Umpire of the Year Craig has been making calls nearly four decades

BY STEVE KRAH
http://www.IndianaRBI.com

James Craig was honored in June by the Indiana High School Athletic Association and the National Federation of Interscholastic Officials Association as the top baseball umpire for 2022.
Craig, a Fort Wayne resident, was selected for the award by a committee representing the 24 officials associations in Indiana. He is a member of the Northeastern Officials Association.
The 57-year-old has been a licensed official for baseball since he was 19. He has worked 26 sectionals, 18 regionals, 11 semistate contests and eight State Finals.
More than 10 times, the Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association has named Craig a district umpire of the year and he has worked a number of IHSBCA North/South All-Star Series, including 2022 at Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion.
Craig has also officiated high school football for 22 years and serves as referee on a crew with Fort Wayne’s James Payne (line judge), Mark Herberger (back judge) and Mark Stultz (linesman) and Bluffton’s Mark Mettler (umpire). The group has worked three State Finals, including the 2021 IHSAA Class 6A game between Center Grove and Westfield.
“You want to have friends and people you can communicate with and get along,” says Craig of the football crew dynamic. “You should see as much football as you possibly can. Friday should be perfect. See the goofy stuff on Monday and Thursday nights (in freshman and junior varsity games).”
Craig prefers to see as many teams and classes as possible in the regular season to be ready for the postseason.
A number of football officials are also baseball umpires.
Taking regular-season baseball assignments from Fort Wayne Umpires Association, Craig does games around northeast Indiana with multiple partners in a two-man crew.
“We switch things up,” says Craig of the decision of who works the plate or the bases. “It’s best for everybody involved.
“If it’s a doubleheader and I’ve done the plate in the first game, I guarantee (my partner) will do the plate in the second game.
“In the two-man you’ve got one friend on the baseball field and it’s that guy.”
During the game, Craig has a rule that he follows.
“At the end of the inning always go to the side of the diamond of the defensive team,” says Craig. “They are happy they got the third out. Don’t got to the offensive side ever.”
In a typical high school baseball season, Craig umpires about 38 games — each week night and a doubleheader on Saturdays. He has cut back his summer ball schedule though he still does some travel ball tournaments.
After all these years, Craig maintains the same philosophy.
“See as many pitches, plays and scenarios as you possibly can,” says Craig. “You’re always learning.
“I’d like to say I’ve seen everything on a baseball diamond. I haven’t.”
When making calls, Craig uses a rule of thumb that includes common sense, fair play and the rules.
“It’s my job as an official to interpret rules,” says Craig. “I will never show up a coach. I will never embarrass them. I expect the same thing coming back. Address me by my first name and we’re going to get along just fine.
“I’m just out there to do a job and that’s it. I’m calling fairs and fouls, safes and outs.
However, Craig knows how teams and players operate.
“If you’re not cheating you’re not trying and it’s only cheating when you get caught,” says Craig. “That’s when rules and the reinterpretation comes in. Is it within the spirt of what we’re looking for?”
Take the example of all the padding worn by players these days.
“There’s more body army than we’ve had ever,” says Craig. “On an inside pitch, they stick that wing out there and — bam! — they’re going to trot down to first base.
“Don’t award them a base on that.”
Without the armor, players would not be so swift to get in the way of an inside pitch to “wear one.”
On the subject of inside pitches. When Craig was 10 he was chosen out of thousands to speak at Bob Gibson’s retirement. Gibson was known for working to the hitter’s side of the plate and intimidating long before elbow pads were a thing.
“You didn’t dig in against Bob Gibson,” says Craig.
A point of emphasis during the 2022 Indiana high school season included the amount of eye black.
“To me it’s a bad look,” says Craig. “It’s nothing but a fashion statement.”
In Game 1 of the North/South All-Star Series, Craig was behind the plate when Westfield lefty swinger Keaton Mahan came up in the seventh inning and quickly handed his cell phone to the catcher to take a quick photo with the umpire.
“During the regular season, I say ‘get that camera out of here,’” says Craig. “But this was for fun.”
In the ninth inning, Ohio State commit Mahan smacked a game-winning grand slam that was estimated to have landed and rolled under a tree about 570 feet from home plate.
“He clobbered that thing,” says Craig. “It hit off the house (behind the right field fence) fair.”
As for the topic of epic bat flip that’s become so prevalent in baseball, it’s a judgement call on the part of the official when it’s gone too far.
“When the bat goes up in the air it becomes a safety issues,” says Craig. “I don’t have a problem with a high school kid showing some enthusiasm. But level of enjoyment must be within the confinements of the rules.”
There’s also the issue of sportsmanship, especially with spectators — often parents — who become self-appointed evaluators and are quick to criticize umpires.
“Officiating is a thankless profession,” says Craig. “I guarantee somebody is leaving there upset and it’s my fault.
“You’re asking for perfection. I’m expected to show up perfect and get better.”
He has witnessed a difference between high school baseball and summer travel ball.
“Not every kid is going to be the next Derek Jeter, but parents seem to think that and they take it out on officials,” says Craig. “It’s disheartening.
“High school baseball and high school sports are taught by teachers who are coaches and there’s built-in respect. It’s not necessarily built-in for travel baseball.
“It’s all about me, me, me in the summer as opposed to we, we, we in the spring. We have a set of standards we have to abide by on all sides set by the (National Federation of State High School Associations) and IHSAA. In the summer, it’s a free-for-all.”
Not that he wants to paint with a broad brush.
“Guys like (Javier DeJesus) and Mark DeLaGarza get it,” says Craig. “I appreciate the job they do for travel baseball.”
Craig notes that there were nearly 500 IHSAA baseball games canceled at all levels in 2022 due to the lack of umpires and points to parent/spectator’s inclination to sharply voice their dissenting opinion as a big reason.
“If you don’t temper your attitude there will be no officials,” says Craig. “The officials shortage is a nationwide disgrace and it’s not going to get better.
“What scares me the most is that when I started the average age (of officials) was 25 or 30,” says Craig. “Now — in most sports — it’s like 50. We’re leaving and there’s nobody behind us.”
While he intends to stay longer for football, Craig plans to do one more state tournament rotation for baseball then retire his mask and clicker. He can work as high as the semistate in 2023 and the State Finals in 2024.
“That’s enough baseball,” says Craig.
That doesn’t mean he regrets his decision to make the calls.
“It’s something I treasure and I’m glad I got into it,” says Craig. “I’m not in it for the money. I’m not in it for the fame.
“Officiating is wonderful.”
Craig did not start his officiating journey in Indiana. He began high school in St. Louis and finished up in Bowling Green, Ky., when his father was transferred to the Corvette plant there. When he was 14 he started umpiring T-ball games. His American Legion coach said he had to do something to give back to the game and umpiring was the only option that paid.
After pursuing an academic scholarship at the University of Kentucky, Craig finished college at Indiana Purdue Fort Wayne. He was IPFW student body president in 1988 and earned a Secondary Education degree but did not go into the classroom.
Craig is now a supervisor at Fort Wayne’s at WaterFurnace International (makers of geothermal heating units), where he has worked the past 15 years.
He has a 32-year-old daughter — Jocelyn. She graduated from Homestead High School and Indiana University and was chosen as 2009 National Big Brother Big Sister of the Year. She now works in dispatch for the Indiana State Police.

