BRADENTON, Fla. — Michael Roteman absolutely loves the game of baseball.
“There’s a lot of things in the Bible about baseball,” he said. “The first four words in the Bible. What did he say, ‘In the big inning.’”
To do what he does daily, he has to love the game.
“We are the only team in Major League Baseball that is all volunteers and provides all the ushers, all the greeters, the program salesmen, even parking lots attendants, and people out at Pirate City,” Roteman said. “Our relationship with the Pirates is unique in all of Major League Baseball.”
Roteman is in his eighth season as president of the Pirates Bradenton Booster Club — a club that’s been a Pittsburgh Pirates spring training staple since the team moved to Bradenton in 1969.
“It’s an awesome group. They are very passionate,” Bradenton Mauraders general manager Craig Warzecha said. “They do a great job of interacting with our guests and making sure the fan experience is at a high level of excellence.”
There are 125 volunteers with 75 working during any given spring training game. Roteman overseas all of them. During the games, he watches from his “perch” on the staircase beneath the press box.
“I stand here through much of the game. I can see the entire ballpark. I can see what all of my ushers are doing, I can look down there and see what my greeters are doing,” he said.
Roteman continued, “In a nine-inning game I am lucky if I see two innings because most of the time I am paying attention of what’s going on in the ballpark.”
He said that the majority of his ushers are not originally from Bradenton.
“All of us, we love baseball,” he said. “Some of us are from Pittsburgh, we’ve got people from Canada to be boosters, we’ve got people from Ohio. They come from all around.”
Roteman is a Pittsburgh native and a season ticket holder for Pirates game at PNC Park. He’ll leave Florida before the Pirates home opener and return to Bradenton the day after the season ends.
Taking part in spring training gives him a chance to share the love of the game.
“We want somebody to come to this ballpark, bring their kid, it’s their first game and make it so special for them that they will fall in love with baseball and baseball will be their favorite game,” he said.
And, of course, Roteman reminds us…
“God worked for six innings. Then in the seventh inning he stretched. That’s why we have the seventh inning stretch.”
Marine veteran helping others after overcoming alcoholism and homelessness
“If I can do anything to help them get out of that pain and misery and suffering that they are going through, and if I can help them progress and move forward, that’s really all I want to do,” said Cameron Wright.
