verdugo288

Fraud Alert: Chuck Hatfield

Posted: January 20, 2026 in Uncategorized
Tags: baseball, family, mlb, sports, writing

Before we get into the game against Chatsworth….let’s talk about one of their coaches. Chuck Hatfield. Hatfield was an assistant to Pete Redfern, the head coach of the Chatworth team. I have no problem with Pete Redfern. Redfern was a great coach, was a former major leaguer who sadly had a diving accident in a swimming pool and was paralyzed back in the early 80’s……(Now maybe Henry had some problems with Redfern when Pete tried to run Henry over with his wheelchair once the brawl started) but let me go on record and just get this out of the way by saying “I have no problem with Pete”

Hatfield, on the other hand…. was suspicious. I always saw him when I went to the Legion ALL-Star games, and he was always fielding questions from coaches and players around the league about how he coached the Sylmar team to an American Legion world series title. I mean, this guy was a real rock star (NOT). He would go into intricate details….”Oh yeah I remember when….blah blah blah”

I stood there somewhat amused and listened to him “pontificating” about their triumph. Kind of like “Moses somehow making it across that desert” in the Ten Commandments. “Against ALL ODDS” today with your host, Chuck Hatfield.

I never said a word to this guy, I’d listen to him for about a minute and be on my way. I do remember ONE coach who joined me as I walked away as Hatfield was speaking and telling me “Dude….that guy never won the Legion World Series”

I was like “really?’

He said “really”

I never thought much about it. Maybe he did, maybe he didn’t. Good for him if he did. But then another coach…then another coach….then another would tell me exactly the same thing. I mean….if this guy was BS-ing about coaching the Sylmar Post to a World Series Title…..I mean…..REALLY?

We are NOT accusing old Chuck of being a fraud. We are only alerting others that there may be fraud concerning this individual.

If you would like to see a link to all the Legion World Series Champions for the last 100 years….just go to https://issuu.com/theath1296/docs/media_guide_record_full_book/s/29580692 and tell me how many times The Sylmar Post “won it all”…

I like this particular link, because it not only lists the Champion….but also the runner-up. And Sylmar was nowhere to be found….even as a runner-up.

I then went to google (and you can too) and asked it “what year did the Sylmar Post win the American Legion World Series”

Then, I went to AI MODE…..

And here was the answer: “Based on the records of the American Legion World Series (ALWS), the Sylmar American Legion Post did not win the World Series“

I did a similar search for “Chuck Hatfield American Legion Baseball Chatsworth”

Then I went to AI MODE….

It gave some results and down below the AI BOT asked the question “Did Chuck Hatfield coach other local teams in the San Fernando Valley?

I clicked on that and here’s what came up: “Hatfield began coaching American Legion Baseball in Sylmar in 1962. He coached there for 17 years and his teams were very successful, competing on a national level and capturing a World Series title”

I’m not saying old Chuck is a fraud….but something isn’t adding up here. (Again….see the title of this post…it says “fraud alert” NOT “Chuck Hatfield is a fraud”

But clearly….somebody’s lying here.

Remember….this was 1992. Pre-Internet. You could basically say whatever you wanted and people would just nod their heads in agreement. All I’m running here is a fact-check. Nothing more…..nothing less.

In addition to being a “World Series Winning Coach” Hatfield was also The Commissioner of Legion Baseball in Area 6. (This actually IS true). Just as Mel Swerdling was “The Commissioner” of Baseball for the 20th District. I can’t even tell you how many times Mel Swerdling would tell me he had to “run a decision on the legality of a certain player/team over to ‘AREA 6’…..

Isn’t that convenient? hahahahahaha

Or maybe a “conflict of Interest”?

So Hatfield was coaching in the 20th District, yet he positioned himself as a Commissioner in Area 6…giving him “decision-making powers” to pull players, declare teams “illegal” from District 20 at his discretion, because in terms of Legion hierarchy….Hatfield was Mel’s superior!

Okay. Yeah. I think I get it now. So you have an assistant coach working for the Chatsworth team that was the DE FACTO RULER of the 20th District.

Wow…..

