10/20/24- GGP- Bob's Last Game

Bob's final game in San Francisco,  for a time at least. 

Hard to believe that it is really happening.  Bob has been an institution to the game since before I started, and in true MBC form, he came to the game on happenstance and chance.

The word went out this week that it would behoove all those who had a free Sunday to show up and pay their respects.  They came out of the woodwork, that is for sure.  Probably the biggest get was Johnny Bartlett, who has not been out since a 4th of July game back a while, and not regular for even longer.  One sarcastic wag suggested that it might be worth Bob leaving if it meant Johnny started coming out again regular.  Not quite, but it would be neck and neck.  Plenty of regulars and old timers out as well, I think we hit 27 at our high point, luckily, people left early, so the game wasn't too packed.  

It was also decided that it was imperative that Bob do a Campaneris for his last game.  For those uninitiated that means that you have to play all 9 positions in the course of the game.  He did it, and he did it well.

I started for the homers and Sonny for the visitors.  We drew first blood but I had a shitty time on the bump.  I was trying to throw easy, but could not get a comfortable gasp on the strike zone.  So many 3-0 counts.  Add to that my change up was getting hammered when it was a strike, and it was not my best day.  I gave up an in-the-parker, which was walloped to center field. I think by the time that I gave it up after 4 innings, the score was 3-2, visitors.  However, we stormed back and retook the lead with a healthy dose of scoring, and when the dust settled it was 7-3, homers, and at that point, I think we started to let our guard down.

Tony came in and did a great job of righting the ship.  Sonny gave way to Dave, who was throwing hard, and then Mitch.  Tony went out after 2 innings, and Carter came in and seemed to be throwing strikes, but did not fare well.  Partly due to the fact that Ken was blinded by the setting sun at 3rd and made some overthrows, and partly because the visitors hit 3-4 triples.  I also managed to not get even close to the pop fly behind the mound that should have been mine.

I had a wave of nostalgia looking out to the outfield one inning and seeing Johnny, Bob, and JT from left to right.  A trio of MBC'ers if ever there were.  

We went into the 8th trailing 9-7, and could not seem to get back our mojo.  Bob pitched the 8th, and did a fantastic job, holding the visitors scoreless, after a lead off double by none other than Nick Smith.  He even trotted into 2nd ahead of the throw without a care in the world.  Unfortunately, that hubris was short lived, as Nick was gunned down at home, trying to score on an infield hit.

For the 9th, it was more of the same, Greg came in to close, with Bob behind the dish.  No one on either team did much of anything, and the game ended in a 9-7 final score, visitors.  

Bob was presented with two signed baseballs from the group, a lot of handshakes and hugs, and then there was not much else to do but go home, which is the goal in baseball, right?  

Bob has left an indelible mark on the MBC team, and our game won't be the same without him. Who else is going to stare down an incoming pitch, rather than move out of the way?  Who else is going to try and block a ball with their ear?  Who else is going to make grandiose trophies, and call out horseshit when they see it? Who else is going to ring up their own son, or have 5 complete baseball uniforms to wear? Who else is going to swing from their heels at a knuckleball that they know is coming, and then curse your name as it's popped up to the first baseman?

I have been playing in the MBC for 22 years at this point, longer than some, shorter than others.  It has been one of the constants in my life, and at times I have taken it for granted that the game will always be there when I want it.  As Bob says, this is a SF institution, and needs to be preserved, past and present. I agree.  I hope that there are enough of us out there that can keep it going.  I know for myself, life gets pretty full sometimes, and with all the things you have to keep in your head and on your plate, you sometimes forget that time is the real motherfucker.    And it's only going one direction. So gather ye rosebuds while ye may.

Take care Bob, thank you for you guidance and participation in our little corner of the world.  We'll catch you a little further down the trail....

Barnstorming in CO, anyone?

Highlights:

* We will miss you Bob

* Thanks to all that showed, and Don for making it before the game was over

* Parking sucked.  Damn music festival season.

* There were many big hits: Gabe, Chris P, Diego, New Guy, Patrick, Mitch, Mike N, Bob, Elan

* Greg's hitting tear continues!

* The Yucatan contingent grows and thrives: Santos, Erasto, Marcos

* Bob was not HBP, a gross oversight on the side of the visitors.

* This game had more near-calamities from foul balls than any other game I can think of.  We almost hit a mother and baby, 3 different women walking above, a bike, two players, and a couple that was snuggling on the grass.

* Patrick made a great catch on a foul ball behind the dish.

* JT won the award for most confidant looking near-catch.

* A good old fashioned pickle at home, with Sonny caught in the fracas.

* Let's keep the numbers up as we head into the warm SF season

10/6/24 GGP

 Maybe the hottest game on record, certainly for October.  95 degrees.  Thank god we were on the east field, so the shadows got bigger the longer we played.

Only 12 individuals came out.  Could have been worse.  Thanks to Santos and Erasto for making it at least Havana 6's, and not batting practice.  Now if only we can convince them to sit with the team.... Por favor siéntate con nosotras.

I started for the homers, on the same team as Nadolny and Powell since who knows when.  Greg catching, Santos and Erastos filling out.  I don't think having 2 outfielders really makes that much difference, in fact, I can state that I would be alright with 7-7 with two outfielders, if it made it more enjoyable from a rotation point of view.  

Mitch started for the visitors, and I think we got one run, and then nothing for a while.  Then a few more.  And then I think one more.

I held the visitors scoreless for the first 3 innings, and then they scored one (Mitch of course) and there we sat for the rest of the game,  It was so fucking hot.  The good news is that all the muscles are limber and ready.  You feel like you're going to collapse, but you will play really good until you do.

