Black Beer Friday

Gessler Clinic Field

The Home team today, captained by Roger Edwards, fielded Rivera, Andrews, Edwards, Jacobson, Pepin, Benson, Hartley, Ayers, Hill, Marino, Levesque and Reagan against the Visitors Team managed by Donnie Witmer and made up of  Gonzalez, D'herin, Duff, jacobs, Wolfe, Giordano, Witmer, Butler, Coffman, Smith, Diaz and Rodriguez.

As the lineups suggest it was one of those close lead swapping games with the team putting up the fewest zeros emerging with the victory.  Team Witmer won the first inning 2-0 thanks to a Gonzalez inside the park round tripper followed by a Chuck Duff triple.  They followed that in the second with  one as Donnie Witmer's single was cashed in by a Ron Butler triple. But then the tide turned as team Edwards posted 5 runs in their half of the second followed up with another 5 run inning in the third to go up 3-10.  

Team Witmer won the 4th inning posting 4 runs to zero for team Edwards but then went down scoreless in the 5th and 6th.  After six it was team Edwards 11 and team Witmer 7.  

In the 7th, team Witmer posted 5 to take the lead by 1 run and then posted 1 in each of the 8th and 9th while blanking team Edwards in the 6th 7th and 8th innings to hold a lead of 14 - 11 going into the bottom of the 9th.

Team Edwards managed to get a couple of runners on but only scored 1 run to end the game with the score Team Witmer 14 to Team Edwards 12.  Winning Pitcher - Diaz

Top Hitters
Edwards 3 for 3 BB
Jacobson 2 for3 BB
Pepin 2 for 2  2-BB
Ayers 2 for 3 BB

Gonzalez 3 for 5 HR 2-DB
Duff 3 for 4 Triple
Jacobs 3 for 4 BB DB
Witmer 3 for 4
Smith 3 for 4

ServiceMaster Field

The Nationals had a very competitive and fun game on the ServiceMaster Field. Maybe it was the cool temperature or too much turkey but both teams started slow.  The visitors (Merritt, Waddell, Duff Hill, Lopez, Mohan, Byrd, Black, LoPiccolo, Moots, McPartlin, Morey, Yarletts and Hooper) got off to a sluggish start, leaving the bases loaded in the second, but not able to score until the 4^th inning.  In that frame they scored 4 runs with hits from Merritt and Waddell before the big hits, a triple from Hill and double from Black.  The home team (Bess, Kline, Thompson, Remington, Hite, Taylor, Zakrowski, Witter, Fabian, Wells, Mills and Baker) faired only slightly better in the first 3 innings, scoring just 2 in the first on 3 straight singles from Kline, Thompson and Remington. 

In the home half of the 4^th the home team answered the bell with 3 runs on 5 singles from Remington, Hite, Taylor, Zakrowski and Witter. So after 4 the score was V-4 and H-5. The score and the game went back and forth for the next 4 innings.  The visitors scored 13 runs, with big hits from Mohan and Lopez, as the rest of the team did their part and put runners on base for the big bats.  But, the home team was a little better scoring 15 runs with every player contributing with at least one hit.

Top Hitters

Waddell 3 for 5

Lopez 3 for 4, HR

Mohan 3 for 4, HR

Byrd 3 for 4

Moots 4 for 4

Bess 3 for 5, 2B

Kline 3 for 5

Thompson 3 for 5, 2B

Remington 5 for 5

Hite 4 for 5, 2B, 3B

Taylor 4 for 4, 2B

Zakrowski 3 for 4,2B

Witter 3 for 4

RAIN OUT TODAY

Bobby reports that we're rained out today (Tuesday) so we'll try to convene again on Friday where we'll try to run off that last piece of Thanksgiving pie.

See you then.

Joltin' Joe Deforge celebrates 90

Everyone helped celebrate Joe DeForge's 90th birthday today with a cake, a poem reading, and a great rendition of Happy Birthday. It was great to see Joe come out again to root us on. 

Another unexpected surprise was a visit by George Radlein. It was super to see George and to witness his recovery. He looked great and indicated he is back in training in preparation for his return to play. We can only hope that day comes soon as we can use his spirit, his pitching, and the sneaky hit down the first base line.

ServiceMaster

The Nationals played on Servicemaster Field and had a very very competitive game. The visitors (Black, King, Thompson, Duchan, Bess, Moots, McPartlin, Smith, Lau,  Morey, and Gibson) broke out to an early lead as their first five batters scored  on doubles by King, Thompson, and Moots. The home team (Merritt,Bloom, Mahon, Remington, Duff Hill, Frank Miller, Taylor, Yarletts, Mills, Gene Baker, and Restrepo) responded with three of their own in the bottom of the inning. That was the total run production of the visitors until the fifth inning as they were shut out for the next three innings. The Home Boys on the other hand did much better as they scored two runs in both the  third and fourth innings to take the lead away from the visitors. Dick Mahon's double was the big hit.

The fifth inning saw the visitors bats return as they managed three runs off six singles. They could have scored more except that the home team turned one of their five double plays to stop the rally. In the bottom of the inning, Duff Hill reached base on a fielders choice and navigated the bases to score the only run for the home team knotting the game at 8-8.