Maybe I should have hooked up with Hatfield instead of “The General” as an assistant coach, right?

Hell NO! The General is Verdugo forever!!!!

But this is who, or what we were up against going into this game against Chatsworth.

Once again…the title of this post is “Fraud Alert: Chuck Hatfield” Now…being the wonderful people we are, we are simply “alerting” others to potential/possible fraud concerning this individual, because….. CLEARLY somebody is LYING. However, being the responsible journalists we are here…. we are (again) NOT calling him a fraud, but we do seek the truth regarding the claim he made of “Coaching The Sylmar American Legion Post to the World Series Title” at some point during the last 100 years.

He may have been a great coach. Even a “great man”. I read on the Google search (AI Mode) that he even rewarded his players with bubble gum and candy for their heroic efforts on the field. Think about THAT……wow…..no wonder they dominated, right?

But I’m just sayin’…..there are certain claims a coach cannot make if they are not indeed TRUE.

You can make your own decision based upon the search results…..

Keep in mind, that despite three other coaches in the American Legion telling me that “That guy (Hatfield) never coached a team to a World Series Title” I remained neutral. I never once fact-checked his “World Series Championship” claim until this morning. Imagine that…

My initial impressions of Hatfield were “something isn’t right” about this guy…..

After Hatfield’s initial observations regarding the “Verdugo Hills Program” (the playoff game)…. just wait until you see what he did to our ’93 Team.

The Goal of all of This….

Posted: January 14, 2026 in Uncategorized
Tags: ai, blogging, fiction, life, writing

You all know how I loved doing the stats for all the teams and keeping them up to date. Now, with the Verdugo288.com website and AI….its staggering what you can find out about Verdugo and any one of our guys who played for us.

AI is a little rickety….but it’s only going to get better. For example, you can type in a player’s name for Verdugo, add “post 288 American Legion Baseball” behind his name ……wait for results to come up (there may be a few) but then go up to the bar up top and click “AI Mode” and you’ll be blown away at what comes up.

The reason I did the stats so complete back in those days was to get you guys as much press as I could. Be patient….I will continue to do the same for verdugo288.com

I’m learning that how I write the stories will give AI a better chance to “get its shit together” and get your names correct and the correct numbers. Like I said….it’s a little rickety…I ran one search and it told me a guy named “Corey Gantt” was one of our pitchers in 1993. I mean….WTF!?!?!

So maybe my style of writing will change a little…but I’ll keep my humorous leanings and hope AI doesn’t get “confused”…

The goal is to have a google search with just “YOUR NAME + Verdugo Hills Post 288 Baseball” and a detailed synapsis of your “career” with Verdugo will crop up….with some stories (and your stats) about YOU to come up as well.

I ran a search and started laughing….The AI “bot” asked the question “just how versatile was John Rogers defensively for Verdugo in 1990?” I didn’t even ask it about John Rogers!! it was incredible!!!

OMG!!! I ran a story on the blog here several years back about how Rogers had played every position on the diamond for us back in 1990 and it (AI) gave John a great write-up!!!

You guys may not give a damn about all of this right now…you guys are old, but not GEE old!!! But some day when you’re sitting in your rocking chair and tell one of your grandkids to run a search on you ….YOU will get to see your grandkid go “oh wow look at all of this! whoa….everything’s spinning man!”

It’ll be a good way to check and see if your grandkids are watching any Cheech and Chong movies!

But with all the foul language and questionable analogies I use…maybe you don’t want them reading about it at all !!!!

“Everything’s Spinning Man”

Posted: January 14, 2026 in Uncategorized
Tags: baseball, family, football, sports, writing

We lost to Crespi. I had a protest to file. We had another ballgame in less than 24 hours. We needed three outs against Crespi and could have been celebrating…..instead, the game we would be playing against Chatworth was going to be an elimination game.

Who was going to pitch? I wasn’t even aware that Yves injured his ankle on the last play against Crespi. He showed up Sunday morning with his ankle wrapped up and wearing sandals. He couldn’t play. We were still waiting for Evans to get his cast taken off and get cleared to play. He was suiting up for every game but was unavailable for “about another week”……….

