Butler Baseball Alumni Spotlight: PJ Longstreth

In the fourth edition of the Butler Baseball Alumni Spotlight, we catch up with Paul (PJ) Longstreth ‘94, who was a right-handed pitcher at Butler from 1991-94. He was on the team that head coach Steve Farley inherited when he came to Butler in 1991 and has been an important leader of an alumni baseball group that has helped immeasurably with various projects recently at the baseball field.

1. What is your current occupation and where do you live?
I work in the accounting/insurance field.  I still live in the Indianapolis area. 

2. You graduated in 1994, what degree did you earn at Butler?
Accounting degree.

3. What are your favorite Butler baseball memory (memories)?
Too many to capture them all, but here goes:

• The great times on the road and around the locker room with my teammates.
•  “The Brawl” – a bench-clearing brawl at Notre Dame in Coach Farley’s first year that announced with authority that Butler would not back down to any team.  The Brawl started when Dave Merica plowed over the ND catcher.
• “The Storm” – Playing in 40-50 mph winds because neither Coach Farley nor our opponent’s coach would be the first to say we should cancel the game.  The power was out and the football bleachers at the facility blew over that day.  Due to the storm, we were stranded in Kennesaw, GA where we slept on the gymnasium floor at Kennesaw State University with no heat.

4. Who was the best hitter you faced in your baseball career?
Despite playing against major leaguers Craig Counsell (Notre Dame), Brian Anderson (Wright State), Jermaine Allensworth (Purdue) and Sal Fasano (Evansville), Vegrin Hightower was the most impressive player I ever played against.  He was an amazing switch-hitting centerfielder for Vanderbilt.  I still can’t believe he didn’t make it to the Big Leagues. 

5. Tell us about what you do and about your line of work. 
I am extremely fortunate to be the Chief Financial Officer, Secretary & Treasurer for American Surety Company – a locally owned and operated insurance company.  We specialize in producing surety appearance bonds (bail bonds) through our network of licensed agents all over the country.  Bail bonds play a critical role in the criminal justice system by ensuring the appearance of the defendant in court.  If a defendant fails to appear, we promise to return the defendant to custody or pay the full amount of the bond to the court.  Our method of ‘pre-trial release’ has proven to be the most effective method to obtain the highest appearance rates.  A high appearance rate keeps the court docket moving forward and minimizes the inefficiency inherently caused by a defendant’s failure to appear.  All of this is done at no expense to you as a taxpayer.  You are welcome to read more about our company at www.asc-usi.com.