We are sorry hear the report, that Ralph Trejo Sr. has been diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. “Sr.” as he was affectionately is probably best remembered in fastball circles for his sponsorship and support of the So Cal Bombers. He did a great deal to support not only the team, but fastball in general. We invite our readers, including former players of Ralph Sr. to post their notes and stories about Sr. in the comments section below.
Below is a story shared with me by one of his former players. Obvious that the players had great love and respect for “Sr.”
Ralph Trejo: The Man behind the SoCal Bombers
The phone call came in at 7:45am, 15 minutes before game time on Sunday at the Monkton Invitational, a tournament that matched the top 8 teams in the World for fast pitch softball. From a distance I could hear the phone humming as someone passionately came through on the other end. “Put me on speaker phone! Put me on speaker phone!” It was Ralph Trejo, (or Senior as we called him), on the other end screaming at our Manager Kelly McGiffin. “We’re done! You guys wanna go out and party all night and not win? This is the last tournament for the SoCal Bombers! I’m done spending money on you guys! I could put this money somewhere else! And you tell Porto I don’t wanna talk to him!”Even though Porto was listening to the speaker phone, during the rant Senior forgot he was on speaker phone, so at times he was yelling at the team and at other times he was talking like we weren’t even there. It was a common act for the old sponsor. He was completely unfiltered. He would say things to you that most people would never have the guts to say to your face……and we loved it! And we loved him even more. He was the perfect sponsor for this band of renegades. He wasn’t just the money behind the team….he was the face of the team, the heart and soul of the team, the engine behind the team and the father of the team. In a way, he and his managers had assembled a team that was a direct reflection of Ralph Trejo Sr. We didn’t care what other people thought. We would say things that may have offended numerous people. We played hard. We knew the game inside and out and we loved the sport of softball with a passion. But most importantly, we loved each other. That was Ralph Trejo Sr.
We went on to win that tournament. It was a rare occasion…not that we won the tournament, but that Senior wasn’t there. We were in the middle of a long stretch of travel weekends to the east coast and he decided to sit this one out. But even though he wasn’t physically there, Ralph Trejo Sr. was always paying attention to the games. Literally 2 minutes after the 3rd out was recorded to win the title, Kelly’s phone rang once again. “Put me on speaker phone!!! I knew it! I knew you guys would win! I knew you could do it! I’m so proud of you guys! I love you guys! See you next weekend!”He may not have realized it, but he was a master motivator. The team truly believed Senior would have pulled the plug on us. In a way, I think he was just checking to make sure we still loved the game as much as he did. He wanted to see if we still wanted to win as much as he did. If we still believed in our team as much as he did. So he would always be pushing us with tough love.
Tough love, brutal honesty, a little bit crazy. That was our sponsor. If you had a rough day or a rough tournament, Senior would let you know right to your face. Sometimes even worse…he would say how bad you were to someone else when you were standing right there….as if you weren’t standing there. Looking back, I laugh every time I think about it.One night at the Boys of Summer tournament before a big game against the Patsy’s from New York I sat on a park bench with Jason Porto, Rob Schick and Tony Peeples.
“Who’s pitching tonight?” asks Trejo as he walks up to the park bench in the outfield.
“We’re going with Peeps” replies Rob Schick.
“Ohhhh no….it’s gonna be a massacre!” exclaimed the old man. As if Peeps wasn’t sitting right there. You could see the steam coming from Peeps’ head. He got up and stormed off. Absolutely furious, Peeps went out and beat the Patsy’s 3-2.
After the game I overheard the old man go up to Peeps and tell him, “I knew you could do it.”Was this guy an old senile man who just said whatever he felt? Did he not realize Peeps was sitting there at the park bench? Or did he just know that he needed to have Peeps fired up for the game or it was going to be a massacre? At first I just thought he was an old senile man. But after watching and witnessing for years, I think he knew exactly what he was doing. He realized the group he had, and he kept pushing to get the most out of us.