Before the game against Crespi, I was wandering around out in the outfield just doing my usual thing. BS-ing with the players as they got loose. All of a sudden I heard Fielder say “AHHHH SHHHHHIT” I looked over at him and he said “He’s here”…..

I looked over into the stands and noticed it as well. The CV Baseball coach was there at the game. He was not only there….but he was there early.

I don’t think it had an effect on everybody. But the sentiment I got from the team as a whole was they weren’t happy about it. And let’s not kid ourselves, it had an effect.

We didn’t have as much fun as we normally did. Body language was a little uptight. The “Quick! Pantherlike’s” were hollow or non-existent. The “AHHHH’s” as we fired it around were low key….or missing. Guys seemed to be pressing. It definitely had an effect.

Still, we were able to overcome that distraction and play a good game. The way we fought back and took the lead in the bottom-of-the-eighth on Fielder’s double was unbelievably clutch. We just didn’t close it out.

Personally, it didn’t matter to me one way or another if he was there or not. But I knew it would have an effect on the players, or at least some of the players. I probably should have addressed that matter with the team before the first pitch was even thrown. I didn’t. That’s on me. I know what I would have said, but I downplayed it. Again, my bad.

I think if I would have said what I wanted to say it would have been a “party atmosphere” in the Verdugo dugout and on the field. We wouldn’t have changed a thing.

We (obviously) lost the protest I filed. I asked “why?” and they didn’t really give me an answer other than “we can’t do anything about it”……

We had gone from the penthouse to the shithouse in about 13-14 hours. I kinda felt like Cheech and Chong…..after they had smoked too much weed, and one of them said “Everything’s spinning, man”

I say this not from experience…..but….uhhhh….I watched the movie. You know what I’m sayin???

But we still got NINE innings to play! Our pitching was depleted. Our pitching staff was kinda held together by band-aids and rubber bands at this point. I’m giving the ball to either Wiley Jackson….or Gabe….I decided to give the ball to Jackson…. and said to myself “come whatever may”……

Encino-Crespi 8 Verdugo 6

Posted: January 10, 2026 in Uncategorized
Tags: baseball, family, mlb, sports, writing

I’ve been putting off writing this GD story for 33 years…..it’s painful, but it has to be written.

In the immortal words of Yul Brenner in the movie “The Ten Commandments”…..

“So it shall be written….so it shall be done”….or some BS like that.

We played a helluva game. WE jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first. Then gave up THREE unearned runs when Crespi rolled a four on us in the fifth. We tied it in the bottom of the seventh when Kirk Hagee singled in Brendon Cowsill and retook the lead 6-5 in the bottom of the eighth when Dave Fielder came up and doubled in Hack Workman. It was a gutsy effort by Verdugo….Cowsill throwing six innings and allowing only ONE earned run. Brendon went out and just “handled it”…..Verdugo-style….it really was a commanding performance by “B”…..in addition to dominating on the mound…..”B’ had three hits.

Robb Turner had three hits. Workman two hits. Canale had a hit. I also want to mention this: Turner was an absolute machine during the playoffs, reaching base 15 out of 20 times! He set an all-time Verdugo record for “times reached base’ (playoff games included) with 65!!!!

Now we stood at the summit….needing only three outs to clinch a birth in the next tournament. I also wanna say three of our rookies really stepped up on this day in history. Kirk Hagge…delivering two clutch hits, driving in three runs….and handling 8 ground balls flawlessly during the game. Dave Fielder, hitting probably the most clutch double that gave us the lead when we needed it most. And Jim Parque, throwing two innings of scoreless relief after pitching five innings and picking up the win the day before against Notre Dame.

Three outs. That’s what we needed. I had a tough decision to make. Vo was on a roll, but he had thrown over 100 piches in the last 24 hours. I didnt hesitate and told Hack to get loose as soon as he scored the go ahead run. We’ll never know what would have happened had I sent Vo out for another inning. I still believe I made the right call giving the ball to Hack.

Hack had one ball that was hit hard off him….a lead off double. The next hitter popped out.

