If you have a young son playing organized baseball in the Chippewa Valley, he may be receiving instruction from a coach who has been around the game. And by “been around,” I mean beyond the local circuit: Rather, around North American professional baseball. He was drafted by two major league teams, played AAA minor league ball, and earlier this year won a championship south of the border. It is this background that what Steven Hensley is paying forward to the kids of western Wisconsin.

Hensley, a North Carolina native, told me in a recent Q&A that he always wanted to play the game and dreamed of a spot in the big leagues. After he was initially drafted by the Washington Nationals in 2005, Hensley played his college career at Elon University in North Carolina before being selected by the Seattle Mariners in the fourth round of the 2008 draft. After that, he rose as far as the highest level of the minors.

“In Mexico, the fans are intense. I loved playing down there and was blessed to have experienced it. We had great team chemistry.”– Steven Hensley, who retired from baseball after winning the Caribbean Series with Mazatlan Venados, a Mexican team

For players like Hensley, the dream has to be strong because daily minor league reality is rough. “The long bus rides, bad motels, being away from your family, and the countless hours that are put into the process of playing baseball for a living are the parts that no one ever sees,” Hensley says. “It was definitely a hard lifestyle, especially when you have a family at home.” Yet Hensley did develop solid relationships through those years in the minors.

Alas, injuries were a factor in not getting called-up to what is known as The Show, but before the end of the line, he found himself pitching last February in the Caribbean Series for Mexico’s Mazatlan Venados, taking the mound in the ninth and getting credit for the win as the team won the title in the bottom half of the inning. The overall experience, in his words, was “phenomenal. In Mexico, the fans are intense. I loved playing down there and was blessed to have experienced it. We had great team chemistry.”

How does a player like Hensley end up here? Simple: He has a wife from the Eau Claire area and a desire to experience more family life. How does it feel to spend nearly a decade chasing that childhood dream and coming up short? “Accepting that the call never came is a tough thing, but I’m excited to start the next chapter of my life,” he says. “Being a great husband and father is very important to me, so when the time came to retire from playing baseball I was comfortable with my decision.”

The next decision was what to do with lessons learned in the sport. He started Steven Hensley Baseball and its youth team, the Kards, providing opportunities to children unable to play local American Legion ball. The objective? “(To) work as a team and to become leaders through the game of baseball, with character and integrity at the forefront of everything we do,” he says.

Character – the essence of what Hensley is aiming to espouse to our area youth, both in terms of their athletic future and life in general. Hensley’s organization focuses the participants on developing a sense of respect and in fostering their growth into solid young adults. As far as playing the sport itself? “Our hope is to give kids the tools to get the most out of their abilities and to achieve great things.”

In addition to working with the Miracle League of The Chippewa Valley – having been involved with it while living in Georgia, Hensley and his wife “have seen the joy it brings to kids who typically would not get an opportunity to be involved with sports” – he is assisting at one of the area elementary schools. Essentially, there are a multitude of paths Hensley is paving across the Chippewa Valley for children in baseball and beyond.

These paths were forged by his journey, which took Hensley from Asheville to Everett, Jackson to Peoria, Tacoma to Tulsa, and Mazatlan to Altoona – and he plans to make more locally with future lessons and clinics. “There’s a rich baseball history in the area and there are some amazingly talented ball players around,” he says. “We have a strong desire to want to contribute to the growth and potential of those kids.”

Steven Hensley dreamed big in baseball, and now he is helping the diamond dreams of our area youth come alive.

Extra: Q&A with Steven Hensley

Volume One columnist Luc Anthony recently interviewed former minor league baseball player (and Caribbean League champ) Steven Hensley. Here’s a transcript.

Volume One: Where are you from, where do you reside now, what’s your current job(s)?

Steven Hensley: I’m originally from Asheville, N.C. I now live with my wife and son in Altoona.
Since retiring from baseball I work at a local elementary school here in the area and coach baseball. I’ve worked with the Brewers on their baseball camps. Also, locally I’ve started my company (Steven Hensley Baseball) and through that we have a team called the Kards.

