Pandemic temporarily derails big break for ex-Greensburg Central Catholic baseball star Warren Schaeffer

He used to hang out with Tourists and Drillers, Yard Goats and Dust Devils, Sky Sox and Nuts.

And Hokies, especially the Hokies.

Warren Schaeffer, who grew up in Vandergrift, was a PIAA champion at Greensburg Central Catholic and a four-year starting shortstop at Virginia Tech, finally has hit a career roadblock.

The coronavirus was the only thing strong enough to stop him.

Schaeffer, 35, was hired this season to manage the Albuquerque Isotopes, the Colorado Rockies’ Triple-A affiliate and his eighth minor-league team as a coach, manager or player.

A very happy 35th birthday to Isotopes manager Warren Schaeffer! pic.twitter.com/PNPy9YEu9G

— Albuquerque Isotopes (@ABQTopes) January 28, 2020

When he was asked if he felt cursed the biggest break of his career was temporarily derailed by a pandemic, the likes of which haven’t been seen for more than 100 years, he laughed.

“Everybody in America is going through something tough right now,” he said. “It’s not an easy situation for anybody.”

But clearing hurdles is nothing new to Schaeffer. He rode buses all over the U.S. and found himself in minor-league ballparks from Hartford, Conn. (the Yard Goats) to Pasco, Wash. (the Tri-City Dust Devils).

“Everybody talks about the bus rides, but you love it,” he said. “It’s not easiest life, that’s for sure, being away from your family all the time. The bus rides are tough, but it’s a good life.

“When you’re in your low, mid-20s, it’s just one focus, and that’s trying to get to the big leagues,” he said. “You’re trying to get to the top and you’re trying to do everything and dedicate yourself to get there. Have to work offseason jobs, which is kind of tough.” (He has worked on a chicken farm and moved furniture.)

After playing for GCC, the Kiski Valley Legion and Virginia Tech, he was drafted in the 38th round by the Rockies in 2007. Schaeffer played six years in the minors, sporting a reliable glove at all four infield positions.

“Wherever there wasn’t a top prospect, that’s where I played,” he said. “The top prospect was at shortstop one year. I played second base most of that year. My glove kept me in the lineup.”

He reached Triple-A twice — partial seasons with the Colorado Springs Sky Sox in 2010 and ‘11. After spending 2012 with the Double-A Tulsa Drillers, he decided it was time to give up the dream.

“At the end there, I got worn down trying to stay competitive,” he said.

Which was OK.

“I feel like my playing days led up to doing what I’m doing now,” said Schaeffer, who also has managed the Single-A Asheville (N.C.) Tourists and the Double-A Yard Goats.

“The focus as a player was always on myself and always trying to be the best you can be, nonstop. And managing, I’m focused on other people trying to make them better, which is more suited to who I am.

“I wanted to get into coaching because I just wanted to affect people in a positive way. I felt I had the skills to do that.

“I wasn’t the best hitter in the world (he had a .214 lifetime average), but the overall knowledge of the game and strategy … relationship and development was kind of my thing.”

Schaeffer learned how baseball can build strong personal bonds when he was growing up in Vandergrift. In fact, he experienced it most nights around 6 p.m. when his dad, Jim Schaeffer, came home from work.

Jim worked as an artist and painter, but at the end of the day, he grabbed bats, balls and gloves and went into the yard with his only son.

“Always patient, always energetic,” Schaeffer said. “He worked all day and would come home and say, ‘C’mon, let’s go outside and play.’

“I never perceived him as tired, ever, after a day’s work. You could tell I was important to him. He was just a good dad.”

Today, Schaeffer’s support system comes from his wife, Callie. The couple, who recently moved to Freeport, met at Virginia Tech where Callie played outfield on the softball team.

“If you have a good wife that understands what you do and is supportive and you have a good family that likes to travel, it’s a good life,” he said. “She gets it.”

While fixing up the house and introducing the game to his children — son, Beaumont, 6, and daughter, Emerson, 4 — he spends a large portion of his day preparing for the Isotopes’ season.

Will it even happen?

“I feel like the further this thing goes along, the more likely, just in my opinion, we would all be in Arizona (when it’s safe to play baseball),” he said.

He feels good about his chances of managing this season.

“I would think that they would need the upper levels of minor leagues to play just to have a feeder system for the big-league club, if they’re going to play that season,” he said.

But he also knows it’s only one man’s opinion.

“It’s crazy. No one knows, really, what’s going on.”