The bats went cold again for both teams the rest of the way. The Visitors did not have a runner reach second base in the last four innings. The Home Team didn't fare much better as they managed a single run in the seventh. So with the pitchers (and fielders) taking control the game came to an end with the Home Team winning by the narrowest of margins. Home Team 9, Visitors 8.

Key Performances

Elmer Black     5 for 5

Ron Thompson     4 for 4

Vassearl Bess    4 for 4

Dick Mahon    4 for 4 with two doubles

Duff Hill    4 for 4

Jerry Remington    3 for 4

Ray Mills     winning pitcher

Gold's Gym

Steve Hill's American League Team ( Herbie o, Steve Hill, Scarbrough, Wiltshire, Constantine, Zelazny, Reagan, Fabian, Davis, Hearn, and Zakrowski)  gave Curt Coffman's Team (Coffman, Chrest, Laffoon, Shaffer, Poke, Levesque, Lopez, Byrd, Marino, Waddell, and Bowley) all it could handle on Golds Gym Field. Hill's visitors scored three in the first inning and never looked back as they built a nine run lead before the Home Team managed to score.two runs in the bottom of the fourth.

In the fifth the visitors continue to build on their lead as Bobby Reagan had a triple that sailed over the left fielder and ran to the fence. In the sixth, Herbie O hit a home run that provided the lone run for the visitors in the sixth. After being shut out in the fifth and sixth innings and believing the game was getting away from them, the home boys got serious in the seventh and sent ten batters to the plate and tallied six runs to close the gap to a scant two runs. The following inning saw the game tighten even more as the visitors were again outscored. Going into the final frame, the score was 13-12.

The final inning was one for the record books as the visitors matched their run production for the game. Seventeen batters game to the plate and produced 13 runs. Mike Wiltshire and Claude Hearn had home runs and Bob Reagan and Bob Z had triples.Unfortunately, the Home team only managed to get their lead off batter on in the ninth. They were unable to push the run across so the game ended with the score Visitors 26 and Home team 12.

Key Performances

Herbie O     5 for 6 with a home run

Steve Hill    4 for 6

Don Scarbrough    4 for 6

Bob Zelazny    4 for 6 with a triple

Bobby Reagan    4 for 6 with two triples

JD Davis    5 for 5 plus winning pitcher

Claude Hearn    4 for 5 with a home run

Curt Coffman    4 for 5

Sam Lopez    5 for 5

Gatorland

Gatorland Field was very kind to the Home team as Freddy Gonzales led his team (Rivera, Gonzalez, Jacobson, Wolfe, Giordano, Witmer, Pepin,Diaz, Wells, and Kline) to a clear victory over Juan Toro"s Visiting Team (Hamilton, Edwards, Busch, Held, Toro, Jacobs, Allenbaugh, Smith, Grabb. Witter, and LoPiccolo).The visitors feel behind as they manged a lone run in the first two innings as Don Held's triple was the big hit. During the same period, the Home team seemed to score at will. They tallied four in the first and five in the sceond. Doubles by Jacobson and Giordano helped as did Rivera and Giordano's home runs.. In the third Juan Toros helped propel his team as they scored five. Freddie Gonzalez's double pushed his teams two runs across the plate.

The bats went silent for the visitors for the next hree innings as they were shut out. In the meantime, the Home Team scored ten runs as Freddie had a home run and Juan Rivera and Charlie G had doubles. In the seventh Juan T had another double as his team scored three runs. Ron Pepin was the lone runner for the Home team but was unable to score in the bottom of the seventh. Both teams manged to score in the eighth, three by the visitors and four by the home team. Going into the last frame, the visitors were chasing thirteen runs. Their first four batters reached base and you could sense that big things were about to happen. Unfortunately the big thing was solid pitching and defense as the next three batters went down swinging. They manged to score three but it was not nearly enough as the final score read Home Team 25, Visitors 12.

Key Performances

Juan Toro    3 for 4 with two doubles

Don Held    3 for 5 with a triple

Larry Grabb    3 for 4 with a double

Jose Rivera     5 for 6 with a home run and two doubles

Freddie Gonzales    5 for 5 with a homer and double

Les Jacobson    4 for 5 with a double

Charlie Giordano     4 for 6 with a homer and double

Ron Pepin     4 for6

Don Witmer    4 for 6

Eddie Kline     4 for 6

Josh Wells    winning pitcher

Still Phunny after 70 years

A Couple of Admin Notes

Reminder that the 29th is rapidly approaching and that is the last day to register, request to play out of league, and to designate yourself to be a rostered or pool player. As of today the break between Leagues appears to be 1945. That is if your birthday is 1945 or earlier you will play in the National League unless you request otherwise.

Our start time remains 0900 with sign in no later than 0830. please help us by being on time so we can get the lineups together and meet our goal of 0900 start. 

The Entertainment Book sale is on going please support the league by purchasing one from Donnie Witmer.

Please keep Nick in your prayers as he goes in for another knee operation this Friday.

 

Gessler Clinic Field

The game between National league teams was waged on Gessler Clinic Field. Marshal Bloom's visitors (Duchan, F Miller, Remington, B. Miller, Leggett, Bloom, Bess, Black, McPartlin,Fabian, and Gibson) came out swinging and managed to tally three runs in the first. Rich Moots home team (Hill. Kline, Thompson, Moots, Stepp, Podbielski, Merritt, Mills, Morey, and Restrepo) however won the inning by posting four runs. In the second, John Gibson scored for the visitors and knotted up the game. In the third, the visitors scored three off triples by Moots and Thompson, while Walt Leggets triple helped the home team. Both teams were shut down in the fourth and failed to score a single run.

