A baseball life: Tobs’ Bergquist savors long career on diamond

Ted Bergquist immensely enjoys the time he spends in his beloved Colorado. But he arguably eats, sleeps and lives baseball and has committed to live a life of baseball.

“I gave myself to baseball,” the 56-year-ol Bergquist said in a recent interview. “If that makes me a little bit of a traveler or wanderer … maybe so.”

Thus, Bergquist, a player, coach and umpire,has discovered his saga, which began at the outset of 1991, is not limited to his many stops in dear ole Colorado. He has visited the East Coast, the country’s mid-section, the Far West and the Southeastern United States. In fact. Bergquist is currently situated in Wilson as an assistant coach and pitching coach for the Wilson Tobs summer collegiatebaseball team of the Coastal Plain League. The Tobs’ first-year pitching coach arrived in early May.

“It was a chance to be with higher caliber players and a higher caliber league,” explained Bergquist, who ranks the CPL as the No. 2 summer league in the country. “Wilson life is one of a kind. I love how passionate Wilson is about the Tobs.Everywhere I go wearing a Tobs shirt, someone asks me about the Tobs. It doesn’t matter where you go, they ask about the Tobs.”

The team is currently dealing with a tough stretch of hot weather — when temperatures sometiimes reach 100.

“The hot weather is certainly different than in Colorado,” said Bergquist. “It certainly has the players talking about it. But they’re all playing in the same humidity. The heat is the same for everybody.”

The Wilson opportunity surfaced when Bergquist decided to give up umpiring and return to coaching.He learned Wilson was searching for a pitching coach for the 2024 season. Bryan Hill, described by Bergquist as “Wilson’s general manager on the field,” connected with John A. Logan College (Colorado) coach Kyle Suprenaut, who recommended Bergquist. Bergquist filled the position. With less than two weeks remaining in the regula season, the Tobs are positioned in the middle of a scramble for the East Division’s second playoff berth.

Bergquist’s baseball journey took a serious turn when he decided to attend an umpire school the second semester of his final year at Mesa University, an NCAA Division II school at Grand Junction, Colorado.Twelve of the 160 candidates were selected after five weeks of school. Bergquist was informed he was No. 2 on the reserve list and was told: “Go home, work all the baseball you can,and stay by the phone.”

Bergquist got the call in June, and was sent to the Northern League. He recalls, in Thunder Bay, Ontario, the temperature was usually about 65 degrees.

“I loved it!” Bergquist exclaimed

.But a couple nights later at Sioux City, Iowa, the game was moved from the afternoon to the evening because of the intense heat. Bergquist insists that, at gametime, the temperature was 102. He spent a season in the Northern League before being sent back to umpire school at Jim Evans Umpire Academy in Kississimee, Florida. Jim Paronto, who later became the NCAA Coordinator of Umpires at the Division I level, “showed me how to umpire,” at GrandJunction of the Junior College Division I ranks.

“I started hunting to be professional,” Bergquist said, and he informed his coach: “I’ve got to give it a try.”

Evans, who hailed from Colorado, set up Bergquist for school at Kississimee.

“Off I went,” he noted.While working in the Northern League, he got the call to fill in for the Triple A Pacific Coast League. Bergquist worked at the Triple A level for parts of the next 18 seasons.

But the first Triple A game left Berquist pondering what he had gotten himself into.Bergquist made the call at second base. A protest followed. He ejected a player and manager Bruce Kim of the Cubs’ Triple A farm club, which was in the pennant race.The next play was a fly out and a brawl endedthe game. Police stormed the field for, said Bergquist, “one of the biggest brouhaa fights of all time.”

The league office expressed its appreciation to Bergquist for his efficiency in handling the situation and that he would be called again. At the same time, he was working collegiately in the Mountain West Conference and the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. During his Triple A times, Bergquist estimates he has worked in enough games that 600-800 of the the players he saw reached the Major Leagues. He mentions San Francisco Giants catching great Buster Posey, Adam Jones, who starred for the Baltimore Orioles and Seattle Mariner, and Troy Tulowitzki, a superstar with the Colorado Rockies. Some of his favorite stories involve “Tulo,” as he was known.

“When Troy threw the ball across the field, it buzzed,” Bergquist insisted. “He was different from anybody I ever had.”

He likes to remember a game at Colorado Springs, when Tulo was rehabbing a hamstring injury. Tulo slid in safely for a double, but an out at another base ended the inning.

Bergquist recalls: “Tulo was on the ground, looking at me and not getting up. The ump asked: ‘Troy, are you OK.’ Tulo replied: “I don’t know. This is the first game I’ve slid in since my injury.'”

The Rockies’ multi-talented star was eager to return to the big club because Clint Barnes was playing shortstop and batting .355.

