It wasn’t quite like the NFL’s Baltimore Colts bolting for Indianapolis in 1984. Nor did it upset the sports community quite like when the NBA’s Seattle SuperSonics left the Pacific Northwest for Oklahoma City to become the Thunder in 2008.

But still, when the South Dakota amateur baseball team in Brandon, known as the Brandon Merchants, left for Sioux Falls in 2012, it left a hole in the community.

Brandon went without an amateur team for two years after the Merchants left. Jacob Mulder was 19 years old and a recent graduate of Brandon Valley High School. He had no plans of playing college baseball, and turned his sights on the popular amateur league in South Dakota.

He partnered with his brother Josh as manager to revive amateur baseball in Brandon. In 2014, the Rats began their inaugural season.

Tragically, Jacob was fatally injured in an automobile accident in June of 2021. The future of the Rats was uncertain, but brother Josh pressed on.

A sign honoring Jacob Mulder is on display near the home dugout side at First National Bank Field. Mulder, one of the founders of the Valley Rats amateur baseball team, was fatally injured in a June 2021 automobile accident. (Tom Savage / Brandon Valley Journal)

They finished out the 2021 season, albeit seemingly going through the motions after dealing with such a horrific event. They even hosted a Jacob Mulder Memorial Game in July, just weeks after the accident.

Last summer with some time behind them since the accident, the Rats were able to host the second annual Jacob Mulder Memorial Game, and it reached new heights.

The Rats played host to the Sioux Falls Brewers on July 14 of last year, and the opponents didn’t disappoint.

The Brewers, traditionally in blue and white uniforms, strolled onto First National Bank Field in Rats red and black warm up shirts. The shirts paid a tribute to Jacob, and also put a lump in many throats as the teams warmed up.

Because of their gesture, Josh said every Memorial Game moving forward will be played against the Brewers.

That includes this Tuesday when the two teams play in the third annual Memorial Game at First National Bank Field.

“I just appreciated everything their team and manager (Matt Leedom) did last year,” Josh said. “He’s on another tier for respect with me.”

Leedom said it was an honor for the Brewers to play in the game, both this year and beyond.

“The Mulder family and the legacy of Jacob is worth celebrating and worth putting on a good game,” Leedom said. “It means a lot to the Brewers to be a part of that game.”

Friends from the start

When Jacob and Josh were forming the Rats nine years ago, Leedom was doing the same for the newly formed Sioux Falls River Hounds. 

Because they shared the same growing pains in establishing a new team, Leedom said he got to know the Mulder brothers as both teams toiled to stay out of the South Dakota Amateur Baseball cellar.

 “That first year, you build a new team and you’re doing your best to keep the team together and win games,” Leedom said. “It’s hard. We shared that experience.”

Bowed heads in Larchwood

A case can be made that next week’s Memorial Game is actually the fourth, not the third.

The Brewers played in Larchwood, Iowa on the evening of June 17, 2021 – the same night Jacob died earlier in the day.

When Leedom learned of the tragic news in the seventh inning, he confirmed it on his cell phone with some texts.

“Someone said it was the Rats’ catcher, and I just knew,” Leedom said, referring to Jacob’s common position behind the plate for Valley. “It shook everybody up. A lot of my players played with or against Jacob for years.”

After the final out in Larchwood, Leedom called both teams to the field. He explained the situation.

“I didn’t go into detail but I said the amateur baseball community has lost a very important member – a founder of a team,” Leedom said.

Field umpire Dusty Sperlich, a former pastor in George, Iowa, was in attendance and worked the Brewers/Larchwood game. Leedom asked him to speak.

“He doesn’t umpire a whole lot, so the fact that he was there that night, I don’t know if I would have been able to get the words out and keep it together,” Leedom said. “Having Dusty there gave us a sense of ‘we’re going to be OK.’”

Sperlich led the group of bowed heads in prayer on the field.

“Both teams took a knee on the field together to lift one up for the Mulders,” Leedom said. “It was a defining moment where you saw the human side of everyone. This is so much bigger than baseball.”

The shirts

The warm up shirts last year certainly pushed a tear out on several faces as the Brewers seemed to surprise the entire crowd when they came out in red and black with Jacob’s name on the back.

Leedom said when they were asked last year to play in the game, they immediately began planning to make it more than a baseball game.

“How can we show that type of unity and the best I could think of was to come out in their colors with Jacob’s number on it,” Leedom said. “We wanted to go out there and represent him and do that in a way where we remember him, and that includes our conduct in how we play. We wanted to bring everyone together.”

The unity, clearly, worked.

Leedom said they’ll be back next week with new shirts honoring Jacob with a plan of having a new design each year.

“We always want the focus to be on Jacob for that game,” Leedom said. “For the Brewers, that’s still a baseball brother – it doesn’t matter which side of the lines we’re on. It’s very near and dear to us as a team. We’ll always be there to lift up the Mulders and Rats. He was a heck of a great guy.”

Scholarship fund

Leedom and the Brewers will also be presenting Josh and the Rats a financial gift before Tuesday’s game to start a scholarship fund in Jacob’s name. Brewers players have contributed to the gift, and Leedom’s real estate firm in Sioux Falls is matching the contribution.

The scholarship will be for Brandon Valley graduates pursuing their baseball or softball career collegiately.

“We’re all together in this,” Leedom said. “It’s just a game, but it’s a game that was very important to Jacob. I always remind our guys of why we’re there. This is why we play this game. We’re going to go out and play a good ball game, but we know why we’re here.”

The Rats and Brewers are scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. first pitch.