10/19/25 GGP

The regulars were all back, as were some new guys and we ended up with about 27 players.  That is how it seems to be these days.  No complaints other than it would be be nice to have steady attendance rather than this feast and famine situation.

It was sunny-ish when we got there, then it got foggy and chilly and humid, and then the sun came out again and we were bathed in its warming rays to the end of the game.  The band was out in less than full force, but made with the nice music and BBQ sausages as usual.

Sonny started for the visitors and Satch for the homers, and right off the bat (ha) the visitors pounced on my pitches, and I could not get an out to save my life. Two runs scored before I was even warmed up.  Luckily, that was the only two that they would get from me.  My defense settled down and was locked in.  

Sonny did well for a guy with a giant knee brace on, and kept us in check for the the first several innings.  We got a runner to third once, that was about it.  So we settled for trying to score a run, and finally in about the 4th inning, we did.  One run.  

I wrapped up after 5 innings, having downshifted into maximum efficiency, my pitch counts for the last three innings were 4--6--7.  Not too shabby.  I did not strike out a single batter the whole game, but my defense was solid as rocks, including one master Charlie D at 2nd base with a little flair and panache.

The hard part about having 13 players is that you try to be a good guy and take your turns sitting out, but everyone else is also trying to sit, so you start to think that you have, even though you ended up playing outfield because no one else would.  We came back over the top in the 6th inning, with new meat Dave on the mound, and took a 3-2 lead.  Phelps and Mitch came in to hurl for us after that, and pitched well, but the visitors refused to go quietly though and the game was knotted at 3's before too long on a great opposite field RBI by Anna.  

A huge batting roster makes for a long wait in between at bats, so I think it was about the 5 inning  before we all got our 2nd at bats.  Hitting for both teams seemed a little awry, and when anyone did get into one, the outfielders were placed perfectly.  A nice tight game.

We went into the 8th raring to go, and engineered the game-winning rally, moving runners along and taking advantage.  The tying and go-ahead runs in place, we coasted into the top of the 9th with nary a whimper from the visitors for a narrow win, 6-5.  

What's that, extra innings?

Something seemed off to me when the plan was being hatched, and that was the homers were getting an extra at bat but they also seemed to be leaving, which didn't bode well for the visitors getting their extra inning.  I kept asking how we were going to do this, and no one listened.  Of course, we also strung together the biggest rally of the day in the 9th as well, scoring about 6 runs, including a bases-loaded double. 

So by the time the 3rd out was recorded, half of our team had their street shoes on.  Most of the visitors—besides McG who called bullshit on the whole thing— didn't really care to have their extra turn, and we called the game.  

Let it be know that we the remaining homers were willing to play that inning, but the visitors chose to eschew their hitting rights.

Highlights

* Great to see everyone out, keep it up!

* Mike Naldony gets the hustle award for almost beating out a throw to first while wearing shin guards. 

* Anna with the clutch hit to the hole on the right side

* Gabe blasted one to center field

* The visitors turned two double plays

* Greg tried 3 times to steal 2nd, and was thwarted by foul balls

* I hit a ball really hard to left field that Jacob was right on, so much so that it hit his glove, knocked his hat off and fell to the ground

* I also rocketed a ball to Jacob at SS, which he absorbed with his abdomen, he might have a bruise today....

* Mitch was a stalwart at every position, all day

* Along with a nice put out, Charlie's productive out placed our tying run on 3rd with one out, nice!

* A routine ground ball in which the throw is a scud in the dirt or airmailed over the first baseman will now be known as a Mission Baseball Double

* We had a couple of foul balls that looked as though they might squib back into play

* Naldony also tracked down a long foul ball behind the plate

* The knuckleball, change up, and curve ball were all working for me—I got 5 outs with the knuckle, Greg has never called it so often

* Phelps at 1B was warming up the infield with Alejandro at 3B, who always takes warm-ups seriously. Three times Phelps threw a slow roller to practice his barehand throw (all three throws were wide). Then first batter of that inning, JT, hits a slow roller to 3rd! As Alejandro was about to field it, Phelps yells... Barehand! Alejandro nails the throw!

* New guy hit the highest infield pop up we have seen in a while

* Sean caught again, and Phelps was pitching, a lefty battery, love it!

* Cap tip to Charlie and Tristan for holding up their end of the bargain as the fresh recruits

* JT brought out a glove that was so old it was eligible for AARP benefits and discounts

* A big thanks to all the visiting team pitchers that took it easy on Charlie, he makes me get a verbal confirmation from every new pitcher that they will take it easy and not drill him in the face with the high heater.  I am not sure why my kids think the MBC is a bunch of savages....

9/28/25 GGP

Another humid foggy day.  Another disappointing turnout.  

Although we did a little math and counted at least 7 players that can usually be counted on to be there that were not for legitimate reasons. The parking was a breeze too!  

Satch threw another CG, working the ol' soup bone with a lot of change of speed stuff, the occasional curveball that was either a strike or right at the hitters back.  Still workshopping that one.  Nick W. started for the visitors, and is stuck in a doom loop of back tightness that has again forced him to leave the mound in the middle of an inning.