The fifth inning saw the visitors score the max off doubles by Bess and Black. Wayne Mundy's double propelled the home team as they scored three in the bottom of the inning. The sixth saw an explosion of the bats for both teams. The visitors tallied five runs off eight straight singles.The home team responded by batting thirteen players in the inning and scored seven runs to pull with within one run. The following innings saw the visitors continue to score with 3 in the seventh and 5 in the ninth. Doubles by Leggett and Gibson aided their cause. Meanwhile, the home team's bats went ice cold and they did not manage to get another runner past first base. Final score was Visitors 25, Home team 16.

Key Performances

Ron Thompson     4 for 5

Freddie Duchan    6 for 6

Frank Miller    5 for 6

Walt Leggett      5 for 5 with a double and triple and winning pitcher

Vasir Bess     5 for 6

Elmer Black5    5 for 6

Gold's Gym Field

Golds Gym Field provided some very exciting play between two evenly matched teams (at least on paper).The visitors were managed by the skipper, Richie Marino (with help from Freddie Dampier). His supporting cast was Marino, Chrest, Laffoon, Zelazny, Lopez, Constantine, Byrd, Mohan, Ota, Zakrowski, and Witter. Despite the line up they only managed to score one run in the first. Obviously smelling blood in the water, Juan Toro's team of Herbie O, Reagan, Toro, Smith, Hartley, Wiltshire, Pepin, JD Davis, Bombard, and Bowley took advantage and posted a quick five runs and never looked back. Both teams managed a lone run in the second, so going into the third, and only down four the visitors were juiced and ready to put up some big numbers. Unfortunately, nobody told the home team. During the next four innings they managed to  shut out the visitors while scoring at will during their half of every inning. They scored four in the fourth off a Toro home run and Smith double. They scored an additional run in their fifth and two in the sixth as Terry Smith continued his torrid hitting by collecting a triple.

In the seventh, there was a glimmer of hope as the visitors sent nine players to the plate. Sadly, it resulted in just three runs. They ended the inning with the bases loaded for the second time in the game. Doubles by Herbie O and Smith helped the home team to a quick five runs as they continued to build on the lead. Unfortunately there are no additional highlights as the visitors could only manage to get one runner on base in the final two frames..In the eighth inning Greg Bombard put one to the fence to ignite a rally that resulted in five more runs for the home team. Since they were up by a substantial number of runs, the home team was denied the opportunity to score anymore runs and  turn this rout into an all out slaughter. Final score Visitors 5 and Home 23.

Key Performances

Herbie O     5 for 6 with a double

Bob Reagan    4 for 6

Juan Toro     4 for 6 with a homer

Terry Smith 4 for 5 with two doubles and a triple

Mike Wiltshire    4 for 5Greg Bombard    5 for 5 with a double

JD Davis    winning pitcher

Jimmy Laffoon     4 for 5

Sam Lopez     4 for 5

Chris Constantine    3 for 4

Jerry Witter    4 for 4

  

Servicemaster Field

Two powerful lineups took to the ServiceMaster Field, for an American league game. At first blush, the batting orders looked like a loaded gun in the hands of a sharp shooter. It looked like runs were going to cross the plate, like gravy rolling off of mashed potatoes; nice and easy. The teams looked like Goliath versus Goliath. But if I know my bible stories, and I better know them, or preacher Freddy Gonzalez will pull me into his office. There is a character named David who won that battle. Two pitchers, Pat Lopiccolo, and Larry Wells played the role of David in this story.

Here are the lineups:

Visitors: Coffman, Hamilton, Witmer, Duff, Rivera, Jacobs, Wolfe, D’Herin, Benson, Matta and Lopiccolo.

vs.

Home: S. Hill, Butler, Scarborough, Jacobson, Held, Parker, Gonzalez, Shaffer, Diaz, Poke and Wells.

The visitors started off hot enough, they tore through the line up like a fox in the hen house. The first 4 batters in the lineup, Coffman, Hamilton, Witmer and Duff all reached base and scored.  Coffman started things off with a sharply hit single to left. Then Hamilton drove a double into right center. Witmer singled them both in, with a hit up the middle. Like a top 40’s play list, the hits just kept coming; Jacobs drove in Witmer, with the 4^th run. Wolfe moved Jacobs to 2^nd, with a single to right center and D’ Herin loaded the bases with a single to left. Jack Benson just needed a fly ball to knock in run number 5; instead he had a base hit up the middle.

I told you these lineups were loaded. So, when does the David story unfold amongst the pitchers? That story started to unfold in the bottom of the first. Lopiccolo blanked the Home team in their half of the first inning. Larry Wells took note and he allowed one run in the top of the 2^nd. The Visitors scored in the 2nd, after Hamilton smacked a triple into deep right center, to score Coffman. The Home team broke through the ice and scored their first run in the bottom of the 2^nd . Jacobson singled, Don Held ripped a double and Gonzalez hit a sacrifice fly, to score Jacobson. However, Lopiccolo closed the door quickly and no more runs were added that inning. Both teams threw up goose eggs in the 3^rd.

