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A Life In Sports: AL ERDMANN AND RGMVM LITTLE LEAGUE
Please Read This Great Newspaper Article
By The Queens Ledger Nick D'Arienzo.
Dateline : Thursday, September 28, 2006
A Life In Sports: AL ERDMANN AND RGMVM LITTLE LEAGUE
by Nick D'Arienzo
To take a stroll around the grounds of Seither Stadium with RGMVM Little League's Vice President Al Erdmann is akin to taking a leisurely stroll through our community's baseball history. Having now been involved for more than 30 years with the organization, Erdmann has championed the baseball hopes and dreams of countless young people in our community, the league serving, in name R-idgewood, G-lendale, M-iddle V-illage,
and M-aspeth.
On this particular Saturday, RGMVM is conducting tryouts for both their fall league (currently underway) and their highly-touted and nationally renowned spring league, which has been in operation for 55 years now. For Erdmann, each tryout brings another opportunity, another opportunity for a new crop of young baseball-hopefuls, and another opportunity for a vet like Erdmann to instill in the young boys and girls who come his way not just the fundamentals of our national pastime, but also a way of life that baseball seems to indicate best - via a unique kind of teamwork and sportsmanship that encourages role-playing, via a unique kind of long season that encourages resilience and perseverance. As Werdmann tells me, no kid who tries out for RGMVM ever really gets turned down. Tryouts are more or less a way of making sure that all teams are made up equitably, that the unique chemistry that creates baseball teams is preserved.
In addition, such parity ensures that in any given season, any one of RGMVM's sponsors can be in a position to win - and Erdmann is quick to thank those sponsors for their years of loyal service. Neighborhood institutions like Glendale Lumber, Schwille Funeral Home, Ridgewood Savings. For it is their support that creates the structure helping to shape these young lives. Another ally that Erdmann is quick to thank is City Councilman Dennis Gallagher, whose support has been invaluable to the league, and whose contribution can be seen most tangibly on the piece of property abutting the three fields, nestled just above the dormant railroad tracks. Here, Gallagher has helped to provide RGMVM with an easement allocating a lot more necessary space - basically, an extra parcel of land that can be used for batting practice, pre-game warm-ups, etc. while the much-in-demand ballfields are still in use. In essence, as viewed from above and this parcel of land, and tucked away behind the unseen intersection of Woodhaven Boulevard and Metropolitan Avenue, RGMVM actually looks more like a little village than a baseball stadium. Ask Erdmann what his greatest reward is in all this, and his answer is particularly revealing: "When you see one of these kids get a college scholarship - and grow up to be a real fine young man or young woman. You can really change a life with that. That scholarship can be so valuable." With such strong and solid ties to the community over several generations, it's no wonder then that RGMVM becomes a multi-generational organization, and in a lot of ways, a family affair. On this particular Saturday, there are three Erdmanns on the field, my host (Al III), Tim, and Al IV. RGMVM President Pat Piteo's son Chris is no doubt on one of the three ballfields. And as treasurer Cora Modica checks in aspiring ballplayers, her son Greg is gearing up for the private instruction he will be offering, as he does every year. In fact, most of RGMVM's staff is made up of former participants, so grateful for the opportunities they had, that they want to make sure those opportunities continue in perpetuity for others. For Erdmann, it is one of his favorite parts of the job.
It should be pointed out that former major leaguer Allen Watson is a proud RGMVM "grad", the only one to have made it all the way to the majors, where he played with both the METS and the YANKEES, among others. These days, Watson, too, is giving back to his community in a tremendous way. As the head coach of baseball at CHRIST THE KING HIGH SCHOOL, his alma mater, he has already returned the school to playoff prominence, and can often be found at Juniper Park providing personal instruction of one form or another to area youngsters, especially pitchers, regardless of whether or not they attend CK, or McCLANCY, or MOLLOY, for that matter. It is no doubt a philosophy which was instilled in him during his RGMVM days. Ask Erdmann which he thinks is more important, the baseball fundamentals or the life lessons these youngsters learn along the way, and he will quickly tell you the latter. "We're tying to build solid citizens here." It is a big part of the folksiness of RGMVM that has ensured its success over so many years, the privacy afforded by its state-of-the-art surroundings, and the security that youngsters (and parents!) can appreciate by virtue of a relatively unchanged infrastructure and staff over the course of several generations.
As I take my leave of Erdmann on this balmy Saturday, he is ministering on the barbecue to what can only politely be referred to as beer-infused chicken. "You oughtta stay for lunch next time," he shouts. And as I head out, I think to myself that I very likely will, if not for a taste of what already smells like an incredibly savory meal, than almost certainly for the good company.