We had 11 by game time, but were buoyed by four league players that came from their game to fill in for us, thank you Elias, Byron, Ben, and Nico! Thanks to Alejandro for being the ambassador of the game.

At our high point, I think we had 16, but people started leaving mid-game, so we were never really comfortable.  The visitors scored 2 runs in the first inning and we answered back and then piled another 2 on.  The score was 4-2 for a few innings, and then our team exploded for some bases loaded magic and when the dust had cleared it was 10-3.  Elias was destroying the ball, and running and sliding harder than we have seen at our game in a long time.  He even slid headfirst into home on a close play at the plate.

After Nick bowed out, McG came in and did very well for not having any prep time.  After he got through a few innings, then Jacob came in for a while and was throwing a pretty good knuckleball for some of the game, which was nice to see. Then he took himself out of the position mid-inning and Byron came in to finish up the mop job.  Byron had a nice zip on his fastball and a sneaky delivery.

We tacked on a few more, and decided it was time to end, when the roster fell from 15 to 12. Nick W jumped ship to the homers to make the balance right, and from there the visitors managed a baserunner in the 9th but that was it for a rally.

Final 12-3, Homers

Highlights:

* Big thank you to the league guys that made our game possible! Hope to see you all again

* Don was right on time, in the 3rd inning

* Our team had an early issue with ground balls, just getting eaten up by them, but the defense settled down and we locked in

* Thanks to all the catchers (and pitchers) they were at a premium: McG, Gaspar, Nico, Don, Alejandro, Kenball

* Alejandro had several infield hits due to his hustle down the line

* Around the 4th inning my arm finally warmed up and I finished the 4th and the 5th with strike outs looking

* So many pop-ups, the changeup was working well for that

* Great play on a foul ball by Gaspar

* Cap tip to the visitors for playing good defense while filling in for us, great catch Don.....SHIT!

* Patrick went up and got one at SS for a fancy snare

* Elias had more hustle than any of us, with at least 3 extra base hits, including a bases loaded triple, and he almost caught Patrick on the basepaths

* I announced in the 9th that everyone was getting a fastball down the middle for their first pitch. Sometimes what you want the most is your downfall, and we had 2 quick outs to start.

* I don't think I have seen this play before, ground ball to the right side, 2nd baseman picks it up and then runs to first for the out.  There was a convergence of myself, Adam, and Elias, and that is the play that made the most sense. And yes, I did cover the bag like I am supposed to.

* Gaspar, the consummate gentleman, offered to have us play 2 outfielders, since last week we did it his way.  We played full field for the first part of the game, but with the exodus in the 6th, we shaved it down to 2.  No real difference.

* Adam had two nice running plays on short pop flies

* I may be coming out of my extended slump, 3 hits including one that Nick signaled should have been a HR, but I was content to take a double. I don't want to hurt my arm patting myself on the back, but it was a pretty impressive hit

* Roll Call of the Faithful: Lynch, Gaspar, Nick W., Don, McG, Anna, Patrick, Jacob, Adam, Elias, Byron, Ben, Nico, Satch, Alejandro, Kenball

9/21/25 GGP

Super shitty parking.

Warm day, muggy, almost sultry.  Then the fog rolled in, and I found myself still sweating in the fog.

I started for the visitors and Sonny for the homers.  

Sonny is still pumping strikes, and has developed some good off speed stuff

We had 15 at a high point but barely 14 for most of it.

Highlight of the game: The reemergence of Abe!  Back from a 4.5 year hiatus, his daughter in tow, and the rest of the family making an appearance at the end.  Welcome back, and don't be a a stranger!

Gaspar vetoed my suggestion that we keep to 2 outfielders, which I like since it doesn't make that much of a difference for our teams, and we get to not be running in an out from the outfield the whole time.  So instead I played outfield as much as I could to give them a taste of what that extra fielder can bring to the game.

A guy from a previous game played with us, big shout out to Mark!

No Greg, no Tony, no Mitch, no Sean, no Adam, no McG's.

Don was late, but early by his standards.

The game was back and forth, both of us were throwing efficiently. Sonny quit after 6, HR came in, did well too.  I stayed in and ate the whole thing, as my team was low on pitchers.

My team was up, after some rough patches.  Going into the final inning, technically the 8th because people had to go

I coughed up the lead in the bottom of the 8th, and the homers won the game. 

6-5(?), homers

Highlights

* Well, 14.5 ain't bad I guess.

* I am going to keep pushing for a 2-outfielder defense, if things don't turn around with our numbers.  As a non-strikeout pitcher, I of all people, should care a lot about the quality of my defense, and honestly, it doesn't make that much of a difference.  But being able to sit on the bench and have a conversation with a person I haven't seen in a few years does.

* Sonny and HR both pitched well

* I struck out Don with one of two decent curveballs I threw the whole game

* The Gaspar shift paid off every time.

* Mike N did a fantastic job behind the dish for the whole game

* We managed to keep to the two original balls in play for the whole game, and they were beat up by the end of it

* Nick W. was the defensive player of the game, with several great catches in the outfield on balls that no one thought would be caught.