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IHSBCA to induct McIntyre, Robinson, Allen, Carroll, Strayer in January 2022

By STEVE KRAH
http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Five men will be honored as part of the Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame class for 2021-2022.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic environment that existed in 2021, the induction ceremony did not take place as the IHSBCA State Clinic was held in a virtual format.
The 2021 and 2022 Hall of Fame classes will be honored at a joint ceremony at the IHSBCA state clinic on Jan. 15, 2022 at the Sheraton at Keystone Crossing in Indianapolis at 7 p.m.
Tickets can be purchased online at https://www.cognitoforms.com/Baseball3/_2022IHSBCAStateClinic.
The induction ceremony is a part of the three-day IHSBCA State Clinic and room reservation information is available at http://www.ihsbca.org.
The 2021 class includes one coach — Chris McIntyre of New Albany High School; and one contributor/umpire — James Robinson; along with the Veterans Committee nominee — Bernie Allen.
The 2022 class includes one coach — Steve Strayer of Crown Point High School and one player — Jamey Carroll.
McIntyre graduated from Jeffersonville High School where he played for Hall of Fame coach Don Poole. McIntyre received his B.S. and M.S. degrees from Indiana University Southeast. He began his coaching career as an assistant coach at Clarksville High School under Hall of Famer Wayne Stock.
McIntyre has been the head coach at New Albany High School for 25 years where his teams have gone 533-218 during that time.
His teams have won five Hoosier Hills Conference titles,10 sectional championships and one regional title while reaching the Final Eight three times.
He is a four-time District Coach of the Year and five-time Conference Coach of the Year.
Mcintyre was the 2014 IHSBCA President, has served on numerous committees and has been an All-Star coach three times. He has coached 13 South All-Stars; over 40 players have gone on to play college baseball; had 3 players drafted and 2 players reach the major league level.
Chris and his wife Shannon have two sons — Tyler and Kevin. He currently teaches Mathematics at New Albany High School.
Robinson graduated from Harry E. Wood High School in Indianapolis and from Indiana University Kokomo.
He played one year of baseball in high school. He started umpiring high school baseball in 1980 and his career lasted for 35 years.
During his career, he worked 33 sectionals, 25 regionals, 14 semistates, and six State Championships.
He has umpired six IHSBCA North-South series and was voted IHSBCA Umpire of the Year five times.
In 1994, James was elected to the National Federation Baseball Rules Committee and served from 1995-1998.
In 2002 was named IHSAA/ NFOA Baseball Official of the Year and he was named as the National Federation Distinguished Official of the Year.
Robinson coached Babe Ruth and American Legion baseball for 10 years.
He has been a high school and college referee in football. He worked six years in Division II and seven years in the Mid-American Conference. He has also refereed the state basketball finals and the state football finals.
Later in his career, he became a replay official for the MAC and then moved to the Big Ten.
He was a replay official in the National Championship game in 2014 at the Rose Bowl between Florida State and Auburn.
James and his wife, Nada, deceased, has one daughter, Chiquita and one grandson, Kameron.
Allen, a native of East Liverpool, Ohio, played his collegiate baseball in West Lafayette for the Purdue University Boilermakers, where he was twice named team MVP.
A winner of six varsity letters, he was also the quarterback on the football team and was team MVP in 1960.
As starting QB in 1960, he guided the Boilers to wins over No. 12-ranked Notre Dam, Ohio State and No. 1 Minnesota (Associated Press and United Press Internatonal national champion); while also outdueling Georgia’s Fran Tarkenton in the annual Blue-Gray game.
In the spring of 1961, his collegiate career ended after being named an All-American shortstop. He then signed with the Minnesota Twins.
Allen played for the Twins, Washington Senators, New York Yankees and Montreal Expos.
At 6 foot and 185 pounds, Allen was a second baseman for most of his career; playing over 900 games at the position. By the 1971 season, he was splitting his time between second and third base.
On Opening Day, April 10, 1962, Allen made his debut for Minnesota at second base. He was put into a position vacated by Billy Martin a week earlier. Allen had one hit (a triple) in four at-bats that day.
His rookie performance led to a selection to the 1962 Topps All-Star Rookie Roster and finished third in Rookie of the Year voting, finishing behind Tom Tresh and Buck Rodgers.
Allen played five seasons for the Twins and was traded to the Senators with pitcher Camilo Pascual for pitcher Ron Kline. After five seasons in Washington, the Senators moved to Texas and traded him to the New York Yankees.
Allen played for New York in 1972, backing up second and third base. He played 17 games for the Yankees in 1973 before being purchased by Montreal. The Expos released him two months later.
