Southeast Missouri State University's Cole Bieser and Jason Blum have been teammates in baseball since they were little kids. But while Cole Bieser is the son of interim baseball coach Steve Bieser, Blum also is the coach's first cousin.
"Jason's my first cousin," Steve Bieser said. "It's kind of a weird deal. Those two guys, I've basically coached all their careers, and they're both versatile, they're two guys I'm very comfortable with because I know what they can do on the field."
Steve Bieser played baseball at Southeast as a catcher and an outfielder before being drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 32nd round of the 1989 MLB Draft. In 1997, he made his debut on the field with the New York Mets and played 47 games as a utility player. He made his last MLB appearance in 1998 with the Pittsburgh Pirates and played in 13 games with the team.
Now he is the interim coach for the Redhawks for the 2012-13 season.
The Biesers spend plenty of time with each other off the field.
"It seems like it's always baseball," Steve Bieser said. "I like to fish and used to hunt a little bit, but baseball has kind of consumed our lives. Rather than fishing, we would go out and hit an extra bucket of balls. We both enjoy hanging around and doing those little things as a family. I've got a wife and three girls as well, so we just like to do a lot of family stuff together."
Steve Bieser also said that he and his son love the game and like to talk about strategies.
"It's probably one of the biggest topics at the dinner table, and that's something that my wife gets tired of hearing, is that 'Can we talk about something other than baseball?'," Steve Bieser said while laughing. "It's just something that we're both passionate about. Sometimes it results in an argument, and sometimes it's just an education session."
Cole Bieser said that they are both football fans and like to go fishing and that they talk about MLB, not just their own team.
"Baseball has always been something that has brought us together," Cole Bieser said. "We talk about it a lot, but we do have other interests outside of baseball."
Cole Bieser recently injured his left wrist on a diving play April 16 against Arkansas State, and an MRI revealed torn ligaments that will result in him missing the rest of the season.
"When it actually happened, it looked pretty bad," Steve Bieser said. "Once we saw the doctors and got some immediate feedback, it was torn. We figured the best thing to do was to get the surgery right away."
Cole Bieser batted .306 and was first in the Ohio Valley Conference with 15 steals.
"It's hard to have to watch the game, especially when I've had success this season," Cole Bieser said. "At the same time, I get to watch my best friends play it now, and I can step back for a couple months here and come back ready to go in the fall."
Steve Bieser said that he will give players an opportunity to play the outfield position but wanted to give Blum the first shot at it.
"He's our leading candidate to take it everyday," Steve Bieser said. "We really need to go find that guy that can really go out there and run it down and have that range out there. We're giving Blum that first crack at it."
Blum had been playing second base this season, but Cole Bieser has given him tips on playing in the outfield.
"He's [Blum] probably one of the grittiest players," Cole Bieser said. "He's one of those guys that is not very boisterous, not very loud, but you look at his box score at the end of the day and you see that he had two hits, got on base three or four times. He's the kind of guy that is very steady with everything he does. He'll show up and play."
Even though baseball is the biggest topic on their minds, Steve Bieser, Cole Bieser and Blum try hard to set it aside at times.
"I love to hunt, I love to fish and hang out with my buddies," Blum said. "Actually, it's turkey season right now, and I haven't got out yet, but those are my main hobbies."
Blum and Cole Bieser also talked about their respect for Steve Bieser.
"I don't really have any dirt on him," Blum said with a laugh. "He's a great coach and cares about you as an individual, you on the baseball field and has genuine concern on every aspect of your life, not just baseball."
"The one thing that I'll take from him is that passion," Cole Bieser said. "I see everyday the passion he has from baseball, for this team. That's something I want to take from him. He's always taught me from very young until now that if you keep working hard then you're going to get where you need to be."
