Games continue year round at Extra Innings
by Michele Wojciechowski
Steve Markey’s new business venture began because of his son, Bradley. Markey says that Bradley plays baseball at a high level, and throughout his life, the 15-year-old has been on everything from travel teams to Baltimore metro teams. But the problem always came in the off-season.
As Markey recalls, it was often difficult for teams to find safe, appropriate places for the kids to practice. Over the years, they rented warehouse space, private gymnasiums, and have even had the kids work out in parking lots. And, not surprisingly, these less-than-stellar locations weren’t always the best.
“You don’t want to damage the property where you’re working, so you can’t use a regular baseball. Usually, you’ve got to use a softer ball,” explains Markey. “There are no nets to protect you. Balls ricochet off walls, bleachers, desk, chairs, whatever happens to be there. The floor is obviously hard, so it’s difficult to work out.”
So three years ago, Markey began to research other options. In late September, his plans came to fruition when he and his wife, Tammy, opened a Baltimore franchise of Extra Innings, a facility that is specially designed to serve the needs of all levels of baseball and softball players.
Located at 7904 Rossville Blvd., Extra Innings seems to be a dream for the off-season baseball or softball player. The facility is 18,000 square feet and includes 71 by 15 foot tunnels with 26-foot ceilings that open into a large field and are designed for people to practice hitting. Markey says that they have various types of equipment for practicing pitching, including pitchers mounds, automatic pitching machines, and even Ts to work from.
Extra Innings also has four coin-operated machines – in batting cages – that pitch either baseballs or softballs, both fast and slow pitch. They also have a full gym for circuit training and cardio work.
According to Markey, Extra Innings attracts entire teams that come in and rent tunnels or sometimes the entire field to practice everything from hitting to infield work. But individuals also come in and either rent space by the half hour or use the batting cages.
“We offer pitching, hitting, and fielding lessons for baseball and softball. We have a full-time strength and conditioning coach who [works] in the strength, conditioning, and agility drills,” says Markey. “We have a pitching and catching clinic, a hitting clinic, and a strength and conditioning clinic that will be coming up during the winter.”
People can also join as members of Extra Innings. For $295 every six months, someone can have a membership similar to that at a health club. He or she can use the batting cages, hit in the member’s area, and work out in the gym. Members also get a 10 percent discount in the facility’s Pro Shop.
Markey, who by day works as a trial attorney with his own law firm (“That is my fulltime job, and Extra Innings is my fulltime passion”), says that he, his wife, their son, and his sister-in-law, Kathy Brown, all spend time working at Extra Innings. In addition, the staff includes Rick Krivda, who besides being a left-handed pitcher for the Orioles from 1995 to 1997, was a gold medalist in the 2000 Olympics. Also on staff is Adrian Parkes, the strength and conditioning coach. Hailing from England, Parkes formerly worked as a professional soccer strength and conditioning coach.
While the core ages they serve are from 10 to about 14, Markey says that people of all ages use the facility – everyone from people playing on 30-and-over leagues to 70-somethings who use the batting cages.
Extra Innings fills a need that Markey discovered years ago. “Whether you simply want to improve yourself to make the team or so that you can play at a higher level in recreation ball or whether you’ve got aspirations to play college or professional ball – whether it’s baseball or softball – you really do need to go that extra mile,” say Markey. “If you want to compete at the high school level or the college level, unless you are a really an exceptional athlete, you have to train year round or it’s just not going to happen. That’s something we offer.”
Extra Innings is located at 7904 Rossville Blvd. Hours are Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Saturday,10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. For more information, call 410-665-6789.