* We managed a double play on one of those catches as the baserunner was convinced there was no way Nick would get the ball

* Nate was out and hit the smoker of the game, a big drive to left.  Unfortunately, his team didn't care enough to help him with base-coaching, so he listened to me from the mound, and got thrown out trying to make it a homerun.  The picture is where it landed, but then it rolled onto the dirt and it was off to the races

Roll Call of the Faithful:

HR, Sonny, Don, Nate, Abe, Powell, Nick W, Satch, Jacob, Mark, Mike N, Mike L, Alex, Lynch, Gaspar

9/7/25 West Sunset #2 Field

 A shit attendance for a pretty good game on a great day. 

I know it's still technically summertime but we have had really bad numbers for most of our games for the past 3 months and this game was no different, we had 13 people.  I sent an angry email cursing everyone and the first week of NFL football, but that didn't seem to do any good.

The weather was amazing, hot by SF standards, a bit muggy and sometimes overcast, but all in all a great day for some baseball.

We figured out the best way to divide was to do 6 on 7 with 2 outfielders, that way we were still only exchanging 2 players and there was no clear advantage. I started for the visiting team and Phelps for the  homers, and he went 6 innings and then Nick W. came in, but tweaked his back and took himself out of the game in mid-inning and Brian Phelps came back in, that was different. 

I was emboldened by the fact that I had Sean catching for me—which was a first that I could remember— it also guaranteed that we were going to see an amazing sweat design appear on Sean's shirt. He is no stranger to excessive perspiration, but today's output was a Hall of Fame day for sure.

The game started out fairly even-handed, but somewhere around the third inning, I lost the ability to get an out—along with the rest of my team: double play balls turned into bases-loaded situations, ground balls turned into RBI doubles, and so forth.

The team eventually took pity on the score and made it a soft 9 - 2 with the caveat that if we approached the tying run, the score would be reassessed to what it actually was, Amazingly we ended up coming back and scoring several runs and the home team had to reassess and we entered into the later part of the game with the score 11 - 9.

I came out of the game and Sean came in and really shut down the home team for the rest of the game so once again I proved to be the problem. I also can't seem to hit my way out of a wet paper sack these days. I'm not sure if I'm getting old, losing my baseball skills, in a major slump, or maybe all three.

In any case we roared back and tied the score in the ninth inning at 11-11!

We couldn't believe we had come so far but then we still had to hold the home team and no one was able to do that. They loaded them up and scored the winning run before we had gotten our first out.

Final Score- 12-11, Homers

 Highlights

*Thank you to everybody who showed up on a day that we should have had extras

*Two left-handed catchers played in the game Sean and Brian Phelps I don't know if that's a first for the Mission baseball club I feel like we may have had it before but certainly not with Sean attached

* We also had the first-ever balk enforcement, and then a second balk! Mike N deked Nick hard core (enforced) and Phelps balked on the shitty mound (overlooked)

*The one really rough thing about West Sunset #2 is the sun on the left side of the diamond both in the sky and reflecting off the ocean is completely blinding

* I have it on good authority that Dan was on his phone in the outfield, and still managed to make a catch when the ball was hit his way.  Not the way we learned how to do it, but effective, I guess

*The home team couldn't help themselves and had several opposite field hits which with 2 outfielders really sucks the second baseman is effectively also the right fielder

*I was a disgusting 1 for 6, but at least the one hit was for 2 RBIs that started our comeback rally

 Roll call of the faithful: Anna, Nick W, Nick S, Jack, Greg, Phelps, Chris P, Jacob, Mike N, Sean, Patrick, Dan, Satch, 

8/24/25 GGP

Beautiful SF summer Sunday.  About 66 degrees and foggy, saw the sun twice in 3 hours.

Thank you to everyone that showed up on Sunday, we were without a MBC founding member for the first time in a while, that I can remember.  Greg, Tony, Adam all out of pocket for various reasons.  For the game purposes—in their absence— seniority fell to Nick Smith, who was out there playing like it was 2001.  

I got to be on the same team as Sean, which rarely happens, and we faced our old rival, Sonny Big League.  Sonny's pitching has improved a lot over the years and now that is he is a professional, he is a tough arm to face.  His fastball has more zip, and he breaks off the off speed stuff with aplomb.

I started the game, hoping to get some innings, and much like Ralph in the Alka Seltzer commercial,  I can't believe I ate the whole thing!  Big cap tip to my team, this game was won on defense.  I got to the field planning for the 3:30 start time, and of course the game before ended at 2:30.  So anyway, I didn't warm up beforehand, and took the bump without having thrown.  Needless to say, the first inning was problematic, the homers scored 2 and then I went out for the 2nd feeling better.  

About halfway through that inning I remember feeling my arm loosen up and have more pep.  A good feeling to have.  Curveball was finally working regularly, so I used that in the beginning of the game, and then as my elbow got tweaky towards the middle of the game, I moved to a change of speed style.  

We answered back the two runs and then one more to take the lead which we didn't surrender the rest of the game.  We had a couple of nice efficient innings in the middle, in the sixth, I checked in with Sean about pitching.  He encouraged me to keep throwing and so I did.  Probably because Greg was not there to shame me to into giving up the bump and stop glory hunting and thinking only of myself.  All true, but when no one is saying it out loud, its easier to ignore.  Again, thank you to my team for letting me eschew the code for the game.

