FEATURE: ALISA SCHMIEGE
“THE ULTIMATE BASEBALL MOM”
You might say Alisa Schmiege devotes a far amount of her time to baseball. For those of
you who know her son Josh, this comes as no surprise. At last Saturday’s game, Josh’s
best friend Natty (who plays for the Red Socks) asked Alisa if she might have one of
those sports drinks in her car. “Sure – go ahead and get one – here’s the keys.”
A few minutes later, Natty was back. With drink in hand, he cried out for all to hear,
“SHE’S THE ULTIMATE BASEBALL MOM!! I OPENED THE TRUNK. SHE HAS
EVERYTHING IN THERE … HATS, BATS, CLEATS, HELMETS, PROPEL …”
Indeed, with the inventory she keeps in her vehicle if the woman gets pulled over by the
Highway Patrol on the way to one of these games, they’ll suspect she’s just robbed
Chick’s Sporting Goods.
I asked her about that. “What’s with the sporting goods store you keep in your car?” She
explained, “Josh plays on three teams. Of course there’s the Blue Jays [MNLL]; then
there’s the Indians [Pony League], oh and of course, there’s the Murrieta Hurricanes
[Travel Ball]. Right now during baseball season, what with three teams, my back seat
has to be all the way down. I’ve got the banner, the chairs, I got jackets, I got Gatorade,
Propel, then all the baseball equipment.”
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“What’s your weekly schedule like”, I asked incredulously? “When aren’t you doing
baseball?” It didn’t take her long to reflect since she only has one day off during the
week.
“Monday is the only day I have zero baseball. I can stay home and cook a nice dinner.
Tuesday we have the Blue Jays [MNLL] game. Wednesday we have the Pony game.
Thursday we have practice with the Blue Jays. Fridays we have a three hour practice
with the travel ball team. Saturday is another Blue Jays game as well as a Pony game.
On Sunday if we don’t have two games we have a four hour practice. This past [Sunday]
we played two games in San Diego.”
THAT’S GUS NIEBLA, HEAD COACH OF THE BLUE JAYS, HIGH FIVING JOSH
AFTER JOSH HIT A HOME RUN AGAINST THE MARLINS, MARCH 11, 2008.
I was curious as to what kept her going with such a schedule. Recently it was my job to
provide drinks for the team. The wife had brought home some “Propel” but then noticed
it had some caffeine in it. She made me go back and get some Gatorade. Forget a few
doses of caffeine. With a schedule like that, she needs a supply of ephedrine.
Before hitting the nail on the head with my primary question, I wanted to get a little
background information.
“How did you first get involved with baseball?” I asked.
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“I’ve always loved baseball. My dad was a coach and my brother, we’ve only 20 months
apart – he played and was very good – just like Josh. Just like Josh he also shot up when
he was twelve. … So I think I got involved with it to be closer to dad. Back when I was
11 or 12 I was a big baseball card collector. Then [80s] my favorite team was the
Dodgers. …”
There was a period of time, from late high school until the young family was well
underway, that Alisa was not so centrally involved with the sport. That was natural as
her attention was focused on beginning a new family. Josh has two sisters – one younger
(Raegan age 10) and one older (Kylie age 16). When Josh turned four, they got him in
T-ball.
“So was it Josh who pushed you back into this baseball thing?” “No, not really. Yes, a
four year old wants to play T-ball, but when Josh was 7 we got him in double “A.”
About half way through he wanted to quit. I told him ‘you’ve made a commitment to the
team. You finish out this year and next season if you don’t want to play fine.’” Josh
played again the next year for the Rockies. As Alisa explained it, “that was exciting
because we were on a championship team. When we showed up for team announcements
the next season, suddenly they had Josh [at age 9] signed up for the Majors. There was
no going back from there.”
“As team mom, do you have any advice for our parents?” “Oh yes. What I appreciate
most is cooperation. … Don’t make me sit there and nag. Help me out where you can.
The simple things like getting the money and the raffle tickets to me on time. Also,
please call me before you stop by so I can throw all my stuff in the closet!”
But I had been dancing around my primary question. “All that baseball sounds like a lot
of work with little reward. Do you get just a little tired of it?”
She answered without refection. “No.” “Why not?” I shot back equally as fast. “I tell
you the truth, when I don’t have baseball, I don’t know what to do.” “Oh really?” I was
more than a little skeptical of that. “Let’s see – with three kids in the house, you’re the
short order cook, the maid, the chauffer, the seamstress – what am I leaving out of your
regular day job?”
She gave it some thought. “I really enjoy [baseball]. It’s time consuming but there are a
lot of rewards. It’s not like I have a regular job like you or my husband who get praises
from the boss or more money. But when I go to the baseball field and somebody
acknowledges what I’ve done, it makes me feel good. How often does your kid tell you,
‘thanks mom, for washing my socks.’”
As I drew the interview to a close I had to acknowledge that there was a fair amount of
work just in keeping the jerseys, the socks and the belts in order when your son plays on
three different teams – let alone the many other chores both at home and for the team(s).
But then after I hung up the phone I did some thinking and reflecting on what she had
said. As parents we often wonder if the effort we put into raising children is worth it.
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Especially for the person whose job is in the home, we can sometimes loose sight of the
vitally important work done there. I submit, such effort is not wasted and is beneficial on
far more levels that a clean jersey or a dependable ride to the game. There is value not
only in the pleasure that the spectator derives from watching a fine athletic performance,
but more so there is the enrichment to the community from the development of a fine and
productive member of it.
It’s like the refrain from the song – “It’s not what you take with you but what you leave
behind …”
Putting time into our children and their passions, developing character, such as the
charter to finish what one starts – we all benefit from such demanding and important
work.
That’s not wasted effort. This is in fact the most important of jobs. Our heartfelt thanks
to you Alisa Schmiege for your dedication to duty and you selfless service in the
betterment of your son and ours.
JOSH AND HIS DAD RIGHT AFTTER THE GAME,
MARCH 11, 2008
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