The Coronavirus Pandemic has altered our lives in many ways, and has interfered with the things that we loved to do, while effecting the things that we take for granted in everyday life.
The virus has no boundaries, and neither does the ripple effect have any boundaries, preventing us from going to summer activities such as fairs, concerts, festivals, beaches, sporting events... you name it!
So it came as no surprise when my friend Ron Emch came out with an announcement that the Glass City APBA Baseball Tournament was cancelled for 2020. When I heard the news, I was relieved, I wanted to go so badly but I did not want to put my wife and travel companion to the event at risk. It was weighing on my mind, especially when we are expecting a second wave of the virus this fall, and the tournament happens just prior to Labor Day weekend.
Ron's announcement came weeks after the announcement of the cancellation of the 2020 Chicagoland APBA Baseball Tournament -- Cancelled by my friend Rob Spatz. These are two of the good guys in the APBA Baseball community, and it came as no surprise that these guys would look out for our health over fun & games. I completely back their decisions, while backing the decisions of all the other tournament cancellations around the country. Rob's decision was also documented in Chicago's Daily Herald, which is a good read by the way.
The article was shared on the APBA Facebook Group, which caught the attention of two childish grown men who wanted to take shots at my friend, Rob. This was not the first time these two took shots at him, and other people in the group. That problem then was dealt swiftly by our friend, Pastor Rich Zawadzki, who booted them out of the group.
This type of behavior is not to be tolerated in the group ever, especially during a time such as this. This is a time when we should have each other's backs, not a time for people to make horrible remarks. My brother Rob has a heart of gold, and the fact that these idiots had nothing better to do, makes me sick, to be honest.
All these decisions by my friends proved to be the right moves, and I pray that all of you make the right moves when it comes to dealing with this pandemic. The threat of the virus is very real, while practicing your faiths, please put more faith into the doctors and scientists who happen to know what they are talking about. Keep your loved ones safe, while practicing proper social distancing measures.
Use common sense blended with love, and we can do no wrong.
Showing posts with label Friendship. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Friendship. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 27, 2020
Friday, January 24, 2020
So Thankful for Our APBA Family
This post is long overdue, I wanted to send this post off around the New Year, even around Christmas... but better late than never.
I want to to take the time and thank everyone in my APBA family for donating your hard-earned money to help my wife and I during a very tough time. We feel truly blessed and we could not have got through the holiday season if it were not for your generosity, we simply can't put it into words on how much everyone came through for us.
For the ones that may not know, my wife Becky was sick in early August. At the time, we thought it was Bronchitis, but an X-Ray reviewed that there was a mysterious growth on wife's upper right lung. She was scheduled for a biopsy, but the doctor at the biopsy felt the growth was too close to a major artery, so she was referred to a thoracic surgeon instead. The surgery took place in late October, and was an overall success, the tumor that turned out to be cancerous was completely removed, along with 17 lymph nodes (one of those lymph nodes also had cancer as well), and her upper and middle lobes to her right lung. Becky had to spend 10 days in the hospital to recover. The surgeon and the oncologist both confirmed that she is now 100% cancer-free. She couldn't go back to work until right after the New Year, and was out of work since mid-October, so that left me bringing in the income during that time.
The recovery process hasn't been perfect, since the double lobectomy. She has developed esophagus issues in which she has been vomiting, we are trying to figure out all that right now, and if there is any connection to the surgery, or just really bad timing. Coughing is part of the process with her lungs (particularly her right lung) recovering, so we didn't think much when she was coughing a lot, but once she was not able to hold down fluids or solids raised concerns. None were related to influenza as well.
We have many bills now, and more doctor appointments, but we try not to let it overwhelm us. We have good friends and family in our corner and that's what matters.
Special Thanks to my friends Ron Emch and Pastor Rich Zawadzki.
A huge weight has been lifted off our shoulders thanks to Ron setting up the GoFundMe page for us. He was concerned on how we were going to pay for the incoming bills, and has seen GoFundMe help some of his friends. He got the word out on the APBA Facebook Group, and our APBA family came through in more ways than they could ever imagine.... Such an amazing APBA community that we have, nothing surprises me with this group any more! One of the people that donated, John Cochrane commented on the site & said it best "We take care of our own."
My friend, Pastor Rich also came through by selling some APBA cards and using those proceeds towards Becky's bills. He sold $150 worth and donated another $100 to GoFundMe. Becky's online friend also sent $200, while both my sister Sara, and my brother-in-law have each donated large amounts of money as well.
I can't say enough about Ron and Rich, these are two stand-up guys in the APBA community, and are always looking out for people in need. I really can't say enough about their friendship, I am honored to have such friends in our corner.
Becky knew that I was part of a great APBA community, but she didn't realize how amazing and generous everyone was. She was overwhelmed (in a good way) with all the love that the group sent her way, and we were amazed by it all, many strangers donated without even batting an eye... God bless this group!
Also a special thanks to Ron Dean from the APBA community who donated $400 of his own money, we really appreciate it more than you'll ever know. I couldn't find you in the APBA Facebook Group, I hope this post finds its way to you. Also a special thanks to the anonymous person who donated $500 as well.
