A ‘Sandlot’ story: the guys who walked on their own team

The Baseball Enthusiasts Club — also known by their team name “Bats” — are a club on campus now, but play competitively in games against any school that wants to play them. UNSPLASH

There’s always that one little league photo of a cute little little kid on their parent’s fridge. The one where the baseball hat is too big, their ears are sticking out and they just finished eating the team mom’s snack so there's orange pulp coating their giant smile. 

That photo encapsulates the moment where someone first started loving the game, as they smile with their fellow small teammates in the middle of the home baseball field that probably is no more than just a mere memory in a photo frame now.

The passion that these baseball youngsters had at this small age to play the game is still embedded in their hearts even years later. But what happens when a young boy’s dream to play baseball has to end?

Ryan Nahmias, a class of 2022 alumnus who majored in political science, was originally recruited to play baseball at Emerson College in Boston for a semester before transferring to Chapman University. 

Starting the sport at a young age, Nahmias was motivated by his father, who played baseball in college, to continue the game that ran in his blood. With Nahmias coming to Chapman in the spring semester, he entered just in time for baseball season. 

However, Nahmias played in the Redshirt League, separate from Chapman’s baseball team, in order to hone in his skills to eventually try out for the official baseball team. 

Since Division III sports do not allow redshirting, there is a separate Redshirt League for baseball individuals can play on that is not associated with DIII schools. There are dues to pay for games and umpires, but the concept behind being a redshirt is to sit out the actual team to develop skills and get stronger in order to put oneself in a better position to try out for the school team. 

“When I went to try out for the team in the fall of my sophomore year, coach Laverty told me that they had an obligation to the individuals they recruited and that they would not allow anyone to try to walk on to the team,” Nahmias said. “I remember how frustrated all of us who had played on the redshirt team that previous spring were. We felt lied to. Playing on that team would give us a shot at making the actual team in the fall or at least getting a tryout.”

Without the chance to try out, Nahmias felt devastated.

“I realized quickly that having us play on that redshirt team was almost a ‘money grab,’” Nahmias said.

It’s a statistical fact that in all sports, only 7% of high school players play in an NCAA program. The estimated probability of competing in NCAA athletics beyond highschool in baseball is 7.5%.

Scott Laverty is the head baseball coach at Chapman, entering his 10th season with the program. He has led the baseball team into a successful NCAA championship in 2018, and other Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference accomplishments since then. 

The Panther discussed with Laverty why the Chapman baseball team is so stringent about tryouts and walk-ons. 

“There's, what, 40,000, 50,000 high schools across the country,” Laverty said. “I've never had a bad kid. They're good. Kids are coming because you're coming to great academic institutions. We just can't keep 75 baseball players, you know?”

Aside from the popularity of the sport and players trying to make their college dreams a reality, Laverty details the promises he must uphold to already recruited and rostered players.

“Part of it is also to honor the players already in your program for sure, and give them the opportunities that you promised, you know, to help them excel,” Laverty said. “Because we have one full-time baseball coach. That's me — everybody else is part-time or volunteers. There's four of us. You can imagine, time is limited. If we're trying to coach 40 guys, we can't get the same amount of coaching to everybody. There's not enough time in the day.”

However, this was not the end of a long-lived dream for the unrecruited athletes who still want to play baseball. Nahmias wasn’t ready to hang up his cleats just yet. With the help of his other teammates of the redshirt team, he took the steps to found a baseball club.

“So many guys are in the same boat. We, including myself, all tried to join the baseball team. We emailed the coach, sent stats and highlights, had our coaches talk to him, but he doesn’t allow walk-ons for the team,” said Steven Hogencamp, a sophomore broadcast journalism and documentary major who also had a college baseball dream. 

“Our club team plays with a chip on our shoulder because Chapman doesn't allow us to compete in the National Club Baseball Association, (so) we want to prove to everyone that we belong and deserve a shot.”

Feeling like the underdogs and “The Sandlot” of baseball at Chapman, Nahmias and team were determined to make a club team that would be open to all lovers of baseball. For the love of the game.

“We knew of many other schools that had teams and still played competitively. Quickly however in talking with the Student Organization people at Chapman, we realized that Chapman’s athletic department would not allow a club baseball team, so we had to go about it another way,” said Nahmias. “We decided to create a club called Baseball Enthusiasts Club, where anyone who enjoyed the game and played it could join. Men, women, anyone who had an interest in playing, was able to join.”

The Baseball Enthusiasts Club, also known by their team name, “Bats,” are a club on campus now, but play competitively in games against any school that wants to play them. Without the Chapman name associated with them, the club is funded entirely by the Student Government Association and player donations. 

With this help, uniforms for their team can be purchased and games can be arranged against schools such as the University of Southern California (USC); Loyola Marymount University; University of California, Los Angeles; San Diego State University; University of California, San Diego; Cal State Fullerton and University of California, Riverside.

“The president makes the lineups and all of the rotational changes that are necessary, but they usually always make sure everyone gets playing time and that things are done in the fairest way possible,” Nahmias said. “While we are competitive and like to win, that is not our main goal. Our main goal is to have fun playing baseball again, as well as giving students feedback on how they are playing, as well as providing instruction to those who want or need it. 

“That being said, we did only lose one game last season, while playing club teams who had been together for years and who practiced seven days a week, so we were pretty good.”

Hogencamp reflects on a very special game that the team had played in their first season.

“The game we played against the USC team was really special,” Nahmias said. “For one, it was the first game we did a mic'd up and everyone had so much fun with it, but also because we had a huge comeback where we trailed by six runs and ended up winning. All the guys had so much fun and it was memorable because our founder got hit and had to go to the hospital. We rallied behind him and won the game for him. I felt really happy, and felt like the team bonded really well.”

And of course, there are more memories to come with more seasons ahead for the team. With the growth and popularity of the Bats team, it has become a safe haven for everyone who wants to play baseball in a more relaxed setting. 

Nahmias’ mission to create this club started prior to COVID-19 his sophomore year, but once the pandemic hit, the rally to begin the baseball club was put on hold until his senior year when COVID-19 was simmering down. Friends of Nahmias who had the same passion to make the club happen had already graduated. It was all on his shoulders to create the club officially. 

Now in 2022, the club has become a success. With no set schedule of games and a flexible practice schedule, many members of the team have healed their inner baseball ambitions with the relaxed nature of the club and are happy to call themselves a separate type of student athlete once more.

“There are a ton of favorite memories I have,” Nahmias said. “I think mine has to be the very first practice when only three kids showed up. We played catch, talked about where this team and club was going to go, and how we were going to make it grow. 

“Those two kids, Jack Kaloust and Nic Vamis, run the club now, and I can’t thank them enough for all their help and hard work. It was really fun to watch this club grow. It feels awesome to have my dream and something I worked so hard to continue on without me. I mean what more could I want. I don’t think when I started this I ever thought it would become what it is now, but I am so happy it is.”