As the ball snuggled securely into the catcher’ glove, a broad smile crossed the face of his battery mate. As he walked towards the dugout, the cheers of the crowd cascaded down upon him from the stands and grassy slopes surrounding Lamade Stadium. No, this wasn’t the final out of the championship game, or even one of the many shutouts tossed during the recently completed Little League Baseball World Series, but for George Schreppel it was even more meaningful.

During the World Series luncheon in June, Little League revealed that of the many awards to be made at the World Series, Mike and Gretchen Piscotty were to be honored as the 2019 recipients of the George and Barbara Bush Parents of the Year award. The Piscottys are the parents of Oakland Athletics outfielder Stephen Piscotty, but the announcement had a much deeper meaning.

After learning that his mother had been diagnosed with ALS, Piscotty asked the St. Louis Cardinals for a trade to a west coast team so that he could be closer to his family. The Cardinals obliged, trading him to Oakland in 2017. Gretchen Piscotty passed soon after on May 6, 2018. Upon returning to the A’s lineup after his mom’s funeral, Stephen hit a home run in his first at-bat. His father, Mike, has since dedicated his life to raising funds and awareness to combat ALS.

In support, Little League pledged to contribute portions of the 2019 Series game collections to the ALS cause. Schreppel, a South Williamsport resident with ALS and living just a long home run from the World Series complex, was invited to throw out the first pitch prior to the first United States bracket game at Lamade Stadium on August 15.

“I was absolutely thrilled beyond belief that Little League Baseball had the desire to have somebody local that has ALS, participate in the opening ceremonies,” Schreppel said. “Helping to call attention to this disease that hopefully one day can be cured and bringing to the attention of the fans that it is not just a national disease, but one that affects local people was a good thing to do.”

“It was totally astounding, walking onto the field. I said to Scott [Scott Rosenberg, Little League Baseball’s Director of Public Relations], ‘I finally made it onto the field of the Little League World Series,’ and he started to laugh along with me.”

“I played in the Original League when I was a kid, but we weren’t in the Little League Headquarters tournament, so we had no chance to be able to play in the all-star tournament that led to the World Series. It was a great honor to be on that field, and I really appreciate Little League jumping on board with the ALS. Much research needs to be done to help those that have ALS and hopefully find a cure. Now we don’t know what the future might be, but I thank Little League for stepping up to help out.

“When I walked out onto the field, I wasn’t nervous. Baseball is my element. Last summer I was asked to speak to the Philadelphia Phillies. I was invited into their locker room to speak to the players about the Phillies ALS efforts. At that time, the president of the Philadelphia ALS chapter asked me if I was nervous. I told her no, it was like talking to my teammates. I loved that experience.

“The media was asked to leave the locker room, so it was just the Phillies players and me. They were super, super nice to me.”

Schreppel explained that during the past 32 years, the Phillies organization has raised more than 35-million dollars for the Philadelphia ALS chapter. His daughter, Brittany, also helps with an annual candle sale and the family has their own bicycle team that has raised more than $5,000 participating in ALS sponsored rides.

“I love the Phillies. I was rooting for them even in the years when they weren’t very good. Mike Schmidt, Larry Bowa, Greg Luzinski, Gary Maddox and all of those guys were my favorites.”

Schreppel’s opening pitch was a strike into the mitt of 12-year old Noah Culpepper, a catcher for the team from Loudoun South Little League of South Riding, Virginia.

“When he gave me the ball, he said, ‘here you go.’

“I leaned into him and told him that when I played Little League, I was a catcher. He got a big smile on his face, and he patted me on the back. He was a really nice kid.”

Baseball has always been a big part of Schreppel’s life. George’s uncle played in the first year of the Original League, and his father played in the third year of the league. George played for Lundy Lumber in 1968-1970. He played as a 13-15-year-old in the Mid City League and in the county Babe Ruth League as a 16-18-year-old. He later was a catcher on the Mansfield University teams.

When he left the field and passed through the third-base dugout of the New England champions, Barrington, Rhode Island, the accolades continued.

“It was like I had just hit a home run. All the players and coaches started chanting my name, giving me high fives and fist bumps. It was awesome.”
Indeed, George Schreppel had delivered a strike and Little League Baseball had hit a home run in their support of ALS.