07-Apr-2010
He played some college summer baseball and a little recreational travel softball.He liked to help young children learn the finer points of the game, so he thought he might as well turn it into his career.
And for his work, he was — much to his surprise — inducted this year into the Michigan Chapter of the United States Specialty Sports Association Hall of Fame.
Dan Vitale, a resident of Sterling Heights and owner of Extra Innings in Shelby Township, has had his mind on baseball since his childhood days but never dreamed his life would lead him to this point.
"I never expected to get that," he said. "It's really cool. I've got a passion for the game, but to just get the Hall of Fame, that's awesome."
The career path Vitale was on seemed to run parallels with baseball — and all sports even — appearing never to cross paths.
For more than 20 years, he was the vice president of the mortgage department at LaSalle Bank. His only exposure to the game was television and his three daughters' — Kara, Nicole and Dana — softball games.
But many parents at those games knew about his playing history — Vitale played summer college league baseball for Macomb and, most recently, travel softball and was even a part of the 2004 Softball World Series Champion St. Clair Shores Dodgers.
Parents would come to him with equipment and fundamentals questions, and he would coach his daughters on the Michigan Bulldogs travel softball team.
"I just have a passion for the game," he said.
But after those 20 years at the bank, LaSalle was bought out by Citi Mortgage. Vitale was asked to move to Dallas or St. Louis, but he was already firmly planted in Michigan.
"At that time, it's like one of those things 'This is my shot,'" he said. "If I want to open my own business, this is my chance."
He wanted to find something different than mortgage, so he decided to follow his passion for the sport.
In March 2008, he opened Extra Innings.
He had traveled to Ohio to visit one of their facilities and came back feeling like it was just the right fit.
"I always wanted to open my own business," Vitale said. "I was really impressed with the one-stop shop — nobody in Michigan has that."
At Extra Innings, Vitale offers a facility where teams can practice in the off-season along with instruction and training with a personal touch.
"Here they can get training, buy sporting goods, or just come in on their own and just get practice in," he said. "Some people just put a batting cage up and that's it."
Extra Innings has that along with much more.
It offers the chance to train and take instruction from a number of instructors — from baseball to softball and fast-pitch softball.
As part of his "one-stop shop," Extra Innings carries a pro-shop with all the latest and greatest in equipment and brands.
With this, Vitale has increased his business 33 percent from the year before, something he credits to customer satisfaction.
"One is returning customers and another is just getting the word out," he said. "We did a good job last year and people got the word out — it's basically word-of-mouth."
Two years into his new venture, Vitale sees his professional life giving returns with his business growing and him personally garnering accolades with his Hall of Fame induction.
"I love to do this," Vitale said. "And if I was going to start my own business, it was going to be in something I love."