How did you get interested in baseball, and what was your baseball dream for your career?

From as far back as I can remember, I always played baseball. The dream was always to be a big leaguer. Ever since tee ball, I wanted to be the very best player I could be and take my game as far as my God-given ability would allow.

You were close to being called-up to the majors – what is the emotional feeling of being near that opportunity with it never arriving over a long professional career?

As I look back at my career, having been so close to playing at the highest level and accepting that the call never came is a tough thing, but I’m excited to start the next chapter of my life. Being a great husband and father is very important to me, so when the time came to retire from playing baseball I was comfortable with my decision.

What was the most enjoyable aspect of your career?
The most enjoyable aspects of my career were traveling and meeting great people. The relationships that I formed through the game of baseball are incredible. I met my best friends through baseball. I’m very thankful for the opportunity to have been around some of the best baseball minds in the world and those people helped shape me into the player and person I am today.

What would a casual baseball fan not know about the minor league circuit that might be enlightening?

The daily grind that goes into Minor League Baseball is grueling. The long bus rides, bad motels, being away from your family, and the countless hours that are put into the process of playing baseball for a living are the parts that no one ever sees. It was definitely a hard lifestyle, especially when you have a family at home.

Is there a way to compare the atmosphere of winning the Caribbean World Series with other baseball championships in America, and if so, how?

The atmosphere at the Caribbean World series and the LMP (Liga Mexicano Del Pacifico) playoffs is phenomenal. In Mexico, the fans are intense. I loved playing down there and was blessed to have experienced it. We had great team chemistry. We won the whole thing and it was a great feeling, especially because it was such a special group of guys.

Family led you back to Eau Claire and retirement from baseball. How did you make the final call to end your career, and how did you discover the projects that you are currently working on?

My final decision was made based on being ready to spend more time with my family. I had some opportunities to continue to play baseball, but I have a wife and young son at home and they are the most important part of my life as I start the next chapter of my career.

As far as the projects I am currently working on, I’ve always felt that when I was done playing that I wanted to coach and pass on the things that I learned on to the next generation. I started Steven Hensley Baseball with my son as the inspiration. It’s an organization built to help give kids the tools to help them realize their potential in baseball and life.

My wife and I are also involved in the Miracle League of the Chippewa Valley. We were part of it when we lived in Georgia and have seen the joy it brings to kids who typically would not get an opportunity to be involved with sports. I really do believe that every kid deserves the chance to play baseball, and that is the Miracle League’s mission.    

What led to the creation of the Kards, and what is your goal in a coaching sense for the kids?

We formed the The Kards baseball team to bring together some super-talented kids that love the game of baseball. We wanted to give the kids that wouldn’t be able to play Legion (baseball) a chance to play summer ball.
The goal for the young men on the Kards is to work as a team and to become leaders through the game of baseball, with character and integrity at the forefront of everything we do. The kids have been eager to learn and their desire for success and hard work has made them a joy to coach.

Playing off that last question: What are the core philosophies you want to impart on the kids you work with in the area? What values would you like them to internalize and exhibit in sports and life?

The core values with SHB (Steven Hensley Baseball) are character, respect, dedication, and growth. We want to make sure that the players know that college coaches and future employers are looking for high-character young men that go about things the right way. We teach the kids to respect everyone. We want to see all of the players that come through SHB to grow as athletes, but more importantly to become responsible young adults in life.

From a pure baseball standpoint, our hope is to give kids the tools to get the most out of their abilities and to achieve great things.

Where do you see your career path in the next decade or so?

I see my career path going towards the development of young players. We’re looking to teach private lessons, group lessons, and have baseball clinics in the Chippewa Valley where we can coach and teach kids to have fun and work hard through the game. There’s a rich baseball history in the area and there are some amazingly talented ballplayers around. We have a strong desire to want to contribute to the growth and potential of those kids.

To learn more about Steven Hensley Baseball or to say hello to Steven, email him at stevenhensleybaseball@gmail.com