Kaminsky, Shetler round out 2023 Somerset County Baseball Old-Timers Hall of Fame Class

Editor's note: This is the third of three parts highlighting the members of the 2023 Somerset County Baseball Old-Timers Hall of Fame class.

The Somerset County Baseball Old-Timers will host the 26th annual Hall of Fame induction picnic and ceremony beginning at noon on Aug. 12, at the Stoystown American Legion Post 257. The induction ceremony will begin at 2 p.m.

Here is a look at the final two members of the 2023 class:

Jason Kaminsky

Kaminsky is a local baseball coach, instructor, league officer and media publisher who has coached high school players for 31 years on teams from Pony and Colt League through high school, American Legion, College showcase, and AAABA.

He began playing baseball in the Hooversville Little League in 1981. Later, he was a standout for the Stoystown and Somerset County Maple Leafs Junior and Senior American Legion teams, as well as Shade High School.

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After high school, Kaminsky played four years of AAABA baseball in the Johnstown Junior League. Following his AAABA career, Kaminsky began coaching for the Stoystown American Legion team in 1992. He managed the team from 1995-99. Kaminsky became the manager for the Richland/Windber American Legion team from 2000 to 2007. He also was the manager for the Richland American Legion team from 2008 to 2012, and 2022 to present.

Kaminsky also coached high school baseball at Richland, where he was the hitting and pitching coach for Rams' teams that won three Laurel Highlands championships between 2003-2012.

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In 2012, Kaminsky formed the expansion Ophthalmic Associates team in the AAABA League, where he managed until 2016. He has coached more than 1,000 games at or above the high school level. Kaminsky also served as a hitting instructor and trainer for more than 15 years at various camps and schools including Era Sports, the Dee Dee Osborne Showcase Camp, and the Mike Moore Hitting Clinic.

Kaminsky was instrumental in overseeing local baseball leagues, serving as a past Vice President of the Turnpike American Legion Baseball League and the Cambria County Legion League. Kaminsky has promoted the accomplishments of local players for the past 25 years via print media, television, and online outlets which he founded in 1997 as LHSPORTS.com. Kaminsky created one of the first baseball team websites in Pennsylvania for the Turnpike Legion League in 1998. Since then, Kaminsky has also developed numerous statistical and instructional websites that promote local players.

Kaminsky, the son of Frank and Mary Kaminsky of Wilbur, resides in Richland. He is married to Alyson Ott Kaminsky. They have three children, Cameron married to Dr. Jessica Kaminsky, Sadie, and Ethan. They also have one grandson, Ellis.

Joe Shetler

Shetler's love of baseball began in his backyard with his father, Byran Shetler, who threw him countless pitches for batting practice in their homemade batting cage. His dad long tossed and hit fly balls with Shetler and his brother Dave for hours at a time.

Shetler's career began in the Somerset County Midget League. He was a four-year letterman and starter at Conemaugh Township High School from 1994 to 1997, playing at shortstop, center field, and as a pitcher. Some of Shetler's high school accolades include Somerset County second team all-star as a freshman. He was a first team honoree the remaining three years of his career. He had a career .402 batting average with 58 RBIs and 38 stolen bases in high school. Shetler went 17-4 in high school with 119 strikeouts and only 29 walks.

Shetler was a four-year starter in the Johnstown AAABA League from 1996 to 1999. He had a .398 batting average with 41 stolen bases, 114 RBIs and eight home runs. Shelter was the 1999 AAABA League batting champion. He was fortunate to compete in two AAABA national tournaments with Principal Development in 1996, and for Delweld as a pickup player in 1999. His fondest memory was hitting a grand slam on Aug. 10, 1999, which happened to fall on his father’s birthday.

Shetler was also a four-year letterman at Marshall University from 1998 to 2002 where he patrolled the outfield in center field. He had an error his very first play as a freshman but did not commit another error during the duration of his career. He graduated with a master’s degree in exercise science.

Shetler's proudest baseball accomplishment was the development of a travel baseball team, the Iron Horse Mustangs, he created and managed for eight years. The team, mainly from Somerset County, competed against much larger organizations. They won several prestigious tournaments throughout western Pennsylvania and Ohio. This team was comprised of players from multiple Somerset County school districts at Berlin Brothersvalley (Pace Prosser), North Star (Cayden Turner, Connor Yoder, Glendon Griffith), Windber (Andrew Scalia, Joe Reynolds, Rex Rininger), Conemaugh Township (Tanner Shirley, Zach Petree, Larry Weaver, and stepson Luke Haight). Shetler preached attitude, effort and consistent hard work. He feels this is why his team was so successful against much larger travel organizations. This coaching philosophy was a direct result of his time spent with and influence of his high school baseball coach Sam Zambanini.

In 2018, Shetler spearheaded the development of the first Somerset County junior high baseball team at Conemaugh Township and was the inaugural head coach. This led to many other Somerset County school districts following suit.

Shetler is currently employed at Laurel View Village in Davidsville as the Life Enrichment and Wellness Manager. He recently ended his eight-year stint as Conemaugh Township’s strength and conditioning coach. Shetler lives in Davidsville with his wife Somer and children, Brianna and Luke.

He is beyond humbled for his induction into the Somerset County Baseball Old-Timers Hall of Fame. He thanks the Somerset County Baseball Old-Timers for this extreme honor. He also thanks his parents, Bryan and Cindy Shetler for all their support throughout his baseball career, Zambanini and Barry Thomas.

Adam Ripple is the Daily American sports editor. He can be reached at 814-444-5926. Follow him on Twitter @ARipple_DAsport. Follow Daily American Sports on Facebook and @dailyamericanmedia on Instagram.

This article originally appeared on The Daily American: Kaminsky, Shetler final 2 members of Old-Timers Hall of Fame Class