Up came Jeff Suppan. Suppan had quite a season at the plate for Crespi. He led the district in three or four categories. I’m not talking about him leading the district in pitching categories….I’m talking HITTING!

This guy had been hitting SHOTS all over the yard all summer long.

I know what “the book” says….you never intentionally walk the potential go-ahead run. I still stand by my decison….and I did it. And Scott Muckey, the Crespi manager fought me on that decison I made. As Hack made the first two pitches over in the left-handed batters box, Muckey had Suppan SWING at the first two pitches. They were baiting us into trying to throw him just ONE STRIKE!!! The count now was 0-2…..I still made the decision to walk him anyways.

Muckey even said in the newpapers after the game “I like that situation with Jeff up there…If we hit into the double-play….Oh well”

Muck did NOT want Suppan to be intentionally walked. I didn’t want Suppan to beat us.

My thinking? Suppan was hitting clean up. He’s slower than the second coming of Christ on the basepaths. We set-up a potential double-play scenario. We had turned over 20 double-plays during the season thus far. So it wasnt like I was asking our defense to do something they had never done before. Even if we don’t get the double play…..I don’t see Suppan scoring on a gapper. I didnt fear their lineup from the five-hole to the nine-hole. I liked our chances with Hack versus 5 through 9 in their lineup.

The next hitter fouled off a couple of 3-2 pitches. It was getting tense.

Hack fooled the hitter with an off-speed pitch and he flailed at it and looped it over Yves’ head at second base and into right field for a base hit. Kasey had a short throw from right field to hose the runner at the plate who was trying to score from second.

Calf’s throw throw was a little off line and high. Fielder adjusted and went a few feet up the third base line….the ball arrived before the runner but as Fielder leaped up to get it he got clothslined by the runner trying to score from second, knocking him to the ground. The runner now easily scored….and by the time Hack got to it ( he was backing up the play) fucking Suppan and the batter had moved up another 90 feet!

The correct call should have been that the guy who ran over Fielder should have been ruled out and Suppan and the other runner should have been sent back to 2nd base and 1st base, respectively.

I was FUCKING PISSED. They made a big deal out of this every year. If a player gets bowled over by a baserunner…..the runner is OUT. I had been listening to this for three years now at every managers meeting. I went out and unloaded on the umpire. I guess the rule had morphed into “if a player gets bowled over by a baserunner, the runner is out….unless the player who gets bowled over is a Verdugo player”

I informed the umpire that I had no choice but to file a protest.

I remember the first game in Verdugo’s history. Andy Saltsman got mowed down by a Panorama City player and the runner was automatically OUT. Henry Fernandez got brutally bowled over by Berger from the Glendale team trying to catch a routine pop fly half way between home plate and first base. Berger was ruled automatically out. That was the rule in Legion…..you bowl over a defender, you’re out. I guess that rule doesn’t apply to playoff games.

It’s 6-6 now……runners at 2nd and 3rd. I intentionally walked the next hitter.

I pulled the corners up and kept Haggs and Yves at double-play depth.

We got the ground ball we wanted. Haggs fielded it cleanly….fed it to Yves….Yves makes a good throw….the runner beats the throw by a half-step.

FUCK.

Boy did I feel like a dickhead when Suppan scored….(the first guy I intentionally walked)….

It’s 7-6. Runners are now at the corners. Everybody knew what Muck was gonna do now. Steal second.

We had run first and third plays all season without a glitch. We were rattled and I should have gone out to the mound to try to settle everybody down. Make sure we were all on the same page. I didn’t do that. It ended up costing us.

We ran the play where Fielder makes a sale and looks like he’s trying the throw out the runner at second base and the pitcher cuts it off. Fielder made a GREAT sale….had the runner on third leaning out into no mans land big time….and Hack lets the throw go through. The runner scored.

It’s 8-6. I was hurting now…I’m sure you guys were too. None of us showed it though and we all handled it like men. I’m not singling out Hack here. I wanted to tell this story as one of the reasons why we had the greatest kids.

Hack asked for a new ball from the umpire. There were a LOT of people at this game. Like….250…. I’m guessing?

