Philip Herbst’s childhood dream of becoming a major league baseball player remains a dream. But for 12 years, the 56-year-old deputy from Cincinnati, Ohio, has been visiting Fort Myers to give that dream a taste of professional baseball reality.
Like Herbst, people from all over the world come to Lee County every fall to play adult amateur baseball in the Roy Hobbs World Series (RHWS) — a five-week-long tournament that makes dreams come true and boosts the local economy. And it’s back in full force after being canceled last year due to Hurricane Ian.
“This is the opportunity of the fountain of youth,” Herbst said. “You go back in time where you can relive those moments that you did when you were little, and you’re just a little big kid out here.”
Since 1993, Roy Hobbs Baseball (RHB) players over the age of 35 have traveled to Lee County in October and November to play at least one week of games against other teams in their age group. This year, 290 teams registered for the series.
“Everybody wants to win a title,” Herbst said. “But we all win because we’re out here just being that little kid again, reliving our youth and having fun and swinging that bat and smelling those smells of the grass and the leather ball and the bat and the glove.”
“We’re kids again for one week. Don’t worry about anything else. Don’t worry about Israel and Hamas. Don’t worry about Ukraine. Let’s just be kids again.”Dan Gooris, coach and retired 73-year-old police chief from Illinois, to his players
RHB also has a women’s division, as well as the Forever Young division for male players over the age of 75. There are 55 players in the 75-plus division this year, which will wrap up the season on November 18.
“When we play in Terry Park…I get to stand in the same batter’s box as Ty Cobb or Babe Ruth,” Herbst said. “I mean, how cool is that? The legends that have played in this area are endless.”
Teams like the Philadelphia Athletics, the former Cleveland Indians (now Guardians) and the Pittsburgh Pirates have used Terry Park for spring training in the past.
Games are also held at JetBlue Park, the Lee County Sports Complex — home to Hammond Stadium — and the Player Development Center.
Herbst, who wanted to be a pitcher, now plays multiple positions for the Tidewater Drillers from Virginia Beach, Va. He said the county has embraced the event.
“I realize it’s a monetary thing too,” he said. “We bring a lot of money back into the community, which is desperately needed after Ian, which we’re proud to do.”
Each year, the RHWS brings about 5,000 players and 5,000 of their guests to the area. The county estimates that the event produced $11.7 million in direct spending revenue in 2021.
The event doesn't fill the stadiums, but it fills hotel rooms and restaurants.
Jeff Meilke, the executive director of Lee County Sports Development, said there are other economic benefits as well.
“The more people that are eating in restaurants from this tournament are more salaries being paid, which just means more groceries are being purchased, which means more bills are being paid locally,” he said.
It’s difficult to measure the loss suffered from the 2022 cancellation because the community was flooded with humanitarian workers and contractors after the hurricane, but Meilke believes it still hurt the local economy.
“They probably didn't spend the local dollars nearly as much as a tourist would,” he said. “And, of course, all the restaurants suffered by not having it here because they're not filling up from aid workers and, you know, electric companies and things like that as much as a sports tournament is going to do.”
RHB took another significant blow in 2020. During the pandemic, the series lost 65 teams from the prior year. Revenue from direct spending dropped to $7.8 million. In 2019, 271 teams played, and it brought in $10.4 million to the county.
Meilke said RHB is important because of the brand loyalty from its players, some of whom have been participating in the event for 30 years.
In a survey conducted by RHB, at least 20% of the players have purchased homes, vacation rentals or timeshares in the area since the series relocated from Orlando to Fort Myers.
The timing of the event is also crucial. “To have a tournament of this size in one of our lax periods of tourism is incredibly important to us,” Meilke said.
He believes Lee County is an ideal place for the series because the weather permits the outdoor event.
“Second reason is that we have just the best baseball facilities in the country, you know, and certainly one of the destinations that has the most baseball facilities in the country,” he said. “This is a tournament vacation destination.”
This is the first year Atlanta, Georgia, resident Benjamin Holmes played in Fort Myers. “We’ve been in this huge Airbnb for a couple of weeks,” the 56-year-old said. “We’ve been eating out every day, and we try to pick one of the restaurants that are sponsoring the tournament.”
“If you think about that alone and the grocery stores and the libations that we purchase for the house, everybody down here puts a nice chunk of change into the local economy,” he said.
For Holmes one of the draws to coming to Fort Myers was the ability to play on professional ball fields.
“But, ultimately, I get to hang out with some friends of mine, and we spend a week down here in beautiful weather and a beautiful home,” the pitcher said. “The camaraderie, it’s amazing. I get more out of that than even winning or losing or playing the game.”
Mac McMahon is the owner of the Fort Myers restaurant Sidelines, one of the sponsors of the RHWS. Originally from Cincinnati, he was an RHB umpire for 10 years before moving to SWFL and purchasing the establishment seven years ago.
MacMahon said he reached out to RHB about sponsoring before he signed the papers to buy the restaurant.
“We gear up for Roy Hobbs, and, you know, it's a highlight on our calendar,” he said. “Our staff who have been here year after year know that it's a big shot in the arm for business.”
In addition to the same players returning to the restaurant every year, Sidelines hosts all of the weekly pairings parties —a day off from scheduled games where the top teams are revealed and the next round of games is announced. For the past seven years, it has also held an RHB employee dinner at the end of the season.
“Everybody wants to win a title. But we all win because we’re out here just being that little kid again, reliving our youth and having fun and swinging that bat and smelling those smells of the grass and the leather ball and the bat and the glove.”Phil Herbst, 56, player in Roy Hobbs games
McMahon believes Sidelines is RHB’s biggest sponsor. “I mean, it's kind of a natural marriage because of location and the quality of service and all the things that their players and teams are looking for,” he said. “We can accommodate parties of 15 to 30 people.”
Tom Giffen, the president of RHB, said the series has a big impact on the county because it brings adults with disposable income to the area.
“My guys eat at Harold’s, eat at high-end restaurants, go to the sports bars,” he said. “They spend money every night.”
Giffen said the players don’t come just to play ball and feed their passions. They also come because of the relationships they build with the other players.
“There’s a special bond between a lot of these guys, and we call it the dugout,” he said. “What happens in the dugout stays in the dugout.”
Dan Gooris, a 73-year-old retired police chief from Mettawa, Illinois, has been playing in the Fort Myers RHWS for 30 years, and many of those years have been with the same players. He wanted to play for the major leagues when he was a kid.
“It’s the love of baseball, and it’s also the camaraderie we’ve built all these years that keeps us coming back,” Gooris said.
Once a catcher, Gooris now manages his team, the Chicago Fire. He said he likes to start the series off by giving a speech.
“We’re kids again for one week,” he told his players this year. “Don’t worry about anything else. Don’t worry about Israel and Hamas. Don’t worry about Ukraine. Let’s just be kids again.”
No matter the reason for playing, Herbst said Lee County has always welcomed the players and that the RHWS is a way to give back to the community.
“You’ve helped us for so many years, bringing joy to all of us,” he said. “Now we want to bring it back to you and bring our dollars here and help you out to rebuild so that we can thrive again and have a wonderful series for futures to come.”
This story was reported and written for the Democracy Watch program, a collaboration between FGCU Journalism and WGCU News. Gwendolyn Salata can be reached at gwendolyn.salata@yahoo.com.
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