Those are all big amounts, which were very generous, but we are thankful for ALL of the generous donations, big or small...
We were not expecting much, and are so thankful for everyone
Here is a list of all the names of the wonderful people that helped us get through this tough time in alphabetical order....
Curt Bartel
Jeff Boeding
Randal Coburn
John Cochrane
Patrick Cox
Ron Dean
Tim Dusseault
Ron & Marian Emch
Sara (Baier) & Morgan Evans
Julie & Michael Gaubatz
Ken Gornstein
Heather & Neil from San Jose
Michael Kehrer
Andy & Tammy Lammers
Charlene & Scott McClure
Patrick McGregor
Rod McLeod
Paul Pavao
Doug Pryzymierski
Bradd Romant
Sheri Sample
Jim Saska
Darren Schulz
Ken & Jackie Schulz
The Schwind Family
Chris Strovel
Dan Velderrain
Michael Walko
Wendell Watkins
James Welch
Rodney Woodward
Pastor Rich Zawadzki
and the 8 Anonymous who donated as well.
THANK YOU!!!
If you haven't donated, we could always use the help,
Go Fund me link (Click on the right) >>> Helping Becky
Wednesday, August 16, 2017
The Late Innings of Life
[This post was started in late July, when my two friends passed, it has took a lot of energy in trying to continue]
This has been an odd week to say the least, I've been on Facebook very brief this week, and found out bad news at work, that my coworker Josh, apparently suffered a seizure in his sleep & never woke up. He was one of the kindest guys you could have ever come across, completely selfless... He used to work with my wife at Goodwill, he would stay a little extra longer off the clock & walk the ladies out to their vehicles, during closes. He has time & time again at Applebee's would volunteer himself to help the restaurant in anyway that he could, he would occasionally pat people on the backs, when he felt people needed a spiritual lift.
On July 25th, this past Tuesday, he was working his tail off in the dish pit, I brought a container of mixing bowls & utensils over, he was a bit overwhelmed with the waitstaff asking for dishes & etc, he mentioned "They are going to have to wait, I'm trying my hardest." I came over, patted him on the back (like he would do for us) and said "Josh, you are working hard bud, that's all you can do at this moment, you know it, I know it, you got this... (patted him on back), he seemed to be at ease & a better mood after this. Becky & I clocked out of work about a half-an-hour later, and went home to go out to Lake Michigan & the Sleeping Bear Dunes, we had the next two days off... little did we know, that would be the last day we would see Josh on this green Earth.
Came into Friday, and our boss got the phone call around 10 am... The word spread quick and everyone was really quiet for some time, it was odd, and difficult for any of us to wrap our heads around.
That night (Friday, July 28th), I was making a post about my friend Josh, finished it, and was shocked to scroll down my Facebook feed and read about another friend's death, in my friend Mike Miller...
I should say our friend Mike Miller, anyone that has ever got to meet him face-to-face, was treated with a great gift of humanity. He had this amazing way of making every single person in the room feeling as equally important, embracing us with his wonderful smile, enjoying life to its fullest. I would love to be this guy when I reach his age, carefree, no worries in the world, he was selfless in the many ways that my friend Josh was, and he went out of his way to make sure that everyone during Chicagoland (Summer 2016) was having a great experience, to the point that he helped Thomas Nelshoppen make his train & helped get me down to Chicago O'Hare for my trip back home...
I didn't get to spend as much time with Mike, as others that weekend got to do, but in the limited time that I got to spend with him, we spent that time well, talking about where he was from & his big love for the San Francisco Giants.
I have made it no secret in the recent past that I get tired of teams that continue to win, I rooted for the Giants to defeat the Rangers in 2010, then they beat my beloved Detroit Tigers in 2012, by 2014, I & everyone outside of San Francisco were sick of the Orange & Black. I feel bad for Mike's sake that the Giants are having a terrible season, but I am delighted that he got to see his guys win 3 titles in 5 years.
Now for all of you who thought you knew how much of a big heart that Mike has, you are about to be floored on how big of a heart he has. The night of the celebration dinner when he overheard that I needed a ride to the airport, he said he had no problem doing so. The next morning after breakfast, he was out having a smoke, and we were chatting, and through our discussion we realized we had our lines crossed the night before, he thought I was flying out of Milwaukee like he was, and found out I had to go to Chicago. I quickly grabbed my stuff from the hotel, when I was checking out, the clerk mentioned something odd to me that "I was all taken care of", I was thinking that's odd. Yes, I checked in, but not at any point I remember them ringing up my card.
He got me to the airport in great time, while we had a great morning of discussion along the way, we took some pictures along the way.
After the trip, and I got home to rewind, I was waiting & waiting to see $320-$330 taken out of my account for my two-night stay in Libertyville, nothing ever came of it, I wondered for the longest time if there was an error by the desk clerk, or that someone paid for them, $330 is a lot of money, so no way did someone pay for them...