For all the blow ups and inadvertent trash talk that Senior would have, you always knew he loved you. I remember hitting a homerun and when I crossed home plate, I could see Trejo running to the fence on the side of the dugout. He was smiling from ear to ear, waiting to give me a high five. He was so excited and so proud of me that I couldn’t help but get overly excited myself. You could literally feel his excitement. Most players only get that type of love from a parent…if they’re lucky. We got it from Senior all the time. And it was addicting. Looking back, we loved playing with each other, but we loved playing for Ralph Trejo Sr. even more. His excitement for the game rubbed off on all of us and we couldn’t get enough of it….we couldn’t get enough of him. We enjoyed his blow ups, we enjoyed his trash talk, we enjoyed his crazy old man moments, and we enjoyed his excitement and love. If you were on the outside looking in, you may have thought we were a dysfunctional family with a dysfunctional old man at the helm. For us, we loved every single bit of it and we loved every single bit of him.
Love him or hate him, you always knew how Senior felt. The colorful old man behind the SoCal Bombers was often misunderstood…even by his players at times. The one thing that was never misunderstood…how much he cared about us. I can only hope that he knew how much we care about him.
Senior,Thank you for the great softball, the great memories, and for caring so much about each of us on that team. We love you.
The SoCal Bombers
Robert Renteria says
I felt so sad when I received the text. He was so good to me for the 5 years that I played for him. My prayers go out to Ralph Sr. and his family.
Meathooks
mike thompson says
meat, long time ago a big ol farmboy from wisconsin came west. you were one of first people I met and I never forgot you. glad to see you are still in the game. mike t.
Kelly McGiffin says
One of the most passionate sponsors I’ve ever worked with, he made every season so much fun. He and Ralph Jr were fantastic to work with – first class family, and team operators. Proud to say I’m still close with them. Prayers are with you Senior…and with all the Trejo family.
Lonnie Brooks says
Ralph has been a dear friend of mine since 1981. He was alot of fun on New Zealand tour in 82 and always made softball fun. A terrific supporter of fastpitch. Prayers to Ralph and family. Lonnie Brooks
fred roybal says
I just talked to my nephew about Ralph , he helped me at Ralph’s house. He and I wish him and family god speed and all the best with what is next for Linda, all his children, grandkids , and great grandkids God Bless all of you . Fred and Veronica Roybal
RALPH TREJO says
I am sad to say that my Father passed away Tuesday night after a short battle with Pancreatic Cancer. He was a passionate fan,sponsor, owner of Fastpitch softball. He will be missed by all, forgotten by none. My family would like to thank you all for your kind words and support .
Ralph Trejo Jr and Family.
Nate Devine says
Ralph Trejo: The Man behind the SoCal Bombers
The phone call came in at 7:45am, 15 minutes before game time on Sunday at the Monkton Invitational, a tournament that matched the top 8 teams in the World for fast pitch softball. From a distance I could hear the phone humming as someone passionately came through on the other end. “Put me on speaker phone! Put me on speaker phone!” It was Ralph Trejo, (or Senior as we called him), on the other end screaming at our Manager Kelly McGiffin. “We’re done! You guys wanna go out and party all night and not win? This is the last tournament for the SoCal Bombers! I’m done spending money on you guys! I could put this money somewhere else! And you tell Porto I don’t wanna talk to him!”
Even though Porto was listening to the speaker phone, during the rant Senior forgot he was on speaker phone, so at times he was yelling at the team and at other times he was talking like we weren’t even there. It was a common act for the old sponsor. He was completely unfiltered. He would say things to you that most people would never have the guts to say to your face……and we loved it! And we loved him even more. He was the perfect sponsor for this band of renegades. He wasn’t just the money behind the team….he was the face of the team, the heart and soul of the team, the engine behind the team and the father of the team. In a way, he and his managers had assembled a team that was a direct reflection of Ralph Trejo Sr. We didn’t care what other people thought. We would say things that may have offended numerous people. We played hard. We knew the game inside and out and we loved the sport of softball with a passion. But most importantly, we loved each other. That was Ralph Trejo Sr.
We went on to win that tournament. It was a rare occasion…not that we won the tournament, but that Senior wasn’t there. We were in the middle of a long stretch of travel weekends to the east coast and he decided to sit this one out. But even though he wasn’t physically there, Ralph Trejo Sr. was always paying attention to the games. Literally 2 minutes after the 3rd out was recorded to win the title, Kelly’s phone rang once again. “Put me on speaker phone!!! I knew it! I knew you guys would win! I knew you could do it! I’m so proud of you guys! I love you guys! See you next weekend!”
He may not have realized it, but he was a master motivator. The team truly believed Senior would have pulled the plug on us. In a way, I think he was just checking to make sure we still loved the game as much as he did. He wanted to see if we still wanted to win as much as he did. If we still believed in our team as much as he did. So he would always be pushing us with tough love.
