Andrew Starke smiles when he reflects on his earliest memories of baseball in Texas as a child. The crowd’s buzzing excitement and whistles throughout the game, the bright lights of the stadium, the smell of hot dogs grilling, eating peanuts, and watching the players out on the field. He loved going to the games with his dad who enthusiastically narrated the game and the plays to him. He loves experiencing the crowd’s adrenaline and the ionic crack that the bat makes when a player hits a home run . To Andrew , baseball is more than just a thrilling game; its builds connections, unifies a team, a community, and our nation.
Growing up, Andrew pursued a lot of different sports but gravitated to baseball the most. His passion for baseball led him to attending Mercer University on a scholarship and attaining a degree in business. While he loved playing and dreamed of a career in baseball, Andrew always felt that there was something bigger in his future than playing the game. Andrew has always been a hard worker; from a young age he was highly motivated to build his character and earn extra cash, whether it be mowing his neighbors’ lawns, delivering newspapers, or working at an opera house. Throughout his 20 years in the desert, Andrew has constantly found new ways to grow Power baseball and keep the fans coming back year after year.
His remarkable work ethic has resulted in new opportunities and meeting inspiring people, all leading him to where he is today. “Nothing will replace hard work and effort,” Andrew declares. With the desire to create his own sports entertainment business, he established the Palm Springs Power in the fall of 2003. Andrew’s goal was to provide college-level baseball players the opportunity to develop their skills in Palm Springs while entertaining valley residents. Andrew reflects on his journey, and how dreams and goals can evolve and expand as life goes on. He remarks that it is great to have a dream such as making it into professional baseball, but a make-or-break mentality will prevent anyone from seeing the abundance of opportunities that they have surrounding their life’s journey.
Andrew feels blessed to have a wonderful family and his amazing wife, Vicky, and kids Christian (13) Caleb (10) and Charlotte (5)all contribute to the success of Power baseball. He loves to share his passion and takes as many opportunities as possible to practice baseball or any other sport with his children.
Andrew is pleased with the course his life has taken, marveling at how even the most trivial interactions can lead to remarkable outcomes. For instance, while working for the Orlando Magic, he meta businessman backstage, which eventually led to him securing a job with a baseball team in Long Beach, CA. This experience was instrumental in propelling him towards creating Power!, the venture he’s currently involved in.
Andrew provides unique entertainment to the Valley, none of which would be possible without the fans a n d valuable partnerships with the City of Rancho Mirage, Eisenhower Medical Center, and Agua Caliente Casinos. “Without the community’s support, we wouldn’t be able to have this opportunity for aspiring athletes and fans here in the valley,” Andrew said.
Season’s tickets are now available at the Palm Springs POWER Baseball Office, located inside Palm Springs Stadium on non-game days from 12-4 p.m. Monday – Friday, and on game days at the box office which opens one hour before first pitch. Opening day this summer will be Friday June 2nd as thePower will take on the Orange County Legends followed by their traditional fireworks show.
If you are interested in supporting the Power team even more and you have a spare room, the Power are looking for volunteers to be host families for the players and interns who travel from around the country to develop their skills to also work in professional sports. Host families are not responsible for transportation, food or money.
“There is a match for everyone, and I carefully listen to everyone’s preferences and make the very best matches possible. These are motivated young adults working to become professionals in their chosen fields who are here trying to perfect their craft and to build their future. We have had so many positive and even life-changing experiences through this program.”
For more information feel free to drop by the Palm Springs POWER Baseball Office, located inside Palm Springs Stadium: 1901 E. Baristo Rd. Palm Springs, CA 92262 (shared parking lot with the Palm Springs Library) from 12-4 p.m. Monday-Friday.
You can also visit: palmspringspowerbaseball.com or call (760) 778-HITS (4487). We can’t wait to see you outthere this upcoming season!
