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Engel, Steve
From Detroit, Michigan; resides in Daytona Beach, Florida (since 1993); has attended 11 Detroit Tigers Fantasy Camps in Lakeland, Florida (1994-2003, 2005); attended a weekend camp at Comerica Park in Detroit in 2001; is in the Detroit Tigers Fantasy Camp Hall of Fame for attending 10 or more Tigers Fantasy Camps in Lakeland
Retired on April 2, 1993 from Novi Manufacturing Company (a U-Haul manufacturing plant); retired on May 30, 1983 from LTV Steel in Warren, Michigan
Married Helen Louise Engel on May 3, 1974; they have two daughters ages 43 and 40 and two grandsons ages 17 and 14
Went to 1951 MLB All-Star Game at Briggs Stadium in Detroit, Michigan; went to 5th game of 1968 World Series in Detroit; attended Alma College in Alma, Michigan with former Detroit Tiger Jim Northrup; played senior softball year-round in Daytona Beach until he had to get a full knee replacement in March 2006; worked in Tigers clubhouse in Lakeland during 1996 spring training; also worked in Tigers clubhouse in Lakeland for several fantasy weeks
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McGlone, Greg
Born in Detroit; resides in Farmington Hills (since 2003); lived in Troy from 1980 to 2003; Has one son, Ryan, born in 1984
Member of Troy Baseball Boosters program for 23 years... for 21 years was on the Board of Directors. Played in the league with son and was the first father/son to be on the All Star team together. Has coached youth baseball for about 30 years. Currently helping coach the Detroit Danger Women’s Elite Baseball Club and am helping create/organize a youth girls baseball league (Michigan-Ohio Girls Baseball League) that will begin play in summer 2007 (If anyone wants to participate or knows of girls who want to play baseball, please contact me at dangermanager@twmi.rr.com).
Completed 7th camp in 2007 (1995, 1997, 1999, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2007); 1st camp in 1995 utilized Plant City and Winter Haven complexes. Camp traveled to Sarasota to play the Orioles camp. Each camp gets better than the previous camps. Played every position except catcher in five of the seven camps and perhaps in 2008 playing catcher will become a reality! Have played in a 1-day camp at Comerica in 2005; pitched batting practice to suite holders and season ticket holders at Comerica. Member of the Tigers team in Detroit’s MSBL 38+ division since 1999.
Currently works for Mobility Resource Associates, a mobile event marketing company, as their federal regulation compliance officer and human resources director.
Macurio, Shawn
Born in Big Rapids, Michigan on August 19, 1971; resides in the Ann Arbor area (since 1989); has attended 6 Detroit Tigers Fantasy Camps in Lakeland, Florida (2001-2005, 2007); has participated in a weekend Tigers camp at Comerica Park (2002) and a one-day camp at Comerica Park (2005); has shagged balls and thrown BP at Comerica Park several times to help out with Detroit Tigers Fantasy Experiences and season ticket holder and suite holder batting practices; regularly plays in summer camper games at Madonna University in Livonia, Michigan; has played every position at camp except for centerfield (plans to do so in 2008)
Attended Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan from 1989-1995 where she earned a full 4-year academic scholarship; was a walk-on on the school's softball team; studied graphic design
Played fast pitch softball from age 10 to age 18 at catcher and 3rd base; was starting catcher all 4 years of high school and made varsity softball team in her sophomore year at Chippewa Hills High School in Remus, Michigan; earned varsity letter in sophomore year and was named 1st Team All-Conference
Founded first-ever women's baseball team in Southeast Michigan in 1998 (team was originally called the Metro Detroit Renegades and is now called the Detroit Danger Women's Elite Baseball Club); has been owner and player for the Danger since the team's inception; played baseball for the Lansing Stars of the Michigan Women's Baseball League in 1999 at 2nd base; has played in several women's baseball tournaments and games in the U.S. and Canada since 1999... Florida, Colorado, California, Arkansas, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Manitoba (Winnipeg), Ontario (Toronto); has played in MLB, minor league and collegiate stadiums... Madonna University, Eastern Michigan University, Tiger Stadium, Comerica Park, Coveleski Stadium, Lee County Stadium, City of Palms Stadium, Terry Park, Henley Field, Joker Marchant Stadium, Ray Winder Field, Gray's Field; positions played are pitcher, catcher, 1st base, 2nd base, 3rd base, shortstop, left field; is one of organizers of Michigan-Ohio Girls' Baseball League; has taught professional hitting instructions under the guidance of former Detroit Tiger Barbaro Garbey
Has been a member of the National Women's Baseball Hall of Fame advisory committee, the Willie Horton's Batting for Kids steering committee (Don Bosco Hall and Detroit Tigers), a steering committe member of the AAU Women's Baseball Roster Integrity Committee, the Detroit Tigers Youth Baseball Advisory Committee (T-ball to Tigers), an advisory board member of the Women's International Baseball Association, a steering committee member of Athletes for A Better Detroit(ABD)/Imagination Sports youth baseball clinics and events, and an advisory board member of United States Women's Baseball (USWB), now known as AAU Women's Baseball
Became first woman to play in Troy Baseball Boosters Adult Baseball League in 2003; has received several MVP awards from various women's baseball tournaments; was inducted into the National Women's Baseball Hall of Fame in 2003; received National MVP Award from National Women's Baseball Hall of Fame in 2004; tried out for the Colorado Silver Bullets (1994) and for the U.S. Women's National Baseball Team (2004)
Is listed in two baseball books... Women's Baseball (Images of Baseball) by John M. Kovach and Encyclopedia of Women and Baseball by Laura Wulf, Leslie A. Heaphy, and Mel Anthony May
Is a graphic designer and multimedia artist when not on the baseball field; volunteers as a set painter, a set designer, and a graphic designer for the Ann Arbor Civic Theater; loves all sports especially baseball and hockey; loves traveling, reading, playing the guitar, working out/weight lifting, attending sporting events, art, being on the beach, laughing, eating, hanging out with cool and inspiring people; plays coed roller hockey and soccer in addition to baseball
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Pesta, Kevin
Name a Tiger player the past four decades, at least those brought up through their minor league system. They played on these fields. Not just a little bit, either. A lot. It is on one of these mounds that 47-year-old Kevin Pesta, a resident of Lake Orion for nearly two decades, is pitching. There is no radar gun measuring his velocity. By his own account he has two pitching speeds — "slow and slower." Yet, nobody has ever hurled a baseball from that spot with more joy.