What looked like a slug fest on paper, actually turned out to be a fairly low scoring game. The Visitors lead the Home team after 3 innings, 6-1.  

Due to solid pitching and defense, the score stayed low for the rest of the game. Two defensive gems were turned in by Don Witmer, one in particular stood out as the play of the game. Playing shortstop, Don went way back into shallow left field to catch a dying pop fly, over his shoulder. Ed Diaz, Kirk Coffman, Jack Benson, Jose Rivera and Chuck Duff also made some difficult plays look easy on defense.

The Visiting team had one more big inning, in the 8^th, scoring 4 runs. The inning started off with Jose Rivera hitting a home run. Jacobs, then doubled and Wolfe tripled, making it 3 extra base hits, by the first three players batting that inning. Benson and Matta added singles to complete the scoring in the 8^th.

After 8 innings, the score was Visitors 14- Home team 6.

The Visitors added 2 more runs in the 9^th, when Jose Rivera hit his 2^nd home run, in two innings. (Remember Jose hit a HR in the 8^th inning). Chuck Duff also scored on the Rivera homer. The Home team added one run in the 9^th and the books were slammed shut.

Final Score: Visitors 16- Home team 7.

Leading players:

WP: Lopiccolo.

Duff: 3/5.

Jacobs: 3/5 with a double.

Wolfe: 4/5 with a triple.

D’Herin: 3/5.

Matta 3/5.

Benson: 3/5 with a HR.

Rivera: 2/5, two homeruns.

Held: 3 / 4, two doubles.

The Good Old Days

The following video was provided by Don LaMay

Animoto Video

Miguel Cabrera=2013 MVP

It's the MVP time of the year and for the second straight year the AL MVP is the Tiger's  Miguel Cabrera.  He's got a way to go to get past Barry Bonds who won the award 7 times but it's a great start.  Tampa Bay's Will Myers was announced yesterday as the AL Rookie of the Year. Congratulations to them but who will be our MVP?

Gatorland Field

We had two teams of ten on the old Field E today.  The Home Team 'Rays' were Coffman, Gazarek, Jacobson, Duff, Toro, Jacobs, Parker, Reagan, Lopez, and Matta.

The Visiting Angels were Gonzalez, Butler, Witmer, Held, Edwards, Giordano, Wolfe, Scarbrough, Hartley and Rodriguez.

This was one of those games that you just love to be a part of.  Close all the way to the end with no defensive boo-boos and solid hitting by everyone. It was almost like a tournament game. The Angels started off posting 3 to the Rays 4 runs but then gained the lead in the third inning posting 5 on a string of doubles by Held, Edwards, Giordano, and Scarbrough. After 3 the score was the Visiting Angels 8 and the Home team Rays 6 and that seemed to be the story of the game. The score never separated by more than 3 runs after that until the end.  

For the visitors, Don Held hit for the cycle with a 5 for 6 day including a pair of doubles, while Don Scarbrough and Charlie Giordano banged a couple off the fences for doubles. The Home squad highlights included a Chuck Duff triple and a bunch of doubles by Les Jacobson and Juan Toro.

The final score was Angels 28 and Rays 19 but that was only due to the Angels posting a 7 run final inning against a zero for the Home team Rays.

Nice defensive plays were turned in by Chuck Duff, and Sam Lopez for the Rays and by Fred Gonzalez, Charlie Giordano and Ron Butler for the Angels.

Leading Hitters:

Gazarek 4 for 5 and a walk
Jacobson 4 for 5 and a sac fly
Jacobs 4 for 6
Parker 5 for 6
Gonzalez 4 for 6 double
Witmer 5 for 6 double
Held 5 for 6 2 doubles, triple, homer (winning pitcher)
Edwards 4 for 6 2 doubles
Giordano 4 for 6 2 doubles
Wolfe 3 for 5 double, walk
Scarbrough 5 for 6 2 doubles

Servicemaster Field

The National Leaguers had a very exciting game on Servicemaster Field for the first six innings. Not so much the last three when the visiting team pulled away for a commanding victory. Neither the Visitors (Fulton, Bloom, Merritt, Thompson, Podbilski, Remington, Waddell, Bess, Restiepo (sic), Morey, and Gene Baker) and Home Team (Duchen, Moots, Kline, Miller, Black, Stepp, Taylor, Mills, Snider, Lee Baker, and Gibson) managed to score in the first. The second saw a run explosion as the visitors pushed across five and the home boys four. In the third both teams got the lead off batter on moved them around the bases. At the end of three it was visitors 6 and home team 5.

The next three innings saw the score tied  as the visitors built on their lead by scoring three in the fourth. Unfortunately they only batted four batters in each of the next two innings as they were effectively shut down. The home boys went scoreless in the fourth as they went three and out. In the fifth however, they fought back to even the score by pushing four runs across on six singles. With great expectations for more runs in the sixth, they stumbled and went three and out.

As I stated earlier it was a great game up to that point, unfortunately for the home team they were unable to score anymore runs during the final three innings. Meanwhile, The visitors put up  5, 5, and 8 in their half of the same innings. The big hit was the only extra base hit of the day, a double by Dave Podbilski. The final score was the visitors 27 and the home team 9.