As Hack stood on the mound…his glove hand stretched towards home plate to receive the new ball….and everybody in the stands was wondering “what the hell just happened?” Hack took his throwing hand and started slapping his chest slowly…..as if to say “I fucked up that play”

Hack….you didnt have to do that. When Verdugo goes down….we go down as a team. It was a team loss. You didnt have to do that……

And lets not forget that damage I had caused by walking Suppan. If anybody fucked up the game it was ME.

This is why we had the best kids….bar none. I have told many stories about Verdugo to family and friends through the years. And invariably, people come to the conclusion that “damn you guys were bad ass!”

But when I tell this particular story….about the first and third play…..I want people to know that Verdugo had a human side to them as well. And I never seem to be able to tell that story without people noticing I have a few tears in my eyes as I tell it. Not tears of sadness at our defeat that day….But tears of pride that we indeed had the best kids. And I always finish that story by saying “It just happened to be Hack on the mound when that happened. Any of our guys would have reacted to what happened on that play exactly as Hack did”….

All of you guys were selfless. It was such a joy working with you guys. I’m going to talk about that in the next game we played against Chatsworth. Lance Evans….pitching (and hitting) with a fucking CAST on his left arm. I can go on and on….examples of our guys just doing whatever it took to battle for Verdugo. I can’t seem to put it into words…..but I think you guys know what I’m talking about here.

We had runners at first and second in the bottom of the ninth, but came up short.

We got beat. I’ll still stick by my words….”Verdugo had the greatest players who played in the greatest games” and this was another great effort in another great game. I was proud of you guys. I’m sorry I walked Suppan…if I hadn’t done that….maybe we’d still be playing that game and trying to break the tie.

I am looking forward to writing about the ’93 season. I will particularly enjoy telling everyone about the two games we played against Crespi. And not just defeating them twice, but ripping their hearts out BOTH times….both games at THEIR yard.

But our season wasn’t over. We still had a game against Chatsworth to try and stay alive.

“State of Verdugo” Address to the Nation

Posted: December 25, 2025 in Uncategorized

“This is Jake Tepper from MSNBC here at the Washington Monument just outside of DC and we are here to bring to you the long-awaited ‘State of Verdugo” speech from coach Gee and let me tell you…we’ve been waiting a long time for this one!”

“there you see Gee shaking hands with everyone before he addresses the crowd….and he finally makes his way to the microphone. Actually, I never thought he would even make it to the microphone after that huge crowd of people mobbing him! Wow….this is incredible to see! It looks like he’s gained some weight….and looks like he’s lost some hair….but there is no doubt about it …..that IS Gee!”

“Wait….Shhhh……he’s about to speak!”

Gee: “As our crippled country moves forward….All eyes of the nation are on Verdugo. That’s why I’ve been called in by the United National Guard to deliver this speech today. And there is no irony that I’ve been called in on Christmas Day to deliver this epic pontification. We’ve remained silent for over 30 years, and honestly, I can’t blame the masses who no longer are quietly waiting for Verdugo to speak. The riots we’ve seen over the past 30 years are reflective of decades of impatient Americans and many other nations around the world all wanting to know “what does Verdugo have to say?”

“well…I’m here to say…………….”……(Gee……obviously with nothing prepared to say blurts out)……….”They’ve DONE IT!” (ten minutes of uninterrupted explosions of crowd noise from the 2 million in attendance)

(Gee waits patiently for the crowd noise to die down)

“and make no mistake about it……we will continue to DO IT!” (Eruptions of the massive crowd exploding in approval) Gee raises a clenched fist!

(Gee laughs and says under his breath away from the microphone) “Dude ….What is this?”

“I mean……Uhhhhh……FUCK NOTRE DAME” (deafening roars of approval from the huge crowd)

Gee lights a cig and smiles and waits for the noise to die down.

“and finally…..Merry Christmas to Verdugo!…..to the rest of you….go light your useless asses on fire!…..I mean……look at you people!……you should be home with your families!……GET A LIFE!” (The camera quickly cuts away as thousands of people begin to immerse themselves in flames!)

