Joe Freitas steps away from teaching South San Francisco Colt baseball | Native

Joe Freitas has been synonymous with South San Francisco Colt baseball for nearly half a century.

But for the first time since he started coaching his first team in 1977 at the age of 18, this season marked the first time a South San Francisco Colt team was not led by Freitas.

Joe Freitas

After the Peninsula Colt League, like the entire California youth baseball, was closed in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, Freitas decided to step down from the coaching office in 2021. While still holding the title of President and Business Manager of the Peninsula Colt League, Freitas passed the reins of his South City Indians team to Raul Callero.

“I’m still determined to lead the South City program up here and continue to be involved in the Peninsula Colt League,” said Freitas. “My philosophy was to build the program – and keep the kids in South City, give them a place to play and keep them out of trouble and keep them going – keep the program going.”

Freitas trained his final game under the South City PAL Colt Baseball banner in the 2019 Super Region tournament and led the team to the championship game before falling against eventual national champions Los Gatos Legends.

“That was a good year,” said Freitas. “In the end we had a really good year. We made it to the finals in the Super Region in San Jose. “

Freitas was one of the founders of the Peninsula Colt League, along with Wally Souza in San Mateo and Mike Palmer in San Bruno. Palmer stepped down as president of the Peninsula Colt League in 2019.

“It was just about time,” said Palmer. “I had lasted an awful long time. I thought it was time to pass the torch on to someone else. “

Palmer began coaching San Bruno Youth Baseball in 1976. In the years to come, he would oversee SB Youth and the San Bruno Colt League before bringing them under the same banner of the Peninsula Colt League in the early 2000s. Palmer’s legacy pioneered the transformation of the Peninsula Colt League into a not-for-profit charity.

Freitas said he would like to step down from his advisory role at South San Francisco Colt in the future and has named Raul Callero as his successor even though Callero has not yet accepted the title.

“I would like to resign permanently,” said Freitas. “It’s just about finding the right man to hand it over to.”

Callero comes from a longtime baseball family from South San Francisco. His father Cliff served as an assistant coach under Freitas in 2019. And his grandfather, Mike, was immortalized in 2011 when the baseball diamond in Southwood Park was renamed Mike Callero Field.

South San Francisco Colt played a 12-game plan this season with Raul Callero at the helm, despite not being under the official Colt League banner. The team played independently, as did teams from San Bruno, Pacifica, Millbrae, and Daly City.

“Things were sketchy about the whole COVID thing, but I think we’ll be back next year,” said Palmer.

Freitas really wanted to thank everyone who played for him during his 42 years as a coach. He said he was also grateful to his 22-year-old assistant coach Tom Sutter, his brother-in-law, who died in 2010.

One of the evidence of Freitas’ ability to hold the Colt League together during difficult times came during a night game against the Burlingame Mules in Washington Park in 2017. The appointed referees did not appear for the game. But instead of canceling the game, Freitas made the rounds of Washington Park and asked individual fans if they were ready for the referee.

Freitas eventually found two takers to referee, including a local Bay Area sports radio celebrity Ken Dito, who attended the game to watch his grandson play for Burlingame.

“I have to say that was one of my highlights,” said Freitas.