After baseball, he was in the sporting goods business in West Palm Beach and the owner bought a baseball team that Allen helped coach with manager Felipe Alou. They played together with the Yankees and Expos.
That team won the Florida State League and then Alou went on to manage in the majors.
He then moved back to Ohio and worked for Ferro Corp for 17 years in East Liverpool, the pottery capital of the world.
He moved to Carmel in the mid 80’s and has never left. He and his wife play a lot of golf.
In 1999, he was selected in the Purdue Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame.
Allen has been married for a total of 51 years and has a son; three daughters; a step-son and step-daughter; 16 total grandchildren; and three great grandchidren.
Carroll is a 1992 graduate of Castle High School and was coached by Chuck Hawkins.
Carroll’s number was retired by Castle and he was a 1992 South All-Star. He played collegiately at the University of Evansville for Jim Brownlee. He graduated in 1996 and was an All-American that same year.
His name appears 27 times in the U of E baseball record book. In 2021, the number 23 was retired by the university.
Carroll was selected in the 14th round of the MLB Draft by the Expos. Some career numbers are: 16.6 WAR, 1,000 hits, 13 home runs, .272 batting average, 560 runs, 265 runs batted in, 74 stolen bases, .349 on-base percentage and .687 OPS (On-Base Plus Slugging).
His career spanned 12 years with the Expos/Washington Nationals, Colorado Rockies, Cleveland Indians, Los Angels Dodgers, Twins and Kansas City Royals.
Some highlights from his MLB career are scoring the last run in Expos history; leading NL 2B in fielding percentage in 2006; and in 2007 he scored Matt Holliday with a sacrifice fly to win the NL Wild Card game.
Carroll is recently retired from the Pittsburgh Pirates where he spent four years as a Special Assistant and three years as Defensive Coordinator. He is his wife Kim have 13-year-old twins — Cole and Mackenzie.
Strayer attended Prairie Heights High school and received his bachelor’s degree from Manchester College and master’s degree from Indiana University Northwest. His teams have won 641 games with only 236 losses; 15 conference titles; 14 sectional championships; and nine regional crowns.
He has coached 13 Indiana All-Stars. 64 players have gone on to play college baseball (23 Division I).
Strayer has been named District Coach of the Year in 1996, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2007, and 2019.
He began his coaching career at Boone Grove High School and won 223 games in 10 seasons, along with seven Porter County championships.
He is currently the head coach at Crown Point High School and is beginning his 20th season as coach of the Bulldogs.
His CP teams have won 418 games and numerous sectional and regional titles to go along with eight Duneland Athletic Conference titles.
He served as IHSBCA President during this time; and was a 2005 and 2021 North All-Star coach.
Strayer teaches Mathematics at Crown Point High School. He resides in Crown Point with love of his life Jennifer and beautiful daughter Charlotte.

Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame to welcome McIntyre, Robinson, Allen

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Three men — coach Chris McIntyre, contributor/umpire James Robinson and Veterans Committee nominee Bernie Allen — are going into the Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

Because of the COVID-19 situation, the induction ceremony will not take place until the Hall of Fame banquet at the 2022 IHSBCA State Clinic in Indianapolis.

More information for the ceremony itself and availability of tickets will follow next fall as the banquet date approaches.

Inquires can be directed to IHSBCA Executive Director and Hall of Famer Brian Abbott (babbott@ctlnet.com).

McIntyre, a graduate of Jeffersonville High School who played for Hall of Fame coach Don Poole, has coached for 25 years at New Albany High School. His teams have gone 533-218 with five Hoosier Hills Conference titles, 10 second championships and one regional title. The Bulldogs have reach the IHSAA Final Eight three times on McIntyre’s watch.

He is a four-time IHSBCA district and five-time Hoosier Hills Conference coach of the year.

McIntyre has coached 13 IHSBCA South All-Stars, more than 40 players who have gone on to play college baseball with three players selected in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft and two big leaguers.

Chris, a high school math teacher at New Albany, and wife Shannon have two sons — Tyler and Kevin. 

Umpire Robinson is a graduated of Harry E. Wood High School in Indianapolis and Indiana University Kokomo. He played one year of high school baseball and started umpiring high school games in 1980 and enjoyed a 35-year career.

Robinson worked 33 sectionals. 25 regionals, 14 semistates and six state championships. He worked six IHSBCA North/South All-Star Series and was named an IHSBCA Umpire of the Year five times.

In 1994, Robinson was elected to the National Federation Baseball Rules Committee and served from 1995-1998. 

In 2002, he was named IHSAA/NFOA Baseball Official of the Year and he was named as the National Federation Distinguished Official of the Year. James coached Babe Ruth and American Legion baseball for 10 years.

