Schmidtke to enter MNHSBCA Hall of Fame

Todd Schmidtke

The Minnesota High School Baseball Coaches Association recently announced that former Blue Earth Area coach Todd Schmidtke has been selected to enter the MNHSBCA Hall of Fame. Schmidtke joins his father, Howard, who was selected to the same Hall of Fame in 2008.

“I was definitely born into a baseball family and I got started in the sport at a very young age,” Todd Schmidtke says, “There is a picture of me holding a baseball while I was still in diapers.”

Schmidtke is no stranger to becoming a Hall of Fame member. He was previously selected to join the Minnesota Amateur Baseball Hall of Fame in 2008 and the St. James High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2017.

While this selection recognizes his coaching success, Schmidtke also made his mark as a player in high school and as a player/manager in amateur baseball.

“I remember playing St. James in the Region Finals in 1979 with a State Tournament bid on the line,” former Delavan Panthers baseball player Mark Warmka says. “We had gotten to the finals by knocking off Luverne, who had current BEA football coach, Randy Kuechenmeister, as their catcher.”

Warmka, now a good friend of Schmidtke, recalls that he and his teammates were unable to do much against Schmidtke, the Saints’ pitcher.

“As a pitcher he had such great control,” Warmka notes. “He was very athletic and could field his position so well. He was a dominant player and the best pitcher I ever faced in high school.”

Schmidtke and his St. James teammates went on to win the Class A State Championship that year.

Schmidtke’s stats for that season as a pitcher were 10 wins and no losses with an incredible ERA (earned run average) of .340.

He could also hit the ball. He compiled a .447 batting average his senior year and was named the State Tournament MVP and Mr. Baseball for 1979.

Schmidtke would go on to play at Waldorf College in Forest City, Iowa, for two years before playing one year at Mankato State.

He began his high school coaching career at the school his team defeated to reach the State Tournament. Schmidtke took over coaching at Minnesota Lake/Delavan during the 1987-1988 school year before becoming the coach at BEA in 1993.

He coached at BEA until 2021 compiling 340 wins while at the helm of the Buccaneer program.

Schmidtke shares when he came to Blue Earth, it wasn’t really known as a baseball town.

“Blue Earth was really known for their wrestling and football. It is tough to get the best athletes when you are a smaller school and offer four spring sports,” Schmidtke says. “But, Blue Earth is a good town and they had a lot of good kids. I just tried to channel more of them into baseball.”

Taking what he learned from his father, Schmidtke started the Blue Earth Area Youth Baseball program in 1993 and coached every level along the way including blast ball, tee ball, Twilight League, Babe Ruth, VFW, Legion and several traveling teams.

“It all begins with the youth program,” Schmidtke comments. “You have to teach the kids the fundamentals. It also takes some dedication and involvement on the part of the parents.”

The youth baseball programs were a success and the high school teams began to get better.

“I just copied what my dad did in St. James when I set up the youth program in Blue Earth,” Schmidtke reiterates.

Blue Earth Area had a number of good teams during Schmidtke’s coaching tenure and the Buccaneers placed in the State Tournament three years in a row during the 2000, 2001 and 2002 seasons.

“We went 2-1 each of the three years we made the State Tournament,” Schmidtke recalls. “We finished fifth in 2000, third in 2001 and second in 2002.”

Schmidtke also had praise for the assistant coaches he worked with over the years.

“I was very fortunate to have guys like Brad Satre, Craig Van Kley, my son TJ Schmidtke and Roger Schoenfelder help me through the years.

Many of the players on those Buccaneer teams eventually joined the Blue Earth Pirates amateur league team.

The Schmidtke-coached Pirates went on to win the Class C State Championship in 2004 and 2006.

“I have been proud of the fact that more than 30 players from the Blue Earth Area program went on to play college ball,” he notes. “And many of them joined the Pirates. It was a lot of fun.”

He has many fond memories of his time coaching at BEA.

“Compiling a 6-3 record and bringing home three trophies from the State Tournament is obviously a great memory,” Schmidtke says. “There is also the memory of one of my high school players being told by his mom that he had better hit a home run on a certain day since it was her birthday. He went out and hit three that game.”

Another of Schmidtke’s memories was of a 16-inning game against Maple River for the Section Championship.

“The game was so tight and there were clutch catches and great throws and it was very emotional,” Schmidtke recalls. “We won the game and I was asked by KBEW radio announcer, Norm Hall, to come up to the announcer’s booth for an interview. I was so exhausted I could hardly climb up the stairs.”

These days finds Schmidtke still sharing his knowledge of the game with young players.

“I continue to coach my grandson’s United South Central summer baseball teams,” he comments.

What it really comes down to, Schmidtke says, is his love of the game.

“I just love everything about the game,” he comments. “I love the practice, the drills and teaching the game.”

And he loves seeing the results.

“The joy happens when the hard work and dedication comes through and you see the results in winning and you get to celebrate with the kids,” he concludes.

The first part of Schmidtke’s entrance into the Hall of Fame will happen in late September when the 2024 inductees are recognized at a Minnesota Twins game. The official ceremony will occur in January of 2025 at a banquet hall at Target Field.