Hirschbecks’ Foundation bringing Torre to Valley

May 31, 2015 at 12:08a.m.

POLAND

With Joe Torre and Tom Hamilton coming to the Mahoning Valley for a fireside chat, the initial charity outing for The Magic of Michael Foundation should be a grand slam.

The Baseball Hall of Fame manager and longtime Cleveland Indians radio play-by-play announcer will take part in the festivities planned for July 5-6 at The Lake Club. The Foundation honors the memory of Michael Hirschbeck, the son of John and Denise Hirschbeck who died on April 8, 2014. A Poland resident, John Hirschbeck has been a Major League umpire since 1984.

“He would just be absolutely thrilled, elated, [get a] big head that this is going on,” Denise said of her son, a lifelong baseball fan, particularly of the Indians.

Michael and his older brother John suffered from adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD), a rare neurogenetic brain disease for which there is no cure. John was 8 when he died in 1993. Michael was 27.

Steve and Erica Rohan helped create The Magic of Michael Foundation. Rohan was Poland’s guidance counselor when Michael was in eighth grade.

“We had a nice relationship with Michael,” said Rohan, now the South Range High School principal. “He was very much a part of what [our family] did.”

The Hirschbecks were thrilled friends cared so much.

“It’s a nice way to keep Michael’s spirit, memory, just everything about him alive,” Denise said.

The foundation’s mission is to inspire, empower and provide hope to families enduring the curveballs of life,

It’s going to be a very busy holiday weekend for the Hirschbecks. John’s crew will be umpiring in Pittsburgh from July 3-5 for the Indians-Pirates series at PNC Park. After Sunday’s game ends, Hirschbeck and Hamilton will travel to The Lake Club. Torre, Major League Baseball’s Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations who won four World Series leading the New York Yankees, will be there for a dinner and chat hosted by Hamilton. The golf scramble will be the next day.

“We’ll have a microphone, they’ll take questions,” said Megan Hirschbeck, Michael’s sister who is helping organize the event.

Denise credited Rohan for pushing for the outing this summer.

“We actually talked about doing it next year, but Steve was insistent that we do it the first year,” she said.

Sponsorships and tickets are available. Dinner tickets cost $150 per person and tables are available. The Home Run Sponsorship costs $2,500 and includes a table for eight, four tickets for a meet-and-greet with Torre (including autographed photo) and golfing for a foursome on Monday.

The Grand Slam Sponsorship for $5,000 has a table for eight, eight tickets for the Torre meet-and-greet and golf on both days, including two holes with Torre on July 5.

The July 6 scramble costs $600 per team or $150 per individual. Hole sponsorships are available for $100. To purchase tickets or for more information, call 330-531-2700 or email magicofmichael17@gmail.com.

During a recent series he worked in Cleveland, Hirschbeck invited Hamilton to participate.

“He became emotional, saying he’d do anything for Michael,” said Denise, shedding a tear when recalling Hamilton’s similar response.

Torre and Hirschbeck have been friends — off the field — for decades.

“He’s always had nice things to say about John,” Denise said. “Now being his boss, they get along very well.”

The Foundation raises funds for families dealing with medical issues.

“Our idea is to help any families from Northeast Ohio if they have illnesses in the family, whether it’s cancer related or disabilities with their children,” said Megan who recently graduated from Ohio State University. “We want to try and help them, ease some of the pain they are going through.

“There are so many things that happen, especially when a child is sick,” she said. “If we can financially assist them, make their road a little easier, that’s what we want to do.”

The Hirschbecks are on the board of directors for The Difference Makers, a charity connected to St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church in Hubbard. Approximately $30,000 was donated to that charity after Michael’s death.

Among those who help families in need is Jeff Kosec, who was Michael’s Little League coach. Kosec remodels homes, making them handicap-accessible or adding bathrooms.

“For every [project] they did, they had little plaques made up that said ‘Michael was here,’” Denise said. “We were very touched by what they did with the money. We’d like to carry on with that [service].”

Rohan said he and Michael probably “hit it off because I was the head baseball coach. He loved baseball.”

Their relationship included attending about a dozen Indians home openers.

“Opening Day was just a really cool day for us,” Rohan said. “Michael was always in charge of getting tickets. He was always just itching to go there.”

Their routine included getting into Progressive Field as soon as possible.

“I loved [seeing him take charge],” Rohan said. “It was just great.”

Denise said Michael would get so excited about getting tickets that “he’d start worrying about it six months in advance.”

Rohan said their routine included “getting inside [the ballpark] two, three hours early.”

Michael, who had served as bat boy at Indians games when he was growing up, knew his way around the ballpark. Sometimes he’d wander off to visit old friends.

Michael’s final Opening Day came three days before his death. Rohan said Michael had a special relationship with then-Twins manager Ron Gardenhire.

“Before the game, Michael disappeared for like two hours,” said Rohan, adding that it was a concern since he was on medication and subject to seizures. It turns out that Michael had gone into the umpires’ room and then to the Twins locker room. “He was talking to Ron Gardenhire. He comes back with the two [stuffed] Giant Eagle bags.”

Inside were three Opening Day baseballs (one each for Michael and Rohan’s sons Luke and Stevie), cookies, bubble gum, drinks and crackers to share with his friends.

“He said, ‘Ron told me to take whatever I wanted,’” Rohan said.

That’s one reason why Rohan wants Michael’s generosity to live on.

“He would love the fact that all this is happening because of him,” Rohan said. “It’s very fitting.”