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Jamie Keefe (Photo by Catalina Fragoso - Double G Media)

Jamie Keefe (Photo by Catalina Fragoso – Double G Media)

Heading into Thursday night’s game against the Ottawa Champions at Palisades Credit Union Park, Rockland Boulders Manager Jamie Keefe knew he was on the verge of 700 career wins as a manager. Equally impressive, Ottawa manager Hal Lanier was attempting to notch his 900th career win.

“The fun fact that Hal Lanier, somebody I completely look up to that has over 1,400 wins and 899 in independent baseball and be able to go up to home plate tonight and talk about it was pretty great and discuss some things and been around a long time,” said Keefe. “Hal has a lot of wins over in affiliated ball and big leagues and to match up against him, me going for 700 and him for 900 that is pretty special.”

The Boulders fell behind, 4-1, but in true fashion, Rockland rallied for three runs in the eighth and Jared McDonald lifted the team to their seventh straight victory, smoking a walk-off home run in the ninth into the “Short Porch” area in right field while giving Keefe his milestone win. 

In his fifth season with Rockland, Keefe has won 252 games while guiding the organization to their first Can-Am league Championship back in 2014, back-to-back Can-Am League regular season titles and three consecutive trips to the playoffs. This season, the Boulders are off to a franchise-best 26-8 record and first place in the Can-Am League standings.

“Being able to do 250 of them here in Rockland has been special for me and somewhere I have called home for five seasons and longest tenure,” Keefe said. “It’s big and one of those thing you look back on and say you been doing this a long time and just getting a little bit older. The players we brought in here, managed and have been able to work on a yearly basis has been outstanding. Blessed to have been able to go out there on a daily basis and put the Boulders uniform on and represent. We have a beautiful ball park, great fans and crowd tonight.”

“To have the opportunity to manage here in Rockland has been a blessing and to work for Shawn Reilly, Ken Lehner and have guys like John Flaherty believe in you and I can’t thank them enough and guys who paved the way throughout the years and take care things of in the clubhouse such as Jerod Edmondson, Marcus Nidiffer, Richard Salazar and Junior Arrojo taking care of the small things I didn’t have to deal with and paid off throughout the years and feel lucky.”

On the support from his family, “A mother and father that supported me through this, my 25th season and lucky to have stayed in the game and so important to me. I didn’t make a living out of it and been able to support two beautiful children and I love what I do and they know that and important to them. To be able to have the support of your kids that don’t get to see you as much as most parents’ do and know how the team is doing on a daily basis.”

“I have created a bunch of special relationships in their life and Brigham (16) and Brooks (11) have their dad’s back and the day before the last day of school couldn’t wait to get down here and been through so much for a long time and don’t know any other way and support it just as much as my family has for 25 years.”

From Rochester, New Hampshire, a third-round draft pick in 1992 MLB Draft of the Pittsburgh Pirates and played nine seasons in the minor leagues including reaching Triple-A Las Vegas in 1997, Keefe has passed down that knowledge to his team.

“At the end it’s really about the players and between myself, Bubba (Birdsong) and (Richard) Salazar we just try to stay out of these guys way. We put guys in situations to succeed and continue to do that we’re going to have success. A great group of guys that absolutely live and die by the Boulder Blue. The Can-Am League has been great to me and you get more experienced guys and more opportunities to manage the game at game time.”

Keefe has always preached a solid work ethic that has translated into immense success the past couple of seasons. “Guys know what to expect and here at home in Rockland you don’t get to the ball park at 3:30 or 3:45, you get here at 12:30 or 1:00 and get your work in,” said Keefe.

 “I have had pitching coaches in Bobby Jones and now Richard Salazar that know what we expect and have created that Boulder Way. To go out on a daily basis and know what to expect and every guy that comes into this clubhouse is to get our work in and if you don’t probably going to fail. A test of characters you bring in and people you surround yourself with. Keefe’s motto to the team has been, “Let’s win first, numbers second.” 

Keefe caught his first break managing a team with the Chillicothe Paints of the Frontier League in 1999 for three seasons, Florence Freedom for four seasons and also with Kalamazoo and Pittsfield. 

“I had the luxury of playing with the Chillicothe Paints in 1999 and manager Roger Hanners and his son Chris who owned the ball club saw something in me they liked and I was able to step down as a player and take over as a manager and kind of hone in what it means to coach players and more importantly as people.”

“I was able to win with a lot of guys my first year and didn’t put that team together because I had a lot of returns and came back my second year and got my feet kicked in and you look yourself in the mirror and figure out how to get better. I started managing when I was 25 years old as a player-manager and come full circle and my early years in the Frontier League and a group of rookies where you coach than manage.” 

Keefe praised the managers he played for in the minor leagues, “Woody Huyke, Mike Vasso, Jerry Royster and Wally Backman. Lucky to have played for some managers when I wasn’t playing every day and not an every day player and after first couple of years surround myself with the right people and learn exactly what I had to do to get an opportunity in the future.”

One of Keefe’s mantras is, “You have to learn in life to take every experience in life and opportunity you get and make the best of it I learned early on.”

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Sunil Sunder Raj

Since July of 2014 Sunil Sunder Raj has been with In The Zone. Sunil has experience covering minor league baseball, high school and college sports. A beat writer for the Rockland Boulders for six years, Ramapo College men’s basketball for four years, NJIT men’s basketball and Seton Hall women’s basketball. Now focusing on feature articles about athletes, coaches and sports media professionals. A graduate of Ramapo College of New Jersey with a bachelor of arts degree in journalism.
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