Robinson has been a high school and college referee in football. He worked six years in NCAA Division II and seven years in the Mid-American Conference. 

He has also refereed the state basketball finals and the state football finals. Later in his career, he became a replay official for the MAC and then moved to the Big Ten. He was a replay official in the National Championship game in 2014 at the Rose Bowl between Florida State and Auburn.

Robinson has served on the Howard County Sports Hall of Fame board of directors.

James and his wife Nada (deceased) have one daughter and a grandson: Chiquita and Kameron.

Allen played his collegiate baseball at Purdue University, where he was twice named team MVP. 

A winner of six varsity letters, Allen was also the quarterback and the MVP of the 1960 football team, helping the Boilers to win over No. 1 Minnesota, No. 12 Notre Dame as well as Ohio State. He out-dueled Fran Tarkenton in the annual Blue-Gray Game. 

Allen was an All-American shortstop for Purdue in 1961 and signed with the Minnesota Twins. 

A second baseman for most of his pro career, the 6-foot-185-pounder played in more than 1,100 Major League Baseball games for the Twins (making his debut in 1962), Washington Senators, New York Yankees and Montreal Expos.

Allen, who tripled on Opening Day in 1962, was on the Topps All-Star Rookie Roster and finished third in American League Rookie of the Year voting behind Tom Tresh and Buck Rodgers.

After his playing career, Allen moved back to his native Liverpool, Ohio — the Pottery Capital of the World — and worked for Ferro Corp. for 17 years. 

He moved to Carmel, Ind., in the mid 1980s and has never left. Allen, who has been married for 51 years and has one son, three daughters, a step-son, a step-daughter, 16 total grandchildren and three great grandkids.

Allen went into the Purdue Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame in 1999.

The Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame is located on the Vincennes University Jasper campus.

Quest for knowledge takes Hall of Fame coach, educator Siler through all of his days

BY STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Curiosity was a part of Dick Siler’s nature.

He wanted to know things.

When you talked with him you knew he was going to ask questions.

“What have you been up to?”

“How’s your mother?”

“Can you tell me something new?”

When he got a chance, he explored historical places and books and soaked in as much new knowledge as he could.

As a coach, he wanted to break down and understand plays and positions so he could convey those to his athletes.

It’s that sense of interest that took Siler through his 84 years.

No doubt he had the sense of wonder as a boy growing up on a poultry farm near Ashland, Ohio, and playing sports on that same land. He was a catcher in baseball and wound up as a center and linebacker in football. 

Too busy on the farm to go into Ashland to play ball, a plot was dedicated for that purpose. Sometimes it was used by the circus.

“It was two thirds football field, one third baseball field,” Siler once said. “The east end zone was just dirt.

“Dad let me use a panel truck,” said Siler. “I contacted people and got eight or nine other guys and we went around and played softball or baseball — probably more softball than baseball.

“If we had two bats, that was great. Most guys didn’t have baseball spikes.”

Siler carried big diamond dreams.

“I loved baseball so much,” said Siler. “I wanted to learn and nobody was teaching me.”

When it came time to play at Ashland High School, Siler (Class of 1953) did not play varsity. Future big league catcher John Roseboro (Class of 1951) was ahead of him.

“He threw a lot harder from his knees than I could shoot a gun behind the plate,” said Siler, who was on the junior varsity as a freshman and sophomore and at the start of his junior year.

Then came a call from the varsity. He got to the game on a Farmall F-20 tractor.

“It’s the only way I could get there,” said Siler. “I had no other vehicle.

“I threw on the gear. I didn’t have time to warm up  They put me right in.”

The first or second runner got on base and went to steal.

“When I threw the ball, I felt like my whole arm went down to second base,” said Siler. “Something just ripped in there. I couldn’t get the ball back to the pitcher. They ended up pulling me out the game.

“That was the last school ballgame that I played. That was heartbreaking.”

Siler went on to coach baseball for decades, but he never threw batting practice. He caught BP until one of his knees locked up on him. The number of reps made with a fungo bat is nearly incalculable.

From north central Ohio, Siler took his curiosity to North Manchester, Ind., and Manchester College (now Manchester University), where he played football and got the knee injury to remember it by the rest of his days.

More importantly, it was at Manchester that he met Marjorie Thompson. The two wed in 1956 and wound up in her hometown of Elkhart, Ind. 

Dick took a job teaching and coaching at Jimtown High School after graduating Manchester in 1957.

His first coaching assignment was with Jimmies football. He was a coach all the way until the end, including the last 23 years as an assistant at Bethel University in Mishawaka, Ind.

The Siler family, which grew to include three children (Scott, Laurie and Julie), lived for years in Elkhart. Scott Siler was the Indiana Umpire of the Year in 2018.

Dick became head baseball coach at Elkhart High in 1968 and led that program through 1972. A split of the school sent him into a 25-year run as head baseball coach at Elkhart Memorial High School, where he also was a football assistant for many years.

The 1992 Crimson Chargers were the first Elkhart County baseball team to play in the IHSAA State Finals.

After retiring as coach and social studies teacher at Memorial (he won more than 500 games at the high school level), Siler accepted an invitation from Bethel head coach Sam Riggleman to join the Pilots staff. Margie came along as a scorekeeper. 

She fought a battle with cancer for two decades before dying in 2002. She got to live in a new house in Mishawaka for a short time. Bethel has presented a scholarship in her name and has a plaque in her honor at Patterson Field at Jenkins Stadium.