Erasto came in for the 2-innig save, and John McG and Nick W swapped innings with Mitch.  We stopped at 7 innings, and enjoyed the shade.

Final- 5-1

Highlights:

* Roll Call of the Devoted: Greg, Bob, Nick W, John McG, Chris P. Mike N, Lattig, Mitch, Satch, Santos, Erasto, JT, and a guy on a bike that played for an inning.

* Throwing at 50% is great, especially when you have an infield that can make plays

* The parking was plentiful!

* JT had the unenviable job of playing left field with a bunch of pull hitters.  However, he made a great running catch when it was really needed

* Cap tip to John McG who caught and pitched on a day when both should be avoided

* I missed the opportunity to plunk Bob.  Mark your calendars, October 13th and 20th, and then we are living in a Post-Bob era.

* I made two grabs off the mound that I would not have made had it not been hot. Apologies to JT, who smoked a line drive that should have been a hit

* Cap tip to Greg for catching the whole game, probably with surfing before and after.

*Great to Lattig out, after a long stint on permanent vacation

* Santos made some great catches in left, on the run

* Several double plays made in the game

* Thanks to Nick for the permit organization, and also being my only K of the Day

* Greg had several line drive singles, he's just getting started

* Stay cool!

9/22/24 West Sunset

 I left home and it was 90 degrees, and by the time I got to West Sunset it was 61 degrees.  And that is as warm as it got the whole game. We had enough players, which as great.  The game was even handed, which was also nice. I looked it up and the last time I played at West Sunset was 2018, it feels like it has been longer than 6 years, but what a weird past few years it has been.

Nick W started for the homers and he had a really nice curveball working.  We were able to push a few across the plate, and so did the homers.  I was hurling for the visitors, felt good after not playing for almost a month.  We cruised through a few innings and before I knew it, it was the 5th. 

We were helped along by some dropped plays that allowed us to extend our innings, and we took advantage as best we could.  The fog got thicker and colder, and we had at least a couple of plays that went into the fog and disappeared. 

The homers for their part did not give up easily.  Mike N had at least 4 ground balls hit hard down the 3rd baseline for hits, each harder than the last.  A new guy kept hitting singles to right field.  Greg came alive for several hits.  We managed to turn away one bases loaded jam, but it was never easy.  I lost it for an inning, could not throw a strike.  Luckily we don't count walks, cuz I would have had about 4 of them.

Game keeps going, Mitch takes over for Nick, and then gives way to HR.  We built what we thought was a good cushion but it should never be assumed that the game is over.  With a 12-6 lead, I was confident that I could get 3 outs.  That proved to not be as easy as I thought.

Hits.  Boots.  Hits.  Boots.  Bases loaded, no outs. 

The score ballooned to 12-10, then we managed a double play, thank you infield!!! Another run scored on the play and it was 12-11.  How the hell did it get like this.  Up steps the new guy that has 3 hits off me.  I had very little left in the tank by now, and honestly, I was just trying to get the ball over the plate.  I did and for the first time, he doesn't drive it to right field, he hits it to SS and Powell throws him out.  Game!

Highlights

* Great game all around

* Adam saved a few innings, scooping the balls at 1st

* Patrick caught a good game, and had some deep drives with RBIs

* I hit Bob with a fastball, with 2 strikes, which is several things I don't like to do.  Hope it doesn't bruise.  At least the game was official.

* I struck out for the first time in a while, on a slow breaking ball

* Gabe, by his own admission, would have hit better with a wet noodle

* I think our outfielders all play too deep.  Too many short hits dropping

* Powell made at least 3 catches of line drives that looked sure to be hits to left

* Infield fly rule was in effect a couple of times

* More stolen bases than usual, these young kids 

* Thanks for a great game!

9/1/24 GGP

This is a late post, and there wasn't much to write about.  

Beautiful weather, lots of people in the park, and we had the nice field.

We also had enough players, that was a nice change.  The teams were nowhere near evenly divided.  Phelps started for the homers and I started for the visitors.  We got one runner to 3rd base the whole game.  That gives you an indication of what we were like.

The bright spot that I can remember was that our team turned 3 double plays.  Which is probably the only reason that the score wasn't 20-0, instead of 11-0.

It was a fun game, for a blow out though.

Ana made some great scoops at 1st.

The homers had the hole between SS and 3rd locked in, to the tune of at least 10 hits.

Hopefully next time, we will do something about the lopsidedness before it gets embarrassing.

8/18/24 GGP

 Well, another piss poor showing, so hopefully we are almost done with the summer doldrums.  Thank you to everyone who did make it out and played.  

Sean and I squared off in a old fashioned duel, but it was clear from the beginning that Sean was clearly in a different zone than I.  He was throwing everything well, and the sweat back was out and proud early in the game.  He probably had 5-7 Ks on the day.

The weather was a balmy 71 degrees, perfect!

What we didn't have was a full roster, and we recruited from the old tyme games that had finished.  Along came Jibber, Jabber, and Blotto.  They made it a game, and we thank them for that, but that is about it.  They were chirping after hits, bat tossing, and wandering around the outfield with no clue where the ball was. Thanks for filling the ranks, though. Hooray for Don showing up too, and bringing us back to the magic number.

The lineup of the visitors was no joke.  Arson, Sean, Lynch to open.  That is 3 batters that should never be a in row.  The rest of the lineup was no more forgiving.  They strung together some hits and we booted some balls, and the score was 4-1.

The only person who I had the number for was Carter, who had come out with his younger son.  I struck out Carter twice, but no one else was biting at the junk.  We only played 7 innings due to imminent departures, the game was not progressing anyway, the final was 5-2.

