Chris Greklek knew that the North Colonie Youth Baseball Association was dedicating a new plaque at the Boght Baseball Complex last Friday.
He just didn’t know his name would be on it.
Greklek, a former NCYBA board member and team manager, became the first Mission Plaque honoree following a two-year stretch in which he battled multiple myeloma.
This was quite a surprise, said Greklek. `I’m just glad to be part of it, as I am for being part of this organization for the past seven years.`
The trick to surprising Greklek was not telling him why he needed to be at the ceremony, said NCYBA Commissioner Bob Burke.
`It was pretty hard, but his tenure on the board ended on Jan. 1, and we voted on (the honor) soon after he left,` said Burke.
Greklek’s wife, Amy, was also in on the surprise.
`I was contacted by the board a couple of weeks ago to make sure he’d be here,` said Amy.
`She kept asking me, ‘What’s this thing on Friday?’ so I would remember it,` said Greklek.
The Mission Plaque unveiled at the Boght Baseball Complex displays the attributes the NCYBA instills in its players ` `Leadership, confidence, respect, teamwork, discipline, sportsmanship and friendship which will carry on into adulthood if but only a distant memory.` It concludes with this statement: `If, at the end of a day, each player leaves these fields with a smile on his or her face, then we have accomplished our mission.`
Burke said the board couldn’t think of a better person to honor as the first recipient than Greklek.
`He would come to all the meetings (when he was sick), and he was always a positive person. You’d never hear him complain,` said Burke.
Greklek said he was appreciative of having his name on the Mission Plaque.
`You’re teaching more than baseball (when you’re a youth coach) because these kids aren’t going to be playing Major League Baseball,` he said. `These qualities listed on that plaque are ones that these kids should learn because that will help them throughout life.`
Greklek was fortunate to be present for the dedication. He wasn’t diagnosed with multiple myeloma ` a blood cancer ` until it nearly killed him.
`The doctors told him, ‘Go directly to the hospital,’` said Amy. `By the time he got there, he was already losing kidney function. Once he was hooked up to the machines, I wasn’t worried.`
`I didn’t realize how bad it was until I got to what doctors called the ‘end stage,’` said Greklek. `It wasn’t until 11 to 12 months (after being diagnosed) that my doctor told me how bad it was.`
Up to that point, Greklek had been the picture of health. Not only did he coach baseball, but he also competed in triathlons and graduated to sixth-degree black belt in tae kwon do.
`I did a lot of physical activities, and that came to a halt for a while,` said Greklek.
By the time he finished his treatment, Greklek’s frame shrunk four inches.
`I used to tower over my wife. Now, I’m the same height as her,` said Greklek.
Greklek is now looking forward to resuming his physical activities including returning to the triathlon circuit.
`I’m getting a new (racing) bike, and I can’t wait to get on it,` he said.
`He needs to do that. It’s a part of who he is,` said Amy.
And from now on, Chris Greklek is a part of what NCYBA is.
`I’m very grateful to be part of that,` he said.“