Key Performances

Ted Taylor    3 for 4 

Marshal Bloom    5 for 6

Ron Thompson    5 for 6

Dave Podbilski    5 for 6 with a double

Jerry Remington    5 for 6

Arvil Waddell        4 for 6 and winning pitcher

 Vasir Bess        5 for 5

Gene Baker        4 for 6

Gold's Gym Field

 A very interesting if not exciting game was played between Chris Constantine's Visitors (Marino, Grabb, Shaffer, Wiltshire, Constantine, Levesque, Smith, Byrd, LoPiccolo, and Ofstie) and Bob Zelazny's Home Team (Osterreiech, S Hill, Laffoon, Zelazny, D Hill, Zakrowski, Pepin, Simon, Mohan, and Wells). Both teams scored at will in the first inning. The visitors tallied four in their half but were outdone as the home boys scored five. The visitors bats went cold in the following four innings as the run total was zero as they only sent twelve batters to the plate in the three innnings. Meanwhile, the home team scored five in the second off doubles by Herbie O and Josh Wells, a triple by Jimmy Laffoon, and a homer by Steve Hill. It was five more in the third as errors and Herbie's second double resulted in five more runs.The home team was shut down in the fourth so at the end of 4 innings the score was visitors 4, home team 15.

The fifth inning saw the visitors come to life. They scored four runs with the help of Terry Smiths double while shutting down the home team. In the sixth inning both teams managed but a single run with Jimmy Laffoon's second triple being the big hit for the home team. The game appeared to be out of reach during the seventh as the visitors failed to score and the home boys pushing across five more on Steve Hill and Bob Zelazny's doubles. The eighth inning saw the visitors fight back with five runs of their own. Terry Smith's second double of the day providing the power. The home team managed a single run leaving the door open for the visitors as the top of their line up was coming up in the ninth. After a lead off single by Larry Grabb the defense tightened and got the next three batters out. Final score Home Team 22 and Visitors 14.

Key Performances

Larry Grabb    4 for 6

Denny Shaffer    4 for 6

Mike Wiltshire    4 for 6

Ray Levesque     5 for 5

Terry Smith     5 for 5 with two doubles

Herbie O    6  for 6

Steve Hill    5 for 6 with a double and homer

Jimmy Laffoon     4 for 6 with two triples

Bob Zelazny    4 for 5

Jeff Simon     5 for 5

Bernie Mohan 4 for 5

Josh Wells    4 for 5 and winning pitcher

Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen

 

Today’s American League game featured some razzle-dazzle, some hit and whole lot of miss, some sleight of hand and a play that you won’t see again, maybe ever, unless the catcher happens to be Les Jacobson.

A good place to start is with the lineups.

The Visiting team: D’Herin, Parker, Jacobson*, Gazarak, Pepin, Coffman, Regan, Leversque, D. Hill, Constantine and Wells.

The Home team: S. Hill, Laffoon, Giordano, Jacobs, Butler, Scarbrough*, Schapeler, Matta, Shaffer, Hartley and Simon.

(*denotes manager).

The opening act featured the Visiting team, they scored 3 runs, thanks in large part to the magical bats of D’Herin, Parker, Jacobson, Gazarek and Coffman. The Home team tried to pull a rabbit out of their hat, but they came up a hare short. The only player to score for the visitors was Jim Laffoon, he crossed home plate on a Frank Jacobs single.

After 1 inning the score was Visitors 3-Home 1.

After that first inning, the Visiting team had a whole lot of miss, while the Home team had quite a few hits. The home team scored 5-3-5 runs in the 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th innings. Pitcher, Nick Matta, must of had some sleight of hand working on the mound, because the Visitors were shut out in the 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th, and 5^th innings. Every good magician has a few tricks up his sleeve, Nick’s best trick was his defense. Giordano, Laffoon, Scarbrough, Simon, Shaffer and Butler all made some nice defensive plays in those innings.

The 4^th inning  had one of the most unusual plays you will see in a game. Les Jacobson, who was playing catcher for the visitors, tagged out Denny Shaffer at 2^nd base, unassisted. You just don’t see too many catchers tagging guys out at 2^{nd ,} do you?  After singles by Schapeler, Matta and Shaffer, Dave Hartley came up and drilled a line drive hit into right center. There was a play at the plate, trying to get the Matta pinch runner out. Denny Shaffer stopped at 2^nd base, while Hartley tried advancing to 2^nd, on the throw to the plate. Shaffer then took off for 3^rd base, about mid way Shaffer decided he could not make it to 3rd, when catcher Les Jacobson cleanly fielded the ball at the plate. Denny was caught in no man’s land.  Les was on top of the situation defensively. He ran out with the ball trapping Denny and tagging him out.

After 5 innings of play the score was Visitors 3- Home team 14.

In the 6^th inning the Visitors decided they would perform a hitting trick of their own.  Instead of sawing a body in half, they cut the home teams lead in half.  D’Herin, Parker, Jacobson, Gazarak, Pepin and Leversque waved their wands, or in this case bats, at the ball and made 5 runs appear. The Home team could only answer with 1 run.

After 6 innings of play the score was Visitors 8- Home team 15.

In the 7^th and 8^th innings we had a little more razzle-dazzle, Ron Butler made two spectacular defensive catches. In the 7^th inning, Ron, playing the short fielder position, drifted way back into LC field, to catch a towering pop fly, that looked like it was going to fall in for a hit.  In the 8^th inning, a line drive hit off the top of Butler’s glove, the ball then bounced off his shoulder and rolled down his arm, into his hand for an out. He is no longer Ron Butler, but the great Svengali, juggler extraordinaire.