Tough love, brutal honesty, a little bit crazy. That was our sponsor. If you had a rough day or a rough tournament, Senior would let you know right to your face. Sometimes even worse…he would say how bad you were to someone else when you were standing right there….as if you weren’t standing there. Looking back, I laugh every time I think about it.
One night at the Boys of Summer tournament before a big game against the Patsy’s from New York I sat on a park bench with Jason Porto, Rob Schick and Tony Peeples.
“Who’s pitching tonight?” asks Trejo as he walks up to the park bench in the outfield.
“We’re going with Peeps” replies Rob Schick.
“Ohhhh no….it’s gonna be a massacre!” exclaimed the old man. As if Peeps wasn’t sitting right there. You could see the steam coming from Peeps’ head. He got up and stormed off. Absolutely furious, Peeps went out and beat the Patsy’s 3-2.
After the game I overheard the old man go up to Peeps and tell him, “I knew you could do it.”
Was this guy an old senile man who just said whatever he felt? Did he not realize Peeps was sitting there at the park bench? Or did he just know that he needed to have Peeps fired up for the game or it was going to be a massacre? At first I just thought he was an old senile man. But after watching and witnessing for years, I think he knew exactly what he was doing. He realized the group he had, and he kept pushing to get the most out of us.
For all the blow ups and inadvertent trash talk that Senior would have, you always knew he loved you. I remember hitting a homerun and when I crossed home plate, I could see Trejo running to the fence on the side of the dugout. He was smiling from ear to ear, waiting to give me a high five. He was so excited and so proud of me that I couldn’t help but get overly excited myself. You could literally feel his excitement. Most players only get that type of love from a parent…if they’re lucky. We got it from Senior all the time. And it was addicting. Looking back, we loved playing with each other, but we loved playing for Ralph Trejo Sr. even more. His excitement for the game rubbed off on all of us and we couldn’t get enough of it….we couldn’t get enough of him. We enjoyed his blow ups, we enjoyed his trash talk, we enjoyed his crazy old man moments, and we enjoyed his excitement and love. If you were on the outside looking in, you may have thought we were a dysfunctional family with a dysfunctional old man at the helm. For us, we loved every single bit of it and we loved every single bit of him.
Love him or hate him, you always knew how Senior felt. The colorful old man behind the SoCal Bombers was often misunderstood…even by his players at times. The one thing that was never misunderstood…how much he cared about us. I can only hope that he knew how much we care about him.
Senior,
Thank you for the great softball, the great memories, and for caring so much about each of us on that team. We love you.
The SoCal Bombers
Ralph Trejo Jr says
Its with a heavy heart that I am here to let everyone know that on Tuesday night after battling a short fight with Pancreatic Cancer my father Ralph Trejo Sr. passed away. My family and I would like to thank everyone for there kind words.
He will be missed by all, forgotten by none………
Ralph Trejo Jr.
Ken Schwartz says
Thanks to the entire Trejo Family for making the So Cal Softball community that much more vibrant. You made it a Family affair and we were all the beneficiaries. “May his memory be an eternal blessing”. Prayers for peace to the entire family. Ken Schwartz and Maccabi USA Softball.
Ralph Roybal says
To the Trejo Family,words are hard to express when I look back and think of all the memories I’ve been lucky enough to share with your Dad. He was so intense on game days that we hardly seen him until the games were over. We would say where did you go ? He said for a walk. I could see him far away in the distance looking but not stopping.Then after the games he would be the life of the party congratulating everyone! I could always ask him for his advice because it was honest even though it was tough. The Trejo family has always been so gracious to my Master Team we can’t thank them enough!So on this sad day I played catch with my son, said a prayer looked up and said goodbye my friend!
Yanah says
Thank you all for tolerating this man I call my grandpa…. he was a kick in the hay and it was never a dull moment with him.
I’d like to say thank you to the person who is responsible for this write up. You couldn’t have described my grandpa any better… thank you for all the wonder kind words.. much love from all of us here from the Trejo Compound. ????
Albert Mendibles says
So sorry to hear about Sr.! The story above fit him perfectly. He definitely had a unique way to get the best out of his teams. A great sponsor with a great deal of passion! He truly cared for each and every person that was associated with his club. Sr. will be missed by many!!! Prayers go out to Ralph Jr. and the rest of the Trejo family.