Post-Tribune |

Northwest Indiana native comes home to host baseball tourney that honors his Serbian heritage, welcomes European teams

After World War II, George Grkinich’s parents immigrated from Serbia, to Farrell, Pa., before arriving in East Chicago in 1953 to fully assimilate into American culture.

The couple, however, continued to cherish their Serbian heritage, teaching the language to their son, George, who’s now 48 and still speaks it fluently. This skill will come in handy later this month when his sports marketing company hosts the International Baseball Challenge in Whiting.

The IBC is an opportunity for European national baseball federations to play in a three day, four team round-robin tournament, followed by a two-day seeded semifinal and final game. This year’s participants will be baseball teams from Croatia, Serbia, Slovakia and North America.

“I loved growing up in the region, where I learned so much about life and people, so this means a lot for me to return there for this exciting new tournament,” said Grkinich, who lives in the Denver area.

“Some of these European players haven’t been out of their own city, let alone their country,” said Grkinich, a 1988 East Chicago Central High School graduate.

He is president of Keegan Sports Group, specializing in sponsorship and marketing consultation, as well as this upcoming IBC tournament July 17 through July 22 at Oil City Stadium in Whiting. (For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.internationalbaseballchallenge.com.)

“This seven-game exhibition event has really snowballed. There will even be eight or nine pro scouts in attendance,” said Grkinich, whose brother-in-law is Gus Flores, the former police chief in East Chicago.

The tourney’s MVP award is named after the late baseball legend Roger Maris, who played Major League Baseball from 1957 to 1968. His sons are expected to attend the tournament and present the award to the winning player.

“George knew my dad was of Croatian decent, and called me to ask if he could name the MVP award after him,” Roger Maris Jr. told me. “I told George that any time you can have your dad’s name associated with an MVP award, it’s special. It’s also special because Croatia will be fielding a team in the challenge.”

“The IBC is about promoting baseball globally, providing an opportunity for baseball federations that don’t get to compete in the World Baseball Classic a chance to compete on a global scale,” Maris said. “It gives the opportunity to spread the love of the game globally to others.”

The IBC will also be giving away 61 Roger Maris-inspired caps to select fans July 21 and July 22. The caps have a photo of Maris inside the hat holding up a “61” jersey and his 61st home run ball.

The tourney’s sportsmanship award is named after local baseball legend Kenny Lofton, a six-time MLB All-Star who played from 1991 to 2007. The East Chicago native is expected to be in attendance to hand out the award to the winning player.

“I’m honored to be a part of IBC’s inaugural tournament and give out an award named after me for sportsmanship,” Lofton told me. “I played in a lot of baseball tournaments but none of them had teams from Eastern Europe.”

“Anything that helps baseball grow internationally and bring new players to the game makes a lot of sense to me,” he said. “It’s a wonderful sport that promotes teamwork and teaches discipline. I look forward to watching some good baseball and celebrating the game I love with young people who love the game, too.”

“Also, it’s a great experience for the players from Croatia, Serbia and Slovakia to play baseball in the Chicago area,” Lofton added.

I talked with three of those players, who speak English fluently.

“We are extremely excited for the chance to come to the USA and play baseball,” said Ivan Račić, captain of the Croatia national team. “For our players, this is a dream come true.”

“Baseball in Croatia is a marginal sport, but for us players it is what defines us,” he said. “If it wasn’t for the IBC, most of our players would never have a chance to visit America, nonetheless play the game that we love in the USA. The IBC gives us a chance to show our younger generation of players that if they work hard, they too one day may have an opportunity to come to America to play baseball.”

Danilo Cvijovic, captain of the Serbia national team, said he feels blessed by God to be invited.

“It is an honor to play against teams that have proven themselves as great rivals,” he said. “We are expecting good results from our team because we have worked so hard in preparation. It is an amazing opportunity for Serbia baseball.”

Martin Brunegraf, captain of the Slovakia national team, added, “It means so much to Slovakia baseball to play on U.S. soil for the first time ever.”

The winning team of the tourney will be automatically invited back to defend its title, and the remaining three teams will be selected by the IBC management team and advisory board to participate in next year’s tourney.

I love that it will be held in Whiting, a city I don’t visit enough unless it’s for parades and pierogies.

“Hosting the International Baseball Tournament is a perfect fit for Whiting,” said Mayor Joe Stahura. “Since Whiting is well known for its Eastern European heritage, the baseball tourney fits like a glove.”

“My goal has been to bring as many events to the city as possible to help our local businesses. And I plan to wear my Slovak T-shirt proudly that week, even though my countrymen are heavy underdogs,” Stahura said.

Grkinich’s parents, who are both deceased, would have loved to be a part of this event, their son told me.

“Moji roditelji bice ovde duhom,” Grkinich told me in Croatian.

Translated: “My parents will be there in spirit.”