Blue Wahoos Father's Day Fantasy Camp Features Three World Series Winners As Celeb Instructors

Kevin Saucier was a decade removed from being part of the Philadelphia Phillies historic 1980 championship season when first participating as a celebrity instructor at a fantasy baseball camp.

“It was right before (Phillies) spring training opened in Clearwater,” said Saucier, who pitched five seasons in the Major Leagues. “It was a lot of fun. Then I probably did four or five after that. It’s special to be part of something like that.”

Now, he’s helping bring the same kind of experience to Blue Wahoos Stadium.

Saucier (pronounced So-Shay) is one of three former World Series winners from Pensacola – joined by Tim Spooneybarger (2003 Miami Marlins) and Adron Chambers (2011 St. Louis Cardinals) – hosting the Blue Wahoos first Fantasy Camp on June 14 as part of Father’s Day weekend.

The one-day event, on a Saturday (10 a.m.-2 p.m.), will be a special four-hour experience for dads.

Each participant will receive a custom-fitted Blue Wahoos jersey with their name and number, along with other merchandise items, breakfast and lunch provided, batting practice and fielding practice with instruction, a simulated game and meeting inside the completely remodeled visitors’ clubhouse to ask questions of three former players who hoisted a World Series trophy.

Also part of experience will be Jake Wood, who in 1961 became the Detroit Tigers first African-American player to reach the big leagues from their minor league system. He was also a finalist for American League rookie of the year that season.

The cost is $350 per-participant. It is designed for fathers, but each participant can bring their son or daughter by paying the additional $350 registration fee.

“I think it’s unique to have something like this in Pensacola, especially a town our size with guys who have won a World Series,” said Saucier, a lefthanded reliever who helped the Phillies win their first World Series in franchise history with teammates that included Pete Rose, Mike Schmidt and Steve Carlton, three of baseball’s all-time greatest players.

“The majority of these fantasy camps are several days long and run between $5,000 and $10,000,” so we’re able to do something like this in one day for several hours, which is great,” said Saucier, who went from helping Escambia High win state championships to reaching the pinnacle in Major League Baseball. “Very thankful to have Tim and Adron participating. Each of us has own story to tell on how we got there.

“The guys will be able to come into the locker room, be part of a locker room setting and we’ll talk to them, open up about what we all did. Then we’ll be on the field. I think it’s going to be a lot of fun for these guys.

“(Participants) will be around local guys who have been there and done it.”

The Blue Wahoos team will be on the road that weekend, playing against the Rocket City Trash Pandas. Other Minor League Baseball teams have held similar type of one-day camps. This will be the first of its kind for Blue Wahoos Stadium.

“It was exciting to dive into and see how to put this together,” said Shannon Hannah, the Blue Wahoos events manager. “A lot of parks do this on different scales. This was something we wanted to start and see how we can develop.

“Without having the team at home that weekend, it allows full access to the visitors clubhouse and really be able to create a special experience. I’m excited to see how it goes. I think people enjoy seeing the behind-the-scenes elements and Kevin is so great with people and talking about his career.”

Ironically, Saucier followed his playing career to transition into becoming a MLB regional scouting director. Two of the players he scouted in high school and recommended were Spooneybarger and Chambers.

Spooneybarger, a Pine Forest High grad, was traded to the Marlins from the Atlanta Braves prior to the 2023 season. In that year, the Miami Marlins became only the second team in MLB history to win a World Series after being 10 games below .500 (19-29) at some point during a season.

That team also fired manager Jeff Torberg during the season and persuaded legendary Jack McKeon, then 72, to come out of retirement in May to manage the ballclub. It led to a Wild Card playoff spot, then NL championship and the Marlins beat the New York Yankees in six games to win their second title.

Chambers, a Pensacola High grad, was a two-sport star as quarterback/defensive back and outfielder in high school. After switching to play baseball as a college athlete, he went from Pensacola State College to being drafted by the Cardinals, then playing in 2011 for Hall of Fame manager Tony La Russa on a team with slugging star Albert Pujols, expected to be elected to the Hall of Fame when eligible in two years.

Chambers has just published a book on his life, “From Pensacola To The World Series.”

These are the kind of backgrounds that Saucier hopes will interest Fantasy Camp participants to get to know former players who attained rare feats.

“I hope people can have a lot of fun and realize we are people just like they are,” Saucier said. “We might have gone a different route and did different things, but we’re all just normal people.”

When people learn that Saucier played with Pete Rose, it naturally stirs conversation about what that experience was like. Saucier gets equal appreciation when informing he played with “Tim McGraw’s daddy.” Reliever Tug McGraw as part of that 1980 Phillies team – long before the country music legend was known.

Saucier remembers his initial Fantasy Camp experience when he pitched two innings to participants that year at Jack Russell Stadium, the Phillies former spring training home in Clearwater.

“I can’t do that now,” he said, laughing. “But back then, with it not being that far removed from that World Series year, there were a ton of fathers who were Phillies fans attending.

“It’s good. You get to be around people who want to know what it was like playing (in Major League Baseball) and they get a chance to have batting practice and get a feel for what it was like to play.”

WANT TO PARTICIPATE?

WHAT: Blue Wahoos’ Father’s Day Fantasy Baseball Camp

WHEN: June 14, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

WHERE: Blue Wahoos Stadium

COST: $350 per-participant.

WHO: Former MLB players and World Series winners Kevin Saucier, Tim Spooneybarger and Adron Chambers, all from Pensacola, are guest instructors, along with former Detroit Tigers infielder Jake Wood.

FORMAT: Each participant receives Blue Wahoos game jersey, custom-fitted with name and number, plus breakfast and lunch provided, on-field instruction and practice, a simulated game experience and being able to visit with the former MLB players in the spacious, newly remodeled visiting team clubhouse.

REGISTRATION: www.bluewahoos.com