Jason Anderson has received thousands of dollars from local parents and coaches for a clinic and traveling teams. The clinic never happened, the teams were never formed, and Anderson has not refunded any money.

 

Editor’s note: Several of the sources in this article granted interviews to Inside Dakota Sports only on the condition of anonymity to protect the identity of minors.

RAPID CITY, S.D. — Jason Anderson moved to Rapid City this winter with the intentions of forming the “Anderson Baseball Academy.” He promised local youth players, parents and coaches that he would create traveling teams that would expose young baseball players to college and pro scouts. He even guaranteed to put on a clinic with former professional baseball players as instructors, including Hall of Famer, Rickey Henderson. What he delivered was lies and deceit, according to parents and coaches.

Like many local parents who had dealings with Anderson, one Little League mother of a 10-year-old son, who wishes to remain anonymous, was swayed by his promises. She gave Anderson $3,000 as part of the cost of joining his new youth traveling team. Anderson required that the payment be made in cash. Last Saturday, July 3, this mother drove her son to a youth baseball tournament in Mitchell, S.D., which Anderson claimed to have organized. The mother invited family from across the region to come watch her son play. However, there was no tournament in Mitchell, and Anderson never showed up. After waiting at an empty baseball complex for almost an hour, her 10-year-old son turned to her and said, “He (Anderson) didn’t show up because I’m not good enough.”

“I drained my son’s savings account (to pay Anderson),” she told Inside Dakota Sports. “My whole family went to that tournament. There was not a soul there. He humiliated me in front of my family.”

When she confronted Anderson on the phone about the fact that no tournament had existed in Mitchell, he explained that he was three players short of making a team. When the mother complained that she had driven her son all the way to Mitchell and back, she said that Anderson laughed at her.

To date, the family has not been reimbursed any of the $3,000 they paid to Anderson. The Little League mother told Inside Dakota Sports that she is intending to file a lawsuit against Anderson.

“I’m suing him for the amount of money (he owes me). I have everything that he charged me for on paper – $3,000. Now that it’s all come to a head, and he’s having to explain himself, he’s making all these excuses. Now that I’ve figured this out and have had other people come to me, I know I got suckered in.”

This family is not the only one that has paid Anderson thousands of dollars with no reimbursement. Two local American Legion baseball players, Jake Frederickson and Michael Baldwin, quit their teams in May to join Anderson’s new traveling team, “Team South Dakota.” Both players’ families paid $150 per player to have individual tryouts with Anderson. According to two sources, the players were expected to pay $6,000 to join the team. The money would cover coaching fees, uniforms, travel, food and equipment. In return, the players would travel to showcases and tournaments in which Anderson promised to use his connections to provide the players exposure to college and professional scouts.

Baldwin was told that Team South Dakota’s first game was scheduled for June 12, and that they would be joined by players from across the region, including Eastern South Dakota and Wyoming. Meanwhile, the two players continued to practice together, waiting for the team to take form and begin playing games. June 12 came and went, and no other players joined Team South Dakota. The team never played any games and both players are now back on their American Legion teams. None of the fees paid to Anderson have been reimbursed.

Inside Dakota Sports contacted Anderson for comment regarding these allegations. After a brief phone conversation, he declined to comment over the phone, and requested to receive interview questions by e-mail. Because of the gravity of the charges made against him, Inside Dakota Sports e-mailed Anderson a series of questions. He never responded.

After his arrival in Rapid City, Anderson entered into an informal business agreement with Jason Herz, owner of the Black Hills Batter’s Box. The Batter’s Box is an indoor baseball and softball training facility. According to Herz, Anderson was planning on starting his own baseball academy, much like the business Herz owns. The Batter’s Box was already competing with Rapid City Post 22’s Baseball Academy. Herz decided rather than compete against a second baseball academy, he would attempt a partnership with Anderson.

Anderson told people around town that he was a former minor league baseball player, who once played in the California Angels farm system, and that after playing minor league ball, he played in several independent leagues over the course of a few years. It was in independent ball that Anderson claimed to have developed friendships with former Major League stars, including Donte Bichette, Darrell Evans and Rickey Henderson. Anderson promised that he could get these players and others to come to Rapid City and instruct area youth players at a clinic. Soon after, Anderson and Herz announced the “Training with the Pros” baseball camp.

According to the Rapid City Journal’s March 22 article, “Batter’s Box hosting clinic,” the original date for the camp was scheduled for April 10 and 11. However, because of bad weather, the camp was pushed back a week. The next week the weather was fine, but according to Herz, Anderson said that many of the professional instructors could not make it because of timing and flight problems. In the April 21 online edition of the Rapid City Journal, a posting read:  “After being extended once before, Saturday is the final registration day for the “Training with the Pros” clinic at the The Batter’s Box. The clinic is April 30-May 2 at Pete Lien Field, and will feature instruction from more than 20 former professional baseball players, including Major League All-Stars and even a Hall of Famer.”

Ultimately, the “Training with the Pros” clinic never happened.

According to Herz, The Batter’s Box received $2,500 from local parents who registered their sons for the camp. The checks were made out to The Batter’s Box, and the money was transferred to Anderson. To date, Herz has either repaid or offered free lessons at The Batter’s Box to children whose parents paid for the camp. Inside Dakota Sports interviewed parents who signed up for the camp, and all of them confirmed that they had either been refunded, or received free lessons from Herz in exchange for the amount they paid. All parents interviewed by Inside Dakota Sports spoke on condition of anonymity and did not want their children to be identified.

In all, parents, coaches and Herz have told Inside Dakota Sports that Anderson was paid $33,000. No one has been paid back. Additional efforts were made to reach Anderson at the Best Western Motel in Rapid City where he has been staying. He did not answer his phone. Sources told Inside Dakota Sports that two separate lawsuits will be filed against Jason Anderson.

*If you have paid Jason Anderson money for your child to participate in one of his enterprises, contact Inside Dakota Sports.

Additional reporting on this story was contributed by Morandi Hurst.