Former Pittsburgh Pirates’ catcher Mike LaValliere understands baseball fans.
During a recent Pirates’ fantasy camp held in Bradenton, LaValliere proved to be a “man of the people.” Among the 93 campers who enlisted to live out their baseball fantasy by being treated like they were a member of their favorite team was LaValliere and 15 other Pirates’ alumni acting as instructors for them. Hopefully, they delivered the memories that should last a lifetime.
LaValliere, a veteran of nearly 800 MLB games and 15 seasons of professional baseball, appeared to be enjoying himself every bit as the fans in uniforms.
“I’ve been participating in these camps for 20 years now,” says LaValliere, who, after his catching days, remains a longtime resident of Manatee County. “I’ve made so many friends here at the camps on the field, who are people that I go to breakfast with during visits in Pittsburgh.”
Having last played for Pittsburgh thirty-one years ago and retiring after the 1995 season with the Chicago White Sox, LaValliere gets a charge out of coaching the campers, some who haven’t played ball since high school.
“They (campers) appreciate the attention, and I like seeing the results of their play on the field.”
The sea of Pirates’ uniforms converging on the four fields at Pirate City for a week could be daunting to the coaching staff. Could. However, the proper planning by management produced an orderly schedule of eight games daily.
During camp week, LaValliere is paired with R.J. Reynolds. Both former Pirates were teammates decades ago and now are tasked with molding a team that will quickly become friends and create a bond that will last a lifetime.
As he makes his way to the field, LaValliere is stopped on more than one occasion by well-wishers. Hugs, kisses, and “catching up” conversations slow him down to the coaching lines. Family members of campers, and those who have met him earlier are happy to see their friend.
LaValliere is likeable. He’s the kind of person that if the 1970’s Miller Lite’s “Tastes Great. Less Filling” TV commercials made a return, LaValliere could easily slide in with an updated crew of sports personalities; “regular athletes.”
Between talking with old friends and making new friends at the complex where the Pirates hold spring training workouts each February, LaValliere is stopped to sign autographs.
At 10:30 a.m., on a Monday, LaValliere reaches Willie Stargell Field; Field 4. Music is blaring over the public address system. Umpires have arrived. From the coaching box at third base, this is where LaValliere calls out encouragement to his team for the week.
Just like how LaValliere recalls his career as “feeling just like yesterday” that he wore the uniforms of four clubs (Cardinals, Phillies, Pirates, White Sox), for the campers, he is confident that they will all enjoy the experience, and that it will seem to go quickly by.
LaValliere seems flattered by the attention given to him, and his fellow former Pirates. Being retired for several decades, and to still be remembered, fuels him to give his best efforts for those who have paid to be treated like big leaguers.
The campers, age 30 and up, see one of their baseball heroes as someone that they can relate to. LaValliere has a physique that that could have been duplicated by another player from his era - Boog Powell. Sporting a bit of a paunch, at 64, LaValliere comes across as an individual that campers in any stadium could be comfortable having a beer with.
The six seasons spent with the Pirates (1987-1992), of the dozen MLB campaigns earned, LaValliere was sold on making Manatee County his permanent home early on in his career.
When coming over from the Phillies to St. Louis in 1985, LaValliere remembers “falling in love” with the area. With the Cardinals at the time holding spring training in St. Petersburg, then coming over to the Pirates in 1987 and spending his spring training weeks in Bradenton, LaValliere was hooked.
Going from being a “snowbird” to Southwest Florida, LaValliere left his northeast roots in New Hampshire permanently. The 1987 trade that brought Lavalliere and Andy Van Slyke, both members of the 1985 National League pennant-winning Cardinals’ club, to Pittsburgh for catcher Tony Pena appears to have one of the best things to have happened for the New Englander.
Going from being undrafted after playing college ball at University of Massachusetts-Lowell, to playing summer league ball for Yarmouth-Dennis of the Cape Code League, to being part of three consecutive National League Eastern Division championship teams with the Pirates, LaValliere remarkably overcame some major hurdles to have a lengthy MLB career.
Starting out as a third baseman, then being switched to catching, all LaValliere did was work hard enough to a level that in 1987 brought him a Rawlings Gold Glove Award.
His reputation as a hardworking, “lunch pail” player remains attached to LaValliere with baseball fans. Observing him treating his camper players apparently the same as he did back in the day at Three Rivers Stadium with his Pirates’ teammates, it still is a difficult call as to who had the most enjoyment out of wearing a Pittsburgh uniform again.
Comments
No comments on this item
Only paid subscribers can comment
Please log in to comment by clicking here.