Shout out to Ken Shuey

Back around 1985, Ken established a league known at the Greater Raleigh Fall Baseball League and also established a fall showcase program. The GRFBL had different levels A (12- 13), AA (14-16), AAA (15-17) and had teams from Durham east. You basically would make one team from your region and it made for good baseball.

For the showcase team, Ken would start up practice in August (after Legion) using several good baseball guys to help run very good practices and worked on teaching the game. His tryouts for the GRFBL and his showcase teams would be based on numbers only and you could not politic nor buy your way onto his team. I have known players (and their parents) who would be upset because they did not do well at tryout and thus not make a team.

He also established playing local JUCOs and hosting tournaments inviting teams from other areas (very few showcase teams in NC when Ken started this). He did all the work with practices, coaching the team and administrative time coordinating games and tournaments without ever being paid a penny.

The highest fee anyone ever had to pay was $175 for the entire season (& those who could not pay this amount were given a scholarship) with no addtional costs necessary for uniforms, tournaments, etc. and he did not believe in charging a gate fee at games. The baseball community in Raleigh supported him by making donations that allowed him to run his showcase covering costs.

He also provided pitching lessons year round to those inolved with the program with many people in the Raleigh area going to him over the years. His cost - $0 as long as your efforts indicated a willingness to work and improve. He spent his own money to modify a building on a new farm he bought after moving from a previous location with a barn that was bought to become a park. He made the modifications to increase the ceiling height to allow him to work with pitchers year round.

Ken never did recruit players and over the years as showcase expanded to become a summer through fall program, Ken started losing quality players to other programs who in other people's opinion offered a better chance to be seen. Unfortunately this year after tryouts, Ken elected not to field a showcase team.

A shout out to Ken Shuey who for 25 years volunteered his time and money with the only goals to improve a kids baseball ability and to offer them a chance to be seen. Sometimes change does not necessarily improve the quality of baseball, it just markets itself better to a limited audience.

 

A good friend

In my dictionary when I look up the word GENTLEMAN: it reads Ken Shuey

 

I have never had the pleasure of meeting Ken Shuey, but I've learned a great deal about him through Bill Capp's--two founders of the original showcase concept.

People like Ken and Bill and Freddy Suggs have always given back to the players and their families. At one time showcase baseball was about donations and fundraisers so the players could play for free.

 

A great*exchange of information.

 

Coach Shuey

I played for Ken Shuey. He did a great job of teaching the game the right way. Coach Shuey was able to reach me and help me become a better player. My goal was to become a college baseball player. Coach Shuey helped me reach that goal. I played ASU. My dad was my coach until I got to high school. Playing for Coach Shuey helped me by hearing a different voice. The fall showcase series that we would play would show me what I needs to do to become better. I played for him from 87-91. I tell people that this was the start of the showcase era in North Carolina. Look where it is now. He has done unbelievable things for so many players. As a high school baseball coach myself, I can only hope that I can reach one player the way he reached me. It is great to see him being recognized on this site. A great man.

 

Ken Shuey is still doing great things as President of North Wake County Baseball Association which is home to 800 kids playing this great game of baseball. The GRFL is still going strong as well. Unfortunately, as the original post says, Ken no longer has a showcase team because of the changing landscape of showcase ball. It's a shame that the man who was responsible for starting it all in this area is no longer involved because players and their parents feel it is better to pay big money and show up on weekends to play as opposed to working out during the week and play an occasional weekend for $175.