With good pitching and solid defense, the visiting team was shut out in the 7^th, 8^th and 9^th inning. While the Home team added a few more runs. The final score was Visitors 8- Home team 20.

Leading players:

Les Jacobson:  4/4 with a triple and a double.

Steve Hill: 3/5 with a triple.

Jim Laffoon: 3 / 4 with a double.

Charlie Giordano: 3 / 4 with two doubles.

Frank Jacobs: 4 / 5 with a double.

Don Scarbrough: 2 / 4 with a HR.

Deano Schapeler: 3/ 5.

Nick Matta:  4/5.

Denny Shaffer: 4/5.

WP: Nick Matta

FROM THE DESK OF THE COMMISSIONER

We are rapidly approaching the deadline for registration. November 29th will be here before you know it. At that time, we will lock the roster in preparation for the draft currently scheduled for 17 December. Between those dates, the BOD has a great deal to do as they need to configure the two leagues, develop draft procedures, evaluate player personnel, and develop rules for use of pool players. By locking registration, I am not saying that folks that sign up after that date will not be welcomed to come play. I am saying that they will be have to be assigned as a pool player until an opening comes available on a team roster. 

 

For that and other reasons I am asking that for those of you that have indicated your intention of playing as a pool player that you reconsider and change your option  to that of being a rostered player. The pool already has over 32 pool players and that number is expected to grow as late registrations come in. In reviewing last years pool player utilization, it indicates that the highest number of pool players selected on any day was five. As a consequence, I am afraid that many of the registered pool players will come out to the park and not be able to play.

 

Each team will have sufficient players to allow for reasonable absences during the season by its players. If you can commit to playing 75% of the games you should  really consider a change in status to that of rostered player. That will insure league equality and guarantee you can play when you come out. The BOD needs of any requested change in status by the deadline.

 

The same deadline applies to players that want to play in one particular league or the other. The BOD is currently looking to divide the league at those being born in 1944 and earlier and those being after that date. If any player wants to play in a specific league that must request to do so to the BOD otherwise you will automatically be assigned by age.. Do not wait until the decision on where we make the cut off to decide as it will be too late. If you have druthers, you must request in writing to the BOD by the deadline. The BOD will evaluate each request on the competitive needs of the league.

 

We are currently in the throws of our annual fund raisers. The Enjoyment Book is our single biggest money maker.The campaign runs for another month but do not wait. Please purchase one from Donnie Witmer or his representative. Our second method of raising money if through our corporate sponsorship program. Sponsorship costs $250 per year. For anyone bringing in a sponsor for the year, he will have all his registration fees waived. A win-win-win. The league wins, the sponsor wins, and you win. Cut off for new sponsors is 29 November.

 

Lastly, there has been some discussions on when we will move back our starting time to 0930 hr. The BOD voted to leave our schedule as is until we begin league play. That is 14 January. So for now, please be at the park no later then 0830. Games will start at 0900.

 

As always, if you have any questions, suggestions, or constructive comments please let me or a BOD member know before the next BOD meeting on 10 December.

 

Thanks

Triple Crown

November 8, 1966 - Triple Crown winner Frank Robinson of the Orioles is the unanimous choice as American League Most Valuable Player. He is the first player to win the award in both leagues.

 

Gold's Gym Field 

 

The Nationals played on Gold's Gym Field this morning in weather that reminded me more of football than softball as it was a bit nippy for these old bones. It didn't seem to hold back the players however as it was a close game until the last inning.The visitors (Bloom, Fulton, Altemose, Smith, Hill, Bess, Byrd, Snider, Mills, and Gibson) were held in check by the Home boys (Merritt, Witter, Mohan, Kline, Hearn, Simon, Lopez, Moots, Taylor, McPartlan, and Baker) for five innings. They scored one run in the second as Duff Hill had a home run and manged a second run in the fifth as Bess lead off and managed to score before the inning closed. The home team didn't fare much better as they managed a lone run in the first, second, and fifth innings. At the end of five the score was 3-2 favor the home team.

 

The bats came alive for both teams in the sixth and seventh innings. The vi The visitors scored five runs in the fifth with Terry Smith hitting the first of his two doubles of the day. The seventh saw four more runs cross the plate as Terry again had the big hit. Not to be outdone, the Home Team responded with three of their own in their half of the sixth when Sammy Lopez banged out a triple. Claude Hearn's home run was the big hit that helped produce four runs in the seventh. Score 11-10 favor the visitors.

 

The difference in the game was the next two inning. Duff Hill's second home run was the only run scored by either team in the eighth.The visitors continued to build on their lead by scoring five more runs in the ninth with Tom Snider's double being the big blow. With the game still close, the home boys started strong with the first two batters reaching base. Bernie Mohans double looked to ignite the team. Alas, it was not to be. After Bernie crossed the plate the team was effectively shut down. The final score....Visitors 17 and Home Team 12.

