It was opening day of the 2001 Major League Baseball season and Kansas City Royals pitcher Blake Stein was at the original Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, famously known as “The House that Ruth Built” and “the Cathedral of Baseball.”
That illustrious ballpark is a long way from Stein’s hometown of Folsom, Louisiana, in more ways than one. But the visit there on that April day is remembered by the St. Tammany Parish hometown hero as somewhat of an inflection point in his life’s journey.
While doing his pregame stretching exercises on the legendary field, Stein’s pager went off. Life was about to throw the big right-hander a curveball.
The pager alerted him that his wife, Ellen, had gone into labor with their first child back in Kansas City — about 1,100 miles away.
Stein was second in the Royals’ rotation and slated to be the starting pitcher against the Yankees two days later. Nevertheless, he got on a plane and flew to Kansas City in time to see the birth of the couple’s daughter, Corinne.
A quick turnaround got Stein back to New York in time to make his scheduled start against the Yankees, a team that went on to win the pennant that year. He was opposed on the mound by three-time MLB All-Star Andy Pettitte.
The game didn’t go well for Stein, who was pulled in the second inning in what was eventually an 8-3 loss for the Royals. It was a tough day at the ballpark, but one that would eventually provide priceless perspective to one of St. Tammany Parish’s best athletes.
“It was a crazy few days,” Stein recalled in an interview July 1. “I come home after not pitching well and I walk into the apartment and there’s Ellen with our new baby, Corrine. All of the worries went away.
“As hard as we push ourselves to meet the standards we set for ourselves, this was a reality check of what’s really important — family.”
These days
Now 50, Stein is an assistant principal for discipline and attendance at McGill-Toolen Catholic High School in Mobile, Alabama. He and Ellen have five children.
Corrine is now 23 and is an emergency room nurse. The youngest, Bennett, is in fifth grade. In between are Meghan, a senior at Troy University; Kendall, a 17-year-old college freshman; and Evan, a junior at McGill-Toolen.
Ask what takes up his free time these days and the former major leaguer returns to a theme emanating from the moment 23 years ago after that rough outing against the Yankees.
“I’ve been involved in whatever my kids have been involved in,” Stein said. “I really enjoy it.”
When Corrine was on the softball team at McGill-Toolen, her dad helped coach for three years. When the girl’s golf coach retired, Stein coached that team, which included his daughter Meghan.
“I coached golf for about three years, which was kind of cool because I got to coach Meghan in golf and they won the state championship her senior year,” he said. “That was fun.”
Kendall was involved in color guard, though Stein said he could be of little help there. But when Evan made the McGill-Toolen baseball team, the former big leaguer could lend some of his expertise there and he has for the past three years. His youngest son, Bennett, loves multiple sports.
“Between coaching park ball and at the high school, that’s what occupies my time,” he said.
Glory days
Johnny Dragg, head baseball coach at Covington High School from 1984 to 2006, remembers coaching Stein when the kid from Folsom was a gangly, 6-foot-5 teenager who played both basketball and baseball while excelling in the classroom. On the mound, he flashed a fastball in the mid-80s and played third base and first base when he wasn't pitching.
“He never got out to the (baseball) field until basketball season was over and that put him behind,” Dragg said. “He was a long, lanky kid who didn’t reach his full potential in high school.”
Dragg says Stein was part of a stellar pitching staff that led his team to 20-win seasons, despite a team batting average below .200.
“We’d score two runs, and we’d win,” he said.
Stein went to Spring Hill College on a basketball and baseball scholarship, but his major success was on the diamond. In 1993, he won 12 games for Spring Hill, posting a 1.81 earned run average and striking out 128 batters in 119 innings.
In June of 1994, he was drafted in the sixth round by the St. Louis Cardinals. Three years later, he was traded to the Oakland Athletics along with two other players for Mark McGwire, one of the most prolific home run hitters in baseball history.
He was traded to the Royals in 1999. That 2001 season was the most productive of his career. He made 15 starts, finishing the season with a record of 7-8 and an earned run average of 4.74.
On June 17, 2001, he struck out eight consecutive Milwaukee Brewers and 11 in five and two-thirds innings. The eight consecutive strikeouts tied an American League record at the time.
His last major league appearance came in 2002.
Stein pitched in the minor leagues for the Pittsburgh Pirates organization before hanging up his cleats in 2004. He was offered a job as a player/coach in the Pittsburgh organization but opted instead to return to Spring Hill to complete his degree, graduating in 2005.
He professes to have no regrets about his baseball career, which to him is a blur.
“It was a blink of an eye,” he said. “It’s a shame that it feels that way.”
Veteran educator
Stein is now entering his 20th year at McGill-Toolen, joining the faculty there shortly after graduating from Spring Hill. He eventually made his way into administration, overseeing discipline at the coed high school. The now-6-foot-7 former pro pitcher said he feels well-suited to help students stay the course.
He tries to provide direction to students by instilling in them a positive attitude, although he admits his 6-foot-7 frame was a bit intimidating to some when he first took the job.
“Working with the kids and parents and helping them handle various situation … it’s been very fulfilling,” he said. “Instead of looking at discipline as a negative thing, I always look at it as an opportunity to change behavior for the better. I really enjoy seeing these kids flourish.”