George Laase found a small silver lining in a summer otherwise filled with disappointment and seized it.
In doing so, he got to live the dream that so many athletes yearn for as they grow older—another chance to suit up at the ballpark.
An Ohio Valley native and Buckeye Local graduate, Laase is currently the head baseball coach for Staunton High School in Virginia.
A longtime coach and manager in the Valley Baseball League for the Staunton Braves, Laase was set to begin his first season managing Strasburg in the VBL.
Both seasons were nixed thanks to everyone’s favorite party crasher—COVID.
But Laase caught wind that the Rockingham County Baseball League was still holding its season, however shortened it would be.
The league, which first played in 1924, currently consists of eight teams, and primarily features young Division II and III talent. But with other summer leagues getting canceled, Division I and even minor league talent crept its way into the RCBL this summer.
Laase knows the quality of the league, comparing it to the OVBL on steroids with an incredible following. So, he sought out places for his current and former players to find a home for the summer.
But then he and his wife thought, why not the coach too? But not on the bench, but rather, on the field. Laase was a conference player of the year at Fairmont State and did a lot of damage in the OVBL before moving south.
Last Go-Round
So, at age 38, Laase worked his way onto the roster for the Bridgewater Reds. One final chance, one that many dream of and few ever realize, to suit up and play.
Laase took a realistic approach. There were a lot of talented players—and far younger—on the roster. He was happy to be a part of the club.
But if and when his number was called, he planned to make the most of it.
His first game, he got his first hit.
A few games after, some young pitcher mistakenly offered up a fastball to the elder Laase. He smiled, then crushed it with a still sweet swing over the fence.
Fortunately for Laase and that unsuspecting pitcher, it wasn’t his only dinger of the season.
In 13 games, Laase hit .422 in 45 at bats with 19 hits. Included in that total are three doubles and five home runs to go with 22 RBI.
Not bad for the “old man” in the clubhouse. Not bad indeed.
When Laase went yard, fans on both teams cheered. Maybe they saw something in themselves in the Reds’ part-time designated hitter and third baseman.
Maybe it’s because of Laase’s old-school love and approach to the game—show up early, leave late, work hard, earn everything you get, and hold nothing back.
The RCBL later honored Laase by naming him the league’s Chris Cofer Person of the Year, an honor Laase felt truly humbled in receiving.
Yes, for one summer—one that many would soon forget—George Laase created some memories that will last a lifetime.
When not only the high school season was canceled, but also the VBL, how low were you? Did you approach the RCBL about possibly playing, or was it one of your former players? How did that come about?
I can’t even describe to you how strange this has all been. I feel terrible for the seniors, not just the athletes, but all of the seniors who had the year or season stolen from them. Personally, as anyone who knows my family, it was a huge hit for my mental health. Baseball has been my life since I first picked a ball up. It was rock bottom worrying about my players, my coaches, and our communities. I worried about our country because depression was taking away a lot of hope for that sense of normalcy. Once the Valley League got canceled, I had no clue what we were going to do. Once I heard the RCBL was going to keep playing, I did my best to try and hook up our summer guys to get their spots. One night my wife and I were talking, and it started out with maybe I should try to help coach too. Why not try out and play one last season? It had been nine years since my last regular season, and I never got to say goodbye to the game I loved. I took a coaching job in Staunton because it was too good of an opportunity to pass up. The closure never came from being a player. So, I reached out to some of my former players, and one of them got me a workout, and I was a kid in the candy store.
Obviously, any questions of whether you could still play or not were answered pretty quickly. But did you have any doubts heading into that first game? That first at-bat?
I knew going in that once I signed the contract to play, that playing time was not a guarantee. We really had a ton of young talent, and just getting to put the cleats on again was worth it. I was the 30th man on the 30-man roster. I didn’t miss a single practice. First to arrive, last to leave. It was like going to Disneyland. Once we started preseason inter-squad games, everything fell into place. I put in a ton of work every morning. Tee work. Live at-bats. It was just a matter of time until I hit my way into the lineup. The honest truth though, if I got one at-bat or 50, nobody will ever know the joy I got from playing one more time.
How many at-bats did it take until you felt comfortable again at the plate against live pitching? What did that first home run of the season feel like, and how did your teammates react? The opposing pitcher?
I’ve always been able to hit the fastball, so it didn’t take too long, but some of the off-speed that these Division-I guys have now is absolutely filthy. My dad always stressed don’t let it get to two strikes, and I’ve always hunted those fastballs. The first game, I had the first hit, a live drive double to left, and after I slid into second, I wanted to cry. You never know how much something matters until you can’t do it anymore. A couple of games later, I got a hold of a high fastball and hit the first HR. There’s nothing like it, man. No drug could ever take you that high. It was so pure, and to be able to do it in front of my family, my wife, and even my high school players, validated everything they always heard and talked about, but never saw.
You got to play in the majority of the games and suited up for the ones you didn’t. Given how well you did statistically at the plate, is this still going to be your swan song playing-wise? Or are you considering channeling your inner Tom Brady and continuing next season?
So many things had to line up for this to happen, and it truly has been a blessing from God. You don’t always get a second chance in life with things you love. You never realize how much you miss it. So many little things about baseball that I love. So much you can get lost into within the game. Baseball runs in my family’s blood. It’s given me so many great opportunities and taken me to amazing places. My parents came down last weekend and got to see one of the longest HRs that I have ever hit, and to share that moment with them will be priceless. I never had the chance to say goodbye to the game, and this is it. We never want to hang on too long, so I’m perfectly content with the closure knowing that I did it my way.
How did you feel receiving the Cofer Player of the Year Award? Obviously getting to play and having success is its own reward, but to be recognized for your efforts from the league must add a little on top?
Chris Cofer was an incredible baseball guy that we lost before the season. He meant a lot to the Clover Hill community and had earned so much respect for how he played and coached. While this is my first year in the RCBL, I am no stranger to what these coaches, players, and fans mean for the experience. There are so many people that this award could have gone to, many men and women who live, sleep, eat, and breathe the RCBL. It truly is an honor, and I am extremely humbled to be recognized by the league for this award. It’s something that I will cherish forever.
