12 Questions with Ian Blease: Baseball Player, Manager and Coach
12 Questions with Baseball Player Ian Blease
The Sporting Blog interviews baseball player Ian Blease about his time playing, managing and coaching baseball. Read on to find out more…
Ian Blease currently plays for the Liverpool Trojans
1. What is the earliest memory you have of your sport?
I phoned up some friends to see what they were doing one evening and they had decided to go and try out for a junior baseball team - they invited me along.
It turned out the session was being run by a friend's dad so I knew a couple of people there, and I instantly fell in love with it.
2. Who was your first sporting hero?
In sports generally - Gary Lineker. In baseball - Cal Ripken Jr.
3. When did you know sport was going to be what you did for a living?
I wish it was my living - professional opportunities in baseball in the UK are few and far between. I knew it was going to be an important part of my life very quickly.
I found myself staying up late watching games and watching hours more on VHS the next day. I don't think I'd ever shown that kind of dedication to anything before!
4. Is there a coach, teammate or even a club from your youth that has had a material impact on your life in sport today?
Without the Bolton Knights Junior Baseball Team, I would never have found the sport so they're obviously really important in my journey.
The Head Coach there was Ron Stidham, he was ably assisted by Pat Clugston. I owe a lot to those guys!
5. Growing up, playing with friends, where was your 'Wembley', 'Centre court' or 'Madison Square Garden'?
Moor Park, Preston.
6. What is the hardest part about professional sport?
The better you get, the harder the game becomes. You dominate at one level and then have to work hard to become average at the next.
The ball is thrown harder, the fielders are more athletic, everyone is better and you need to put the work in to get on their level - and then surpass them.
Ian Blease: player, manager and coach of the Liverpool Trojans
7. What is the biggest sacrifice you have had to make in order to get to where you are now?
With baseball being played over the summer, I turned down multiple opportunities to go away overseas for a few months so I can focus on baseball.
No regrets though, baseball is still a huge part of my life and those trips have been just memories by now.
8. What is your proudest moment in sport?
In 2011, the team won every game along the way to becoming national champions. That was a very special moment.
9. And what is a moment you wish you could take back or start over again?
I'm not filled with a load of regret to be honest. The teams I've played for - predominantly the Liverpool Trojans - have won 19 championships since 1998 when I started out.
That doesn't leave a lot of room for regret... Though the whole team going out and getting drunk the night before the 2010 final against Oxford Kings was a mistake we didn't ever repeat again.
10. Who is your most respected opponent or competitor?
I've always enjoyed getting to do battle with Gavin Marshall over the years.
He's a legit British Baseball Hall of Famer - something I'll never achieve - but digging in at the plate and trying to find a hit against the best in the game is always special.
11. What is your favourite sporting venue?
Norman Wells Ballpark, Bootle, Merseyside.
12. What's next for you and where do you see yourself in 5 years time?
I'm about to embark on the new season with the Liverpool Trojans, and we'll be hoping we can put together a run at another title.
It won't be easy, as we've lost a lot of players compared with last year but I'm hoping we can upset the odds and get the job done. If we do, that will be championship number 20 and I may have a decision to make.
I'm 42 now, and already not the player I once was - but I've been coaching for ten years and feel like I've already found a new love within the sport.
I'd like to see where coaching can take me. In five years time, I will have certainly retired from playing at the highest level - but I might still be playing at a lower one.
I'd like to think I'll be coaching kids too, and I'll probably still be the General Manager at the Trojans - I think I'd struggle to leave... But you never know what's around the corner!
Let us know what you have going on in your life now and say thanks to any sponsors or clubs…
I'm the General Manager and Head Coach at Liverpool Trojans Baseball Club, a post I've held since 2018. I still play, but a little less than I used to.
The club has been going from strength to strength over the last few years - more people than ever before have been able to access baseball at our club and we're hoping to keep growing.
A lot of this growth has been supported financially by our long-standing sponsors, Langtec Ltd. We owe them a great deal for their support.
You can find out more about us at www.trojansbaseball.co.uk or find us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and most recently, TikTok.