“Jeez….He’s still got it! I’m Jake Tepper….from MSNBC….back to you Carol”………….the camera catches Tepper grabbing a bucket of gasoline and pouring it over his own head. Gee takes his lit cig and flicks it at Tepper and the massive crowd explodes in approval as Tepper goes up in flames!

Carol: “ohhhhhh……my…..G……”

IMMEDIATE CUT TO COMMERCIAL

Pre-Verdugo History….By John “Hack” Workman

Posted: December 15, 2025 in Uncategorized
Tags: baseball

Pre-Verdugo (Planetary Alignment)Download

Sometimes it’s Not Who You Play….But WHEN You Play Them….

Posted: November 4, 2025 in Uncategorized
Tags: baseball, sports, writing

We went into this game against Encino-Crespi with a six-game winning streak. Crespi was coming in with a sixteen game winning streak of their own. They were hot. Verdugo was the last team to beat them….a 10-3 ass-kicking down at Stengel where the final score wasn’t really indicative of how badly they got their asses kicked.

We were fortunate that we didn’t have to face Jeff Suppan that night. He was there that night….but had pitched the day before. Now we play them again….and by “the luck of the draw” we weren’t going to have to face him. Suppan was clearly going to be a major-league pitcher one day.

So it isn’t who you play….but when you play them. Suppan isn’t pitching, and the Crespi ball club had an interesting philosophy for their summer Legion Program. Scott Muckey, the head coach of the high school team ran the program in the summer and his roster was all underclassmen. Think about that for a minute. They were in the same position we were in….one win away from “the next tournament” and had accomplished this without one senior on their roster. “Muck” as he was known to many….was a great coach and was a lot of fun at the managers meetings we had in the offseason and during the season.

At a 20th District coaches meeting, I was usually sitting at a table shooting the shit with Les Riley from Sun Valley….maybe Fat Jody….all of my “greatest enemies” ….I’d sit right down with any and all……”how you been? You ever get over that defeat we gave you last year?” Provocative as I always am….I was just tossing them a softball question they could usually answer with two words….”fuck you”…and as soon as they would come back with that I knew we were good. Then “Muck” would appear.

Muck had his own style. He wouldn’t walk directly into the room. He would stay outside the door opening….visible to everyone….and he would start “giving signs” to us like he was in the third base coaching box. No words…..just signs. We’d flash a couple of signs back….I’d break the silence and say “increase your primary dickhead there’s a lefty on the mound” (trying to get him to enter the room)….then after we all had flipped him off he’d finally walk in. He chewed tobacco, played the guitar and drums, and probably smoked some weed as well.

I loved the guy…. One of the few coaches in the 20th District I had actually had a little respect for.

But when him and I got on a baseball field to “settle it” it was fucking war!!!! Did you hear that? Yeah….that’s right!!! FUCKING WAR!!!!

“Muck” was one of the greatest Southern Section CIF coaches of all time. Recording over 300 career wins….numerous league championships…and I believe two or three Southern Section Championships.

Sometimes in the summer he had really, really shitty teams because he used all underclassmen. He used Legion ball for his underclassmen to prepare for the next season at Crespi. He had some lousy seasons at Crespi as well. But he was a gamer. If he had the right group of guys….he could get those underclassmen across the finish line.

This was one of those groups that I’m talking about. We didn’t take them lightly at all. We played hard…they played hard….they won. It’s as simple as that. But going into this game, I liked our chances….because it’s not who you play….but when you play them. And anytime Suppan’s not pitching, I like our chances.

Muck got us this game. He also beat us in 1990 when Suppan was coming off his Freshman season at the high school. Suppan beat us 7-3. We swept them in ’93….a couple of one run games that I’m looking forward to writing about (including Dave Fielder’s “one small step for man….one giant leap for Verdugo HIlls” walkoff win)

I finished my “career” against Muckey with three wins and two losses. But to be honest, I’d swap all the W’s we had against him for this one win. It was a tough defeat to stomach.

RIP to “Muck”…. he passed away a few years ago. Thanks for the battles and the chess matches coach.