I used to think that, then I start to think of Mike's smile & generosity, and I'm pretty convinced he may have paid for my two nights. He touched so many lives, as witnessed with the outpouring of love coming from his friends & family on Facebook. They spoke highly of Mike, which all came as no surprise to any us that got to be around this wonderful personality during that weekend in Chicago. Mike & I have chatted over the years on Facebook, we shared the same views relating to politics, I knew where he stood long before knowing where he actually stood, and none of it was a surprise to me, he had an amazing heart.
I miss you my friend, and I wanted to thank you for everything that you have done for me, your advice, your encouragement & your heart.
Also, I wanted to add one more thing, only you my friend, can rock out a that multi-logo T-shirt, only you my friend!
This has been an odd week to say the least, I've been on Facebook very brief this week, and found out bad news at work, that my coworker Josh, apparently suffered a seizure in his sleep & never woke up. He was one of the kindest guys you could have ever come across, completely selfless... He used to work with my wife at Goodwill, he would stay a little extra longer off the clock & walk the ladies out to their vehicles, during closes. He has time & time again at Applebee's would volunteer himself to help the restaurant in anyway that he could, he would occasionally pat people on the backs, when he felt people needed a spiritual lift.
On July 25th, this past Tuesday, he was working his tail off in the dish pit, I brought a container of mixing bowls & utensils over, he was a bit overwhelmed with the waitstaff asking for dishes & etc, he mentioned "They are going to have to wait, I'm trying my hardest." I came over, patted him on the back (like he would do for us) and said "Josh, you are working hard bud, that's all you can do at this moment, you know it, I know it, you got this... (patted him on back), he seemed to be at ease & a better mood after this. Becky & I clocked out of work about a half-an-hour later, and went home to go out to Lake Michigan & the Sleeping Bear Dunes, we had the next two days off... little did we know, that would be the last day we would see Josh on this green Earth.
Came into Friday, and our boss got the phone call around 10 am... The word spread quick and everyone was really quiet for some time, it was odd, and difficult for any of us to wrap our heads around.
That night (Friday, July 28th), I was making a post about my friend Josh, finished it, and was shocked to scroll down my Facebook feed and read about another friend's death, in my friend Mike Miller...
I should say our friend Mike Miller, anyone that has ever got to meet him face-to-face, was treated with a great gift of humanity. He had this amazing way of making every single person in the room feeling as equally important, embracing us with his wonderful smile, enjoying life to its fullest. I would love to be this guy when I reach his age, carefree, no worries in the world, he was selfless in the many ways that my friend Josh was, and he went out of his way to make sure that everyone during Chicagoland (Summer 2016) was having a great experience, to the point that he helped Thomas Nelshoppen make his train & helped get me down to Chicago O'Hare for my trip back home...
I didn't get to spend as much time with Mike, as others that weekend got to do, but in the limited time that I got to spend with him, we spent that time well, talking about where he was from & his big love for the San Francisco Giants.
I have made it no secret in the recent past that I get tired of teams that continue to win, I rooted for the Giants to defeat the Rangers in 2010, then they beat my beloved Detroit Tigers in 2012, by 2014, I & everyone outside of San Francisco were sick of the Orange & Black. I feel bad for Mike's sake that the Giants are having a terrible season, but I am delighted that he got to see his guys win 3 titles in 5 years.
Now for all of you who thought you knew how much of a big heart that Mike has, you are about to be floored on how big of a heart he has. The night of the celebration dinner when he overheard that I needed a ride to the airport, he said he had no problem doing so. The next morning after breakfast, he was out having a smoke, and we were chatting, and through our discussion we realized we had our lines crossed the night before, he thought I was flying out of Milwaukee like he was, and found out I had to go to Chicago. I quickly grabbed my stuff from the hotel, when I was checking out, the clerk mentioned something odd to me that "I was all taken care of", I was thinking that's odd. Yes, I checked in, but not at any point I remember them ringing up my card.
He got me to the airport in great time, while we had a great morning of discussion along the way, we took some pictures along the way.
After the trip, and I got home to rewind, I was waiting & waiting to see $320-$330 taken out of my account for my two-night stay in Libertyville, nothing ever came of it, I wondered for the longest time if there was an error by the desk clerk, or that someone paid for them, $330 is a lot of money, so no way did someone pay for them...
I used to think that, then I start to think of Mike's smile & generosity, and I'm pretty convinced he may have paid for my two nights. He touched so many lives, as witnessed with the outpouring of love coming from his friends & family on Facebook. They spoke highly of Mike, which all came as no surprise to any us that got to be around this wonderful personality during that weekend in Chicago. Mike & I have chatted over the years on Facebook, we shared the same views relating to politics, I knew where he stood long before knowing where he actually stood, and none of it was a surprise to me, he had an amazing heart.
I miss you my friend, and I wanted to thank you for everything that you have done for me, your advice, your encouragement & your heart.
Also, I wanted to add one more thing, only you my friend, can rock out a that multi-logo T-shirt, only you my friend!
