New era of Baseball at The St. James Academy

As the son of long time MLB player and coach Al Bumbry, Steve Bumbry is a baseball lifer. On his 10th birthday, Bumbry received a call from the legendary Manny Ramirez, who his dad was coaching in Cleveland at the time. A kid like that was almost destined to have a life in baseball. After a long, winding road in the game, Steve Bumbry is now at The St. James Academy, building the baseball program from the ground up.

Steve Bumbry had a playing career of his own as well. He starred at Virginia Tech, before being drafted in the 12th round by the Orioles, the team his father spent most of his career with. However, his career was cut short due to a litany of injuries. 

 

 

Bumbry even told me that the most memorable moment of his baseball career was the last one, when he got concussed while trying to break up a double play. That marked the end of one chapter in his life, but also the beginning of the next one.

His history with injuries have influenced the way he coaches and what he values. He defined success as the kids being healthy, having fun and getting the chance to play every day. In some ways, this differs somewhat from other programs that put winning above all else.

However, you should not mistake Bumbry as a guy who does not want to win. As he pointed out, “The game is no fun if you aren’t catching the ball and making errors”. When he was running his practice, Bumbry demanded perfection from his fielders. The group was running a drill where they had to get a certain number of outs in a row without making an error. If someone made an error, the team would start over from 0 outs.

The coach that was hitting those balls was Tim Hanible, who is Bumbry’s right hand man. Hanible, who was a shortstop and centerfielder, just wrapped up his playing career. He played collegiately at the University of Northwestern Ohio and played some pro ball in the Pioneer League.

He thinks just wrapping up his playing career can be an advantage as a coach. As he put it, his playing days give him perspective and he knows what it is like to both succeed and fail as a player. Hanible has big dreams for the academy, saying he “could see The St. James as a baseball powerhouse in the DMV”. 

As a smaller player, Hanible used his heart and hustle to make up for his lack of size. That obviously got him a long way. The highlight of his playing career was when he got to film a gatorade commercial with his favorite player, Bryce Harper, after winning MVP of a tournament.

 

 

The baseball program has a longer road to climb compared to other programs at the academy, but the long term vision is there. Hanible wants the academy to be “a force to be reckoned with”.

To get there, the academy needs the right kinds of players. Obviously talent and skill matter a lot, but for both Hanible and Bumbry, they target the intangibles. Bumbry said he looks for “heart and hustle”, while Hanible gave a similar answer saying, “I like guys who hustle and show they are baseball smart”.

Neither Bumbry nor Hanible are your stereotypical angry baseball coach. Bumbry described his coaching style as “energetic and positive”. At times, the travel baseball circuit can get toxic, which is something Bumbry wants to avoid at all costs. He wants to let families in on the process, but does not want a culture where kids are playing for themselves above the team.

While the pair of coaches had successful playing days, they still do not believe their baseball journey is complete. There is a missing chapter for both, and building The St. James Academy team would be the next chapter for both. Bumbry has been with The St. James since 2021, rising from an assistant coach to the man running the baseball program.

For the bright eyed Hanible, he dreams of one day becoming a coach in college or even the big leagues. For both though, they want to give back to the game that gave them so much over the years.

Rome was not built in a day, and neither will The St. James Academy Baseball Program, but with Bumbry and Hanible leading the way, they have a dynamic duo. Bumbry is the organizer who has seen it all, going back to his childhood. Meanwhile, Hanible is the young dreamer who is just starting his coaching career. That is a perfect combination, and they are ready to create baseball magic at The St. James Academy.