Gabe came in after Sonny, who is a scary pitcher to face.  He's got a real cannon, and seems like he has settled down a lot since starting, but the odd pitch comes in high and tight and makes one's starfish pucker.  I think we tend to forget what facing a real fastball is like.  Gabe is here to remind us.  Anyway, my team did admirably against him, but I was shit.  I struck out and flied out.  Chris Powell followed Gabe and did great too.

About the 7th inning, the homers got to me, and the score was 8-4 with threats of more.  My defense once again made the plays and we escaped with no further harm.  I downshifted into slow, meatball corner pitches and that was pretty much the game.  Bottom of the 9th the homers threatened again with a a lot of baserunners, but we got the job done, with a diving catch in center field by Cleveland's own Mike Gaspar to end the game.

Final, 8-4, visitors.

Highlights

* Some amazing plays were made

* Jacob new guy did well, hit a rocket but unfortunately got Mitched (who was on our team!!!! and filling in for Nate who disappeared) on a sure fire triple

* Alejandro with the shoestring laser catch

* Mitch was great everywhere he played, but got fucked by the wind in right in the first inning.

* THE WIND IN RIGHT!  Dang, it was a wall.  Gabe tattooed one off of me early in the game to right center, and it literally stopped in mid flight and dropped for a catch.  The whole game the wind was an issue

* Gaspar hit a Gaspar special that should be a first-ballot Gaspar HOF.  It arced around third base and landed about a foot from the foul line.  It was perfection.

* Two awesome pop outs behind the dish, Gabe and Kenball making the plays!

* Everyone who played first base made an awesome play

* I think there were 2 or 3 double plays.

* Big hits and RBIs- Gabe, Powell, McG, Sean, Lynch, Anna, Nick W., Gaspar, Mitch, Kenball

* The band was out and entertained us the whole game, complete with a national anthem and 7th inning stretch.

* Kenball again with the foul out catch, at first base

* Gabe had at least 4-5Ks

* Best curveball of my whole game was employed to strike out Nick Smith, sorry!

* The changeup made for about 5 weird, end-of-the-bat squibbers

* Sonny put it best, "When you throw the whole game, you feel like you got to do your job."

For the kids that don't know what the fuck I am talking about.

8/17/25 GGP

 After 2 weeks or more of subpar showings, Greg shamed a lot of us into making the game.  It worked, as it usually does, and we had 11-11 for the bulk of the game.  That was the good news.  

The bad news was that we stood around for an hour waiting for the game before us to finish.  

Officially, our permit was for 3:30, so we were a little early, but we were being polite, letting the teams know that we were waiting and anything they could do to move it along would be appreciated.  Our inside lane was that Liam and Aiden were playing on that team.  That blew up in our faces, and what was promised was not delivered as the minutes ticked by.  Supposedly, it was a 1-run game and they didn't want to just quit a good game.  I get that.  What happens if it gets tied up though?  Luckily, they floundered, and the game ended.  We didn't start our game until after 4pm, so it was an abbreviated contest.

Sean started for the homers, with Gabe in new catcher's gear, bought off Craigslist by someone giving up the game.  I started for the visitors, with Greg behind the dish.  Dave scored a run for us in the first inning, which we thought was a good portent of things to come.  How wrong we were.  The first couple of innings were not bad, the game was back and forth: 3-2, 5-3.  

Then the roof caved in on our defense and the homers pushed 9 runs across the board.  Ouch.  

I was pitching for what felt like a month and we still didn't have an out.  I gave up my share of hits, including a Gabe hit that should have been a automatic round-tripper (see picture below) but for whatever reason, no one was fighting for it.  Our infield could not make the throw to first base.  Anna tried her best, but every throw was 5 feet in front of her, or 5 feet over her head.  So it went, on and on.  My estimate is that we were about 2 for 10 on ground ball outs in the inning.  When we got the first out, it felt like Christmas.

So the game from there out was not quite as much fun as it could have been.  I threw 2 more innings, then handed the ball off to Dave for the final inning.  He did great, but we could not do anything with the bats, and Sean ended up with a CG and the win.

13-5, Homers.

Highlights

* New guys abounded, and they were all good.  One in particular smoked the ball

* My change up was getting cranked and the knuckleball was working but still being hit hard

* JT was robbed of a hit by an overzealous New Guy who should know better than to pick on a old man

* Tony was out, in a rehab start, taking it easy, but great to see him!

* The homers staffed a real Murderers Row of a line up

* Mike N was responsible for some soul crushing RBIs

* Greg and McG and Gabe behind the dish

* Aiden and Liam were not invited to play with us, but wormed their way into the bottom of the lineup

* Diego made some good stops at SS, but had a case of the yips

* I guess the old saying that pitching, defense, home runs, timely hitting, baserunners, and speed win ball games is true.

