By Bill Nelson
Guest Contributor
Dan Plein had decided that the 2023 Minnesota State Amateur Baseball Tournament was going to be his last tournament as an official scorer. Then his son Justin and his grandson Jackson started talking about how great it would be if he did it for another year.
“I thought well, it’s not that far — Jordan and Belle Plaine,” he said. “What helps me is I can bring my grandson, Jackson, along and he can kind of slide in and help, because he knows how to run the program better than any of us. Sitting there for three or four games on a Saturday is hard for me and he can do a couple of games while I get something to eat and go to the bathroom. I can sit there with him and answer any questions about the actual scoring and I don’t have to be there for every pitch.”
Plein, who will turn 66 in October, has been active in Red Wing baseball for 35 years. He was the manager of the Aces for 11 years, then helped Corey Tauer for the next nine years. He also managed the Red Wing Scarlets when Red Wing had two teams and coached the Red Wing VFW. He was inducted into the Minnesota Amateur Baseball Hall of Fame in 2009. Since 2000 he has been the official scorer for the state tournament and was joined by his son Justin in 2006. Then his grandson Jackson started tagging along when he was 8 and has helped out ever since.
When asked, “What the heck is an error?” Dan answered that basically it is all judgmental. He did acknowledge that he is tougher than the major league scorers. It’s getting harder and harder to get an error in the bigs.
Dan explained how it all comes together: “We’ve got kind of a family deal where we take off on Friday about 11 a.m. We always stop at Dan’s Bar in New Trier for lunch. Then we go to the site of the tourney and it usually works out pretty well because it’s always out on Highway 212. We get there at least an hour before the first game, get the lineups into the computer and just sit there and watch the game. Then we make any decision on hits or errors. After the game, you export the game to the website. Then we put in the lineups for the next game and do it all over again and get done about 11 p.m. It’s a long day, but if you don’t like baseball, you shouldn’t be doing it.
“We used to play cribbage in the late nights and early mornings, but that doesn’t happen any more. The state board isn’t quite as rambunctious as they used to be. They have made some very good tech changes that had to be done, but I do miss the card and a beer for two days. I’m pretty much a homebody now.”
Son Justin agreed that Dan was the hardest scorer of the three. Justin started scoring in 2006, when Red Wing hosted the tournament. His son Jackson, 16, started tagging along eight years ago.
“As long as Jackson wants to come and score, I know my dad really enjoys having him with,” Justin said. “I enjoy that, too, because then all the candy and food is bought by my dad instead of me.”
Do you play cribbage in the down time?
“We get to hang around the board guys and hear the stories, but I’m not a 4 a.m. kind of guy,” Justin said. “With us, it’s the family. My wife and three kids always come with. With my situation there is usually a pool visit before getting to the field at 10 a.m.”
There is a lot more going on at the state tournament than you see on the field. Take some time to look up in the booth sometime and give those guys a thumbs up. They do a great job and don’t get near the credit they deserve.