Dick Siler, who went on to be on the staffs of Mike Hutcheon and Seth Zartman, talked of his wife often. He passed away at his Mishawaka home around 1:45 a.m. Monday, July 20. 

What did he gain most from coaching all those years?

“I enjoy the kids just for who they are — seeing them grow or seeing them change,” said Siler. “I get to see the light go on — he finally gets the idea about timing and using the barrel of the bat to hit.”

Whether it was baseball, football, track, wrestling or basketball (he coached those sports, too), it was about instruction.

“I wanted to teach,” said Siler. “I wanted to tell them this is the best way to do it.

“Kids are hungry to learn if you’ll just teach them.

“Too many people do too much yelling and not teaching. Kids want to get better and they love the game.”

Siler was a founder of the Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association and a member of the IHSBCA Hall of Fame. He also belonged to the American Baseball Coaches Association and National High School Baseball Coaches Association. He is also enshrined in sports halls of fame in Ashland County, Ohio, and Elkhart County, Ind.

Siler said he went into coaching baseball with a football mentality.

“A kid would say to me, ‘Coach, we’re trying not to fail,” said Siler. “That was a big learning and turning point for me. I need to teach them better than just yelling.

“For some, it’s just really hard (to fail). It destroys them. They failed Grandpa. They failed Dad. They failed the girlfriend. They failed the coach. It’s a heavy burden.”

Ever inquisitive, Siler asked these questions: How do we enjoy the sport more? and How do we get there?

“You don’t do it through negativity, I’ll tell you that,” said Siler. “My son (Scott) threw a bat once when he was really young and I made him run the hills. ‘But Daddy, I’m so young.’ I probably handled it a different way and I didn’t. That wasn’t right. 

“You make mistakes. You’ve got to live with those, too.”

As a high school baseball coach, Siler was faced with having to cut down his roster.

“Only so many people can make the team,” said Siler. When he took over at Elkhart High, he could not use freshmen and still had about 125 trying out. 

Siler and assistant Randy Miller had to do their evaluations inside a tiny downtown gym.

“We tried to be as fair as we could and didn’t have a whole lot of complaints,” said Siler. “Later, I did.”

Siler said figuring out the top and bottom of the roster is the easy part.

“Some of the kids who come up are coached by people who know baseball better than a lot of others,” said Siler. “The better athletes adjust faster and better than the lesser athletes.”

While Siler could teach technique and improve upon it, he knew that “some talent is just God-given.”

Siler said the difference in a successful high school player and an unsuccessful one came down to attitude.

“I’m not much on all-ness statements,” said Siler. “Sometimes the dog wags the tail and sometimes the tail wags the dog. In my perspective, the program is more important than the individual. Period.

“If you think you are going run the program or effect the program in a negative way, you’re not going to be around. The program is what it’s all about.”

Siler insisted on a pregame prayer.

“They’ll have to fire me,” said Siler. “I’m not changing. That was very important to me.

“I live and die on the idea of ‘family first.’”

Many family members came to visit or called in Dick’s final days.

Dick Siler, who began his coaching career in the 1950’s, was an assistant baseball coach at Bethel University in Mishawaka, Ind., from the 1998 season to 2020. He died July 20. (Bethel University Photo)

IHSBCA Hall of Fame 2020 class ballots due Oct. 31

BY STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

The ballot for the Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame Class of 2020 has been sent to the membership.

Each year at the state clinic in January, the IHSBCA inducts five into its Hall of Fame — four by vote of the members and one through the veterans committee.

The ballot, which appears in the October 2019 IHSBCA newsletter, features Doug Greenlee, Mark Grove, Dean Lehrman, Gary Rogers, Lea Selvey, Tim Terry, Tony Uggen and Scott Upp as coaches and Brian Abbott, Clint Barmes, Jamey Carroll, Wallace Johnson, Ray Miller and James Robinson as players/contributors.

Greenlee, retired from Kankakee Valley, coached 28 seasons (25 at KV) with 503 victories, seven conference championships, three Indiana High School Athletic Association sectional titles and two regional crowns.

He was the 2013 IHSBCA North All-Star head coach, served on several IHSBCA committees and has served as athletic director for 16 years at four different high schools. He is currently AD at Greencastle.

Greenlee is a graduate of South Putnam High School (1977), Indiana State University (B.S., 1981) and Ball State University (M.A., 1985).

He officiated basketball for more 25 years and worked four State Finals. He coached nine IHSBCA North All-Stars and had numerous players go on to college baseball. Three times his KV teams were ranked No. 1 in the state.

Grove, retired from Churubusco, earned 513 wins, nine IHSAA sectional titles, four regional crowns and a 1995 semistate runner-up. His teams won nine Northeast Corner Conference championships (four tournament titles) and two Allen County Athletic Conference crowns.

Grove sent 40 players on to college and one was drafted. He coached 25 all-staters, six IHSBCA North All-Stars and was District Coach of the Year several times.

A long-time IHSBCA member, he has served on several committees and is currently helping out at the state clinic registration table.

Grove has been a mentor to many coaches and is always a willing participant/organizer for clinics and youth baseball events.

He is a graduate of Bluffton High School and Ball State University.

Lehrman, head coach at Heritage for the past 33 years after nine at Woodlan, has posted 602 victories with 12 Allen County Athletic Conference championships, eight sectional title, three regional titles, one semistate crown, three Final Four appearances and state runner-up finish in 2007.

Lehrman is an eight-time ACAC Coach of the Year. He has also been an IHSBCA District Coach of the Year and twice served on the IHSBCA North All-Star coaching staff.

He coached football for 39 years and was head coach for six (40-26).