Highlights

* Roster of the Faithful- Sean, Gaspar, Lynch, Arson, John O., Alejandro, McG, Gabe, Santos, Don, Matt, Satch, Carter. Diego

* Arson absolutely killed a ball to left center

* Santos made an absolutely great catch, unfortunately he was covering for the other team at the time

* Arson, McG, Don, Gaspar, thanks for the catching

* No one was fooled by the change up, they all waiting and slapped it

* Diego played a great first base, several stretches

* A lot of our plays at first were much closer than they should have been

* Gabe slid into home, and was tagged out, a first since his high school days, a great play from John to Arson to nab him

* Special call out to Connor, who specifically emailed that he was free and excited to be playing and then crapped out.  Come on man.

* Explaining the Gaspar shift to a new left fielder is always a challenge

* Too many pop ups

* The band was out in force and sounded great, playing a variety of tunes, and they did the national anthem to start the game.

* It makes a real difference when there is a catcher that can race to field a passed ball, and still you throw you out

* Come back MBC faithful, your teammates miss you.

7/28/24 GGP

 If ever there was a game that went from grim to great, it was this one.  

We started with 10 players at 3pm.  Well, technically 3:05 because I was late due to bridge traffic and the Up your Alley Street fair.  However, while we wallowed in our despair, things started to look up.  3 guys started playing catch in the outfield, and 3 kids were hitting baseballs near the infield.  We recruited 5 of the 6 and suddenly we had a game!  Add Santos, who showed up late on his bike, and we were set. 

Mitch and I dueled it out for the full length of the game, which ended up being 8 innings, since we had people that had to leave.  The Homers scored first, and then it went into see-saw mode.  1-1, 2-1, 2-2.  No one could break open the game, and the defense for both sides was pretty locked down.  I know we had at least 2 double plays for our team, and all the new guys contributed with at least one defensive play.  Mitch and I both had good games, both had working curveballs, and kept a lot of people off balance.

I was covering 2nd base in the 7th inning and sadly, really fucked up a play.  Mike N hit a curving rocket in my direction, and I tried to play it backhanded so as to shield my body as much as possible from injury.  I missed it of course, and the go ahead run scored, and then another.  So we went into the end of the game 4-2.  I felt bad about that.  

The Visitors wasted no time in scoring that run back and then another to knot the game back at 4's.  So we headed into the bottom of the last inning, tied.  We decided that if it was still tie at the end we would leave it as is and call it a tie.

I was the first batter up, and hit a ground ball that was destined to be an out, except that it went through the SS wickets, and suddenly I was on first base.  I really didn't want to be the winning run on base, and I almost asked for a pinch runner, but I figured there was a good chance that I would be the easy out at 2nd or something.  

On the second pitch, Powell tattooed one to left field, well over the head of the fielder.  I started running, and when I was at 3rd, the ball was still in the deep outfield so I figured to go for it, and barreled home.  I was readying myself to slide and possible break everything, but the throw never came, and the game as over.  

Apparently I had been told to stop at 3rd, but didn't never heard that.  I collapsed for a few minutes, not sure how I was going to recover, but I did.

5-4, Homers.

Highlights

* Thanks to everyone who made it out! Roll call of the devoted: Adam, Greg, Bob, Mitch, Chris, John McG, Santos, Mike N, Mike Lynch, Satch, Rick

* Thanks to Finn and Liam, our two kid recruits who did a great job!

* Thanks to Tomas and the two other guys, hope they come back next week

* John and Greg did a fine job behind the dish, keeping the ball in front, as did Liam

* Defensively we did great, even our errors were on hard plays

* Knuckleball was working!

* After 2 close throws from 3rd, we moved Finn to 2nd and he got a ground ball out, way to go kid!

* Liam roughed me up for two hits before I realized I didn't need to take it easy on him

* A lot of very close plays, I would not have wanted to be the umpire

* Twice I struck out New guy with two outs, and both times, Greg questioned why I was walking off the mound....

* It was 64 degrees and foggy the whole game

* We spotted the traitor Dave walking away after his olde tyme game finished, not even considering playing with us....

* Another discussion on where a ball has to land to be an automatic homerun, when we don't have a fence.  At this field, I have always though that you needed to get the ball to the berm, or the foothills as Adam called it, to be legit.  Chris is salty that I get the call, but he has to run his hits out, on account of him being in shape and me being, well, me.  I can't discount that completely.  I think a 380ft shot should be a automatic round tripper, and that is about what the map tells us is the beginning of the hill

7/14/24 GGP

 Another great game. And I say that from the point of view of the guy that blew the game.  More on that later. 

Sean started,  and finished,  for the Homers.  I was late getting to the game, and Dave had the bump, throwing his heat.  The first couple of innings, we were not doing much, other than getting outs and trying to not drop the ball.  We mostly succeeded.

Sean was in pitching mode, and you could see he was hungry for a game, we tried to comply, though our best inning was an error fraught scorcher, but we suddenly found ourselves in the lead.  Chris Powell took over duties on the bump for us and did a fine job of holding the line.  I think by that point it was getting close to 6-2, Visitors.

The stand out player of the game, with an acknowledgement of Sean's complete game, was Santos.  One of the Yucatan boys, he was all over the place with his stellar play.  He made several running catches in center field, and muscled up on at least 3 hits for the day.  He scored runs and stole bases.  He did it all.

So there I am taking over in the 8th, comfortable lead, the Homers had struggled to get the big inning the whole game.  I was feeling good, throwing what I thought was good ball.  The 8th went great, I think I threw about 14 pitches, 8 of those to Santos, who worked me for a well earned hit.  