Thursday, January 12, 2017
The Long Hangover
During these last few weeks, I have been conducting league business with my Boys of Summer APBA Baseball League, while at the same time, the wife & I have been diving under the covers to stay warm from all this snowfall here in northern Michigan.
These last few weeks I have not been doing much APBA (even though I have been dying to roll the dice), but that has not stopped me from enjoying many of my APBA friends' wonderful APBA projects.
So here they are...
- Doug Schuyler & company got together for the 2nd Cheese Bowl (Cheese Bowl II), among the attendees were Curt Bartel, Kurt Bergland, Jason Cox & Eric Griebenow playing APBA. Bartel, ended up repeating (they played with power teams), with his 1958 Oconomowoc Ball Buster squad, winning the championship game, 6-3 (led by Hank Aaron & Richie Ashburn). The Cheese Bowl usually consists of the APBA fellas from northern Illinois & Wisconsin to get together, after the holidays... looks to be a wonderful tradition in the making.
- Kevin Burghardt's APBA Season project... in the latest episode, Assistant to the traveling secretary, George Costanza had to break the latest news to George Steinbrenner on the 1978 New York Yankees falling to 28-28, as they were blasted by the 1979 Milwaukee Brewers, by the mammoth score of 14-3.
- Drew Hogeland has been providing us wonderful in-depth game reports with pics, on his 1977 Season Replay. In his latest post, Steve Carlton improved to 17-5, while the Philadelphia Phillies keep rolling with a 74-48 record, while the Atlanta Braves, simply suck, at 39-85! He has also been provided excellent in-season stat sheets for each team.
- I'm really digging Shay Simmons' 1969 National League Replay, on her Fireblossom's APBA Baseball. I really love her style, humor & excellent game write-ups on this site, if you have not had the pleasure of reading her blog, you must check it out!
- My friend Beau Lofgren is doing a 1984 Minnesota Twins season replay, in an attempt to get those Twins to win the American League West crown; I didn't realize that those Twins only fell 3 games short of accomplishing just that in 84'. Currently his replay has a very close race for the division with the Twins clinging onto 1st place with a 76-69 record, with the Kansas City Royals one game out at 75-70 & the California Angels in 3rd at 74-70 (1.5 games out). Only 17-18 games remaining, should be an exciting finish!
- Our friend Rich Zawadzki is at it again, with his super-teams, this time in the Brewster Bashers, he started his latest project in late November. The Bashers are currently 20-1, and contain superstar players from the BATS#2 set. His upcoming Greater Michigan APBA Baseball Tournament has 36+ attendees for this March, while one of my other friends, Ken Schulz has locked in 36+ attendees as well for this summer's upcoming APBA tournament in Pittsburgh (3rd Annual Linda B. Schulz APBA Baseball Tournament).
There are many more fun projects from many friends & other APBA Facebook Group, so to those, if I left you out, that's my bad, I am sure I have enjoyed many of your replays in the past.
Wednesday, April 13, 2016
Time for Prairie Ball
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| Urbana, Illinois will host the 1st Praireland APBA Baseball Tournament. |
I first formed a friendship with Tom through his blog (The APBA Blog) and APBA Facebook Group, and officially got to meet him in person at the Chicagoland World Series (Winter Edition) in November 2013. There is no better guy to host such a event -- he is to the APBA community as Lou Gehrig was to the New York Yankeees... Seriously? Why is this guy not in the APBA Baseball Hall of Fame already?!
I do want to say that others are playing significant roles in hosting the event as well, as in my friend Thomas Fulton (who were looking for a replacement at press time - due to an unfortunate death in the family).
The division names are based on local heroes of close-by hometowns; The Divisions are as follows, with the following teams...
The 1st Prairieland APBA Baseball Tournament takes place this upcoming Saturday (April 16th)!
Good luck to Tom & all the guys participating, I know a few of the others as well, and they know as well as I do how fun these events can be!
Have fun, boys!
Thursday, March 10, 2016
Champions, Chops & Huge Hops (Part I)
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so welcome to the Chop Shop!
As I have done for my previous tournament experiences, I would explain the game action that went down during the games of the tournament, as well as the great participants that I had the wonderful privilege of playing.
Due to APBA, I have friends that I consider close friends. My actual home life consists of my wonderful wife & cat, and then work. I don't go out to the local watering hole, and kill time by drinking my worries away, I don't really go out with buddies or have guy time. These APBA tournaments are my guy time. I have met some wonderful fellas through these tournaments, and have had long conversations with these guys throughout the years -- I believe these guys know me better than people I have to work next to day in & day out.
Sure we all come from different backgrounds & may all have different political views -- or even different views on Baseball. We are all different & unique in our special ways, but while we are all together in one place, our unity for our love of all things APBA Baseball shines through.
Woke up at the hotel, Saturday morning... pretty excited! I made sure I was up bright & early at 6 a.m., quick shower, and went downstairs to a disappointing Continental breakfast -- in which the wife & I decided to say screw it, let's get some McDonald's; I wanted to make sure she had a big breakfast, since she was going to be lounging in the hotel all day, while I kick it with my pals at the GMABT.