Dean and Janice Lehrman have three children — Camryn, Derek and Ryne — plus three grandchildren. Dean Lehrman teaches math at HHS.

Rogers, head coach at Leo the past two years after 32 at Fort Wayne Bishop Luers, has 513 career wins. At Luers, his teams won four sectionals titles, one regional crown, one semistate championship and were state champions in 2008.

He was a State Coach of the Year in 2008 and was twice IHSBCA District Coach of the Year. He has served on numerous committees and is very active in the Fort Wayne baseball community. He has been a volunteer assistant at Indiana Tech for many seasons, worked with the Wildcat League for 33 years and serves on the board of the Northeast Indiana Baseball Association and is a Hall of Fame member of that organization.

Rogers is a graduate of Merrillville High School and Huntington College (now Huntington University).

Selvey, head coach at Jay County the last 31 years after five years as a JC assistant, is 502-333 with seven sectional titles and three regional championships. He won five Olympic Conference titles and was that league’s coach of the year three times. The Patriots have also won one Allen County Athletic Conference title.

The graduate of Redkey High School and the University of Evansville with a Master’s degree from Ball State University has been very active with the IHSBA, serving as president, a regional representative, on numerous committees and was twice an assistant for the IHSBCA North/South All-Star Series.

Selvey has coached 14 All-Stars and many players who went on to college with three taken in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft and two others playing professional baseball in independent leagues and overseas.

He has been involved in baseball in the community, starting the junior high program at Jay County. He has been active with the Summit City Sluggers for nine years.

Lea and Denise Selvey have three children — Josh, Kyle and Kristen — and teaches science at Jay County.

Terry, head coach at South Vermillion the past 38 years after one season at Turkey Run, is 605-357 with nine Wabash River Conference titles, eight sectional championships and one regional crown. He has won 20-plus games 10 times, coached six IHSBCA All-Stars, been named District Coach of the Year twice and served as North/South All-Star Series coach and participated in numerous IHSBCA committees.

Terry is a 1973 graduate of Clinton High School, where he played football, basketball and baseball. He received his B.S. from Indiana State University in 1978 and M.S. from ISU in 1982.

Terry has helped with Little League, Pony League, Babe Ruth and American Legion teams.

He coached girls basketball at South Vermillion for 34 years with two conference titles, five sectionals and 295 wins.

Currently the South Vermillion athletic director, Tim has been married for 23 years to Kim (SVHS Science teacher). The couple has four sons — T.J. (22), Canton (20), Cooper (18) and Easton (14).

Uggen, head coach at Blackford the past six years after 20 at Northfield, has 476 victories, 13 conference titles, seven sectional championships, four regional crowns, two semistate titles, Class 2A state championships in 2001 and 2012 and a 2A state runner-up finish in 2013.

He has coached six IHSBCA North All-Stars, 15 all-state players and 20 have gone on to the next level.

A two-time 2A Coach of the Year, he was IHSBCA North All-Star head coach in 2006 and seven times a District Coach of the Year. He has served on several IHSBCA committees.

Tony and Lisa Uggen have five children — Stephanie, Christian, Brandon, Brendan and Elly. After teaching for 11 years, he served the past 16 as athletic director.

Upp, head coach at LaPorte the past 21.5 years, is 472-197 with five Duneland Athletic Conference titles, eight sectional championships, three regional crowns, two Final Four appearances and one state championship in 2000.

He is a six-time IHSBCA District Coach of the Year, the State Coach of the Year, and District 4 National Coach of the Year. He has been IHSBCA president and served on its board of directors and numerous committees. He is a member of the IHSBCA, American Baseball Coaches Association and National High School Baseball Coaches Association.

Upp coached the 1997 IHSBCA North All-Stars and has sent several players on the college baseball with four making it to the professional ranks.

A graduate of LaPorte, where he played and later coached with 13-time Hall of Famer Ken Schreiber, played at and earned his bachelors degree from Missouri State University. He has a Masters in Administration from Indiana University and is in his 28th year in education, currently serving as associate principal at LPHS.

Scott and Pam Upp have three sons — Kevin (who played baseball at Valparaiso University), Kyle (who played baseball at Purdue University) and Travis (who currently plays at Purdue Fort Wayne).

Abbott, IHSBCA executive director since 2012, spent 21 years as a high school coach, serving at Eastbrook and Huntington North. He amassed more than 300 wins, seven county championships, four conference titles, three sectional crowns, one regional title and a Final Four appearance in 1999.

He is also the pitching coach at Huntington University and has been on the baseball coaching staffs of Manchester University and Indiana Wesleyan University.

Barmes, a retired major league infielder/outfielder and graduate of Vincennes Lincoln High School (1997), played one season each at Olney (Ill.) Central College and Indiana State University, the latter for Hall of Fame coach Bob Warn.

While at ISU, Barmes was voted all-region and all-conference after hitting .375 with 93 hits, 10 home runs, 18 doubles, seven triples, 37 runs batted in, 63 runs scored and 20 stolen bases.

He was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the 10th round in 2000. He played eight seasons with the Rockies (2003-10), one with the Houston Astros (2011), three with the Pittsburgh Pirates (2012-14) and one with the San Diego Padres (2015), hitting .245 with 89 homers, 415 RBI, 932 hits, 434 runs scored and 43 stolen bases.

Barmes appeared in the postseason twice (2009 and 2013) and hit .286 in the 2013 National League Division Series.

Clint and Summer Barmes have two children — Cole and Whitney.

