Baseball is very important to Greg Stepp.
He also knows how important baseball can be to the city.
Growing up in Juniata, he played for two teams: the Fox-Rok Department of Recreation team and Gibbons PAL.
He later played high school baseball for Calvary Christian Academy where he was a catcher and outfielder, and was twice named First-Team All-Keystone Conference.
Then Stepp walked on to Philadelphia University baseball team, eventually earning a four-year scholarship and was fourth all-time in on-base percentage as a leadoff outfielder.
So he knows full well how much having a baseball team to play for can mean to a youngster. And that’s why he’s doing everything he can to bring that excitement back to fields across Philadelphia.
And as a recreation leader for the Philadelphia Parks and Recreation Department, he’s able to help get things back to their glory days as he had when he was a kid.
“Upon my graduation I joined the Philadelphia Department of Recreation and worked under my mentor, John Curry, who ran Fox Chase Rec,” said Stepp, who also credits Tony D’Aulerio, of Gibbons PAL, for helping him get to where he is. “Under his tutelage, I was molded into the rec leader and baseball chairman that I am today.
“My goal is for PPR Baseball to be the premier youth baseball league in Philadelphia, like it once was in its heyday back when it and the Devlin League were so competitive. With AAU and tournament baseball teams, I feel it is still crucial for neighborhood kids to have an outlet to play rec baseball.”
The Parks and Rec league provides low-cost baseball for kids ages 7 to 17. The league is also open to players of all skill levels, which makes it a lot easier and affordable for many Philly kids to play.
AAU and tournament ball are good, but this is a perfect league for the experts who want to get some more at-bats while also giving novices a chance to play the game they love.
It worked out very well.
“We have had a great first season and all of the credit goes to my baseball committee,” Stepp said. “One of the biggest additions that we have implemented was having Jake Gratzinger, rec leader at Awbury Recreation Center, modernize and digitize our league documents with the use of tech and AI. He has helped tremendously with communication, transparency and the dissemination of pertinent information.
“I used to be on the baseball committee for about five or six years and this ended around COVID years. I took over the program this year and our first year was one of transition but growth and progress.”
This season, the league had 66 teams spread across 8U all the way up to 17U. It also had a major and minor division for players of all skill levels.
A great start for all involved, but Stepp still believes it can be bigger and better, and he’s not going to stop until the league expands to a point where all kids get a chance to play the game they love.
“My goal is to continue to grow the leagues,” he said. “Instead of 66 teams I would like to get back to where we had 100 teams and revive baseball in our local neighborhoods. While PPR baseball is traditionally known as a Northeast Baseball Conference, this year, we had teams from 48th and Woodland, Urban Kings and Queens from Germantown, Hunting Park, Simpson and Juniata, which hosted our All-Star day.
“Javier Sanchez, who runs Juniata Park, is a complete ace and winner and went above and beyond to make All-Star day the best we have had in a very long time. I have to admit to selfishly having the all-star games at Juniata as a homecoming for myself and Calvary AA coach Dan Szychulski, Fox-Rok coach Joe McCourt, among others whose formative years started on those fields.”
Fall ball starts up at the end of August, and Stepp’s mission is to keep climbing. So far, he’s not the only one who likes what he sees.
“All feedback has been fantastic and the club directors and coaches all seem content,” Stepp said. “For the first time in PPR history, we are running a fall baseball league for all age groups. We hope this will be another success story and a way for the youth to continue having an athletic outlet in the fall.” ••
