Sunday, April 10, 2005

Robin Buckson / The Detroit News Kevin Saunderson is not only a techno pioneer but also a supporter of youth baseball in Detroit. Saunderson supports the Metro Detroit Dodgers youth teams.

Baseball takes hold of Detroit techno star late in life

By Lynn Henning / The Detroit News

Comment on this story Send this story to a friend Get Home Delivery

Kevin Saunderson, a Detroit techno music star and one of the musical genre's founders, grew up in New York City and didn't step onto a baseball field until his family moved to suburban Detroit 30 years ago.

That would explain why he never began playing the game until he was 29. Eleven years later, he sponsors traveling youth baseball teams and helps coach and manage one of those teams: the Metro Detroit Dodgers (15-and-younger age group), on which his 15-year-old son, Damarii, plays.

His 12-year-old son, Dantiz, plays for the Dodgers' 12-and-younger team, and a third son, Diaz, 6, is sure to follow. Baseball is part of his sons' summer experience. They have access to teams, to equipment and, most important, to baseball fields.

"You've got to get fields in condition so kids want to go out there and play," said Saunderson, who works with the Think Detroit organization, which has become the city's biggest and highest-profile sponsor of youth baseball.

"There were no baseball fields around where I was growing up in New York. I didn't see it as a sport I had any interest in, personally."

Saunderson was well into his music career and a few years removed from Eastern Michigan University, where he had played football, when baseball swallowed him. He joined the Men's Senior Baseball League -- a suburban band of teams comprised of many former college and minor-league players.

Saunderson was a rookie -- literally. But he found he had passion for the game and enough skill to sustain it. He became a .280- to .320-level hitter and competent outfielder.

Now, he manages his son's team and donates to the Think Detroit effort. He sees that baseball isn't limited in its power to attract young blacks. It has simply been limited in the past by too few facilities and opportunities for urban kids to compete.

"Definitely, baseball more than any is the most difficult sport to play," Saunderson said. "You've got to think more in baseball. There's so much that's involved. That's why I think it's important for kids to have a chance to play. What happens is they pick up on the sport, they end up playing college ball, maybe they become superstars."

But nothing happens until a game takes root in a community. It is why Saunderson, who never had any exposure to baseball as a boy, wants other youngsters to experience the game -- and long before they turn 29.

You can reach Lynn Henning at (313) 222-2472 or lhenning@detnews.com.