We were surprised a little by the few inches of snow we received over night, after such a clear sunny day the day before.
The drive over to Gene Davis & Son's Steak Eatery was a little slick on the highway, and for a moment on that last stretch of high way, I was starting to wonder if I past my exit, because I did not remember this stretch being as long as the year before -- Sure enough, I found my exit, and all was familiar looking.
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| The wife and I -- One strong team that keeps rolling. |
Now am I comparing the tournament day as a equal to my wedding day? Well of course not, Becky (my wife) will always be my greatest victory & I get rewarded every day with her in my life. I had my battles with my faith, and when I started to have my doubts, Becky came into my life, and without a doubt, we both knew that God brought us together. We had a tough year, this past 2015, having her brother living with us for almost 3 years, while her sister (a huge pain in the butt, I may add) joined us the last 4 months at our old place -- It caused a lot of chaos around the house, they simply didn't respect the household rules, and even bailed on their last month of rent.
Our funds were drying up, waiting for the new place (we were moving to) to open up... in which it kept getting delayed -- while living at the current place that was over-priced with only myself working. I also had to make an adjustment to a new job, so we were treading water & we were both pretty stressed. The beauty of Becky & I, is that we always stick together, and never fight -- We make the ultimate team, and we said that 2016 would finally be the year of us.
A Christmas miracle happened when we finally got into the new place on December 18th, we never put up a Christmas Tree -- Our present was having a roof over our head. Due to January being slower in the restaurant business, hours were skimmer, which means the wallet gets leaner. There was a moment until some of our taxes came back, that I wondered if I would make it down to Jackson even.
I honestly believe God keeps making good things happen for us of late, and I wonder looking back at this past weekend, if divine intervention even happened, God works mysterious ways-- But why me? There is other wonderful guys at the tournament as well, with obstacles in their lives as well.. No one's life is smooth as gravy, so why me? The previous day checking in, I was almost charged for only a $1.70 for two nights at the hotel -- which I quickly mentioned the error to the lady at the service desk, but I'm an honest guy in general, so was I being rewarded? I'm not sure.. I like to think that the fact that I have a wonderful wife, a roof over my head, and great friends, that I've already been rewarded.
Anyways, back to Gene Davis's (thanks for letting me ramble)...
Feeling good about my team may have started the night before (our exhibition against Ken Schulz's 1972 Pittsburgh Pirates) as mentioned in my Road to Jackson post -- while my 1993 Atlanta Braves opened up the tournament playing the 1983 Chicago White Sox, against my new friend Greg Tews. I had the wonderful privilege of having dinner with Greg and Rich, Friday night at this nice Chinese restaurant, along with my wife -- little did I know at the time that I would be playing him Saturday.
GAME 1 at 1983 CHICAGO WHITE SOX
Each opening game of each series of the tournament would open up with a dice roll for home-field in the first game; The home team gets to choose DH/or no DH as well -- Greg won the dice roll, and elected to be home for Game 1.
LaMarr Hoyt (A-YZ) would take the mound for the White Sox, while I countered with my ace Greg Maddux (A-XZ). Hoyt won the 1983 American League Cy Young with a 24-10 record, 3.66 ERA & 148 K's in 260.2 innings, he would have a few more productive seasons before drug issues destroyed his career; All Padres fans will remember their trade blunder with Chicago in acquiring Hoyt in exchange for Ozzie Guillen (who would win 1985 A.L. Rookie-of-the-Year), pitchers Tim Lollar & Bill Long, and Luis Salazar.
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| Fred McGriff starts things off. |
My Braves won the first game, 6-1, as Maddux allowed only 5 hits, 1 walk & 1 run in a complete-game victory; Hoyt would get 9 K's, but allow 6 hits & 6 runs in complete-game loss.
Interesting Game Stats: Ron Gant would draw three consecutive walks, while Deion Sanders struck out 4 times.
GAME 2 vs 1983 CHICAGO WHITE SOX (at Atlanta)
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| Pendleton's 93' Donruss MVP. |
My reasons for the rotation is this, I need to have Z's in the rotation, because tournaments are loaded with talented teams & talented teams know how to get on base -- So eliminate the walk whenever possible; My other choice is that John Smoltz in real-life was the only pitcher of the bunch to have a successful bullpen career, plus Glavine would just look silly running out from the bullpen. Sure I would love to have showcase the Hall of Fame rotation, but at the same time, there needs to be some strategy, a walk here, or a play here, or a few fielding points less here all can accumulate losses & create more chances for the opposition -- So I chose to eliminate as many possibilities as possible.
Back to the game, both teams would be silent through 4 innings, until the Atlanta Braves got on the board during the bottom of the 5th; Sid Bream led the inning off with a dice roll 33-0, in which it would go to the second column with a dice-roll of 66 -- HOME RUN! Right?!
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| #2 Starter Avery: The Kid is Alright! |
Terry Pendleton, who next to Lemke, would be my other lousy tournament hitter, makes his mark count though with a solo HR off Bannister in the 7th -- That would be the difference, as Steve Bedrosian would lock down a two-inning save with 3 K's; Braves win 2-1.
