This story originally appeared in the Sun Sailor and is reprinted with permission
By John Sherman
john.sherman@apgecm.com
There wasn’t a lot of fanfare this season when Minnetonka Monarchs town team baseball veteran Steve
Schmitz embarked on his 34th season in the Minnesota Class A ranks.
For Schmitz, it wasn’t a big deal to still be playing at the top level of amateur baseball in the state at the
age of 52. He didn’t expect a gold watch or recognition by PA announcers at various parks. He was
content to enjoy the ride and maybe help a few of the Monarchs’ younger players along the way.
When the Monarchs qualified for the State Class A Tournament this summer, Schmitz had not played in
enough Riverview League games to suit up for postseason action. That broke a string of playing in 24
state tournaments – One with the Hopkins Berries, 21 with the Minnetonka Millers and two with the
Monarchs.
LONGEVITY RECORD
Schmitz turned 53 early in August and said he has no plans to retire from Class A town ball. With his first
at-bat in 2027, he will set an all-time Class A record for seasons played with 35. Jim Botten from
Minneapolis is the other player with 34 years of Class A town ball on his resume.
Remember how Topps Baseball Cards used to detail season records for players on the back? It would take
two full cards to list all of Schmitz’s seasons.
“When I was in my 30s my dad told me that my body would eventually fail,” Schmitz said last week. “I
never felt that my body was failing in my 40s. When I reached 50 I began taking an extra Advil once in a
while.”
Blessed with the eye of a hawk and physical talents that he honed as a three-sport letterman at Hopkins
High in the early 1990s, Schmitz never intended to be playing town ball 34 years after his debut season
with his hometown Hopkins Berries in 1993.
HARD TO WALK AWAY
“I’ve thought about retiring for 14 years or so, but it’s hard to walk away,” Schmitz said. “I find
enjoyment in helping the young guys and showing them that they can play this game for a long time.”
Is there anything else that keeps Schmitz coming back year after year?
“I can still hit,” he said. “I played in five games this year and had a hit in every game.”
The highlight of his season was a 10-8 comeback win over the Chaska Cubs in early June. He played all
nine innings and even turned a double play as the middle man at second base. Also playing that night was
his 43-year-old friend and teammate, Brandon Broxey, who went three-for-four at the plate.
“We had huge smiles on our faces after that game,” Schmitz said.
In another game this year, the Monarchs traveled to St. Bonifacius and won with Schmitz going three-for-
four.
“Granted, St. Boni has a short fence in right, but I felt pretty good about hitting a ball off the top of the wall,” Schmitz said.
In getting to know some of the Monarchs’ new players this season, Schmitz has noticed the commitment
and talent of the entire group that includes catcher Reid LaFrenz, first baseman Gus Berger, infielders Eli
Charney and Jacob Musgjerd, outfielders Drew Dillon and Kyle Boutwell, right-handed pitcher Max
Nelson and left-handed pitcher Collin Mitchell.
“[Player-manager] Mike Davis brought in a great group,” Schmitz said. “Mike, himself, is playing great.”
HOY’S INFLUENCE
During his years with the Minnetonka Millers, Schmitz helped the team win 11 state Class A amateur
championships. In all, the Millers won a state-record 15 state crowns under hall-of-fame manager Kevin
Hoy.
“I played 13 seasons with the Millers and that seemed like a lifetime,” Hoy said. “Schmitty has played
almost three times as long as I did. It’s unbelievable. The fact he’s still playing is a testament to how he
stays in shape. To this day, he is an aggressive hitter in every sense. Schmitty sees the ball, he hits the ball.
He hardly every strikes out.”
When Schmitz was still with the Hopkins town team in 2002, a conversation after the last game changed
the course of his career.
“Kevin [Hoy] told me that I could play shortstop and bat third for the Millers,” Schmitz recalled. “Some
of my Hopkins teammates were talking about retiring, and I couldn’t wait to make the switch to
Minnetonka. Playing for the Millers was one of the neatest experiences I could have had. We had our best
team in 2004 with a 54-3 season record. The franchise had already won four state titles before I joined.
Then we won 11 more. I had so many great teammates and we were like a family.”
Hoy said that Schmitz was one of the leaders of the “family” on and off the field.
MR. PERSONALITY
“Steve is a fun guy to be around,” Hoy said. “He has a bubbly personality and a great sense of humor.
After Dave Bigham passed away, Steve took on the role of leading the fun and camaraderie.”
Through the years, Schmitz’s roles on the field varied.
“For his first five or six seasons with us, he was the shortstop and batted third,” Hoy said. “Then he played some third base and some first base.”
The constant was Schmitz’s left-handed bat. He loved to hit with runners in scoring position.
“We moved him around to make sure we kept his bat in the lineup,” Hoy said.
“I loved playing for Kevin,” Schmitz said. “He put so much into the Millers with events in season and out
of season. Every year was focused on the late summer with league playoffs and the state Class A
tournament.
“We had a team rule that no one could get married in August,” Schmitz continued. “Personally, I would
have missed anything else on the planet to play in a state tournament game. Everyone on the team was
super into it. There were years when we won state titles by dominating, other years when we won by
piecing it together. It seemed like we always found a way to be there at the end.”
CAREER STATISTICS
Hoy provided statistics from Schmitz’s 21 seasons as a Minnetonka Miller.
Schmitz wore No. 33 throughout his time with the Millers. He had 2,630 at bats, 797 hits and a batting
average of .303.
“Schmitty hit 29 homers, all with wood bats, and had an even 500 RBIs,” Hoy noted.
With the Hopkins A’s, Berries and Hurricanes, Schmitz had close to an additional 300 hits. And with the
Monarchs he has added to his hit total.
Estimates place his overall numbers at 1,120 hits, 45 home runs and 700 RBIs with a composite batting
average of .315.
Schmitz’s early years with Hopkins enhanced his career stolen base total and accounted for the lion’s
share of his infield hits.
HIGH SCHOOL DAYS
The roots for Schmitz’s success in amateur baseball took hold when he was an athlete at Hopkins High.
Hopkins won a football championship in Class 6A’s Maroon Division last fall and Schmitz could not have
been happier. It was the first football title for Hopkins since Schmitz’s senior year [the fall of 1991] when
the Royals won the Lake Conference Red Division title. Schmitz was the starting quarterback.
“We went 7-1 in the regular season,” Schmitz recalled. “Our best win was 33-31 over Richfield.”
On the hockey rink that same year, Schmitz tore it up – both statistically and physically – making the All-
Lake team. Baseball was a continuation of his success in the other two sports.
“We had a killer year in sports,” he said. “In those years, you played each sport in-season. For example, I
wasn’t on skates for eight months of the year.”
Hopkins High was the place where Schmitz learned that the team is more important than the individual.
“Our football team’s success was a team effort,” he said. “Kevin Grussing was our alll-state halfback. The
success that he had and the success that I had was the result of what the other guys did.”
MILLER PRIDE
The same pride Schmitz had for Hopkins High sports showed up in later life when he played town ball for
the Millers, and later, the Monarchs. Any team with Minnetonka on the front of the jersey was his team.
“Whether you were a two-, a four- or a 20-year player for Minnetonka, everybody who ever put on the
jersey was proud of it,” Schmitz said. “The Millers were the most successful team ever and I was so lucky
to be a part of something like that. It was truly a blessing for me to play alongside so many like-minded
guys.”
