BISMARCK, ND (KFYR) – The final sports spotlight of the summer baseball season is on Larks manager Mark Weidemaier. The man has been a baseball coach for over four decades. He has coached in the majors and minor leagues, in Mexico and South Korea. He also has a particular fondness for a hotel.

“The most important thing for your listeners to understand is this: I once had about 14, almost 14 million Marriott points. That means I spent 14 years of my life in a Marriott hotel. And that’s not even mentioning all the run-down hotels I’ve stayed in over the years,” Weidemaier said.

Weidemaier also worked for some time as a bench coach for the Kia Tigers in the Korea Baseball Organization.

“I think the fans there are great, the noise, the thunderclaps – they all cheer throughout the game,” said Weidemaier.

“As far as the food goes, there were some crazy things, like sea snakes that they chopped up alive out of the tank and put them in a frying pan right in front of the visitor while they were frying and jumping around in the pan and you were about to eat them,” Weidemaier said.

Weidemaier also played for the New York Yankees for a while.

“Yankees, field coordinator, minor leagues, fired George Steinbrenner, Bucky Dent and seven other guys on June 6, 1990 – I remember it very well,” Weidemaier said.

And that brings us to today. As the Larks’ field manager, Weidemaier now has a roster made up of young, college-age players.

“I hope that my players can use my knowledge to pick up some of what I’ve passed on to them. And that’s not because I’m smarter than anyone else, but because I’ve dealt with a lot of really good people in baseball,” Weidemaier said.

One of those people was Hall of Fame manager Tony La Russa, who has a golden rule for people involved in baseball.

“You have to learn a little bit about the history of the game, you have to have respect for the game, you have to make an effort to know a lot about the game,” said Weidemaier.

His first year in Bismarck was challenging, but Weidemaier doesn’t let that bother him.

“I don’t like losing. We’ve accomplished too much, but that’s another story. I just come to the stadium and am part of the game. I love the smell of grass, pine tar and all kinds of dirt,” said Weidemaier.

“Not only have I worked in baseball for most of my adult life, I’m also a huge fan of the game of baseball. I love baseball,” Weidemaier said.

“You know, other than my wife, my dogs and my property in North Carolina, I don’t play golf. I play baseball. I’ve been doing it for so long and I’m not ready to stop,” Weidemaier said.

The Larks have four games left, and all of them are home games. Bismarck plays the Mankato Moondogs on Wednesday night at 6:35 p.m.

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