Bottom of the 9th.  

The bats suddenly came alive for everyone on the Homers, and they clubbed a barrage of hits at me.  The easy fly ball we got all game, suddenly was a bases loaded double.  

The lead evaporated before my eyes, and I was suddenly trying to get my first out, with the game 6-5.

Needless to say, I didn't get said out.

The Homers easily pushed us aside, and won the game, 7-6.

Highlights

* Santos, game ball!

* Sean, awesome game on the hill. Kenball made some good catches in left.

* New guy Darius(?) was also solid in defense, and at the plate. 

* Cap tip to all the catchers

* JT had a couple of amazing plays at 1st, to come off and get the tag.  

* 2 JT collisions as well, though physics told me that JT was on the safe side for at least one of them

* Congrats to McGrath and his oldest son Liam, who got an offer to play D2 ball.  Go get 'em kid!

7/7/24 GGP Fourth of July Doubleheader

2024 Mission Baseball Club 4th of July Doubleheader

What a great day!  We have had some good 4ths before, but this one had it all.  Chills, spills, fog, assault on the elderly, music, babies, food, you name it!  Thank you to Bob and Greg for the permit work, and a reminder as Bob said in his stirring address, we will need people to step up and start getting permits once he has moseyed down the trail, but more about that later.

Game 1:

Sonny started for the Homers and Satch for the Visitors.  We had a total of about 32 players over the course of the day, so everyone played half a game.  Sonny threw well, and the score was very low, edging back and forth in the first few frames.  He bowed out after 3, and I left after 4.  When the players for the game are 15 on 15, it is important that everyone sits, a lot.  Especially when we have people who may only be playing one of the games.

Mitch and Tony replaced us, and the game kept up as previous.  There were so many hitters that the lineup was never quite the same, but it was close.  We had some great plays, including several catches behind the plate, some great catches in the outfield from Kenball and the Yucatan contingent, and at least one double play.  The band showed up and started making beautiful noise for the game.

In an act described as "medium sportsmanship," Tony took out Nick Smith at first in a horrific collision.  Well, actually, Nick came off the bag to get the ball, and Tony had nowhere to go and tried to lessen the impact as much as possible, but still, you be the judge, as we were lucky enough to get footage of the incident:

We had Powell and Sean on the same team, which usually isn't allowed, but there were so many others, and the Homers had the youthful destroyers Arson and Parks, who proved to help the Homers to take the lead.  It was 6-3 going into the 9th inning.  However, somehow we suddenly pulled ourselves together and starting scoring again, and when the dust had cleared we were out in front 8-6.  No one was more surprised than we.  

Phelps had come in as the late relief, and he had no trouble shutting door and we were victorious in the first game.

Break:

The awards ceremony this year was poignant and memorable.  Bob Carey, our steady as she goes team dad, Fiskian-style professional pitcher's target (catching or hitting) and permanent red ass, is retiring to the golden peaks of Southeastern Colorado. 

 Yes, Bob's hanging 'em up.  But I am sure he will be back as a regular player/visitor once he finds there is only so much you can do on a Sunday in paradise.

Here's a write-up I did for Bob back in 2009, and literally nothing has changed about his gamesmanship or character. He's a class act.

https://missionbaseball.blogspot.com/2009/04/player-profile-8-robert-carey.html

Well, Bob got the AOY, again, AND was anointed as the inaugural winner for the 1st AOY Lifetime Achievement Award.  Mike Lynch, having held the last AOY administration post, put forth a stirring argument for an amendment that the award be renamed from Asshole (Athlete) of the Year (AOY) to Jackass Of the Year (JOY).  There were several in agreement, a quorum was held, and...we'll let you know.  In honor of his trophy making, Sonny and I both presented Bob with keepsake trophies, so he will always know what he meant to us. Pics to follow.

Thomas D. passed the trophy for Rookie of the Year to Charlie D., making up for the unfortunate incident last year, of which the band is heartily sorry.  

Conor was named Best Dressed award by the perennial All-Star in that category, Sean Paul.  Trophy for that is delayed at least 2 years at this point.

Food was cooked, eat and drink was had, the band was playing the good old tunes, and the sun would slip out of the fog and make it 75 degrees for about ten seconds, and then it was back to 64 degrees. 

Special thanks to all those who brought something and the Tiemann's for the crockery as usual and all the extra help, Lynch, Nick S, Nick W, and whoever else schlepped a stove or a table or an ice chest! 

Game 2:

Same teams-ish, since there were some departures after the first game.  We flip-flopped the game, and Sean started for the now-Homers, and Javier started for the now-Visitors.  Unfortunately, the game was more of a boot on the neck than the previous game was. 

Javier pitched great, and the defense of the visitors was locked down.  Ours had gotten a little off course, though we were helped by Charlie D. who played a mean right field and 2nd base, saved a run with a heads up throw from the outfield and made a fantastic snare of a line drive off the bat of JT.  Rumors are, there is footage of that at-bat, I will share when it becomes available.

I think the score was steadily rising for the Visitors, and we could not manage to score a run.  We got close a few times, but the at-bats suddenly dried up. There was the occasional solid hit, but not too much else.  Greg was consistently on base, but I don't know that we ever got him in.

After Javier, Daniel came in to pitch and he did very well for a guy who only plays once a year.  Our slump continued, we may have scored a run, but it was bleak on the whole.  Not only could we not hit, but our love affair with mental mistakes and dropped balls continued -- of which I was responsible for at least one of each. 

I pitched again for 2 innings and then Greg took over for the rest of the game. To close it out, the Visitors brought in a guy named Shark.  