 

Key Performances

 

John Fulton    4 for 5

Jim Altemose    4 for 5

Terry Smith    4 for 5 with two doubles

Duff Hill    4 for 5 with two homers

Ray Mills     winning pitcher

 

Bernie Mohan    4 for 5 with a double

Jeff Simon    4 for 5

Jim McPartlin     3 for 4

Sam Lopez    4 for 5 with a triple

 

 

Gessler Clinic Field

Visiting Team: Gonzalez*, Laffoon, King, Jacobson, Butler, Hartley, Diaz, Pepin, Marino, Wells and Rodrigez.

Home Team: Coffman, Herb O, Toro, Giordano, Benson, Constantine, Regan, Wise, Leversque and Matta*.

*Manager.

The wind was blowing hard today, hard enough to blow Dorothy to Oz. Hard enough to blow the visiting team ball players from Winter Haven, to Kansas. Speaking of Oz, the flying monkeys were out and they landed on the backs of the visiting team. They were shut out in the first 2 innings and only scored 1 run, in the 3^rd inning. Did I say monkeys; they must have been gorillas riding on the backs of the Gonzalez ten. The wind pushed inside pitches in for strikes, (on right handed hitters) and took the strikes and moved them to the outside of the plate. The visitors had a hard time adjusting to the conditions.

The Home Team rode the wind, like Aladdin rode his flying carpet. They sent hits all over the field, scoring 11 runs in 3 innings.  Instead of Aladdin’s 1001 Nights, the Home boys had 1001 hits, or so it seemed. When the last man in the lineup, Matta, goes 5 for 5 and the next to last man in the lineup, Levesque, hits back to back HR’s, you know you are in for a woop’n.

After 3 innings of play, the score was Grounded Monkeys 1- Flying Carpets 11.

In the 4^th inning the visiting team pried the monkeys off their backs and found a magic lamp. When they rubbed the lamp, 8 runs appeared. Big hits came off the bats of Jacobson, Butler, Hartley, Diaz, Pepin, Marino, Wells and Rodriguez before an out was recorded. Fortunately, for the home team, after that eight hit barrage, the genie fled the bottle, the next three batters were retired in order. The home team came up and answered with 2 runs, on a HR by Giordano. Charlie who likes to hit to left field went deep to right center field for his homer, which rolled up against the fence.

After 4 innings of play the score stood Visitors 8 - Home Team 13.

That was as close as it would get for the visitors. The home team kept hitting like they had the bats of Ruth, Mays, Mantle and Clemente. Tom Wise hit for the cycle. Juan Toro was 5/6 with a HR. Herb Oesterreid had a HR and Jack Benson added a round tripper. In fact, we wondered what was the record for HR’s, from one team, in Winter Haven. The Home team hit 7 this game. Bob Regan added a triple.

Nice fielding plays were turned in by Juan Toro, Herb O, Chris Constantine, Bob Regan, Rich Marino and Ron Butler.

The Final score was Visitors 12- Home team 27.

Leading Players:

WP: Matta

Marino: 4/5.

Jacobson: 3/5.

Butler: 3/5.

Coffman: 4/6 with a double.

Toro: 5/6 with a HR and a double.

Constantine: 3/5.

Wise: 4/5, hit for the cycle.

Matta: 5/5.

HR’s from  Pepin, Giordano, Toro, Wise, Levesque (2), Oesterreich and Benson. 

Winter National Championships- Legends

FWIW,   Normally we don't make a habit of reporting on the tournament teams here but I thought this tournament deserved a short write up since several of our regulars have been playing for the Lake Wales Legends in the Senior Softball USA Winter Nationals down in Ft Myers.  The rules were slightly different than our usual Florida Half Century games.  For example, the batters start from 0-0 instead of our 1-1 count, the defense has only 4 infielders and 4 outfielders and there's no pitching screen.

In this tournament the Legends Managed by Chuck Duff and Regis Finnegan included Donnie Atkins, Danny Parker, Russ King, Ron Butler, Ronnie Salyer, Gary DeFalco, Joe D'Herin, Bobby Zelazny, Donny Witmer, Don Held, Aaron Phillips and Bobbie DiPetro.  If you hollered Don or Ron or Bob during the game, you had to get a bit more specific.

The tournament started with qualifying games on Tuesday.  The Legends won two games and lost one  but scored a total of  24 runs which was fourth highest.  This got us off on the right foot as we were playing on the winners side of the AAA Bracket with 17 other teams including two from Texas and one from Ontario.  

On Wednesday, we started off good with a 21-13 win over US Pallet from Collinsville Illinois but then lost to an Austin Texas team, Reyes Logistics, 19-20 which moved us to the Losers Bracket for Thursday's games. I should mention that we were visitors in all 5 games so far due to our lack of ability to call a coin flip.  Also I should mention that Ronnie Salyer gets the purple finger award for playing left field through the tourney with a broken finger acquired on a running catch near the foul line fence.  Of course, many of us were bruised and banged up and playing with various ailments too but Ronnie's injury was on the middle finger of his throwing hand.

Thursdays games provided us with an opportunity to win the whole thing but we had to win 7 straight games to do so.

We started off Thursday at 8am with a 14-12 win over the Windsor Chiefs (from Ontario) then we defeated Tampa's MCC Marketing team 14-11 in a game where our third baseman, Gary Defalco, started a triple play with a step to the bag, a throw to Danny Parker at second and a relay to Donny Atkins at first for the around the horn rally crusher.  We then took on another Texas team called the Leftovers and beat them 19-11. We actually won the flip and for the first time in the tournament, played as home team.

