Local legends inducted into baseball hall of fame

Elmwood

The induction speeches at the recent Manitoba Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony were poignant reflections on family and community.

Elmwood baseball legend Al Kinley received his honorary life membership in recognition of decades of contributions as a player, coach, historian and administrator.

“Al believes that community involvement is as important as success on the ballfield,” chairman Dan Giesbrecht said. “His knowledge of baseball history is vast and unmatched.”

Kinley introduced fellow Giant Ed Kulyk as a coach and builder, calling him “one of my boys.”

Kulyk’s induction was a celebration of his family’s contributions to Giants baseball. Father Louie is the head groundskeeper. Wife Tracey runs a successful fundraising golf tournament. Mom Betty, kids Brady and Taylor, daughter-in-law Brittany, brother Scott, and his wife Heather make valuable contributions. All serve in many roles.

“Everything the Elmwood Giants have been able to do, it’s been one of the Kulyks or all of them helping us to do that,” Kinley said. “I don’t think there is anyone more deserving of being in the Baseball Hall of Fame than Eddie.”

Kulyk never imagined he’d earn a Hall of Fame spot.

“Players, you’re the reason coaches keep coming back to the field,” Kulyk said. “Watching young athletes grow not just as athletes but as people has been the most rewarding part of this journey.

“The wins are exciting, the championships were memorable, but seeing players gain confidence, learn, and become leaders is what I love the most,” he added.

Guy Yerama joins his father, Lloyd, in the hall. Lloyd was part of the 1961 MSBL champion Dauphin Redbirds.

When introducing Yerama, fellow hall-of-famer and University of Winnipeg baseball program co-founder Mike Krykewich said it is a culmination of a lifetime in sport. Yerama helped found the Killarney Lakers, Great Plains Baseball Academy, and coached at the provincial and national levels. Now living in Toronto, Yerama continues to mentor young athletes, including Jamaican curlers and current major leaguer Josh Naylor.

“When sport needed energy, organization, belief and leadership, Guy found a way to contribute,” Krykewich said. “The true measure of Guy’s contributions wasn’t in wins, titles or positions, it is in the players who were given the chance, the athletes who were supported and the programs that could continue because of his work.”

Yerama thanked the many people who encouraged his passion along the way, beginning with mom Lois, who played catch with him while waiting for the morning school bus at the end of the driveway.

“She was fostering what mattered to me,” Yerama said.

That investment in people is what matters to Yerama.

“Ask any player what they remember the most, and it is never the final score; it’s the road trip. I’ve been in baseball for 60 years, and the parts that stayed with me were who was in the car, dugout and the end of the lane. That is what this game teaches you if you let it: not only the mechanics of throwing, catching, and hitting, but how you show up for each other,” he said. “The young men and women I coached are the part I am most proud of. Not the wins or the stats, the people they became. I came to realize over 60 years that you don’t collect trophies, you collect people.”