* So I posited the question to our dugout in the midst of the hitting doldrums: There is no Buster Posey rule in the MBC, so would it ever be OK to truck the catcher at a play at the plate?  More to the point, if Gabe was the catcher, and the runner knew what they were committing to.  For those that don't know, Gabe is probably a solid-muscle 250lbs and built like a defensive end.  There are only a few people I can think of that would create more than a minor disturbance for him in that situation, so that would make it seem like a caveat emptor situation.  Greg bought up a valid point that Gabe should be asked what his opinion on the whole thing might be.  I admit the whole thing is sort of half-serious, if anyone actually tried to bust the catcher, we would probably all be very upset.  However, if the catcher is bigger and stronger than you—by a lot—does that change anything? 

8/2/25 San Quentin Giants vs MBC

First time in 2 years that I got play inside, and it is a whole new thing.  Since our Snyder brothers and Sonny are now coaching the team, we have the inside track on entries, and extra time, and getting out in a reasonable fashion.  

The day was expectedly brisk for 7:45am, in the parking lot, and we were on time for our gate check.  I was even allowed to bring in the Tree Trunk, after appealing to the team that I needed it for my gentle giant hands.  Fat lot of good it did me, but it was an entertaining anomaly for the other team, so not all bad. 

Greg sidestepped playing time, so we had 10 players in the lineup, which was nice.  I was assigned 1^st base for the bulk of the game, as it was concluded that I could do the least amount of defensive damage from there.  Liam started on the bump and was in good form, throwing 6 strong innings, 4 runs scored, of which only 2 were earned. He was busting the hitters inside and kept them from getting anything extended.

Our starting defensive set up was: 

Liam-1

Gabe-2

Satch-3

Mike N-4

Lynch-5

Sean-6

Shark-7

Carter-8

HR-9

Conor-Reserve

So not a bad team, all things considered, and we kept it close for several innings.  We got out to a lead early on and held it for the first half of the game.  The highlight of the game for us was definitely the round-tripper that Gabe hit out to right center and into the First Nation sweat lodge space.

The SQ players are a fast and aggressive bunch though, and there is only so much you can do when guys can take bases with impunity and are always challenging the arms.  A better 1^st baseman may have had some of them, but I was peppered with one wild pickoff throw after another from Liam and Gabe, and SQ made the most of it.  We were still ahead 5-2 when a player ripped a ground ball to center that megged Carter (as the kids say) and by the time he got to it, the batter had an in-the-park HR.  Damn.

We also held the distinction of having only lefty SS's for the game, Sean and Shark splitting duty.  Liam left with the game still intact 5-4 and handed the ball off to Satch for an inning.  I coughed up the lead but managed to lean on my defense enough to escape with the score knotted at 5-5.  This was mostly due to a great catch in left by Shark who had the gamesmanship to fire the ball to Nadolny covering 2^nd and double up the runner.  If we have one thing in common with the SQ team, we both could improve our baserunning skills.  I struck out a player for the final out with the Eephus changeup, freezing him.  yay!

Shark came in for the final innings of the game and threw well.  The SQ players started to get used to our pitching, and their hitting became more confident.  They scored a few more runs, as our offensive output dried up and though we played an extra inning since we had the time, it was to no avail and the final score was a loss for the MBC

9-5, SQ Giants.

Highlights

* ‎As they tear down the old wall behind the backstop, there is less of a problem with the ball blending into the background

* Gabe's HR was a real beauty!

* Liam's pitching was on point 

* Both Liam and Shark had the runners befuddled from the stretch and we picked off several runners

* The defensive play of the game was a hit to the gap in left center, easily a double.  Liam got to it and made an amazing throw to on a line to 3^rd base, and Lynch then fired it home to Gabe to tag out the sliding runner at the plate.  It was awesome.

* We staffed 3 lefties in the lineup and still couldn't get that short porch

* Add another victim to the hit...wait...9-3 SQ putout

* Greg caught the 10th, which was nice

* Shark made some great plays at SS, and had a lot more hustle, word is he is a lot younger than the beard tells us

* The bane of the outfielders is the fly ball that tracks into the gravel and about 15 inmates doing laps

* We were welcomed with the addition of Jenny and friends, who came in to cheer the teams on.  Greg has been playing baseball for 30 years in the MBC, and finally got the compliment from his wife that this "baseball thing is kind of entertaining."

7/13/25 GGP

The temperature plummeted the closer I got to GGP.  It was a balmy 84 degrees in the East Bay, and by the time I found parking it was 63 degrees.  Not uncomfortable, but we didn't see the sun for the entire game either.  We were also cramped in right field, as the Olde Tyme game had started at the same time that we did.  While staffing right field to protect my team from my questionable fielding, I had the chance to watch the other game, and GOOD GOD, are there a lot of dropped balls.  I would say an average of 10 chances for every 3 outs recorded.  

Nick W started for the homers and Sean for the visitors.  Sean would remain for the majority of the game, eating the deficit like a good pitcher should.  For once, I was on the team doing the spanking, rather than getting spanked.  It's been a while.  

Nick pitched well and even remained for an inning after he thought that he would, since the last one "went so fast."  Usually that is the death knell of the pitcher, but he sailed his way through and handed the ball off to Satch.  I was excited to throw again, after getting the chance just the week before in the double header.  The best thing I can say is that my curve ball is back!  Being able to add that back into my arsenal has been great, and honestly, it works better as a big loopy bait pitch than anything that you might see from a competent pitcher. 

