A glance at Ron Ziemann’s career reveals a single truth – teams he played on won a lot of championships. Ziemann’s career began at sixteen in Des Plaines when he played in a high school league. He started pitching by default – no one wanted to pitch. Seduced by the lure of big time softball at Clarendon and Kelly Parks, Ziemann’s local team entered a tournament in 1974 and defeated the Dwarfs. This tournament, and the reluctance of his local team to travel to Chicago, helped Ziemmann move to the Amalgamonsters, managed by Mike McGovern. Unfortunately, the Amalgamonsters couldn’t get beyond Eddie Zolna and the Bobcats, so they broke up. Ziemann found national fame in 1982 when Eddie Zolna and a team consisting of former Runts took the USSSA Title. Ziemann then hooked up with the Kelleher brothers and Sports Station in 1985. At 34, he had finished second five times in the Nationals, so the quest for a National Championship became an obsession. Ziemann’s dream came true in 1987 when Sports Station won the ASA National title and the USSSA Nationals. That year he was also selected as an ASA and USSSA 1st Team All-American. After retiring from the game for family reasons, Ziemann returned to the diamond to help pitch Whips to an ASA Championship (1989) and with Lettuce (1992). Besides his 1987 appearance on the ASA and USSSA All-American Teams, the ASA honored him in 1976, ‘78, ‘79, ‘80, ‘91, and ‘92; the USSSA honored him in ‘81 and ‘92. Ziemann attributes his success as a pitcher to two concepts – never give a hitter something he can hit and scout your opponent. Ziemann believes that most batters do not want to walk, so they will swing at pitches outside the strike zone. He and his catchers also looked for weaknesses in individuals by spending long hours scouting them. Ron Ziemann and his wife, Amy, Live in Des Plaines with their son, Jake. Ron manages 25 post offices in the North and Northwest suburbs.