So that tells you what our last two at bats were like.  He was a hard throwing lefty, and he put us down pretty quick.  We managed to scrape another run or so, but the final score was a soft 9-4, Visitors.  They deserved it.

Highlights

* I'm not crying Bob, you're crying!

* Thank you to everyone who was involved, it was a great day.

* Bob had at least 4 hits on the day, and regrettably, did not get plunked even once!

* Big hits from lots of people, but I believe the drive of the game is Gabe's 2-run homerun, a majestic shot to left field

* Tony, it looks like you are only looking at 1-count of simple assault which is generally a misdemeanor. Simple assault involves intentionally or recklessly causing physical harm to another person or creating a reasonable apprehension of harm.  We got so many lawyers in this club, you should be able to get a deal struck....

* Great to Marci out with lil' guy in tow, and she played!

* Dan might be the first guy with a broken ankle to bat for us, thanks to Johnathan for pinch running, though next time, start out further away from Dan and not as much behind him,

* Matt Stone out, catching outs, and getting hits

* I try really hard not to hit people with fastballs, it is a horrible feeling all around when I do.  So, apologies to Conor, who had the reflex enough to put his hand up and block the ball, when I accidently threw one headed for his ear.  Mea Culpa.

* All the catchers did a great job behind the dish

* The band was out in force and played 2 versions of Take me out to the Ballgame!

* Close plays all day, when we weren't overthrowing, or dropping them.

* Ed made a guest appearance, as a non-player.  Always good to see him and he's got a fresh pair of 20-year old shoes and what appears to be a new style of cutoffs

* Bob rung up Tony in the first at bat of the game, on a questionable call. Classic.

* The Yucatan boys all made some stellar grabs in the outfield

* Daniel had back to back doubles in the first game!

* More than one infield fly rule on the day

* I think I had one that went through the fingers of my glove, it was hit so hard

Happy 4th to all!

S. Paige

6/9/24 GGP

Well, it was a game.  From the out, I could tell that it was going to be a rough one.  We had no one playing a position that they felt really comfortable with, besides JT at 1st and Don behind the dish.

I had brought out the 2 boys, and they did their best, but it is hard to be 10, 12 year old competing with grown ups.  They always want me to check in with the opposing pitcher to make sure that they don't get gassed at the plate.  Sean did a great job of giving them pitches to hit, and he also did a great job of not letting any of the rest of us get hits.  I think we had one runner get to 3rd the whole game.  I know for myself I hit into 2, yes 2, double plays to end innings.  Personal best!

I pitched for the visitors, felt ok, managed to pitch to my defense for the most part.  We did not catch an infield pop fly the entire game.  Kenball made several great plays in left field, he was the only outfielder to catch a ball for us.  

The home team started scoring runs and just kept it up.  The score was a soft 8-0 by the time we tried to even the teams, and even with a Mitch for Bob/JT trade didn't do anything to help us.  We finished by the 7th inning, as we are running out of steam and players.

Highlights

* Thanks to everyone who came out

* I counted busted knees, busted shoulders, busted hips, and bad ankles playing out there

* The foggy overcast was a nice change from triple digits

* Don did a great job blocking the ball, which I was throwing consistently in the dirt.

* JT smothered a ball at first, and I had to hustle to cover 1st after it became apparent he was not going to be getting up off the ground.  We got the out!

* Ken's running catch in left field was amazing

* The homers agreed to play with 2 outfielders to give us a chance, it did not make a difference.

* Tim went up for a fastball that was purposefully thrown way above his hands, and smashed it for a hit

* New guy also battled hard and got himself a hit

* New guy Darius got a nice hit

5/19/24 GGP

 Sorry, I missed another game that should have been written up.  It was a close one at least.

This Sunday was an amazing game, as usual, our B2B fears were unrealized, you would never have known there was anything going on except for the occasional drunk guy in a zebra costume.  We had 20 players out, sun shining, teams evenly split.  

Sean and the homers vs. Mitch and the visitors to start.  Sean ended up going the distance, which was awesome.  Mitch took the starter role and threw five great innings of work.  He kept them off balance and most of his defense was working.  I unfortunately, clanged a fly ball off the thumb of my glove in left to keep a inning going, and then Sean hit a homerun.  3 runs scored. 

That sucked. 

Sean would add a triple his next at bat, and was all in on the cycle.

Round about the 4th inning, we finally got things going, helped by Anna, who was killing the ball to the tune of a couple of hits, runs scored, and she made some dynamic plays at 1st!  We entered the 5th, tied at 5's. 5-5-5.

We went up in the 6th inning, with Mitch still the pitcher of record, and never looked back.  Satch came in for the long save and was efficient to the end.  I think I ended up with about 55 pitches over 4 innings, not too shabby.  I was mixing up the fast and the slow, and even got some suckers to swing at the knuckleball.

Sean stayed in, and took the bruises.

We entered the 9th frame up 10-7, mindful that no lead is safe in the MBC, but the homers went down 1-2-3, and the game was somewhat anti-climatically over.

Final: 10-7, visitors.

Highlights:

* Sean killed it all day, but just not enough

* Thanks to Santos and Ernesto for coming late to give us an extra player each

* Anna, sweet hits, sweet scoops

* Bob had a double, that could have been a triple.  Still was fucking great

* John Carey also had a big day with the bat, and another triple

* Mike N, made a Brooks Robinson-ian play at 3rd, back hand and a perfect throw, it was awesome

* I had 3 singles, and 3RBIs

* There was a lot of hustle out there!