"I like to catch the most, and I am not much of a pitcher, but I like to throw an inning or two now and then," Pesta said. "It's fun."
"Fun" is the operative word here for the participants at Tiger Fantasy Camp. They play games. They get together at night. They share their love for baseball. They mingle with former Tigers players they grew idolizing. It costs $3,300 for the experience. Many of them consider it a bargain.
Pesta, a representative for a furniture company, is participating in his fourth camp. His first trip came as a celebration of his 40th birthday. It was supposed to be a one-time trip. Now it's nearly an annual event for him. "You know how some people belong to a golf club," Pest said. "This is my club. As long as I can afford to do it, and am healthy enough to do it, I will keep coming down here. It's become part of my life."
Pesta was raised in Saginaw and played a lot of baseball during his youth. He married young and raised a family. Baseball was put on the back burner. "This has given me a chance to get it out of my system," he said.
The players don't just meet for one week during the winter here in Lakeland. They also attend games together at Comerica Park during the season, have luncheons and banquets throughout the year and batting practice sessions at Comerica Park.
Pesta's family — his children, Melanie and Tiffany, his fiancee, Angie Klebba, and her children, Austin and Adam — has grown to accept his obsession with baseball. As has his employer, Simmons Mattress. And his clients.
Instead of a business card, Pesta often uses the baseball card that is made up for him and the other campers here. He keeps a journal of his experiences that he e-mails to his family and friends. "It's something they are always anxious to see," Pesta said. "There is nothing quite like this. You get to know these players you followed when you were younger very well. You get to play baseball, which I genuinely love. And you get to be with a lot of people just like you who love doing this for the same reasons."
The average age of a camper is 52. Some play into their 80s. There were more than 200 campers this year during two week-long sessions. Ten were women. "There are people from every walk of life involved in this," Pesta said. It's competitive. There are playoffs. The campers play the former Tigers at Marchant Stadium the final day of each camp. But how good they play matters little compared to, well, just playing.
Major league ball players tend to wear a shield when they play, but in retirement they take that shield down. They go out of their way to be nice to campers. "My fiancee was not a big baseball fan, but the first time she came down here to visit, she got to meet some of the players," Pesta said. "One day she mentioned to Dan Petry that her grandfather is a huge baseball fan, and Dan was nice enough to call her grandfather. It was a thrill for him, but pretty typical of the players."
Mickey Lolich, Willie Horton, Dave Bergman, John Hiller, Jason Thompson, Steve Kemp, Guillermo Hernandez, Gates Brown, Milt Cuyler, Jim Price, Tom Brookens, Frank Tanana, Jon Warden, Barabaro Garbey, Darrell Evans, and Petry are among the former Tiger players here this week — covering the era from the 1960s to the 1990s. Finding former Tiger players to be involved is not difficult for Jerry Lewis, who directs the camp. "If I don't call some of these guys they are calling me and asking me if they can come," Lewis said. "For them, this is an opportunity to have fun, too. They see their old teammates and enjoy hanging out with a group of people they have gotten to know well over the years."
For Pesta, the draw is simple. "I've gotten to go places and meet people I never thought I would meet and know because of this," he said.
So that part — and the fun — is not a fantasy. It is real.
Pat Caputo is a senior sports reporter and a columnist for The Oakland Press.
Picture 1 above: Lake Orion's Kevin Pesta, 47, stands in the batter's box looking for his pitch at Tiger Fantasy Camp Thursday in Lakeland, Fla. Picture 2 above: Kevin Pesta, 47, of Lake Orion, has become a regular just about every year at the Tigers' Fantasy Camp in Lakeland, Fla. — Photos courtesy of Captured Expressions/RICK DUPLER
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George hasn't been seen at camp in a while; however, it has been rumored that he will be back someday! Hmmmmm... I wonder what happened to him?!
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