Previously Published February 28, 2022 by the Sunbelt Baseball League
There are various ways to achieve personal satisfaction with and measure one’s sporting career success. In baseball having a career in Major League Baseball is one such measure. However, the Sunbelt Baseball League’s Atlanta Crackers’ long-term owner and manager Kevin Meistickle treasures his life in baseball in a deeper context.
The former New Jersey native spent nine seasons as a well-traveled professional baseball nomad. His journey included playing at the Triple AAA level and created much personal satisfaction based on the contributions he made to the personal and professional lives of hundreds of young players that he has been privileged to lead.
The Crackers’ joined the SBL in 2009. twelve years and four league championships later, Meistickle has managed, counseled, coaxed, laughed with, and shared both highs and disappointments with over 1400 young SBL baseball players. These young men play summer league baseball to enhance their prospects to play collegiate and perhaps later, professional baseball. More than 300 of his former players have gone on the play professional baseball and/or have had careers as coaches at the high school or collegiate levels.
An outside observer can quickly understand when he talks about his life in baseball, that it has been at times whimsical, sometimes comical and above all rewarding. For example, the former right-hand pitcher and then Atlanta Braves prospect after a game scouted by the Braves’ Director of Player Development had an interesting exchange with the Director. The Director inquired as to why the big pitcher was so competitive with and openly hostile to opposing hitters while on the mound. The pitcher’s response was quick. “I don’t like hitters and if I had faced you, I would do the same thing.” Not everyone has had similar discussions with baseball legend Hank Aaron.
The former West Milford NJ High School player displayed perseverance after graduation by finding his own way into college baseball. After months of writing and calling colleges, he ended up playing baseball for Division III Thiel College in Greenville, PA. After an excellent collegiate career, where he was named an All-American by four different organizations, he was drafted in 1973 by the New York Mets. His subsequent career also featured minor league contracts with the Braves, Pirates, Expos, Twins and Blue Jays.
His pro stops included time in Class A baseball in the New York-Penn League, California A League, and the Carolina League. He was rewarded based on his performance with stints at the Double AA level in Savannah Georgia and in the Texas League with Shreveport La. This latter assignment came after season and in Triple AAA baseball in Columbus Ohio.
The moves did not stop. A series of trades, loans and contract signings provides him memories of the Mexican League in both Mexico City and Vera Cruz. Other stops included time in Caracas Venezuela in the Inter America League.
Fortune struck again shortly after he moved back to Atlanta to start his own landscaping business while still being involved in coaching and managing amateur baseball. Columbia Pictures chose to film “The Sluggers Wife” a baseball themed movie in Atlanta. Meistickle’s baseball background led to a role in the 1985 film. That work launched a mini career as he subsequently got opportunities to appear in TV commercials, modelling in newspaper advertisements as well as a bit part in the blockbuster western Silverado.
More importantly, the association with Columbia pictures opened another opportunity. The movie company and others sponsored his amateur team and acquisition of the rights to the name Atlanta Crackers, a storied name in baseball lore. His Crackers originally played as an independent team and in various amateur leagues until his team joined the SBL in 2009.
His achievements as a player, 40 plus years as a manager, over 1000 career managerial wins plus his overall contributions to baseball led to his induction in the National Semi-Pro Hall of Fame in 2017. The dean of SBL managers articulates his many achievements more succinctly. “I loved playing baseball and have those memories. More importantly I wanted to help as many people as I could”. Meistickle will continue to have that opportunity as the SBL launches the 2022 season in June as he continues to enjoy his life in baseball.
From Sunbelt Baseball League News Articles ; February 28, 2022
Cracker Baseball 