Enshrinement to the New York State Baseball Hall of Fame along with Fred Handler, his coach at St. Bonaventure, is enough of a thrill for Kevin Lester.
When the retired Williamsville South athletic director looks around the stage Sunday afternoon at the Hilton Hotel in Troy and sees who some of his fellow inductees are, he might not be able to believe his eyes.
Besides being active in baseball as a player, coach, administrator, bullpen catcher, official scorer for Buffalo Bisons games, a scout for major league teams and an instructor in programs for youth, Lester is an avid New York Yankees fan.
Going into the Hall with him will be ex-Yankees Tino Martinez, Lou Piniella and other New York baseball heroes such as Carl Erskine, Jerry Koosman and the late Gil Hodges among others.
Lester can only imagine those major league standouts won't remember him as a catcher at Bishop Turner High, St. Bonaventure or the Muny AAA Buffalo Voyageurs. Who is this guy?
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“When I got the call, I wasn’t quite sure this was something I’d be a candidate for but I was told it’s based on my body of work," Lester said. "There’s a lot of major leaguers like Lou Piniella and Tino Martinez, who I’m going in with this year, Whitey Ford and Mickey Mantle. The Hall of Fame told me it’s not just for major league stars, but for people who have given their life to baseball in New York State.
"With my body of work, they told me I’m the kind of guy they want to have in the Hall of Fame.”
The New York Baseball Hall of Fame is a fairly young organization. It was founded in 2011 by Rene Leroux of Ballston Lake. This will be the 10th class of inductees and first since 2019. The only Western New Yorker in the hall is current Bona baseball coach Larry Sudbrook. For the record, Leroux is not a St. Bonaventure alumnus. He attended Saint Michael's in Vermont and graduated from Skidmore in Saratoga Springs.
In addition to Handler, the former Bona coach whose name is on the baseball facility at the college, also to be enshrined are former big-league players third baseman Mike Pagliarulo, outfielder John Morris, baseball writer Kevin Kernan of the New York Post, Jim Gates and Cesar Presbott, a Yankees scout for 38 years.
“As founder and executive director of the New York State Baseball Hall of Fame, we are thrilled to be inducting Kevin, whose love of the game and legacy in the game truly merit his induction,” said LeRoux. “Kevin accompanies some of the greats of the game such as Sandy Koufax, Mickey Mantle, Carl Yastrzemski, Billy Martin ..."
Lester was athletic director at Williamsville South for 32 years and spent 46 years as a teacher and administrator in the Williamsville School District before he retired in 2017.
His resume includes a bit of acting in "The Natural" when it was filmed in Buffalo. Lester offered technical assistance and oversaw the creation of Roy Hobbs' legendary bat by students in the woodworking class at Williamsville South.
