Diamond Dandies: The Baseball Warehouse brings MLB-level coaching to York

The names associated with The Baseball Warehouse and its Red Lion facility make for an all-star lineup. 

Rich “Goose” Gossage, hurler of flame-belching fastballs for the 1978 World Series champion New York Yankees and Major League Baseball Hall of Famer. 

Rick Dempsey, 1983 World Series Most Valuable Player for the Baltimore Orioles. 

Co-owner Matt Morris, former professional pitcher whose career has seen him toe the rubber for teams from Newark, N.J. in the Atlantic League to Slovenia in the European World Cup of pro baseball. 

Co-owner Jim Duquette, who served as a general manager for the Orioles and New York Mets. 

The staff for The Baseball Warehouse (TBW) lists many more names, including Mike Bordick, a member of the Orioles’ Hall of Fame, World Series champion and All-Star pitcher Scott McGregor, and Patrick Smith, who made his professional debut last year with the Burlington Royals. They’re part of a professional staff at TBW, which specializes in private baseball instruction, camps, coaching clinics, and college placement. 

“We have an all-professional staff making sure players are being coached the right way,” said Jaclyn Currie, Director of Marketing and Fundraising for TBW. 

Gossage stated in a testimonial on the TBW site that there’s “not a better group” to learn baseball from than TBW’s lineup. 

Working to promote baseball in its home state of Maryland and in surrounding areas like York County, TBW’s former and current pro players and coaches provide coaching for participants ranging in age from children to young adults. Many of the 21 TBW instructors are currently involved at the Major League Level in player development, player representation, and scouting. Together, they boast more than 200 years of pro baseball experience. 

Baseball and softball camps and clinics are run throughout the year, TBW’s mission as stated on its site being “to provide the best professional instruction in the area at an affordable rate. As a staff we are committed to educating the players, coaches, and parents regarding the many aspects of the game. We want to promote and better the game of baseball in Baltimore, the state of Maryland and its surrounding areas.” 

Owned and operated solely by former Minor and Major League players, coaches and staff, TBW was started in Maryland 11 years ago by Morris. He opened TBW in October 2012, his vision being to assemble a top staff of former pro players and coaches in Maryland who would provide private instruction, showcase events, competitive tournament teams, camps, coaching clinics, and college placement to players throughout the state. 

“It’s always been a dream of Matt’s,” said Currie. “Matt would look at other baseball facilities and say, “I want to have facilities.’” 

Morris’ dream has grown and expanded, and TBW has three facilities in Maryland – Baltimore, Forest Hill, and Owings Mills. TBW expanded to Pennsylvania when it opened in Red Lion in April 2022, at a facility on South Charles Street that had previously also been used for indoor baseball. 

The Lancaster and Harrisburg areas are potential destinations for future sites. 

“We’re always looking to keep going,” said Currie. 

Moving forward is part of the TBW mentality, be it expansion into new markets or advancing to the next level of competition. TBW’s Badgers baseball is a Mid-Atlantic program that since 2012 has placed more than 140 players on college teams and seven players on pro teams, five of them being in the majors. Badgers North is associated with the Red Lion facility, Badgers South with Owings Mills. 

Duquette’s son is involved in TBW and is one of those on the long list of TBW alums who have gone on to play college baseball. 

“The coaches have helped him develop his skills,” said Duquette, whose son has been receiving coaching at TBW for several years in preparation to play college ball. 

The instructions provided by the pros reach beyond the baseball diamond. Former players like Bordick serve as ambassadors for their sport not only in skill training but also in life lessons. 

“Mike is very generous with his time,” Currie said. “He has a great message on perseverance, putting up a good fight, and believing in yourself. Are you going to give in or are you going to push forward? Mike’s been hit with some things in his life and he speaks to that.” 

Other TBW pros tell their tales of triumphs and trials as well. 

“They share so much information about baseball and life,” said Currie. “Baseball is such a tricky world. These are guys who have been in the game and experienced the ups and downs.” 

Indeed. Navigating the ins and outs of everyday life can be more difficult than hitting a fastball, spotting a slider for a strike, or tracking down a tricky fly ball. The curves thrown off the field can be tougher than any curveball between the white lines. 

A fact appreciated by those connected with TBW. 

“Parents and players see the great things we’re doing,” Currie said. 

Those things include partnering with WellSpan Health, LifeBridge Health, FXStudios, and Under Armour to keep players fit and healthy. TBW Charities, Inc., a non-profit organization, teams with charitable organizations to provide scholarships for camps and clinics as well as college, improve baseball fields, and donate equipment to individuals, high schools, and leagues. 

“We would love to say, ‘Let us help you’,” said Currie. “It’s for the love of baseball. That’s what it’s all about.”