I relate the anecdote to myself whenever someone passes on: David Ferber and I were in the library at LCHS when he noticed a small plaque above the copier. We looked at the names, and realized they belonged to the students who died during their time at Laguna. It sent a shiver through both of us, realizing that those small gold labels were the physical "remains" of those LCHS students. David said, before we left, "I hope they never fill that up."
Today, LCHS lost a member of its family, but Elk Grove youth baseball lost the man who one might even call its godfather or CEO. Ted Herrera, a baseball coach at LC, and the guy I know best for running Sac County Baseball, died of an apparent heart attack at home. I had teams in more than a few of Ted's tournaments, often at LCHS itself, where he hosted them himself, always greeted me warmly, and checked in my stuff personally. As Doug Penney said, he always gave Elk Grove Babe Ruth related teams a discount, which he was never obligated to do, and even came over personally to remind me about the discount if I had a group to get in this year when I attended another tournament. Recognizing a guy who enters only 1-2 tournaments each year shows the kind of guy Ted was. When a player on my team broke his wrist and we ran out of subs, his tournament director said it was a forfeit; when we discovered the ruling was errant, he not only apologized but let us finish up the game, at his own expense, to make sure even us--the 7th seed out of 8 in the tourney--got what we signed up for.
The amount of work Ted put into Sac County Baseball (now Norcal Super Series) I have to imagine, changed the way youth baseball worked in Elk Grove and maybe Northern California, making tournament ball a permanent part of the youth sports landscape and drawing players, coaches, and parents to Elk Grove and LCHS to see high-quality baseball. He proved that tournaments could not only be a good business, but that there was a demand for more baseball, and a quality baseball experience. He offered teams needing fundraising outlets the chance to host and make some money, he listened to complaints and acted on them, and made Sac County Baseball tournaments something you looked forward to. I can't even say how many time's I've heard SCB events just called "one of Ted's tournaments," a testament to the esteem and respect held for Mr. Ted Herrera throughout the region.
It's hard to realize that Ted Herrera is gone, and I doubt that tournament baseball in Elk Grove will ever be the same, ever possess that personal, friendly touch Ted brought. I know that I won't ever attend or enter a tournament without thinking about the guy who responded quickly when I first inquired about entering the 2004 NL 14 All-Stars during a Memorial Day tournament, that gave an extra day to get Phillips Goodenough's birth certificate, who helped financially with all the other entries--the 2006 15 All-Stars, the Ripperz, the Longhorns with Doug--and who always recognized me. He was a good guy who left a major mark on Elk Grove and its youth baseball, and who's amiability really gave his work a personal touch. I wish the best to his wife and sons--Teddy was in preschool with me--and I offer my condolences to them.
Ted may be gone, but his mark on that which so many of us love won't soon fade.
R.I.P. Ted Herrera. You're on our plaque forever.
1 comment:
Well Said Mike! In the last Wood Bat one of our few players was ejected unfairly after the game. We appealed to Ted and he upheld our appeal. Saying he didn't want to deny our guy a chance to play. He Knew Jeff and took his side over the adult umpire. He would truly do anything he could to help young players.
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