A fan of the New York Yankees since his youth, pro angler Dave Mansue lived out his baseball dream at the team’s fantasy camp this month in Tampa.
“It was awesome,” he said. “It was well beyond my expectations.”
Mansue, 70, was among the 120 campers who shook off the rust to play ball and visit with former Yankee players at their spring training facility.
“I grew up 50 miles from Yankees stadium. When I was a kid, it was Yogi (Berra), Mickey (Mantle), Whitey (Ford) and all those guys,” Mansue said. “I’ve been a Yankees fan my whole life. My mom was a big Yankee fan.
“So to be able to experience that life at the Major League level, that life for a week, was just the greatest experience ever.”
Mansue played little league and high school baseball, and after a stint in the military, was on the top 10 ranked Mercer County Community College team in West Windsor, N.J. He went on to play a year at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff and continued in adult leagues.
His “crazy idea” to return to the diamond was spawned by a trip last March to Yankees spring training, where he first learned of the camp. After mentioning his interest to his wife, she agreed it was kooky, but added, “I love it.”
“I played all through college and into my 40s, just before I started fishing,” said Mansue, who won the 2009 Chesapeake Bay Open, one of his 84 B.A.S.S. entries. “I just got this crazy thought. I’m not getting any younger. I’d like to do this. I wish I’d done this 15 years ago. I thought I could get myself in shape one last time and play.”
Mansue, a middle infielder who batted leadoff “because I was always the fastest guy on the team,” has slowed a step or 10 over the years, but he was happy with his performance despite suffering an injury.
“Unfortunately, the first day of camp, I made a diving play in the outfield and blew out the hamstring in my right leg,” he said. “I really couldn’t do anything but bat.”
Yankee trainers treated Mansue well, however, sending him into ice then hot baths before rubbing him down and wrapping it. “I wouldn’t have been able to play without them.”
The first three days were precamp, with stretching and running before hitting in the batting cage, fielding ground balls and going through game situations. The campers, of which Mansue was not the oldest, were divided into 10 teams. Mansue’s Bombers played two nine innings games a day before campers faced a team of former Yankees for a short scrimmage on the final day at George Steinbrenner Field.
“It’s a lot of baseball in a really short period of time,” Mansue said. “On Saturday, you play against the legends who are there. It’s a lot of fun playing against them and trying to do your best.”
It was a challenge to face former reliever Adam Warren’s fastballs, still hitting around 90 mph, Mansue said. Mansue got to pitch and gave up a single before getting Ramiro Rendoza to ground into a double play, “a highlight for sure.”
For the week, Mansue went 7 for 21 at the plate, a HOF .333 average, which included a two-run triple to the right-center gap and a number of line-drive singles. His efforts earned Mansue the Tom Tresh Senior Rookie of the Camp award.
Asked how much the week cost, Mansue hemmed but said it was worth it.
“It’s not cheap. They feed you every day, a good lunch and dinners three, four nights,” he said, adding participants take home the uniform and memories. “Every day there was a new article of clothing in your locker. It was top shelf.”
Other former Yankees included MLB’s first designated hitter Ron Blomberg, pitcher Mike Torrez and infielder Ronald Torreyes. Mansue even ran into current Yankee superstar slugger Aaron Judge, who posed with him for a photo.
“You just don’t realize how big that man is until you stand next to him,” Mansue said. “Then you have a greater appreciation for his athletic ability, as big as he is.
“All the players I met were just phenomenal. A wide array and they’re all so good to you. They’re just normal people. You get a chance to sit and talk to them, hear stories about their career, things they did while playing, things they do outside of baseball.”
There was also a morning “Kangaroo Court” every day, with the team managers roasting players and imposing fines for mistakes. Mansue had to pay $20 just for being a rookie.
“One guy got fined 50 bucks for challenging a manager’s decision,” Mansue said. “They don’t hold back.”
Two-time World Series champ Mickey Rivers, wearing a judge’s cloak, had the final say on monetary penalties. In all, more than $3,000 was collected, which goes to a local Tampa charity and the Yankees Foundation that supports education and social programs in the New York area.
Mansue said he made a lot of new friends among the players, “a great group of guys,” as well as a connection with a former Yankee. Remember Derek Jeter’s famous play in the 2001 AL Division Series in Oakland? The shortstop ran across the first-base line to grab an overthrow from right field and flipped it to catcher Jorge Posada for a putout of Jeremy Giambi at home plate.
No, not them. The throw that went over both cutoff players came from Shane Spencer, who is bringing his 13-year-old son to fish with Mansue on Table Rock Lake.
“That’s a big deal for me,” Mansue said. “He’s a big hunter, fisherman. We got along real well.”
Mansue, who began fishing with B.A.S.S. in 1995 and competed in the Top 150s before a slew of Opens, is back home in Reeds Springs, Mo., licking his wounds. He guides there, does some private instruction for youth and also teaches at the Kurt Dove Pro Bass camps at Texas’ Lake Amistad and Oneida Lake in New York.
“I enjoy that,” he said. “Teaching people the proper technique and how to catch fish is a lot of fun.”
Mansue, who fishes some local events, also holds out hope for his other big dream — to qualify for the Bassmaster Classic. He and neighbor Chad Morgenthaler, a former Elite, fish the Team Series and last year made it to the Championship.
For now, he’s still stoked about his week at Yankee Camp.
“It was a dream come true. If you’re a fan of a major league club, I would highly recommend looking at what they have to offer,” Mansue said. “I’m still full of adrenaline over the whole thing.”