For three games during their 60-game season, The Firefighters, a team in the Banana Ball Championship League, played at Whataburger Field in Corpus Christi, TX, which is the hometown of now-retired firefighter and manager of The Firefighters, Valerie Perez.

Perez served for 10 years at the Corpus Christi Fire Department, and during her last year in the fire service, she began running the Banana Ball team. Eventually, she decided to retire and commit full time to The Firefighters. However, since its inception, the team has never played in her hometown.

The Firefighters and The Tailgaters faced off in May at the stadium where Perez played college softball. As Perez was able to be in her hometown for the entire week, it was filled with emotion, surprises and an appreciation for full-circle moments.

"It was great," Perez exclaimed. "It was the best of both worlds, all in one place. I couldn't ask for a better weekend."

The week leading up

The week before the games, things almost went awry for Perez. The team played in Scranton, PA, the weekend before, and the final game of the series almost got rained out, which would’ve pushed the game to Sunday. That would have thrown a major wrench into Perez’s plans for the week.

Luckily, the weather held off, the game was played, and Perez was able to touchdown in Savannah, GA, on Sunday night. From there, Perez and her wife packed up the car immediately and drove through the night for 18 hours to get to Corpus Christi.

When she arrived, the chaos continued when she learned that the Banana Ball pop-up camp that was scheduled was not yet filled up. The camp allows kids to learn the game and hang out with the players. Perez sent a text message to local little leagues and the camp was sold out within hours.

It was bittersweet, because she was able to bring the little league she played in as a kid to the camp, underscoring how tied in the week was for her. She was able to see many of the guys she played with in growing up, plus their kids.

During the week, Perez also visited the firehouse she retired from, Station 7, and, through a partnership with grocery store H-E-B to provide $1,000 worth of groceries to the firefighters.

Additionally, at Station 7, there was an old barbecue pit that Perez’s brother built for the crews. While sharing the idea of bringing it to Savannah one day, one of the coaches from The Tailgaters talked with H-E-B and worked out a deal to donate a new barbecue pit to the station so that Perez could take home the old one. H-E-B also donated a new grill to the station.

For the H-E-B event, Perez brought along Marshall Shill, one of her players who continually seeks out fire department visits to get a better grasp of what goes on inside the fire service.

"It was cool because most of the time when we do these visits, it's usually like the higher-ups, captains or chiefs giving us a tour," Shill told Firehouse. "But what was really cool is that we were able to sit back and let Val be the one to give us the tour."

Perez showed some of her teammates around the station, where she started training for the U.S. Women’s Baseball Team: throwing medicine balls against the wall, doing glove work, and working out.

"We were able to slow down and hear the stories about Val," Shill recalled. "Just hearing all the stories about Val, how much of a worker she was and, of course, funny and embarrassing stories."

Throughout the week, she saw so many people who influenced her from high school coaches, high school classmates, family and friends. Bringing the weekend’s games full-circle, Perez was a part of opening day of Whataburger Field in 2005 when she worked on the gameday staff as a college student.

"Bringing Banana Ball back to Whataburger Field and showing everybody what we love and care about, particularly in the fire department," Perez said, reflecting on the weekend. "Showing people the reason why I retired, because without Banana Ball, I wasn't retiring. I loved what I did in Corpus. I loved what I did in my fire department. It was one of the busiest weeks of my life, but it was worth every minute."

Pregame brought local honors

For every single game, The Firefighters honor the firefighter of the night, and Perez had a big say in who was going to be showcased for each game in her hometown.

One night, Brandon Lott, who was Perez’s captain, was honored. Perez refers to Lott as the one who has gotten the closest look into everything from her fire service career to her baseball and Banana Ball career. He was Perez’s captain for her last six years in the service, saw the birth of her son and transferred stations with her.

"She amazes me in everything that she does, and I'm just proud of her," Lott told Firehouse. "She's family. Watching her transition to that leader, I did not doubt that she could do it. It just surpassed anything I could imagine."

The next night, engineer Mark Solis, who passed away in 2024, and his family were honored. Solis would throw batting practice to Perez, helping her train for Team USA.

Finally, one of her chiefs, Assistant Chief Jim DeVisser, was honored. Throughout the weekend, The Firefighters also honored the Corpus Christi Honor Guard.

"Being able to shine light specifically on the department that I served in for the last 10 years and honor those people was extra special," Perez said.

In addition to the honorees, Perez connected with firefighter II EMT-P Mike Garcia, who also threw batting practice to Perez. In fact, Garcia was one of the people who saw Perez cleat back up for the first time since she gave up the game as he invited her to play in a fallen firefighter tournament.

"Valerie's always been a person that is the perfect model example that the Corpus Christi Fire Department goes by," Garcia said. "That's seeking opportunity to serve. She's always been the type of person to be there for her brothers and sisters, her family and anything she can help with."

Garcia was also the one who recruited Perez for the fire service.

"She fit the position before she was ever in it," Garcia told Firehouse. "She's the perfect example of what we all should live by. There couldn't have been a better person up there representing Corpus. Not only the fire department, but Corpus Christi as well. She will never forget where she came from.”

As Banana Ball loves to supply surprises for its coaches, players and fans, one of the surprises was for Perez, who normally gets introduced first in the pregame announcements. Instead of being first, Perez was announced last and the reactions from the crowd were some of the loudest the team has heard.

"It was very eye-opening and very special," Perez said. "I didn't expect that, and it was really cool to see so many people there enjoying everything we're about to do. We hadn't played yet, and it was already like, 'This is very different."

According to Perez, some of her players were enamored with how loud the reaction was when her name was called. As she took in the moment and looked around the stadium, her players were pointing to the plethora of Perez jerseys and fans.

During the games

The three games brought nothing but excitement and energy. All three games were decided in the ninth inning or later. In the first one, The Firefighters gave up a game-tying and walk-off home run in the last inning. The second game was lost by one run in the ninth inning, and The Firefighters won the final game in a showdown.

"All three games were some of the most competitive Banana Ball games throughout the season, and not just for us," Perez stated.

There were countless highlights throughout the weekend, including one of Banana Ball's plays of the year by third baseman Logan Lacey, who dove over the railing of the dugout to catch a foul ball right in front of the friends and family section.

Another twist during the games was that Perez stepped up to the plate for a few at-bats. While she does pick if she hits or not, she doesn’t make appearances every game. In her first at-bat, she hit a screamer that hit the glove of the center fielder.

In her second at-bat, she drew a sprint and got to second base, which drove in a run. Perez said that it was nice to contribute positively to the team during her plate appearances.

"It was really special because of how loud it was," Shill said. "To have her home crowd cheering behind her, every single time her name was called, the place erupted," Shill recalled. "It wasn't like they didn't know her. That's what the really cool thing about it was, is that they know her, they are proud of her and they were excited to see her get after it."

Full circle impact

Throughout conversations over the years with Perez, she has emulated a truly authentic and genuine personality. Her mindset and actions reflect the fire service to a T, and she carries that with her everywhere she goes. Experiencing the gratitude of the week and the weekend left her filled with so much love.

"This was a perfect opportunity for me to thank everyone who has helped me and show them that I wouldn't be here without them helping me get to a place where I can be successful," Perez reflected. "It was a lot of teary-eyed firefighters filled with truly special moments that I'll never forget."