Sean battled his way through the game but was unable to get the outs he needed when he needed them.  We were hammering the hole between 3rd and SS all game, and Django made some fine plays to stop the balls from reaching the outfield, but not enough to get the outs.  There were also the usual selection of dinks and kicks that extended innings where there should have been outs. Erasto came in to mop up and we fared better than we have in the past.

With a plethora of players playing, 11-11 at one point, the game was a fairly relaxing affair, and no one seemed to be overextending themselves.  The score got a little out of hand by the middle third though, with our lead being extended to a generous 9-2.  We even started conceding outs on close plays rather than see the inning extended, a cap tip to Mitch who hustles all the time and probably got screwed at least once.  Don showed up early (2nd inning) and was able to play most of the game.  Then people started to leave, and the batting order got messed up again, like last week.

Into the 9th inning, the score 12-4.  Nothing doing. 

Final score, 12-4, Homers.

Highlights

* ‎Thanks to all that played

* Django did his best against a barrage of plays at SS

*  I love having Mitch play SS, since we get so many short pop flies that he is basically also an outfielder

* Thanks to Greg, Don, Gaspar and one other for catching

* The addition of Jose and new Amigo to our game was nice, and they both were ripping the ball and making plays

* Greg in particular did a great job of blocking the ball

* Jack, frustrated by his lack of hits, tattooed a ball that was destined to splinter my shin.  Reflexively, I put my glove down to try and deflect it and somehow caught the ball in an awkward backhand.  Apologies for the outs, it was all reflex, not skill.

* Erasto with another great day at the plate, but we finally tagged him for some runs in his two-inning stint

* The great when is it an "automatic home run" debate rages on.  I hit one off Sean that I thought was a no-doubter, and I began to trot hoping that would be signal that I was opening the play for debate.  When I got to first, I made the twirly gesture to further cement my stance.  No one else seemed to buy what I was selling, and I so I ended up with a RBI single, perhaps the longest in history.  Looking at the map, I think I have a good case for believing it should be counted.

I know that Jack was playing me at about 390 in left field, and I split the difference between left and center.  The ball one-hopped to the berm where the hill starts, which you can see in the picture about 15 feet beyond the landing.  Maybe not a herculean blast, but certainly for a fat slow hobbled guy, an argument could be made.

We also have to include Sean's hit, which was prodigious, and brought about the argument of why his hit wasn't also considered a no doubter?  Well, this is about where it landed, which is easy to remember, because of where it landed in relation to where the left fielder was from the other game.  If we start down the road of short porches and park variation, where does it end?  

What I found in my searches is that the average distance from home plate to the left-center field wall in MLB parks is approximately 371 feet.  So I got 10 feet on that, roughly.

So that is something.

So where does this leave us?

Can we ever find a field on the regular that has a fence e.g., Crocker Amazon?

Do we institute the cone system like Stoner tried to implement 15 years ago and was roundly rejected? 

The call from Sean was that I have to state immediately after the hit that I believe it to be a home run and then it goes to committee, I guess?  I thought my trot was enough, but I guess next time I will try for a Oh yeah, that baby is GONE and hope I win the argument.

2025 Doubleheader- GGP

An enjoyable and a tad bittersweet day of baseball.  

This marked our first 4th of July BBQ doubleheader without Bob.  I am not saying that we failed completely, but there was a noticeable lack of preparedness in our BBQ this year.  I think everyone got something to eat, and hats off to the people who remembered things like plates and cutlery and condiments, and a big thank you to Gabe and Phelps for manning the grills and getting some food out to the hungry players.     

Actually this year we were without several of the stalwarts of the MBC: Tony, Sean, JT, Johnny B, Mitch, Rick, James, Anna, Sonny.  They were all missed.

However, we still had full ranks for the day, and played two solid games.  The weather was about what you would expect for a game in July, foggy and cold to begin with, a few periods of sunshine and blue sky and then the real fog and wind to close out the game, chilling us to the bone.  By the time that I got back to my side of the bridge the temperature had risen by 21 degrees....

Game 1:

I started for the homers and felt really good.  I was also aided by the mound, which had not been disturbed all week, since all the leagues take the week off.  So that was awesome.  My curveball was finally working again and so was the knuckleball!  I couldn't believe Greg kept calling for it, and more, that I was throwing it for strikes.  Must have been the heavy air.  We cruised through the first couple of innings; I believe we scored first, but the game was close.  Phelps started for the visiting team, and was cruising as well.  Special thanks to Brian for throwing me a first pitch knuckleball —that didn't knuckle—for my deepest drive of the day to left center for a lazy man's double.

I went 6 innings, struck out at least 4 or 5, and was a little unwilling to leave the mound, but when there are 25 players, you don't to be the dick that take playing time away from others. Or at least, that is what I am told. Greg came in for the homers, and well, our lead which was 5-2 at that time, suddenly became 6-5 visitors.  All that hard work gone... :(  

Luckily, our batters were keeping us in the game, RB-Ed was out doing his thing, and Adam contributed several knocks.  Diego came in to throw for the visitors with the visitors now ahead, but we were saved by the hard work and determination of Charlie D, playing in his 2nd doubleheader, who laced a soft line drive over the head of 3rd base.  He took 2nd on a passed ball, and then scored from there on Adam's line drive over 1st base, sliding into home on a close play to knot the score at 6-6.  We put in Gabe to halt any additional runs, and he did well, It stayed tied and we decided to end the game so that we could get to the BBQ and the second game.