Sid Bream went 2-for-3 with a triple & run.
The White Sox had some opportunities, Top of the 4th was a prime example, with bases loaded, and one out, Ron Kittle would hit into a inning-ending double play.
Interesting Stats: Greg Luzinski gets plunked twice in the game, while getting plunked in Game 1 as well for the White Sox. John Smoltz gets the win for only 1/3 innings of action in top of 7th. Ron Gant draws his 4th walk (while reaching base 5 times) in the series, while Deion Sanders (0-for-9) struck out a 5th time in the series. On a personal note, this was the first time in my tournament career that I started a tournament off, 2-0.
GAME 3 vs 2015 LOS ANGELES DODGERS (at Atlanta)
In recent tournaments, the Los Angeles Dodgers of the 2010's have had some pretty good success; The 2013 Los Angeles Dodgers reached the Final in the 2015 Toledo Glass City APBA Baseball Tournament, while I believe the 2014 Los Angeles Dodgers have also had success... So I had my eyes open for this match-up prior to tournament, who knows how this team will play. The man leading the charge for the 2015 Los Angeles Dodgers is Mike Pryson, who happens to live in the Jackson area.
It was a battle between the #3 starting pitchers from each team, Brett Anderson of the Dodgers & Tom Glavine (Grade B) of the Braves; Anderson would be the only Grade C that I would face in the tournament.
The Dodgers would strike first with an RBI single by Andre Ethier in the first inning, while the Braves would answer back in a huge way in the bottom half; Deion Sanders led off with his first hit of the tournament (stealing 2nd), while Jeff Blauser would hit him in with a double. Ron Gant would add to the Dodgers troubles with a RBI single (then stealing 2nd), and Fred McGriff piled on with a two-run HR; The Braves drop a 4-spot on the Dodgers, and this would not be the only time in tournament play that the Braves would score 4+ in an inning.
Terry Pendleton would add some insurance with a solo HR in the bottom of the 4th, that run would pay off later, as the Dodgers would inch closer with a run in the 5th & 8th innings. With a 5-3 lead in the top of the 9th for the Braves, Atlanta would call on Steve Bedrosian (A&C-YZ) to close out the game. After a quick strikeout of Yasiel Puig, Enrique Hernandez would hit a solo HR off of "Bedrock"; With two outs, Dodgers decide to have young phenomenon Corey Seager to pinch-hit for Jimmy Rollins -- Bedrosian & the Braves would intentionally walk him instead.
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| Glavine pitches 6 strong innings for the Braves. |
Interesting Stats: Deion Sanders collects two hits, after an 0-9 start. Fred McGriff is 2-for-4 with a two-run HR, while Terry Pendleton hits a HR for the second consecutive game. The Dodgers collectively draw 6 walks, but hit into a couple double plays and into a couple force outs to slow down any sort of rally & yet still fall just short, 5-4.
GAME 4 at 2015 LOS ANGELES DODGERS
It was a dream match-up of Hall of Famer Greg Maddux (A-XZ) against Clayton Kershaw
(A-KZ) who is off to a wonderful start to his MLB career & may be calling Cooperstown his home someday as well. Prior to the start of the game, Mike mentioned that this game will be a quick one, and for the most part it was.
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| Maddux was dealing, allowing only 3 hits. |
At that point, with the broken-up no-hitter, my Braves had a 3-0 lead; Back in the top of the 6th, Jeff Blauser delivered a two-run HR, while Fred McGriff added a RBI single.
Atlanta would add insurance runs in the top of the ninth, with a solo HR by David Justice (his 2nd HR of the tournament, at this point) -- with additional runs coming from a Damon Berryhill RBI double & RBI single by Deion Sanders.
Greg Maddux was lights out with a three-hit shutout performance of the Dodgers, with 9 K's & 3 walks allowed; Clayton Kershaw would rack up 13 K's in a losing complete-game performance, allowing 8 hits, 2 walks & 6 earned runs -- running out of steam the last 4 innings, compared to excellent start. Braves win, 6-0.
Interesting Stats: Off to 4-0 start in the Carl Yastrzemski Division at this point, with a scoring differential of +13; Outscoring the Dodgers and White Sox, 19-6... I was definitely enjoying the results in my head, but wanted to keep cool & not get overly excited with 6 games still remaining. Terry Pendleton's most productive stretch of the tournament would be Games 2 through 4, batting 3-for-10, with 2 solo HR's & a double -- Other than that, Pendleton's performance was that of a .158 hitter through 38 at-bats. Adrian Gonzalez logged the most hits against the Braves in two games, with only two hits.
* * * This concludes PART I of the Braves Tournament run, to be continued... * * *
Thursday, March 3, 2016
Ready to Roll!
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| The Braves' Big Three: Glavine, Smoltz & Maddux. |
For the second consecutive year, I will be making my travels to Jackson, Michigan for the Greater Michigan APBA Baseball Tournament (GMABT) -- Hosted by my friend, Rich Zawadzki. During the event, I will be reunited with other friends, while meeting new friends.