The next game against Globe Trailers from Dunedin ended up tied at 15 each after 7 innings so we played an eighth inning.  We scored 12 runs, batting around in our half of the inning and finished with the win 27-17. Did I mention we had lost the flip again? 

Next we had to play the Reyes Logistics team again as they now had lost a game to move down into our bracket.  Win this game and we're on to the finals where we'd have to win twice to earn the trophy. We won the coin toss for only the second time but ended up losing the game 15-17 for a final third place finish (8 and 2) just two games from the championship.  I think we left the last of our energy in the eighth inning of the Globe Trailer game. 

This tournament wasn't just a lot of fun it was huge fun.  I'm ready to play again. Oh Wait, tomorrow's Friday, I AM going to play again.  See you there.

Capt Ron

Bill McDonough

Bill McDonough, 85, of Lake Wales died Saturday, November 2, 2013 of heart failure. He was born on November 15, 1927 in Providence, Rhode Island. 

Bill moved to Florida in 1985. He joined the Winter Haven Senior Softball Club in the mid 1990s and retired after the 2008 season, when his team finished first in the standings. 
He loved to watch the Tampa Bay Rays and Boston Red Sox, was an avid salt and freshwater fisherman, and was heavily involved in volunteer fire service. He was a Captain on the Tiogue Fire Department, Chief of the Ladd School Volunteer Fire Company, and taught Fire Service for 3 years at Ridge Vo-Tech.  

Guys check the Ledger link below for Thursday's service details


http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/theledger/obituary.aspx?n=william-f-mcdonough&pid=167879899&fhid=6780

Trick or Treat

Did you know that on November 1st, 1951 The National League voted Brooklyn Dodgers catcher Roy Campanella the league's Most Valuable Player for what will be the first of three such awards.
 

We played a fun game, the day after Halloween, in the American league. There were some tricks and a few treats. We had some Halloween candy in the pavilion to munch on. A few guys brought beverages to share with others for after the game.

The Visiting team Zombies consisted of  JD Davis, Don Held, Joe D’Herin, Ron Butler, Don Witmer, Rodger Edwards, Ron Pipen, Freddy Gonzalez, Fred Dampier, Frank Jacobs, Dave Hartley and Juan Toro.

The Creatures from the Black Lagoon, Home team, featured Larry Wells, Nick Matta, Ed Diaz, Bill Wolf, Russ King, Chris Constantine, Danny Parker, Charlie Giordano, Kirk Coffman, Tom Hamilton, Brent Alumbaugh and Tom Wise.

The Lagoon boys climbed out of the swamp and jumped to an early lead. They scored 8 runs in the first 4 innings. The softball looked like a pumpkin being tossed at the plate. The Zombies had both feet in the grave; they only scored 2 runs over that same time frame.

However, the Visiting Zombie team came to life in the 5^th inning; they scored 6 runs to tie the game. Juan Toro had a speedy HR that helped the cause.

Both teams played well over the next few innings and the game remained close.  The score did a flip flop back and forth. By the 8^th inning the score was tied 12-12. Thanks in large part to an Ed Diaz HR, for the Visitors.

It was in the top half of the 8^th where the game was decided. The Zombies dragged three runs across the plate to take the lead for good. The Home team had two tries, in the bottom of the 8^th and the bottom of the 9^th, to score. Their bats were as quiet as a grave yard. The softball that earlier looked like the size of a pumpkin, now looked to be the size of a candy corn. They were shut out in the last two frames.

Final Score: Visitors: 15- Home Team: 12.

Best Hitters Toda Included

Brent Alumbaugh  3 for 4 Homer

Tom Wise 3 for 4  Triple

Fred Gonzalez 3 for 5  2 Doubles

Joe D'Herin  5 for 5 

Frank Jacobs 3 for 4

Ron Butler 3 for 4 

Fred Dampier  3 for 4 



On field D (Gold's Gym) we had a three way game. 

The hit team had Bess, Kline, D. Hill, Poke, Marino, Gazarek, Moots, Smith, Mills, Fabion and Gibson.  

The sit team fielded Herb,  Fulton,Waddel, Hite, Remington, Lopez, Levesque, Barnes, Lopicolo, Fulton, Merritt,and L. Baker.  

The field team had Thompson, Simon, F. Miller, Byrd, Bowley, Altemose, Witter, Bloom, Morey, G. Baker and Restrepo.  

The field team managed two runs in the first inning and one run in the sixth inning for a total of only three runs.  Ron Thompson pitched well and John Byrd played an excellent third base but the offense just couldn't mount a sustained drive during the  contest.  

The real close contest was shown when at the end of the sixth inning the hit team led the sit team by only one, 13 to 12.  In the top of the seventh the hit team scored two and had a three run lead.  

In their final at bat, trailing by three, the sit team had an offensive explosion, batting around twice and scored 18 runs to win the game 31-15-3.  

Leading hitters on the hit  team were                          

            

D. Hill 4-4 inc. 2b, 3b , 

Marino 4-4, 

Gazarek 3-4, 

Moots 3-4,    

 

Leading hitters for the sit team were    

Herb 4-5, 

Waddell 4-5,

Hite 5-6, 

Remington 4-6,

Levesque 3-6 inc HR, 

Merritt 3-5  

 

Leading hitters for the field team were 

Thompson 2-3, 

F. Miller 2-3,