MIKE BURKE
Allegany Communications Sports
Baseball season is so near you can taste it and, in fact, it has been well underway at the local level. Thus, baseball season is here, thank God, which made it quite appropriate to see Steve Bazarnic honored by the NJCAA once more, because no one I have ever known epitomizes the beauty and the essence of baseball more than Steve Bazarnic does.
The former Allegany College of Maryland baseball coach was announced as one of the recipients of the NJCAA Coaches Legacy Award that honors the winningest coaches across junior college sports. This marks the first time in NJCAA history that coaches have been recognized in this manner, and nearly 200 coaches across 28 sports were nominated by colleges nationwide.
An NJCAA Hall of Famer, Bazarnic helped over 50 players play professional baseball, with John Kruk, Stan Belinda, Steve Kline, Scott Sebol, Joe Beimel and Scott Patterson reaching the major leagues, with J.R. Perdew making it as a pitching coach with the Chicago White Sox.
Most importantly, he sent his players on to the rest of their lives with the foundation of honesty, care and treating others better than you treat yourself – not by lesson planning or lecture, but by example.
He has sent guys to the big leagues and to the television booth; to four-year schools, to careers as law enforcement agents, public servants, United States servicemen, doctors, nurses, lawyers, businessmen, teachers and coaches, because they learned to carry their weight and to own their responsibility.
His honesty and integrity are unmatched.
Bazarnic, who retired in 2019, led the Trojans to nine appearances in the NJCAA World Series and finished his career with a 1,469-617 record across 48 seasons, at one time being the winningest NJCAA baseball coach of all-time, and now standing No. 4 on the all-time list.
Upon arriving here in 1970, the Penn State University graduate, and former third baseman, and his family became an immediate and welcome part of the Cumberland community.
You’ve seen Steve running or riding his bike in just about every neighborhood in town, you saw him tirelessly preparing the ACM field – affectionately known as The Rock until it was officially named Steve Bazarnic Field last April – so his players would have the perfect surface to practice and play on. You saw him throwing batting practice. You see him in the market helping older customers with their groceries, and you see him in the West Side during the winter shoveling his neighbors’ sidewalks.
Steve became an NJCAA Hall of Famer in the prime of his career and has won countless championships, was honored twice by the Dapper Dan Club of Allegany County with its top award for being the person to bring our area the most national recognition through athletics, and was honored by the Allegany County Board of Commissioners when they declared June 10, 2019 to be Steve Bazarnic Day (it was a good day).
Yet through it all, he has never understood what the fuss has been about, which, of course, is what the fuss has always been about, for Steve Bazarnic is the kindest, most considerate, authentic and humble person any of us are likely to meet.
The first time I met Steve was in May of 1984 when I covered the Trojans’ doubleheader sweep of Brookdale, New Jersey in the District Tournament championship, which sent them to the World Series for the first time. The stars of the day were two local pitchers, Robbie Russell and the aforementioned J.R. Perdew, who pitched complete games and silenced the mighty bats of the Jersey Blues and bested their heralded pitcher Jim Hunter.
Russell, who would go on to enjoy a good career pitching in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization, was easy to talk to afterward, but, for the most part, a pretty quiet and reserved guy.
Perdew, on the other hand, made Russell look like a stand-up comedian by comparison. Getting J.R. to speak at all in those days was a task within itself. Yet now, thanks to the influence of Steve Bazarnic, J.R. has become quite the orator in several different languages he has learned along the way as a White Sox pitching instructor.
It was a great day that day on The Rock, one I will always remember; and it still brings a smile to my heart.
I had never been so happy for anybody I had just met as I was for Steve Bazarnic that late afternoon, for I had never met a more gracious person in my life than Steve Bazarnic, other than, perhaps, Brooks Robinson.
Forty-one years later, I still haven’t.
Steve Bazarnic had me at hello, just as he’s had us all since saying hello for the very first time in 1970.
His love and devotion to the game is unquestioned. His friendship is beyond price.
It’s baseball season, baby.
Raise a glass to our friend Steve Bazarnic.
Mike Burke writes about sports and other stuff for Allegany Communications. He began covering sports for the Prince George’s Sentinel in 1981 and joined the Cumberland Times-News sports staff in 1984, serving as sports editor for over 30 years. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on X @MikeBurkeMDT