateur ballplayers, fans, managers, and characters from around western Wisconsin. For our first episode, we called up Fighting Fish Jason Hunt, who returned to amateur baseball this year from a long semi-retirement. We explore a wide range of topics, including what it's like being "old guys" on the team and what keeps us coming back. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/baseballcommute/support