BBQ

Hot dogs!  Hot dogs!  Thanks to whoever brought the hot dogs!  Without them, I think we would have been fighting over 12 hamburgers and 2 packs of sausages.  As stated before, the absence of Bob means an absence of meat, in about every sense of the word.  But more specifically, all the good beef.  I will say that we did the absolute minimum amount of planning this year so it is not altogether surprising, but something to remember for next year.  Thanks again to Gabe and Brian, who had the forethought to bring grills, another thing that Bob was always good for.  I had also hoped for an appearance from Johnny with the Boudin sausages, but alas.  

The AOY trophy was also not discussed beforehand as part of our general lack of planning, and honestly, no one has really stepped up their game in the ways worthy of an AOY distinction.  So we gave it to Bob, who as a first ballot Hall of Famer AOY, is always a crowd favorite.  

The Rookie of the Year went to Erasto, whose acrobatic fielding, clutch hitting, and deceptively impactful pitching have been impressing us all year.  He has become a great addition to the MBC and I hope that he continues to come out.  Our only wish is that he feels comfortable enough to start sitting with the group.  We all promise to get better at our Spanish as well!  Special thanks to Alejandro for serving as translator this year, as none of us had any idea of what the Spanish word for Rookie is. 

El premio al Novato del Año fue para Erasto, cuyo fildeo acrobático, bateo decisivo y pitcheo engañosamente impactante nos han impresionado todo el año. Se ha convertido en una gran incorporación al MBC y espero que siga participando. Nuestro único deseo es que se sienta lo suficientemente cómodo como para empezar a sentarse con el grupo. ¡Prometemos mejorar nuestro español también! Un agradecimiento especial a Alejandro por su trabajo como traductor este año, ya que ninguno de nosotros tenía ni idea de cómo se dice "novato" en español.

The best dressed MBC award was not given, as Tony, Johnny, and Sean were all MIA.  The trophy is lagging at least 2 years behind as well.

The band came through this year with a trophy of their own, presented to Greg as a token of friendship and for including them in our game.  It came with a bottle of Tullamore Dew taped to it, so an extra bonus for all those brave enough to take on the Irish. The band was out in force for the 4th, with new singers, trumpet players, and a Melodica!  They sounded great, and stayed the whole day with us.

Game 2:

Per usual, we swapped the order of the teams, so that the visitors were now the homers, but left everything else the same.  Greg pitched the first inning and then Gabe came in again, he struggled a little with his control, but still put up 3 innings of work.  John McG followed Gabe, and had a real good first inning, and then the homers started to put together some hits, but all in all still a good performance. Mike Naldony wrapped up for the visitors, and threw some lights-out baseball, his curve in particular was real snappy.

HR was raring to start for the homers, and did well over his innings.  Daniel came in for few innings, and threw well for only doing so once a year.  Erasto followed with his usual frustrating bag of tricks, and it was around the time that everyone lost track of what inning it was, what the score was, and what the batting order was.  At least, that was how it was on my team.  

We also started losing players, and no one knew who they followed when there was a gap in the order.  It was 3-2 at one point, the visitors were behind.  Then we exploded for 3 runs, Powell, Greg and myself all scored.  But when the smoke cleared a few innings later, and the homers had their own rally, somehow the score was presented to us as 4-4, and we accepted that and played on, only to realize a little later what had happened.  

The Homers scored the go ahead run late in the game, and we finished up the 9th inning still down a run, for a victory for the Home team, 5-4.

Highlights

* A Huge Thank you to everyone that came out to play or cheer on

* I don't know how this rumor got started, but I did not bat 1.000 for the day.  At best, it was .500.

* Erasto had several big hits in big parts of the game

* Don showed up in the 5th inning of the 2nd game, a new record for tardiness!  Great to see him as always

* Jesse did it with the bat and showed us all what a real arm looks like behind the dish

* Great to see Marcie out with the little'un, and giving the business to the Dodgers fans, read the shirt:

* Special thanks to Greg, McG, Gaspar, Don, Jesse, Patrick and anyone else who took a turn catching

* I had a great opportunity with the bases loaded to tag third and then throw home to get the runner.  I fielded the ball cleanly, tagged the bag, and then completely rushed the throw and beefed the whole thing.  I did bellow TAG! though

* Ed might be the best guy for getting on base and the worst baserunner we have

* We had a brilliant few innings where Chris Powell was relegated to right field with his young son, and we have never seen so many outs recorded in right

* Jesse mad-dashed for a foul ball, wearing the gear, and made an amazing out

* Adam also had a great sno-cone catch at first on a foul ball

* The catch of the day was made by Brian Phelps who inexplicably started chasing a small dog on a leash that had gotten away from its owner.  He sprinted all the way across center field and halfway up the hill before he caught it.  

