Global Game

Anthony Barone paid a visit to the Chautauqua Sports Hall of Fame earlier this month.

He was bearing gifts.

The two items, which will be displayed prominently among the memorabilia that fills the 6,000-square foot facility on West Third Street in Jamestown, New York, were baseball jerseys.

The first was the one Barone wore during the 2018 Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League season when he guided the Jamestown Jammers to a championship and was named the Manager of the Year. The other was the jersey he wore in November when he was a member of the coaching staff for the Baseball United West All-Stars during an exhibition series in Dubai.

From Jamestown to the Middle East and back, Barone has grown accustomed to the journey that the sport has taken him on during the last 25 years or so.

And others have taken notice.

But first, a history lesson.

Barone’s baseball odyssey began in the mid-1990s when he was a talented middle infielder/hitter at Jamestown High School. He continued his playing career at Jamestown Community College where he was selected one of the school’s 50 greatest athletes, followed by another two-year stint at Felician (New Jersey) College where he was an all-conference athlete and a two-time Academic All-American.

And, as it turned out, it was only the beginning of his infatuation with America’s pastime.

Upon completing his college eligibility, Barone found success at Jamestown CC, including four years as an assistant to Kerry Kellogg and seven more as the head coach where he amassed 207 victories, including a 101-62 record in NJCAA Region 3, and was named the region’s Coach of the Year in 2008.

From there, he took his talents to the West Coast where he was an assistant coach at California State Bakersfield from 2012-14; and then he returned to Jamestown for four years, capped by being named the PGCBL Manager of the Year in 2017 and 2018.

It was during his time with the Jammers that he made an impression with ROC Ventures, the team’s ownership group. After completion of the 2018 PGCBL season, Barone took a job as an assistant coach with the Milwaukee Milkmen of the American Association, which is also owned by ROC Ventures. Upon the completion of the 2019 season — the Milkmen finished 38-62 that campaign — manager Gary McClure was fired and Barone was hired to take his place.

To say it has worked out, would be an understatement.

After winning a championship in the shortened 2020 season with Barone at the helm, the Milkmen finished third in the East Division the following three seasons. In 2021, Milwaukee lost to Fargo-Moorhead in the wild-card round. In 2022, the Milkmen fell to the same Fargo-Moorhead team in the championship series and, earlier this year, Milwaukee lost to the Chicago Dogs in the East Division semifinals.

Having just completed the first year of a five-year contract extension, Barone says he’s found a home away from home.

It’s been good,” he said, “but we do it the right way. We have great facilities. It’s phenomenal.”

Speaking of phenomenal …

Eddie Diaz is vice president of operations for Baseball United, which is billed as the first-ever professional baseball league focused on the Middle East and Indian subcontinent. He is also president of baseball operations for Durango of the Mexican Summer League.

“He’s taken a liking to the job I’ve done in Milwaukee and he thought I was a good candidate to go over (to Dubai) and represent what they’re trying to do,” Barone said.

The two-game showcase featured the East All-Stars against the West All-Stars at a custom-made field on the grounds of Dubai International Stadium. Among the 50 rostered players were former Major Leaguers Robinson Cano, Bartolo Colon, DiDi Gregorious and Pablo Sandoval. Also in attendance were ex-MLB players Barry Larkin, Adrian Beltre, Elvis Andrus, Felix Hernandez and Nick Swisher, who serve as co-owners for Baseball United.

“We were showcasing baseball to a region that didn’t even know what it was,” Barone said. ” … (The showcase) was streamed in 120 different countries and it was all over TV (on MLB Network). I think we made a really good first impression.”

Barone noted that the former MLB players were “like a kid in a candy story, just getting ready to play another baseball game.

“The way they represented what we were trying to do in Baseball United was off the charts.”

Reportedly, Baseball United is planning for a full season with multiple franchises beginning in November 2024. Barone said he was offered the opportunity to return, but he’s undecided if he will.

Nevertheless, he won’t soon forget the eight days he spent in a city that is 7,000 miles from where he grew up.

“I’ve sort of seen a lot of things with the game of baseball, a lot of different parts of the world at different levels, but it’s all made me better at what I do,” Barone said. “It’s been part of the process. … My journey along the way was a little bit different, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”