The St. Paul Academy baseball team has endured many changes over the years. Players and equipment would come and go, and even the field was renovated. However, one thing remained the same; the coach. For forty-five years Mike Brown had been the boys baseball coach and was the team’s one constant. Brown retired during the off-season this year ending his long, historic run as the manager of the Spartans.

Now, the reins belong to Rob Thompson. Thompson worked as the junior varsity coach at St. Thomas Academy last year before coming to the Spartans. Thompson has begun his tenure by teaching his players the fundamentals of the sport. The only setback so far has been the snow, as the baseball team has been forced into the gym for the first couple of weeks and have not been able to get outside. Despite being in small confines, the team continues to work to make another deep run in the section tournament. “I want to make it to state. That’s my goal,” Captain Jesper Salverda said. 

“We have a lot more younger guys, this year” Captain Tom Patterson said. Patterson further explained his role on the team here.

With younger guys, it’s reasonable to think the Spartans should have a down year. However Senior Jack Herrmann disagrees saying “The guys are much more focused this year then last year. I think we could replace the fact that we have less seniors with our work ethic.”

Spartan baseballs new look will be very interesting to watch as the season picks up. The boys had their first scheduled game is set for Wednesday, Apr. 25th at 4:30 pm, against the reigning state champion Minnehaha Academy. The rest of the Spartan Baseball schedule can be found here.

“Our goals for this season are to create a good team bond, make a run, and build a foundation for year to come,” Senior Jake Adams said.

Despite having a new coach bringing in a new tradition, having new, young players, and having a longer than expected gym stay, the players continue to feel more confident as they prepare for the season.

The boys next game is May 5 against St. Anthony at 3:00 pm at St. Anthony Village High School.