Carroll, a retired major league infielder/outfielder and graduate of Castle High School (1992), played for Dave Sensenbrenner in high school and was an IHSBCA South All-Star as a senior. He played at the University of Evansville for coach Jim Brownlee, graduating in 1996 and earning All-American that same year. His name appears 27 times in the U of E’s baseball record book.

Carroll was chosen in the 14th round of the 1996 draft by the Montreal Expos and played 12 seasons in the the bigs with the Expos (2002-04), Washington Nationals (2005), Colorado Rockies (2006-07), Cleveland Indians (2008-09), Los Angeles Dodgers (2010-11), Minnesota Twins (2012-13) and Kansas City Royals (2013).

Some career numbers are: 16.6 WAR, 1,000 hits, 13 homers, .272 average, 560 runs scored, 265 RBI, 74 stolen base, .349 on-base percentage and .687 On-Base Plus Slugging (OPS).

Carroll scored the last run in Expos history, led National League second basemen in fielding percentage in 2006 and in 2007 he scored Matt Holliday with a sacrifice fly to win the NL Wild Card game.

He currently works in the front office for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Jamey and Kim Carroll have 11-year-old twins —  Cole and Mackenzie.

Johnson, a retired major league infielder/outfielder and graduate of Gary Roosevelt High School (1975) and Indiana State University (1979), also played for Sycamores legend Warn.

A co-captain on ISU’s first Missouri Valley Conference championship team and first squad to qualify for the NCAA postseason.

Johnson led the nation in hitting in 1979, hitting .502 for the regular season and .422 for his career.

He was selected in the sixth round of the 1979 draft by the Expos and was Florida State League MVP and a member of Triple-A championship teams in Denver (1981) and Indianapolis (1986).

Johnson played nine seasons in the MLB (1981-84, 1986-90) and is the Expos all-time leader in pinch hits (86). He hit .255 with five homers and 59 RBI in 428. He spent part of 1983 with the San Fransisco Giants and was also in the Oakland Athletics organization.

After his playing career, Johnson was a third base coach with the Chicago White Sox for five seasons.

Miller, an amateur baseball ambassador who died in 2017, managed the Portland Rockets for more than 30 years beginning in 1972 and won over 900 games with state titles in 1985, 1991, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2004 and 2006.

More than 30 former Rockets went into coaching at the high school or college ranks. In 2000, the team’s field was named Ray Miller Field and in 2002 he became the first inductee into the Indiana Semi-Pro Baseball Hall of Fame.

Robinson, a retired umpire of 35 years beginning in 1980, worked 33 sectionals, 25 regionals, 14 semistates and six State Finals. He umpired the IHSBCA North/South All-Star Series six times times and was voted IHSAA Umpire of the Year on five occasions.

In 1994, Kokomo resident Robinson was elected to the National Federation Baseball Rules Committee and served 1995-98.

In 2002, he was named IHSAA/NFOA Baseball Official of the Year and was selected as the National Federation Distinguished Official of the Year.

He has coached Babe Ruth and American Legion baseball for 10 years.

The graduate of Wood High School in Indianapolis (where he played one year of baseball) and Indiana University of Kokomo has also been a high school and college football referee, working six years in NCAA Division II and seven in the D-I Mid-American Conference.

He became replay official for the MAC and moved to the Big Ten. He was relay official in the national championship game in 2014. That Rose Bowl featured Florida State and Auburn.

James and wife Nada (deceased) have one daughter, Chiquita, and one grandson, Kameron.

Voting deadline is Oct. 31.

Schellinger looks for his New Prairie team to attack in every phase of the game

BY STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Mark Schellinger has set a standard since taking over as head baseball coach at New Prairie High School prior to the 2016 season.

“Most kids in the program know what we expect,” says Schellinger as he gets his players ready for 2018. “We get a lot of buy-in.”

Whether in a game, a practice drill or the weight room, Schellinger wants his Cougars to be in attack mode.

“We talk about attacking in every phase of the game,” says Schellinger. “We talk about attacking in every rep. We have that mindset. Even on defense, we want to be on the offensive.”

At game time, that aggressiveness leads to pressure on the other team.

“We want to take the game to our opponents,” says Schellinger. “In high school baseball, if you can create pressure, you can get a lot of good things to happen.

“You can put pressure on the defense in a lot of ways — either with the bat in our hands or on the base paths.”

Schellinger implores his pitchers to attack the strike zone.

“We want the at-bat over early,” says Schellinger. “We don’t want (opponents to have) five-, six-, seven-pitch at-bats.”

After at fall of open field and weight training, players who are not in winter sport are hitting the weight room.

The baseball program is full of mult-sport athletes. Only seven of 24 expected returnees from 2017 do not play more than one sport.

“It’s very important to play another sport,” says Schellinger, a 2002 LaPorte High School graduate who went on to play four seasons of football and two springs of baseball at Franklin College. “We push our guys to do that. It’s great from a competitive standpoint.”

“Guys not in-season are expected to be with us (in off-season conditioning).”

Since his playing days, Schellinger has witnessed an increased emphasis on strength and conditioning for baseball players.

“You can tell the difference,” says Schellinger. “Kids are bigger and stronger now. They are throwing harder and hitting the ball farther like they do at the big league level. It’s scaled down, but it’s trickled down to our level as well.

“We don’t want bodybuilders. We want guys with muscle. We do a stretching routine on a daily basis and help guys with that flexibility.”

New Prairie is coming off a 16-13 season in 2017. The Cougars were young with just three seniors. One — Kadin Abegg — is now on the baseball roster at Marian University in Indianapolis.