* I could not throw anywhere but the inside part of the plate, luckily I didn't hit anyone

* New guy Matt made a great catch in left

* New guy Jesse looks like a legitimate threat, and has a cannon for an arm

* Kenball was tough all day

* I stopped Sean's march towards the cycle at least.

* John McG was a wall behind the dish

* Everyone seemed to be ripping the ball

* My first AB, John got on 1st and I told Bob that I was going to just wait for him to get to 3rd before I did anything.  Pass ball-2nd, pass ball-3rd, fly ball to center, first run scored. Nice.

MBC Roving Correspondent Catches up with the Ramblers

Bob—stalwart player and team dad—recently played with the NY Ramblers, the offshoot of the MBC started several years ago in Brooklyn.  Here's his thoughts:

It’s been an interesting ride that spans over three decades and I had no idea in my imagination that it would be like this.  I have always loved baseball and I can’t tell you why.  It goes back to days in the backyard with my dad and my older sister playing with a  bat and ball.  She conked me in the head one time with a bat, but that was just part of the game.  So, how did I get from sororal abuse and head trauma in the 1960’s to Brooklyn on April 21, 2024?  Glad you asked….

In some ways, my journey to playing with the Ramblers starts in a coherent story back in June 2001.  One pleasant Sunday afternoon in June 2001, I had taken my children, John and Helen, to Julius Kahn Playground in the Presidio of San Francisco for an outing.  We wandered down to what we called the Hidden Diamond just North of the playground and there was a baseball game in progress. 

I asked one of the players (I think it was Mike Gaspar) what was going on and he said “It’s a pickup game”.  

I asked, “ Can I play?” 

He said, “ Sure, just come out next Sunday.”

Next Sunday arrived and as fate would have it, my wife and children had other things to do, so I was left with the opportunity to go play ball.

I found my gear and started to put it on, filled with anxiety.  What if I’m bad at this? I don’t want to embarrass myself.  I’m 42 years old and haven’t played for nearly 10 years.  Somehow, I got over those feelings and made my way to the game.  

I don’t remember a lot about that first game with the Mission Baseball Club, but the experience was pretty good and it was the beginning of one of the best parts of my life in San Francisco.  Here, I need to say, I just feel so lucky to be playing baseball with a good bunch of guys.  Never imagined that that would happen.

Since then, every Sunday that I’ve been in town, I’ve played with my brothers (and more recently, some sisters) of the Mission Baseball Club.  They are my baseball family.  From the beginning, I brought my son, John with me from the time he was 4 years old with me and he grew up with them.  He originally just came along and was part of the mix.  We had a conversation early on about certain words and language that one could use on a baseball field and how that was the only place those words were allowed.  I think he understood. 

He started to play in the field when he was about 10 years old and has played in increasingly more meaningful roles ever since.  Should probably insert video here when he’s pitching and makes me hit a weak ground-out.

One of the Mission Baseball regulars was a guy named Dave Johnson.  Red-headed, red bearded guy, a Mission stalwart.  I still have a pair of cleats with a gouge in them where he spiked me when I was playing first base.  One Sunday, he tells me he’s moving to New York.  I asked him why.  He says it’s about a girl.  After a short discussion, I say, “Well you have to go.”  And that’s how we get the Ramblers!

As I understand the story – and I’m open to correction – Dave was pretty miserable in New York without regular Sunday baseball.  At some point, the girl tells him to do something about it and he starts the Ramblers – pretty cool.

This brings us back to why I wanted to play with the Ramblers. 

My son John, after playing ball in high school and college, eventually ended up working in NY and connected with the Ramblers.  He’s played with them for a couple years now, and as he’s now moving on to grad school at Cornell, I decided that I needed to go play with them while he was still in New York City. We made all the arrangements for a family trip to New York.  My daughter Helen, joined us from Chicago.  John and I made the trip into Brooklyn and met up with the Ramblers on Sunday, April 21st. 

Here is a grainy video of me getting the business from my son a few years ago, resulting in a weak groundout:

I’m not going to go deep into the details of the play of the game.  Suffice it to say that I did not cover myself in glory.  I grounded out a few times and struck out once.  Ed. note: Bob informed me that he did get hit by a pitch, which in MBC parlance means that the game was “official”.  

My main contribution to the game was a failure to even come close to catching a foul pop at first with the bases loaded.  A couple of pitches later – grand slam.  Nice rip over the left field fence.

A few comments on the differences between the San Francisco game and the NY game:

• San Francisco has better fields. There is a photo below of the Prospect park fields where the games occur, there is one nice Parade ground field, but it still is pretty bumpy.  There is a snack bar though

• The Ramblers actually create a lineup, divide players via a coaches draft and keep a scorebook

• The Ramblers appear to be closer to each other off the field. MBC has a fairly open door policy when it comes to recruitment, or should I say, open park, and so we develop players that we otherwise would have no interaction with, was it not for the game and happenstance.

• The Ramblers play on a field with fences

• As the stereotypes would have it, the San Francisco game is less intense on the surface.  I think we play as hard, we just don’t let it show so much

In conclusion, there’s little that I can say other than that I feel so lucky to be able to play baseball with such good people – whether at Prospect Park or the diamonds in San Francisco.

4/28/24 GGP

They say that SF weather is terrible.  Well, They were not out on Sunday, because it was damn near perfect.  We had 17 for a little while, borrowing a kid from the area who played and who Bob rung up on a questionable 3rd strike.  He was old enough to take it.