Really excited! Also, it's just another sign that Baseball and Spring is around the corner as well. Last year, I went to the event with my brother Chris Baier (meeting up with him in Grand Rapids) -- in which, I witnessed my brother go to battle in the championship game of the tournament with his 2006 Detroit Tigers against John Roel's 1937 New York Yankees (John eventually won the tournament). I did not have as much luck, going 2-4 in the opening round with the 1917 Chicago White Sox.
This year I will be making my travels with my wife, Becky -- and I will be meeting up with some friends the evening (Friday night) before as well, for the big event she has decided she would stay at the hotel (playing her favorite online game Wizard 101). I momentarily ran into a snag as my folks buried some APBA sets in their attic somewhere... Luckily, Rich had the 1993 Atlanta Braves I could borrow for the tournament.
I would have loved to dress the part, but tight on money, I was not able to update my Atlanta Braves attire (which now stands as nil); Back in the day, I had a Braves hat or two, plus a Fred McGriff uniform shirt as well -- that shirt would be great today, since McGriff did play on that 1993 team.
That Atlanta Braves team went 49-16 during its last 65 games to edge the San Francisco Giants at the end of the season with 104 wins to the Giants' 103 wins; That winning percentage during that stretch clocks at .754, just under the .756 winning pct that the 1906 Chicago Cubs (for an entire season).
For those that know me, I am a Detroit Tigers fan, while I am also a big fan of the Atlanta Braves, more for the Atlanta teams that I grew up with -- I always had a soft spot for them, even during the 1980's when there was not much winning going on for Bob Horner, Dale Murphy, Glenn Hubbard & the boys..
Then came the summer of 1991, my folks just sold the house downstate in Waterford, Michigan & we were bouncing around from campground to campground, while my folks went house-hunting -- Listening and reading about that 1991 Braves team all summer long was excited, plus the emergence of Tom Glavine, John Smoltz & Steve Avery with a MVP season by Terry Pendleton made it a unbelievable season, then catching the Dodgers, and then going straight to the series... Last to First, a new love was born.
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| Bobby Cox & the boys. |
The 1993 team for me, was the best of the entire bunch... yes, 1995 holds a spot of course (because they sealed the deal) -- but on paper, and also in play, I think the 1993 Atlanta Braves are the most rounded of the bunch. It was also painful to see the Braves surrender a 2-0 series lead in 1996 to the New York Yankees -- I feel those Yankees were a little ahead of their time, and that they snatched Atlanta's well-deserved title.
I'm really looking forward to reliving my youth, and although it will be definite joy with all my friends there -- I hope that there is more on-field joy than pain this time around...
Time to bring out the tomahawks!
Friday, January 29, 2016
Pastor Rich Keeps on Rolling!
Pastor Rich Zawadzki has been at it again, this time its a tournament of all the World Champions in MLB history. This is the latest two updates, one including a 3rd no-hitter!
Some pretty cool stuff, I was also glad to see that the 1935 Detroit Tigers pulled off the upset against the 1998 New York Yankees. The Yankees franchise actually has taken a beating in this tournament, Rich's New England Patriots got knocked out in the AFC Championship this past weekend, so he's taken that energy by knocking out the 'Evil Empire' for New England / Red Sox Nation.
We'll keep you posted on more to come.
Some pretty cool stuff, I was also glad to see that the 1935 Detroit Tigers pulled off the upset against the 1998 New York Yankees. The Yankees franchise actually has taken a beating in this tournament, Rich's New England Patriots got knocked out in the AFC Championship this past weekend, so he's taken that energy by knocking out the 'Evil Empire' for New England / Red Sox Nation.
We'll keep you posted on more to come.
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
Brothers United
Like I mentioned in the previous, brief post about the day's events, for me it was really cool to finally meet these guys face to face for the very first time -- It felt like I was meeting my brothers that were separated at birth or something, a band of brothers that shared the same love for the game of baseball & APBA Baseball. It was great to see that I wasn't the only kid there, and that there was 22+ other kids there as well; to see that inner-child come out in everyone was something to behold -- or just to get caught in the moment, I looked to my side and Thomas Nelshoppen was suddenly shooting his camera at me, as if we were having a sundown shootout with pistols, and I drew my camera and we started snapping pics at each other -- good times!
It was really cool to see the teams everyone brought, some were your usual big & more famous MLB teams, some were for sentimental reasons, and plenty brought their teams for strategic reasons. Plus to hear why people loved those teams or the strategy they were thinking with those teams, were very interesting. We had three Cincinnati Reds & three Philadelphia Athletics teams, those two franchises alone was 27% of the tournament. We had the expansion Los Angeles Angels & a duck-call to go with it. We had dead-ball teams & we had teams with mammoth power such as the 1995 Indians & the two Big Red Machine repeat teams of the 70's. We had plenty of Christy Mathewson (a no-hitter against the 1959 Braves in the playoff round), both good cards, but two different results: Good for the eventual champ Fennessy & not so good for me, in which Mathewson sported a 8.44 ERA through 16 innings!
