Tourney Thrives in Spirit of Baseball, Boy Who Loved It

Baseball did not kill Timmy Herman.

Though he died just hours after being hit by a pitch, doctors found that the 9-year-old boy suffered from an undiagnosed condition. It was an enlarged heart that killed him three years ago.

But Rob and Karen Herman rarely think of Timmy without thinking of baseball.

So rather than trying to avoid the painful memory of his death, the Hermans have chosen to celebrate their son’s passion for the game. From their grief has risen an extraordinary event that unfolds across ball fields here each summer.

In three years, the Tim Herman Foundation charity tournament has grown from an impromptu memorial into a four-day competition that draws 51 teams from the Palos Verdes Peninsula to the Antelope Valley. Youngsters ranging in age from 7 to 16 will have played more than 100 games on 10 fields by the tournament’s conclusion on Monday.

These games are not the typical, competitive fare. Every team plays three times, win or lose. There is no championship trophy, no most valuable player.

“This isn’t about who wins,” Karen Herman said.

The Hermans have consciously placed the emphasis on fun. And they have not hesitated to use the tragedy of their son’s death to shame wayward coaches and parents into line.

Their crusade is “not a journey I would recommend for everybody,” Karen said. “I see a little bit of Timmy in every kid out there. That doesn’t make it easier.”

Then Rob chimes in with the family mantra.

“You can either be bitter or be better,” he said. “We choose to be better.”

This year’s tournament seems especially poignant after the recent deaths of six young Southern California athletes--the latest, 17-year-old Glendale baseball player Julius Riofrir, was struck in the head by a baseball earlier this week.

With each reported death, the Hermans ache anew.

“I miss Timmy more than I can tell you,” Karen said. “I still get teary eyed.”

But there was never really a thought the Hermans would avoid baseball after Timmy’s death. As Karen said: “Baseball is what we’re all about.”

Rob grew up playing the game and has remained involved by working with youth teams.

Timmy’s brother, Josh, 17, was a pitcher for Crescenta Valley High this year. His sister, Lindsey, 14, has played softball since she was 6.

In the days following Timmy’s funeral in April 1994, as family and friends gathered at the Herman home, someone raised the idea of organizing a memorial game. A friend quickly offered the use of a back room at her diner.

“We sat around planning and drinking Coke and coffee,” Karen recalled.

Within weeks, the memorial game blossomed into a full-fledged tournament.

There would be no tournament winner, and the Hermans would try their best to match teams of equal ability. Coaches would be required to play every kid on the team, down to the last bench warmer. And there would be no arguing from the dugout, no angry shouting from the stands.

“We wanted to keep the adults out of it,” Karen said.

As Rob put it: “People need to see the simplicity. Kids love to play.”

That first year, 19 teams showed up. Most were local squads coached by men who knew Rob through youth baseball.

“We were all saddened to hear what had happened to his son,” said Jack Wickersham, a La Canada league official. “When he called to ask if we could send some teams over, we jumped at the opportunity.”

Once the games began, sympathy turned into plain old fun.

“It was the way baseball should be played,” Wickersham said.

Word spread and the field grew to 24 teams and more in subsequent years. With more teams, Rob and Karen found themselves having to remind coaches to remain easygoing.

Not that the tournament has avoided controversy entirely.

In 1995, two teams that played in the Herman tournament were later banned from Little League playoffs. A district administrator claimed that the teams violated rules limiting the number of games that can be played before the Little League playoffs.

“I was shocked,” Rob said. “There was no good reason to disqualify kids for something as innocent as coming to support a kid who can’t play anymore.”

The teams obtained a temporary restraining order that allowed them to compete in the playoffs. And the spirit of the tournament ultimately prevailed.

“We’re very impressed by what Rob is trying to do,” said Bill Hoban, vice president of Charter Oak Baseball in Covina, which will bring six teams this weekend. “Yes, it is competitive, but you’re there to have fun. The camaraderie, the sportsmanship, allowing kids to enjoy themselves.”

All of which keeps the Hermans busy this time of year. The entry fees they collect equal the cost of running the tournament. They donate their time to schedule games, hire umpires and organize more than 70 volunteers.

Perhaps the only job they delegate is the printing of the tournament program, which involves scanning Timmy’s picture onto various pages.

“That’s tough,” Rob said. “I gave that to someone else.”

But for all the toil and bittersweet memories, the Hermans say they take comfort in the shouts and laughter that ring out on the fields from kids at play. The family makes a point of greeting the youngsters on each team.

Karen recalls meeting a team from Sylmar in the tournament’s inaugural year.

“The coach told them I was Tim’s mom,” she said. “I had never met these kids before, but every single one of them gave me a hug. I cried all the way through it.”