Baseball’s in his blood

East Kildonan

Old-school baseball legend Leo Durocher famously said, “Nice guys finish last,’” but he was wrong. Sometimes, nice guys make the hall of fame.

Congratulations to Guy Yerama on his selection to the Manitoba Baseball Hall of Fame. From playing to coaching to building programs, Yerama’s done it all.

“I was happy to hear about it, but it took a while to sink in,” Yerama said. “I know lots of people who are in (the hall)…friends, guys I’ve coached, a lot of guys I’ve played wth and coached with. I think that’s the cool thing.

“In my mind, hall of fame guys are like Gerry Falk and Mike Labossiere and Gord Leduchowski. They taught the game, they played the game, they coached the game. They were national teamers. The rest of us are all normal people.”

Yerama commended Baseball Manitoba for recognizing the many people who have built baseball in communities across Manitoba. By that measure alone, he’s earned his place in the provincial hall of fame.

The baseball bug bit Yerama early. He grew up in Gilbert Plains, Man., his father played for the Dauphin Redbirds, and he’d follow along.

At home he’d throw a ball against the barn, make up his own teams and generally dream about the game. He was part of a Gilbert Plains team that won two provincial championships. A few years later, he was called up to senior baseball with Grandview Lakers and his education went into overdrive.

“We were drinking from a fire hose, learning baseball,” Yerama said. “They showed me all kinds of things, like holding the bat in your fingers. Nobody ever told me that.”

Yerama remembers catching a pitcher who could throw in the mid-90s and was a fourth-round draft pick of the New York Mets.

“He threw gas,” Yerama recalled. “He started throwing to me in practice and I literally couldn’t get my glove up fast enough to catch it. He threw it by my ear twice.”

During games, Yerama not only watched his teammates, he also watched his coaches strategize and would later apply the lessons when he coached, which he did regularly from 1990 through 2010. As a builder, Yerama has created playing opportunities throughout his life. He helped found the Killarney Lakers. After moving to Winnipeg, he played a pivotal role in founding an intermediate league that’s still running today (as the Winnipeg Senior Baseball League).

Along the way, Yerama has coached provincial teams, Canada Cup teams, and at the Canada Summer Games. He coached his daughter in bantam. But there was more to come.

“In the middle of that, I asked why were we sending all of these guys to the States and substandard academic schools?” Yerama said. “They could’ve stayed here if we had a program.”

So Yerama helped create one, and in 2001, the Great Plains Baseball Academy was born. Manitoba ballplayers faced off against American NCAA and junior college teams. A few years later, Yerama and fellow hall of famer Mike Krykewich founded the University of Winnipeg Wesmen baseball team, which took part in National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics in the U.S. — one of only two Canadian universities to do so.

Yerama soon moved to Toronto, but he kept working on the program from afar, helping with accreditation and player recruitment.

He can’t imagine a life without baseball. And like a true coach, his pride is in his players.

“It’s been cool to see guys who went on to high levels and be leaders in their communities,” Yerama said. “It wasn’t just about baseball; a lot of guys I coached ended up doing pretty important things.

“I feel good that I was part of that.”

The Manitoba Baseball Hall of Fames 28th induction banquet will be held June 13 at the Access Events Centre in Morden, Man. Visit www.mbhof.ca for tickets and more information.