Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski Curve catcher Derek Berg is a U.S. Military Academy at West Point graduate. He was a 10th-round pick by the Pirates in 2024.

Memorial Day carries a deeper meaning than most holidays each year. It’s a reminder of the ultimate sacrifices those defending our nation’s freedom have made regularly to protect us.

For Altoona Curve catcher Derek Berg, a United States Military Academy at West Point graduate, it’s a constant reminder of those who are currently serving and who have served.

“I think of all the people who are actually doing the job that we, including me, signed up for, all my teammates and friends, girlfriend, whether they’re stateside or overseas, that are waking up every day and going and doing the real job,” Berg said.

He was reminded every day of those sacrifices while suiting up for the Army baseball team. On his jersey was the No. 20 of former Army pitcher Stephen C. Reich, who was killed by enemy fire during Operation Enduring Freedom.

“That’s just a guy that everyday I’m reminded of him,” Berg said, “and he’s a guy who got to kind of start to live out his childhood dream, like I am, and then got called back to do the real job, and I mean, he put everything he had into it,”

In sports, the uniform represents more than the person, but in the military, wearing the uniform represents far more than an organization. It represents all Americans past, present and future as well as our country. To be able to wear not only the country’s uniform, but that of an Army baseball player, is something Berg takes tremendous pride in being able to do.

“Means a lot. You represent a lot more than yourself; you’re not just a baseball player,” Berg said. “A lot of the guys that I play with now went to some of the biggest schools in baseball. Just talking to them when you’re there, you’re an SEC baseball player or a Big 10 baseball player. At Army, you’re not, you’re not just a baseball player, you represent a lot more — you represent a lot of people who have lost a lot or have sacrificed a lot.”

The expectations are higher for those at Army and the other service academies for reasons that go far beyond the field. It makes the hard days difficult, but the expectations to do your job remain the same regardless of whether it’s on the baseball field or the battlefield.

“People who aren’t even baseball fans, if they know that Army’s in town playing, you’re going to have veterans in the stands every day, and you know they expect you to show up,” Berg said. “You’re not gonna win every game, but they sure as hell expect you to show up and fight and to represent that name on the chest to the best of your ability.”

Initially, Berg wanted to be much like his teammates and go to an SEC school or a bigger school to play baseball, but Army came calling and the rest, as they say, is history.

“You start talking to guys on the team when you’re picking guys’ brains at different schools, asking them what they like, what they don’t like,” Berg said. “We talked to the guys at Army that eventually became my teammates. It’s being a college baseball player, living your dream of playing college baseball, but then you’re also hearing them talk about what he’s studying, and they’re preparing for Ranger school. That’s sweet. I’ll be somebody like that who’s not only trying to be the best on the baseball field, but trying to be the best off of it, the best person, best leader.”

Four years at West Point and a strong showing put Berg on the radar of many Major League scouts who thought he had a really good shot at being drafted. That meant he had to make a decision to either defer his commitment or be commissioned.

“That decision was made in November, talking to coaching staff and instructors and everything, and I mean pretty much everybody was, if you have the chance, go do it. We went through getting a full approval that I’ve applied to defer my service time and go into the draft in November. Found out, I believe, the beginning of May, so about three weeks before I graduated, that I got approved, and went through graduation and ended up not commissioning, and that’s when the whole process of waiting for the draft started.”

Fortunately for Berg, he was selected in the 10th round of the 2024 MLB Draft by the Pirates.

He climbed the organization quickly in 2025 moving through Bradenton and Greensboro and found himself back in Altoona where he wrapped up the 2025 season. What’s next for Berg is uncertain on the playing field, but what is certain is that he still has a future commitment to uphold.

Berg will be commissioned in the U.S Field Artillery branch upon the completion of his playing days, and knowing what’s next in that regard allows Berg to play a little differently than some of his teammates who have zero knowledge of what’s to come after their playing days.

“I get to play free. There’s a lot of stress in this game, and obviously it’s a game of failure, and this is our job and our livelihood,” Berg said. “For me, I kind of have the peace of knowing that I have essentially a backstop if something happens to me, whether it’s health related or I’m not playing good, and I get released, or whatever, I go back to the Army and I have a job.”

For Berg, it will always be bigger than baseball and with that type of perspective, you can see why he rarely lets himself have a bad day at the ballpark.

“There’s a lot of stress; there’s a lot riding on whether you play well or not,” Berg said. “And obviously I want to play well. I love this game. This is what I’ve always dreamed of doing, and obviously want to get to the big leagues, but it puts it into perspective of there are more important things in baseball, and whenever my time comes I’ve got the Army waiting for me.”