Church league softball puts Battreal in hall of fame

Former Razorback had dual role as player-coach in slow-pitch softball

Published: July 16, 2015

By Aprille Hanson
Associate Editor

Aprille Hanson

Conrad Battreal, a member of Christ the King Church in Little Rock, stands with his Arkansas Slow-Pitch Softball Hall of Fame inductee plaque and his Christ the King ball cap at St. John Center July 9.

Aprille Hanson

When Conrad Battreal approached the pitcher’s mound, batters would brace themselves — and not just for the pitch itself, but for the strange happenings about to go down.

Was he going to do the Peekaboo? Or perhaps the Karate Kid? These were names given by fans to his antics on the pitcher’s mound in church league softball meant to break the batter’s concentration … and often did.

The Peekaboo, he explained, meant putting his pitcher’s glove over his face. “I’d look through the fingers of the glove” and then throw the ball.

For the Karate Kid, he’d lift up his arms and stand on one leg, Mr. Miyagi-style.

“This was sometimes the only time these other churches ever saw a Catholic. They really didn’t know what a Catholic would do out there.” — Mary Battreal

“I even did a summersault one game. That was enough because it hurt the top of my head,” Battreal said. “You go right behind the pitching rubber, do a summersault and then” pitch a strike while still being in regulation.

But behind the intense concentration and the crazy antics, one aspect of Battreal’s 36-year church softball career with Christ the King always outweighed the rest — he played with a Christian heart and mind.

“I’m going to read you something from one of my players … (he said) ‘You taught me so much about the game, strategy, skills and techniques. Most importantly you showed me how to play the game the right way as a Christian and how to carry myself, win or lose,’” Battreal said. “That was pretty special.”

On July 3, Battreal, a member of Christ the King Church in Little Rock, became the first honoree of the Arkansas Slow-Pitch Softball Hall of Fame to be inducted primarily for his contributions to church league softball.

“It’s very, very special. I consider it a lifetime achievement,” Battreal said. “The big thing I think overall to me it opens the door of the possibility that future hall of famers can come from the church league now.”

Growing up in Malvern, Battreal grabbed a bat, ball and glove around 7 years old and fell in love with America’s favorite pastime. He became more competitive in high school, playing primarily second base for the Malvern Leopards and caught the attention of the Detroit Tigers minor league team at just 17 years old.

“I had to make a choice, college or that. College seemed the best,” Battreal said.

He went to the University of Arkansas to study engineering and played outfield one year with the Razorbacks. However, the stresses of studying and being a college athlete were overwhelming. Not to mention his knee troubles. He’s had three knee surgeries and was nicknamed “Mummy Man” for the braces and shin guards he wore particularly in the later years.

After graduating from college, he served three years in the U.S. Army Medical Services Corps, stationed at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico where most of his work was classified, he said.

Battreal worked almost 38 years with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, working on the Arkansas River navigation channel and 13 years with FTN Associates. He is the executive director of the Arkansas Floodplain Management Association.

The father of two soon found that letting go of his love for playing baseball was not necessary thanks to his faith. Battreal turned to church league softball in the early 1970s, playing for different faith leagues until his home parish, Christ the King, established a softball team in 1975. He joined two years later.

Not only did Battreal play, but he coached for the majority of his time with the team, including the last three years until stopping in 2013. A heart attack while playing in a game 19 years ago slowed him down, but by no means ended his career.

“I get very intense, and I take on a different personality because of that intensity … I was able to really think and play two to three innings ahead of where I actually was as a coach and still play,” Battreal said.

His competitive streak took church softball to another level, often going to observe the National Super Tournament for softball to learn techniques of both pitching and distraction. Battreal even went to observe other teams to know what Christ the King would be up against.

“After you get in shape and learn the fundamentals in the game, it’s mental. I really preach that,” Battreal said.

In large part due to Battreal’s contributions, Christ the King excelled, including a state championship in 1982 and league champions for 10 years. Battreal also played all-star teams at Ray Winder Field in Little Rock and was named the MVP in 1976 and was chosen as an all-star coach in 1994.

Battreal captured the attention of not only his teammates, but others in church softball, like Jim Driedric, who works in the Diocese of Little Rock finance office. He played softball for many years at Our Lady of Good Counsel Church in Little Rock, but when his family moved to Christ the King, he joined in 1990, even helping to coach until also stopping in 2013.

“Conrad would have the players lead the prayer … then the prayer at the end, Conrad would lead,” Driedric said.

The players developed a fellowship and deep friendships and a respect in every sense of the word for Conrad, he added.

“I learned that you can play at a competitive level and still do it in a Christian manner. He proved that … It’s his vocation, he heard the call and he did it.”

Mary Battreal said her husband always had a deep commitment to the Catholic faith which showed on the field.

“This was sometimes the only time these other churches ever saw a Catholic. They really didn’t know what a Catholic would do out there,” Mary Battreal said. “When these guys went out there (they) played like gentlemen and you didn’t hear them using nasty language or hollering at the umpire or throwing their bats down.”

Conrad added, “If you did that you got to ride the bench.”

The Battreals have had a deep understanding of what the call to serve the Church looks like and means since Conrad was asked by pastor Msgr. Francis I. Malone to lead the parish’s vocations committee about nine years ago that other parishes now model. One of the best outreach programs, however, was softball, Conrad said.

“You’re out there representing your church and, of course, I don’t have all the answers but to me it’s one of the few organizations within the Catholic Church that goes out and shows how Catholicism reacts around the public with everything you do,” Battreal said. “It was very important to me.”

Though Christ the King no longer has a softball team, Battreal’s Christian spirit will forever be honored in the hall of fame, but more importantly, in the hearts of his teammates and friends.

“I feel like it’s really increased my faith. If you’re active within your church, your faith will increase or else you wouldn’t be active,” Battreal said.