By Nick Gerhardt
nickgerhardt@mnbaseball.org
The Schoenbergs are synonymous with Spring Hill but their footprint extends beyond.
Since Spring Hill revitalized amateur baseball back in 1983, Randy Schoenberg’s been part of it. His four decades of involvement has seen him wear many hats and he’s become a well-respected member of the townball community in the state. As such he received the Mike Downes Award for outstanding service to amateur baseball.
The Mike Downes Award is given out annually to a person for their outstanding service to amateur baseball in Minnesota. Schoenberg certainly fits the bill and embodies the spirit of townball.
Schoenberg started playing for Spring Hill with a group dedicated to reviving baseball in the community of 85 people in Stearns County. The effort involved purchasing land and building a ballpark. In that time, the Chargers have advanced to seven state tournaments and melded into the Stearns County League.
Schoenberg played for the club for 21 years and managed the team for 13 years. In 33 years of playing or managing he never missed a game. Schoenberg entered the Minnesota Amateur Baseball Hall of Fame in 2023 after Don Andersen and Al Leutmer led an effort to nominate him.
In his time with Spring Hill, he’s taken on leadership roles for Region 15 as the region’s commissioner for the past 25 years. The region has become known as one of the best attended and competitive in the state. Region 15 either leads the state in region tournament attendance or ranks second.
“Randy has had a big part of keeping the region going,” said MBA Director Ken Vogt, a former Elrosa manager. “I have to give him a lot of credit. He works hard, getting the umpires, scheduling the games. I think that’s a major reason why our region has been at the top or near the top in attendance because he’s run it.”
Schoenberg points to the familiarity among the teams, especially the Stearns County League, which employs a 6-mile radius, a far cry from the MBA’s 30-mile radius limit.
“I just think it’s the radius,” Schoenberg said. “Everyone on the team is fairly local. Everyone wants to watch local. They’re going to know everyone on the team probably. It’s like a big family reunion kind of. You know every fan from every team. You can BS around from one side of park to another. We start at 11 o’clock with games and people stay around until it’s after dark talking.”
The commissioner duties kind of fell to Schoenberg, but he took the reins with aplomb. Through the years he’s advocated for his region and league. When Region 15 lost a state slot, the Stearns County League partnered with the Central Valley League to restore the region to four state tournament bids.
“Now I just enjoy it,” he said. “Going to everyone else’s park and working with them has always been a lot of fun.”
This summer, Spring Hill will host the region tournament and showcase an impressive renovation of the ballpark. The club raised $150,000 through grants and donations to revamp the grandstand and backstop. Spring Hill also added more bleachers and netting for the upcoming year.
Schoenberg has helped keep the roster full of players through the years, including his four sons: Shawn, Eric, Corey and Austin. His most cherished baseball memories include hitting back-to-back home runs with Shawn in his final playing season in 2003. His other big baseball moment came in 2015 when the Chargers upset defending Class C state champion Sobieski 1-0 with Austin throwing six shutout innings in his start.
Randy played shortstop and center field for Spring Hill, where he compiled a .301 lifetime batting average in league play, hit 55 home runs and drove in 220 runs. While a player at Melrose in high school, it’s rumored center field grew larger anytime the fence needed mending to give Randy more room to track down flyballs.
After he stepped down from managing, he stepped into the announcing booth at the park. He continues to announce at Spring Hill games among his many baseball tasks. Outside of baseball, he serves as the Spring Hill Recreation Club president and helps run the clock and scoreboard at Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa wrestling meets. He’s also active at St. Michael’s Lutheran Church.
Schoenberg’s even-keeled approach and humble determination toward projects and tasks has served him well through the years. He also doesn’t shy away from sharing his opinion when necessary, which has suited him in the leadership roles he’s held.
“He wouldn’t be a commissioner if other communities didn’t have respect and confidence in him,” Andersen said.