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| Clark Eichman (71' Pirates) facing off against Doug Schuyler (98' Yankees). |
In a lot of ways, the 2nd Chicagoland APBA World Series Tournament was a celebration for a long year for me & my wife. Exactly a year ago, we were well over our heads financially -- in which we tried to find anyway possible to keep our heads above the water, and strategically in the end, we failed; Realistically, we should have filed for bankruptcy a good 3 to 4 years before -- in which we would decide in December 2012 to do so, get a lawyer in January, go through the proceedings in which it all became finalized in June 2013. We are glad with all we went through that we stood solid & united through a crisis that would have torn up most married couples, we are actually stronger because of this crisis, and we know that nothing can get in our way. We both now have good paying jobs, live in a beautiful area, and $20 no longer looks like a $100 bucks. My overall cost for the trip (counting hotel for two nights, round-trip bus fair, meals, lap-top bag, gas money) actually exceeded between $350-$400, but let me tell you.. it was all well-worth it! We also have extra income, because we have my brother-in-law living with us as well. We don't have that many bills anymore, and actually are able to save money as well. My wife knows how much I love APBA Baseball, and Baseball itself, so she knew how much I wanted to go, so I can't thank her enough for letting me go hang out with the boys in Chicagoland.
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| What's at stake? The Chicagoland APBA World Series Trophy. |
This whole event would have not been possible if it were not for the wonderful planning by two wonderful gentlemen in Doug Schuyler and Jim Saska. Doug and I, have been friends via facebook awhile now, he is one of guys who first friends from the APBA Facebook Group to friend request me, and we also have many of the same views when it comes to the wonderful game of baseball, from Pete Rose to the 1984 Detroit Tigers & everything in-between. His passion for the game is quite obvious, so it comes as no surprise that his joy for the game & APBA led to the formation of this up-and-growing tournament. Jim Saska has been just as instrumental, I don't believe I have seen him on facebook, so before the event I never had a clue what he even looked like... so when I met him for the first time that was an honor, his calming presence and warm smile was definitely one of the highlights for me. As a Batman fan, I can say Doug & Jim form one dynamic duo that plan to keep this thing rolling, and I have no doubt that it will continue to do so.
I also had the privilege of finally meeting my friend, the Pastor Rich Zawadzki. Rich was kind enough to let me join him on the travels to the Chicagoland tourney, we met up in Kalamazoo, just off of I-94, in which we departed from there to Woodstock & back. I jumped into his van, and we hit it off right away; I think the most remarkable thing is that we actually didn't talk about baseball or APBA right away, but about our families, wives & life in general. Rich is a wonderful person, solid family man, and definitely strong with God. It was really cool picking his brain both on baseball and spiritually, best of both worlds if you ask me & for me it was just as fun as the tournament itself, which speaks volumes of Rich. He has an amazing knowledge of the game & APBA Baseball itself -- he has an amazing eye for a great card, and a great team. I'm glad I have a friend in Rich.
Meeting my friend Tom Nelshoppen for the first time was also a big deal for me, this guy's love for the game bleeds through in his words on The APBA Blog. I love his ideas and articles, from 'Monster Card Mondays' to the cool way he keeps statistics (I really need to experiment with my stat keeping, take a few notes). He keeps the APBA community strong & kicking, and he's just the friendliest person imaginable -- I regret not getting a picture with you Tom. We already have talked about getting a side game in next time, that should be a lot of fun! I was hoping that Tom would have a strong tournament run, since I know he has not had great success with his Thunder-Chickens team.
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| In the midst of a camera war with Thomas Nelshoppen! |
Back to the tournament attendance numbers, there was a few notable local guys on facebook that happened to not make it to the tournament, and to me that's even more encouraging, because that only means more people in the future -- because there is not a doubt in my mind that most of the 22 will likely return. I already plan to definitely plan an annual trip to the winter tournaments for now, and we'll see how my schedule works for the spring/summer editions. The timing of the November tourney could have not been more perfect, just 2-3 weeks after the conclusion of the MLB Season, in time for the MLB Awards to be announced, a good solid two weeks before the Holiday season officially kicks off, perfect timing! It was also encouraging to see many people make the long trip, guys came from as far as Minnesota and east of Cleveland.
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| The new champ Scott Fennessy signs his name on the Champions' ball -- joining Curt Bartel's signature. |
Chicago is the perfect area, I really do believe that the Midwest has something really going on here, and I don't want to sound biased but I believe APBA is truly a Midwest thing, I do know you can make a strong argument for the East Coast as well. The word of mouth was great, with this day & age of new age media via facebook or Twitter & sites such as The APBA Blog to keep people updated about important tournament information, I'm psyched about the possibilities of spreading the great game & our love for APBA Baseball. Not worried about the future of APBA, nor am I worried about it ever disappearing, with all the love & support out there for the game of baseball & APBA, it's difficult to see anything negative coming out of all this.
So here's to the growth of APBA, the Chicagoland Tournament, and to new, long-lasting relationships along the way!
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