NEW GERMANY – When amateur baseball fans think of the New Germany Dutchmen, there’s one name and one face that comes to mind. Whether it was his pure athletic ability, his impossible to forget handshake, or his all-around love for baseball and people, Gerald “Beans” Roepke was and is a fixture of the Dutchmen.
After retiring as Region 7C commissioner in 2021, the New Germany baseball organization and the amateur baseball community lost one of their own as Beans passed away in November.
“His presence will be missed greatly,” Minnesota Baseball Association board member Jason Kuerschner said. “When Beans announced he was retiring, it was a testament to his work within the region that he received a well-deserved standing ovation by the fans in the league. This was a tremendous moment for Beans to know that he has left his mark on our league and region that will not soon be forgotten.”
Beans was a huge part of the New Germany baseball organization and the community. Whether playing, managing, or just helping out, he was always around.
“He was the one who kept it going,” Beans’ son Eric Roepke said. “He played for 29 years, managed for a number of years, and then he always helped out with the fundraisers. Then he was also president of the board up until he died.”
Roepke grew up with baseball all around his life. Often tagging along with his dad, the love for the game as well as taking care of the field itself grew every day.
“Probably almost every game,” Roepke said about going to games with his dad. “On Sunday mornings, if it was a home game we’d go to church and then after church, I’d go with him and help get the park ready. I was always around him and that park all the way until I even played. I went to a lot of night games with him too. I grew up with it.”
Always around dad before games helping get the field ready, the love for doing so grew for Roepke. He still takes care of the fields in New Germany to this day.
“That’s where it started I’d say,” Roepke said. “As long as I can remember, I’ve been going to the ballpark with dad and helping him. I was always helping him with stuff. That’s where I kind of got started with taking care of the fields.”
Beans, a man with the stature that no pitcher would like to face, passed on the love of baseball to his son. What started in the backyard quickly turned into a real diamond later on in life.
“I grew up with it,” Roepke said. “When we were young kids, we would get the neighborhood kids together and he’d be the all-time pitcher. We just all played ball.”
Once Roepke started playing himself, his accomplishments seemed so small compared to that of his fathers.
“After he retired, I hit a home run in Howard Lake that went into the lake,” Roepke said. “I couldn’t wait to get home to tell him. When I told him he said ‘I did that when I was in eighth grade. With a softball. And a wooden bat.’ It took me all I had to do it with a baseball. He does it in eighth grade with a wooden bat. That’s something else.”
Beans was a force at the plate during his time with the Dutchmen. One of the top players in the area, his presence went beyond the diamond.
“I started playing for Green Isle in 1968 so I know Beans very well,” MBA board member Joe Kreger said. “New Germany had excellent teams in the 60s and 70s. Beans was a big part of those teams. He was a powerful hitter and a good first baseman. He always acted like a gentleman on and off the field. His later service to the league as regional commissioner was done in the same mode. He’s fair and gentlemanly. A wonderful man.”
The impact Beans had on the amateur baseball community goes beyond the field. Wherever he was, he was always willing to do whatever it took to help grow the game. With a handshake that would make some feel intimidated, at the true core, Beans was a man everybody wanted to know.
“For those who don’t know Beans, he is a large man, which can be intimidating at first,” Kuerschner said. “However, once you got to know the man behind the large hands and a very strong handshake, you realize that he is the biggest teddy bear with a heart of gold. Over these many years working with Beans on our mutual passion for amateur baseball, we developed a wonderful friendship and comradery.”