I was late to the game, having forgotten my bag in the garage, and the traffic sucked too, so by the time I got there, it was deep into the 3rd inning.  Nick W was pitching for the visitors and Sean for the homers.  Sean's back was covered in sweat by then, giving an indication of how sunny it was.  They both pitched well, and the game was close until we had the inning where we gave them a bunch of runs, and we never were able to crawl back.  It remained 4-2 for most of the game, but we did eke out another run to get closer, but by then, Aiden had come in with his 18-yo throwing prowess and everyone was buffaloed. 

Except me, I hit a triple to right, that would have been a single except for the laziness of Dan.  Thanks Dan!  But my team left me stranded at 3rd, isn't that always the way.

I pitched after Nick and did fine, knuckleball was working.  Chris P came in after me, and also did fine, but we just could not score that needed run.

Final- 4-3, homers

Highlights

* Anna was hitting the ball hard all day

* Bob and JT were like Willie Mays and Roberto Clemente out in the outfield all day, running down outs and snaring catches in the sun

* John McG caught the whole game, like the badass that he is

* Rick K was out again, I love this new groundswell of attendance

* Aiden pitched very well, continuing his domination of a bunch of old people....

* There seems to be an unspoken agreement lately that batters are not running out the play at 1st.  Sometime to our disadvantage

* Long lost James came out, replete with his 1886 baseball bat, which he left on his shoulder while facing Aiden....good to see you James!

* I got Tony on a first ball Knuckle, that should have been destroyed.  Such is the spell of the drunken butterfly

* Sean is developing his skills at SS and 3rd, a new avenue for lefties?

* The "triple" I hit to right would have cleared the building in SQ, if you don't believe me, I mapped it...

* 

4/7/24 and 4/21/24 GGP

 I missed writing up a game at cop field a few weeks ago, not too much to write home about.  The team I was on got shellacked as usual, something like 13-2 final score.  Lil' Satch came out with me, and was responsible for the first RBI we got, that was nice.

Yesterday's game on the other hand, was a really enjoyable tight well played game.  We had 21 at our zenith and a pretty good crowd of people enjoying the sun in the park, or drinking after their olde tyme baseball game.  The weather was amazing, probably 72 degrees, sunny and bright.

Sonny started for the homers and pitched well, mixing in a devastating curveball with some funky off speed stuff. Nick W was the starter for the visitors and also pitched well.  Shout out to Mike N for catching the whole game.  We had no score through the first 3 frames, a testament to the great pitching.  Aiden finally got us on the board, coming into score on a fielders choice, and with Nick still technically the pitcher of record, I think he gets the win.  We piled on a few more, with the score being 4-0 by the time that I came in.  

We had decided on a 3-3-3 format for pitching, and I was lucky Pierre in the middle.  The first inning I did fine, managing a touch comebacker for the 3rd out.  The 2nd inning, the homers suddenly were seeing everything, and I gave up almost back to back triples, which was a new thing.  They scored 2 and the game was at 5-3 by the time I gave up the pill in the bottom of the 7th.  Aiden came in and shut the door, recording 7Ks in 3 innings, nice work kid!

HR and Mitch pitched for the homers after Sonny, and both did well, but the damage had been done early.

Final 5-3

Highlights

* Greg was back, though not playing, good to see him moving

* The Original Satchel Paige also made a appearance, just moments after Greg and I had talked about him.  Weird.

* Sonny's buddy was a good new addition with the glove and the bat

* Aiden pitched like a beast and played great SS

* Lots of close plays at 1st, kudos to Rick, Nick, Adam for the plays

* HR hit two singles to center that were exactly the same

* I stole home on a passed ball, and even slid into home.  It's been a minute since that happened.

* Adam avoided death at 1st on a really hard hit ball from Aiden

* Father vs. Son: John McG said Not today Death!  hitting a infield single off of Aiden, showing off the speed and beating out the throw, take that youngster!

* My hardest hit ball was caught in center

* Mike Lattig and Elon back after a long spell

See you soon!

S. Paige

3/31/24 GGP

Happy Zombie Jesus Day everyone!  I sent out an email querying if there was enough interest in a game, since I don't know how many people would be stuck at Easter egg hunts, or ham luncheons.  Turns out, enough sinners out there to mostly fill a baseball field.  In hindsight, maybe I should have stayed home.

I started for the homers, and from the jump I remarked that the opposite team did not have any holes in their lineup.  I was poo pooed once again, but this time, I think I was on pretty solid ground:

Mitch, Adam, Mike N, Tony, HR, Sean, Arson, and Dave.  Not much in the way of weakness there, in fact, this is the kind of lineup that would give the SQ guys a run for their money.  But I digress, I don't mean to disparage my own team, but it was a little lopsided.  The best out of nowhere player of the game was Rick Kvoriak, who appeared as though it hadn't been 9 years, and was right back into it.

We struck first in the first with a sac fly for the first run, and that was about all we did for the day.  The visitors came back and added a run to go ahead, and they never looked back.  I felt like I was throwing alright, and I had a few low pitch innings in the beginning of the game.  Then came the 4th, and I think it might have taken 40 minutes to get 3 outs.  I don't know how many times the lineup batted, but it was a lot.  Our defense crumbled, the visitors had about 7 dinks just beyond the grasp of the players, and then someone would hammer the fuck out of the ball and we would start over.  We did not have an out the first time through the lineup that inning. Ouch.

A cap tip to Arson, who after 2 at bats hitting the ball higher than anyone ever has, he leveled it a little and took me to deep deep center.  The bases were loaded at the time, so a grand salami for the kid.  The distance combined with his young legs, he could have cartwheeled into home and still made it easily.  By my reckoning, this is about accurate.

So that happened, and then a few innings later he did it again, with the bases loaded again.  He was stopped from having another grand slam by the pace of the runners in front of him, who were going station to station by that point.  