“I’ve got to get back up there,” Tulo said to Bergquist.

Bergquist replied: “Troy, (second baseman)Jonathan Herrera is batting .150. They’ll slide Barnes to second, and you’ll be fine at shortstop.”

This was during the 2008 season, and Barnes wound up batting .290, while Tulo hit .263.

Umpiring the final stop before reaching the “Big Show” took a physical toll. Bumps, bruises and breaks cost Bergquist valuable time off the field. He was occasionally sidelined for a couple of weeks at the time. But misfortune resulted in a fortunate ending. Ae scan of Bergquist’s injury showed a tumor, larger than a baseball, in his kidney. More tests revealed a diagnosis of renal cancer. The kidney and the tumor were removed. After some 10 months, he received a clean bill of health and stays informed with regular checkups. Understandably, Bergquist knew he wanted to coach again, and soon stepped away from umpiring.

“It’s a lot easier than getting (a baseball at 98 mph) in the head,” he reasoned. “It can get scary back there (behind the plate).”

He functioned as pitching coach for the Power Alley club team and served as head coach at Fort Lupton High in Fort Lupton, Colorado. He joined a couple of buddies, and also coached at Fossil Ridge High, also in Colorado.The instance that Bergquist describes as the highlight of his career lurked just around the proverbial corner. He was united with Eric Bergquist, his son from his first marriage, on the baseball diamond. In 2023, now coaching the Rend Lake High team from Illinois, Bergquist’s team opposed Rocky Mountain High (Colorado), his son’s team and Bergquist’s high school alma mater. Rocky Mountain head coach Scott Polack allowed Eric Bergquist to bring out the lineup card to home plate — where Ted Bergquist was waiting with the Rend Lake lineup.The occasion was certainly emotional.

“I’ve had thousands of plate meetings (as a coach and umpire),” Ted Bergquist commented, “but that’s my favorite.”

The teams played one another in 2022 and 2023. Rocky Mountain won 8-7 in 2022, but Rend Lake gained redemption with a 6-0 victory in 2023. The Bergquists had chatted beforehand. Dad said his team was going to win, but wanted to see his son get a base hit. Eric went 0 for 3.

Eric, now age 19, has joined his father on a summer league team in Fort Collins, Colorado. He pitched (right-hander) and played outfield in high school.In the meantime, Ted Bergquist is content with his role as the Tobs’ pitching coach.

“I was a pitcher myself,” he divulged. “That and studying great hitters has made it easy. It’s something I  enjoy and do well.”

“Simplifying” is an approach that has become Bergquist’s signature as a pitching coach.

“A lot of my work is about simplifying pitches and mechanics,” he said. “One thing at a time. If you work on four things, you mess up six.”

Bergquist likes his Tobs staff and, of the Coastal Plain League, observes: “At this time, it’s a wonderful league we’re pitching in.”

But what about when a Tobs’ pitcher is struggling and Berquist pays a visit to the mound? Wilson right-hander Brady Pacha, a starter and reliever, says the primary theme is “confidence reassurance.”

“He tells us, ‘You can get this guy,’ remarked Pacha. “He really calms us down and makes us smile.”

However, Pacha is most appreciative of his coach’s relationship with his players.

“He really cares about the players,”said Pacha. “He wants them to do well, and he helps them along the way — as fast as he can. He really enjoys the players doing well and getting better. He certainly wants to win, but he seems to care more about the players. I am really glad I got to meet him this summer. He’s a great guy.”

Tobs head coach Noah Cartwright echoes Pacha’s sentiments.

“A great guy,” Cartwright confirmed. “He is one of the most genuine people I’ve ever met.”

Cartwright considers himself fortunate that his assistant thoroughly understands the strike zone from two perspectives —-that of the umpire and the pitcher.

“He sees both sides of the ball,” Cartwright said. “He explains the umpires’ point of view, and that really helps me. I couldn’t ask for a better assistant coach.”

While in Wilson, Bergquist must blend in another aspect of his baseball life. He was married for the second time to the former Stacy Barnes of Memphis, Tennessee, a few days after arriving in Wilson in late May.Bergquist says his bride enjoys baseball and her initial impression of Wilson was favorable.

However, his next stop upon the end of the CPL season is uncertain. Bergquist will just tell anyone that will listen: “I gave myself to baseball. Nine innings of baseball makes the day full for me. I will continue to coach, give to this game and help produce young men through the game of baseball.”

He emphasizes his philosophy extends to his current mission statement at Rend Lake. Will Bergquist, certainly about a baseball life, continue the journey in Illinois? Or would he consider returning to Wilson?

“Yes, I  would,” he answered. “It’s wonderful here.”

The post A baseball life: Tobs’ Bergquist savors long career on diamond first appeared on Restoration NewsMedia .