At various times, NP started seven sophomores and two freshmen last spring.

Schellinger looks for leadership in 2018 from seniors Bryce Bloode, Evan Knowlton, Parker Byard and Hunter Houser and junior Hunter Robinson. Bloode is a pitcher, outfielder and third baseman. Knowlton is an infielder, Byard an infielder/pitcher, Houser an outfielder/pitcher and Robinson a third baseman. All are right-handers.

New Prairie typically keeps around 30 and 34 for its varsity and junior varsity squads. Feeder programs include New Prairie Little League in New Carlisle and Rolling Prairie Baseball Association as well as various travel baseball organizations.

“I like carrying 16 at the varsity level (during the regular season) and dressing the full 20 at tournament time,” says Schellinger. “Sixteen works well for what I like to do. There’s a lot of competition in practice and we can have 8 on 8 or four groups of four.”

On game days, Schellinger and his assistants go in with a game plan that revolves around who is pitching and also takes into account who will be used as a courtesy or pinch-runner and who is able to handle the bat in certain pinch-hit situations.

“It’s a big puzzle that all fits together,” says Schellinger. “You maximize what you have personnel-wise on a certain day.”

In 2017, the IHSAA adopted new pitch count rules (1 to 35 pitches requires 0 days rest; 36 to 60 requires 1 day; 61 to 80 requires 2 days; 81 to 100 requires 3 days; and 101 to 120 requires 4 days).

“I think it’s needed,” says Schellinger. “Mandated rest is important.

“In 10 innings, you can throw a lot of pitches. For the most part, it’s been a positive for Indiana high school baseball.”

Schellinger says the Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association has been discussing the idea of making the limits for varsity and JV the same. As it stands now, JV count maximums are lower.

“Varsity takes priority. It’s double-edge sword for the JV. They run out pitching quicker at JV level. There has been worry about games getting canceled because of lack of pitching.

“The association knew going in it was going to be a trial-and-error thing.”

Schellinger’s assistants for 2018 are Neil Hackett (pitching coach) and Dave Ryans with the varsity and Al Williamson and John Ryans with the JV.

New Prairie (enrollment around 980) plays in the Northern Indiana Conference (along with 4A schools Elkhart Central, Mishawaka, Penn, South Bend Adams, South Bend Clay and South Bend Riley, 3A teams New Prairie, Jimtown, John Glenn, Mishawaka Marian, South Bend St. Joseph and South Bend Washington and 2A member Bremen).

The NIC is divided into two divisions — New Prairie, Bremen, Jimtown, Glenn, Marian and Riley in the South and Elkhart Central, Mishawaka, Penn, Adams, Clay, St. Joseph and Washington in the North. Each team plays the other once in conference play and there are titles for overall and games won within the division.

“It’s a great conference,” says Schellinger, whose first season leading the Cougars was also the first of the new-look NIC with New Prairie, Bremen, Glenn and Jimtown joining and the old Northern State Conference dissolving. “Last year, we had two teams in the State Finals (St. Joseph reigned in 3A and Penn was runner-up in 4A).  There’s quality across the board. It’s very good baseball and very good athletic programs. It’s been a good move for us.”

Schellinger made his move to New Prairie after nine seasons at Merrillville High School — the last six of those years as head coach.

Before that, he was at Franklin College. His Grizzlies head coaches were Lance Marshall (baseball) and Mike Leonard (football). He played baseball for Scott Upp and football and his father, Bob Schellinger, at LaPorte.

“I’ve been very blessed in my life to be around a lot of good coaches,” says Schellinger. “I’ve taken a lot from each one.”

“(Marshall) taught me to play the game the right way, focus on fundamentals and the importance of building relationships.

“(Leonard) came to Franklin my sophomore year. He is one of the nicest guys off the field you’d ever want to meet. He treats his players with respect.”

“I’ve gotten to know (Upp) as a player and as an opposing coach. I’ve seen his ability to adapt. He does what needs to be done. It’s what is the best thing at the time for the team. He wants to find a better way. Some coaches are stuck in their ways. It’s a huge credit to him that he doesn’t do that.”

Bob and Lorri Schellinger have five children — Tricia, Rob, Mark, Kevin and Danny. The four boys all played football for their father.

Rob Schellinger is now a baseball assistant at LaPorte. Mark Schellinger is a member of the Slicer Football Hall of Fame.

Bob Schellinger, who coached high school baseball at South Central (Union Mills) and LaPorte, was honored at the State Finals as the 2017 IHSAA Baseball Umpire of the Year.

“It’s hard to hard to separate the two (father from coach),” says Mark. “I saw the relationship he had with his players from the time I was a little kid. I was my dad’s shadow. I could see the joy he took in job. We spend too much time out here for it to be dreadful.

“It’s a sport. It’s a game. It’s meant to be fun. When you enjoy it, it’s not work. I enjoy every second of it — planning for practice, going into the weight room or field work.

“We’re ultimately in the kids business and we want to make them better people.”

The people who greet Mark Schellinger at home and at the diamond are wife Heidi and four sons — Colton (5), Boyd (3), Titus (2) and Ripley (4 months).

Like he and his siblings did with his father, Mark has his boys hanging around with him and his team.

“They are around as much as they can be,” says Mark, who turns 32 Dec. 8 — two days before Boyd’s fourth birthday. “These are father-son moments a lot of people don’t get.”

Mark and Heidi Schellinger stand on the baseball field with the oldest three of their four sons —  Colton (in grey), Boyd (in blue) and Titus (in his father’s arms). Ripley was not yet born at the time the photo was taken.