We had the bases loaded at one point, and we hit into a 5-2-3 double play.  So that was our strategy.

We only played 7 innings, I stayed in to eat the whole thing, which seemed like the right thing to do.  Sean left early, HR and Mike came in to get their innings, we fared no better, and the game was mercifully over at a soft 10-1.

Highlights:

* Arson was deadly with the bat, but also behind the dish, catching a great game.

* Thank you to everyone that made it out to make it a game

* Thanks to HR and his mob of fans, for extolling his game record, and highlights throughout.  Always great when I can hear of my failings in real time.  Oh, and the baby is cute too.

* We did manage a force out at home to save a run.

* The visitors were so fat in talent they had Mitch playing right field, and he managed to catch one of the few hits I got, which was a dying quail to right that no one else would have been able to get....

* While on the topic, we had several players on our team that refused to play right because... it wasn't exciting enough, I guess...which when we are trading defenses makes it a lot harder to do.  Remember, sometimes we all have to give a little, for the good of the game.

* Rick shook off the rust to play first base, and stopped several balls with every part of his body except his glove hand.

* Chris Powell rage hit a ball deep, trying to hit a 9 run homer

* The field was in really good shape, so that is something

* I hit Dave twice, nothing personal

* Gaspar and Bob did great behind the dish for us.

* Mitch had an amazing bunt that started the never ending 4th inning

* I had to warn Tony that he was getting one in the back if the runner tried to steal with the score as lopsided as it was.  He said he had already warned his team about that, but they were not having it.  Luckily I didn't have to do it.

3/17/24 GGP

What a day for a ballgame, the weather was amazing, sunny, not too much wind, and we had 17 players showed up.  The tones of a rock and roll show were present through the game, not sure what it was, but it was there.

The teams were askew from the beginning, but everyone sticks to the story of all the times that the teams are uneven and then the game goes the other way.  Well, this wasn't the case in this game.  Our team never scored a run, and we got to 3rd base twice, I think.  

Nick W was pitching a gem to start and Mitch came in and dominated us a little more.  Sonny was starting for us and he pitched well, but the home team had so many singles they could not be stopped.  Our defense was not helping us much either, we clanged and frisbeed our share as well.

I will focus on the positives, we had some great catches in the outfield when we needed them.  Nick caught several very high pop flies in left field, and the same with Bob in center.  Nick Smith, Bob and JT in the outfield in the 7th inning sets the MBC record for the oldest outfield staffed. So that is something.

I came in after Sonny, and felt good, the fastball was cooking at times.  The curveball finally went where I wanted it to go, which hasn't happened in months.  We slowed the scoring a bit, but the homers still eked out a few more from us.

Final Score- 8-0, home team.

Highlights

* Thanks for making it out everyone

* Ana had one our few hits, and was the one of the two players that made it to 3rd.

* Don played SS and made it look easy

* Greg did a great job blocking the ball

* Powell and Mitch together again, much to our destruction.

* Mental note to Alejandro, don't be stealing bases with a 6 run lead

* I had 3 hits, 2 singles and a double, did not score.

* Gaspar with the clean hit to the gap

* Nick W had an epic at bat, likely 12 foul balls, maybe 15-16 total pitches.

* I made the plays at 3rd, had trouble with the throws

2/11/24 GGP

Why do we deal with the high taxes, the sometimes confusing and overburdensome laws, the overpopulation? Because on February 11th, a month and a 1/2 before the beginning of Spring we can play a baseball game in Golden Gate Park where not only was the sun shining, it was actually warm.

We had 22 players come out for the game before the game and ours proved to be very much like the Super Bowl®. Sean started for the homers and Satch started for the visitors. I had made the request of my teammates beforehand that I not be allowed to pitch more than 4 innings and I mostly held to that, though I did request a fifth inning because I had not planned on the sun being so warm that I actually felt good pitching. 

Sean looked good as well, the sweat started early on him and looking like the Batman logo across his back. Sean lasted a few innings more than I and then Mitch came in after him.  I bowed out after 5 innings and gave the ball over to Dave, And then Chris Powell and then John McGrath for the close. 

We had a couple of new players some from the Mayan organization, Ethan who came with Connor, and one a recruit from Sonny, Javier, who quickly showed us that he knows how to play The Game.  Sure was nice to have an abundance of players, let's hope that continues.

The game was a real back-and-forth battle, we were tied at 2 then we went up to 4, then we went up to 6, then my last inning I gave up a run and some hits/errors and then the homers scored 2 on an unfortunate 2-out clank in right field. We were tied at 6 for a while, and coming down the home stretch bottom of the ninth, 7-7 ball game the homers were able to pull out a victory, thanks to 2 wild pitches and a ground ball from Sean to me at 2nd.  I heaved it to home with all that I had, but not enough, and the homers won, 8-7.

Highlights

* Full ranks, great playing

* Marcie came out with her little gum drop, then left him in the stands, and came in to knock a hard single up the middle, notching the MBC's first post-natal hit statistic (PNH).  I am sure Bill James will include that in the next SABR update.

* Carlos and Reumaldo both had a couple of amazing plays in left field

* John McGrath did a great job with the bat and behind the dish

* The grass makes the hardest ground ball a slow roller

* Some bang-bang plays at 1st!

* At one point, the average height of our outfielders was 5'3

* Don, Javier, Sean, Dave, Alejandro, Powell, McG, all put the muscle on the ball

* Mitch hit a ball one-handed for a single that he had no business even touching

* My last at-bat I finally got into one, loud grunt and all, and I think this is about where it landed.  The shameful part is that I only got a single.  The really shameful part is that I probably have had longer singles....