By KEVIN NEVERS

Rusty the RailCat—and Gary South Shore RailCat Manager Greg Tagert, who skippered the team to the Northern League Championship in 2007—made an appearance on Tuesday at the Duneland Unit of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Porter County.

Rusty was there to award prizes to three members of the Duneland Unit who’d recently won a coloring contest.

Tagert was there to talk about his career in professional baseball, as part of the Duneland Unit’s participation in the Mitch’s Kids program, which awards grants to Boys and Girls Clubs (BGC) to fund special tutoring services to lower-income children. Under the terms of the grant, a BGC must also hold 10 “career sessions” in 10 weeks, the idea being to expose kids to a wide range of career opportunities.

“We want to give kids a look at what they might aspire to be,” Link ‘N Learn Coordinator Karyn Witt told the Chesterton Tribune, “what they would need to study in school to get to that career, and how important it is to be in school.”

To date, Witt said, the Duneland Unit has arranged talks by a nurse, an electrician, a physician, and a local entrepreneur. On tap are talks by a baker, a librarian, and a park ranger.

Tagert—who’s recently moved his family to Chesterton from California—did not mention the sale of the RailCats, on Tuesday as it happens, to a Chicago attorney, Patrick Salvi. (His contract, extended to 2010, includes a job security clause in the event of the franchise’s changing hands.)

Tagert did speak enthusiastically about his job: his four seasons as the RailCats’ manager, his 13 years in the pros, his own career as a pitcher, and the way in which computers and the Internet have changed the way he recruits and signs players.

“A lot of people say playing is most fun,” he said. “But for me managing the team is very enjoyable and my favorite part of the job. I love holding practices and tryout camps.”

For their part, in their numerous questions for Tagert, the members of the Duneland Unit evinced an impressive knowledge not only of baseball but of the RailCats.

Have you ever made a mistake in the dugout? Tagert readily admitted that he has and that few games end without his wondering whether he should have made a different move or two. “I’m certain on the first day of the season I’ll make mistakes and hopefully I’ll learn from them,” he said.”

How did it feel to join the RailCats in 2005 and lead them to the Northern League Championship in the same year (after the team had set a league record for losses in the previous season)? “2005 was very special,” Tagert said. “It was the first championship a team I’ve managed ever won.”

How many different nationalities do the players on the RailCats represent? Six, Tagert said. The U.S., Canada, Australia, Japan, the Dominican Republic, and Venezuela.

Where does the team get its bat? The Hoosier Bat Company—of course—and Louisville Slugger. The team uses a variety of different kinds, Tagert noted: ash, maple, and birch.

Do any players ever cork a bat? “Not on my team,” Tagert said. “That’s cheating. But it doesn’t happen as much as it used to.”

Have any players on the RailCats ever made it to the Majors? A couple indeed have, Tagert said.

Who’s the best player on the RailCats? Tagert was very politic. “I think we have several players who are best at different things,” he said. “Some guys are good at fielding, some are good at batting, some are good at pitching.”

What was the RailCats’ record last year? 58-30, Tagert said, then quickly added, “As long as we win the very last game, I’m happy.”

Rusty the RailCat then made his appearance and handed out prizes to the three winners of the coloring contest: Mason Witt, Brier Haws (prize accepted by Marissa Haws), and Sam Kravitz.

After the program kids were given grade-appropriate “career evaluation” forms to complete. Third-, fourth-, and fifth-graders, for example, answered questions like “What are three things that this person does in their job?” and “What is one interesting fact you learned about this career?” Sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-graders answered questions like “What responsibilities are involved in this career?” and “What classes in school would be helpful in preparing for this job?”

Members of the Duneland Unit in the Mitch’s Kids program receive intense tutoring in math and reading and must complete 30 45-minute “homework sessions,” Witt said. Children are eligible to join Mitch’s Kids if they receive, among other things, TANF, food stamps or Medicaid, Hoosier Healthwise, or free or reduced lunches. Parents must give their permission before a child may participate. Mitch’s Kids has made $1 million in grants available to BGC throughout the state.

The new director of the Duneland Unit, Joe Juarez, said that 405 children are currently members—not all of them Mitch’s Kids—and that the average daily attendance is 115.

Posted 4/10/2008