Perkiomen School baseball players near, far adjust to quarantine life

It can’t be said Ken Baker doesn’t know how to attach a silver lining to a dark cloud.

Like so many other sports programs this spring, Baker and his Perkiomen School baseball team have seen their 2020 season plans derailed by the COVID-19 pandemic. But he’s been consoled, to a certain degree, by not having to deal with the ramifications of another of the spring’s by-products.

April’s rainy weather, and the disruption of game schedules that would have resulted from it.

“It would have been one hell of a month to get games in,” Baker noted one weekend during the month. “I was over at the field cutting the grass. You couldn’t get on the infield, it rained so much.

“At least we’re not dealing with the stupid weather.”

Instead of pummelling the opposition during the regular season, and making one of their trademark extended runs through the Pa. Independent Schools Athletic Association (PAISAA) tournament, Baker and his Panthers are focusing part of the present on the future. That’s particularly true for the team’s 2020 seniors and post-graduates, who are working toward the next level of their academic and athletic careers while finishing up their time at Perk.

While the players occupy their days taking virtual classes — they’ve done so since March — they also interface with each other and their coaches through Zoom meetings Tuesdays and Thursdays. The dissemination of information, and discussions designed to bolster team identity, are the principal purposes behind these meetings.

“What we’re trying to do is keep in touch with the players,” Baker said. “There are nine for whom I am their advisor anyway. Doing workouts … our fitness guy has been setting up a program they can do at home.

“We talk about different things we can do as a team. Something reasonably short, to do as group to maintain the integrity of the program.”

The task is a bit more daunting at Perk School, whose student body encompasses youths not only from other states, but other nations as well.

“It’s a little different for the kids who live far away,” Baker noted. “We have six seniors who finished at Perkiomen. Two post-graduates are in good collegiate situations.

“The kids outside the United States, we’re pushing them to get more videos. That’s basically the only way to go.”

Bryce Porter, a post-grad, is enrolling at Siena College in New York. Baker related a recent conversation with Porter that spoke to the sense of humor the Lincoln University (Pa.) resident is maintaining through the pandemic.

“I talked to him one day, asked him what he’s doing tomorrow,” Baker said. “He said it’s ‘Groundhog Day’ (1993 movie starring Bill Murray), the same thing over and over again.”

Four of the team’s seniors have their future plans booked. Manny Ariza, from Brooklyn, is heading to State University of New York-Old Westbury; Jayden Kemp (Bahamas) will be attending Northampton County Community College; Etrick Padilla (Salinas, Puerto Rico) will be at Ohio Wesleyan; and Elias Meredith (Philadelphia) is heading to Harford (Md.) Community College.

“I told them to find out what their coaches want them to do,” Baker said. “I told the kids the coaches are in the same boat as them, to get their profiles out there. There’s no other way.”

For the underclassmen, “We told them there will be season coming up. Stay together and keep to a schedule.”

Perkiomen came into the season having Baker and his staff confident they could again make noise in the Tri-County League and among the state’s private schools. That was in spite of losing two high-end pitchers, David Smith and Carlos Torres.

“In the fall season all the kids play doubleheaders Sundays,” Baker recalled. “I was happy in the fall. We felt if we have kids who can throw strikes, we can play defense behind them.

“I felt we would be solid. We had a good mix of kids adding to what we have, spread out from freshmen to seniors. We were losing six kids, but we have enough left behind them. I think we would have held our own.”

With the possibility of summer ball in the Upper Perkiomen community being investigated, Baker sees considerable interest among Perk School players to participate if the idea turns into reality.

“Pretty much all our players would jump at the opportunity,” he said. “We talk about it all the time.”

At the 13- to 15-year-old age range, Baker noted more than 60 players have registered. That would open consideration of forming multiple teams.

The status of such a move, of course, will depend on if and when the current stay-at-home and social-distancing regulations from the state are lifted and it is considered safe to play.