* Good job on calling for the catch, avoiding several potential calamities

* I was trying for the "1st and 3rd get picked off an hope for the runner to score", but I ended up just getting a fantastic jump off of Phelps, looking at him the whole time and jogging into 2nd

* In addition to his offensive prowess, Charlie D. also made a nice catch at 2nd

* Phelps with the long stretch at first

* The wind was blowing in from right pretty strong, and anything to that side of the diamond died

* Stoner beat out a play at first, but was willing to give us the out anyway, it was so hard to tell that no one wanted to make the decision.  Eventually we gave him the hit.  A democratic MBC moment.

* Daniel had the hit of the game with a 3-run in the park home run, a powerful line drive to left field

* Heal quick Bob, so you can fly out next year!

6/22/25 GGP

 A great game! We had 12-13-14-15-16-17-18

A great game.  I almost died, again.

A great game? Greg got bean-balled and only because it also hit his ear did he avoid major damage.

It was some kind of ball game.  

Carter gets the "Great to see you, Don't rush back" award for pitching like a maniac and almost killing Greg. :) 

Sean pitched a masterful game but didn't get the breaks he needed, and we had a few choice hits.  I started and was throwing efficiency ball— that is slightly above batting practice speed, and praying they swing and don't get it square.  It works.

Until it doesn't.  Phelps, arriving later than usual, was batting for the visitors and absolutely destroyed one that was a heat-seeking missile headed for my sternum.  Time slowed; I could see the red threads rotating.  Reflexes took over and I caught it.  Then I took a long walk around the mound to collect myself and resist the urge to ugly cry.

We scored some runs thanks to the fact that we had Mitch and Powell on the same team, which is also the best defensive team you can ask for.  Mitch Mitched a few people, Powell provided some sure outs.  Nice pitching to defense.

I don't think we ever lost the lead, but the visitors started to wake up in the middle innings, and by the time I bowed out after 6, the score was 8-4.  Powell came in for two innings and they scored 2.  We still felt confident, but then Carter started his berserker routine and we got gun shy.  We called on Mitch to close it out and he was masterful to the end.  The visitors scored one, and had runners threatening on 2nd and 3rd with 2 outs.  

No problem, game over. 

Homers 8-7

Highlights:

* Glad we all lived through another Sunday, I used to not think that way after games.

* Mitch made a long run into foul grounds from third to track down a foul ball

* Greg is ok!  

* Adam made a sno-cone snare on a foul ball at first

* I caught a infield pop up off the mound after calling "Oh shit, I guess that is me."

* Ana had the hard luck award hitting three drives that went straight to people

* Phelps had a pretty great triple. Asshole.

* Sean was hitting double-doubles

* Thanks to the guy in the stands that made it 9 on 9 and also hit a long drive

* Erasto was feeling pretty down on himself for a couple of errors, but it didn't keep him from getting 3 RBIs and 2 hits

* Lynch was also stinging the ball

* We had successful look them back at third—get the out at first.

6/1/25 GGP

We had a lot of players, that much is true.  The day was sunny, though not warm in the traditional sense. We were on the eastern diamond, away from the throngs of the Olde Tyme league game.

Sean started for the homers, and HR for the visitors.  The first three innings took roughly 4 hours to complete, the 3rd inning in particular was more than a little painful.  HR looked good in the beginning, but faced some challenges with strikes as the game went on.  

Sean was efficient, as he often is. His defense had his back as well, and we hit right into it.  Our defense wasn't terrible, but we did have that inning.  We also had about 5 balls overthrown at first that resulted in automatic doubles.

Charlie came out to keep the old man company, and play some 2nd base, which he did great, to the tune of 4 putouts and an assist.  He almost laced a single to left, but well-known bully Don was playing in just the right place to catch it.

Satch came in after HR and we moved into a quicker game.  The run-scoring, on the other hand, started to get out of control.  I had a working curveball but my challenge fastball wasn't challenging anyone.  By the time the middle innings were behind us, the score was somewhere in the 8-2 region.

Liam came in for the homers after that, in case our throats weren't properly being stepped on, and that was about it.  Since becoming a collegiate standout, he has improved a lot as a pitcher, and we went from little chance to no chance.

In the 9th we showed a little ginger, and Liam showed his lack of understanding on how one leaves the pitcher mindset and throws an easy pitch to an 11 year old.  Charlie took a ball to the forearm, and showed a lot of character by staying in, and taking first.  I followed with a first pitch swing and blooped one in to center. I was thrown out at 2nd on a fielders choice and base-coached Charlie in for our first score since the 3rd inning.  

That's how you turn a negative into a positive! We scored another but that was it.  

Final, 12(?)-4, Homers.

Highlights:

* Thanks to the 20+ that played, weird to think that we had 11 people 2 weeks ago

* Jesse did a fine job behind the dish, as did Nick, Greg and John McG

* Liam hit the hardest line drive over first base that I have seen in awhile

* Gabe hit one back at me that I am going to see in my nightmares for a while.  I didn't even attempt to catch it

* Chris and Zach collided in the outfield, luckily no one was hurt.  Gotta communicate out there, people!

* Django was doing it all

* Alex has proven that he is the fastest player we have seen in while

* Mitch was a human vacuum cleaner in the infield

* We're coming up fast for the double header, which by my reckoning will be July 6th.