Let’s get to the Crespi game and let ‘Ol Gee tell the story.

“The Call” (Part ONE)

Posted: October 26, 2025 in Uncategorized
Tags: life, short-story, writing

Yeah Verdugo won. Yeah yeah yeah. I got the call. I hadn’t talked to this guy in a while. Not since I was the head coach of his JV Team last season. The head coach of the CV Baseball Team called me to congratulate me on “a helluva season”….

I was asked back to coach at the high school for the ’92 season but declined. We were on good terms with one another.

I mean it was a good call. It was good in that he made the call and that he was like “jeez coach you’re 22-3……I’ve been reading about it and following it in the papers all season long.” It was nice that he acknowledged what we had accomplished.

We spoke for about a half hour or so. He was curious about some of the players he had coming back next season. I don’t blame him for it. I gave him whatever information he needed or wanted and was happy to discuss where everyone was at in their “careers” and shared a few funny stories that had happened during the season.

“well who do you guys play next?” he asked……….

I told him but I was getting a little “concerned”……

“where is it being played? what time” By this time I was really bummed out. I couldn’t say to him “look….do me a favor and don’t show up…..I think it will be a distraction to the players”

I couldn’t say to him what Nancy Canale said to me on more than one occasion when she said “the players look forward to playing Legion more than playing for the high school because it’s like they let the animals out of their cages”

Don’t get me wrong I was happy that he acknowledged our season. I got along with him I would say very well. He knew me well enough from my coaching days with him to know about my propensity to establish “rituals” with the team. And how I was very superstitious.

We knew each other well enough to where we could both let the four-letter words fly, too. I knew what I could say to him, and what I couldn’t.

I tried like hell……

“hey coach you know how I feel about winning streaks” I told him……”yeah I sure do” he laughed…..”you know how I always say ‘you don’t fuck with a winning streak’ right” I said ……”oh yeah” he said.

“I’m going completely over the top to keep everything exactly the same before every game coach…..I wanna make sure they don’t SEE anything different, or HEAR anything different ….you wouldn’t believe the lengths I’ve gone to keep this winning streak going coach…I think we’ve rattled off six in a row now coach…..all we need is one more win…..and after we win….I don’t care what happens…..I’m just trying to protect these guys and this streak……You know what I’m saying coach?” laugh laugh laugh laugh

“Oh yeah I know……” he laughed

He didn’t get the message …..and I’ve spent the last 33 years wondering…..why the fuck did I answer the phone that day.

‘This….is Our Finest Hour” Verdugo 9 Notre Dame 8

Posted: October 26, 2025 in Uncategorized
Tags: baseball, college-football, football, mlb, sports

It was our finest hour. At least at this point in our history. The thing was…this season (and the next season) we kept outdoing ourselves as to what we would define as “our finest hour”…..unfortunately, we didn’t outdo ourselves again in ’92….but I’m proud of how we fought like savages until the end…..so this game ended this season with what I’m sure you’ll agree was “Our Finest Hour”

There’s plenty more to come in the ’93 season…. but this win here was about as big as it gets. I still say Verdugo was the best team in the 20th District. Notre Dame was the number one seed going into this eight team, double-elimination tournament…we were the “lowly” number five seed.

But respect isn’t given…..it’s earned. And by the time this game was over….it was Verdugo who had caught Jody at 22-3. WE had taken two out of three from him and none of the other teams in the District even had 20 wins. It was clear who The KINGS were. It wasn’t a pretty win….far from it….but our will to win was too much for Notre Dame to handle. This win was absolutely magnificent.

Notre Dame came into this game on an eight-game winning streak. The last team to beat them? Verdugo. That was when we went to 15-2 and took over sole possession of first place in our division.

We were running out of room on the fungo to burn victory marks on. I was packing for this game….I had a choice cigar for when we won….and I taped a small piece of paper to it that said “The Victory CIGAR-ZA” because that’s who we were facing (Chris Garza)…. and we all just knew that whether this game was a shootout or a pitchers duel…..Verdugo was going to prevail.

Verdugo was the home team. Hack took the mound and Francisco Dongo led off with a base hit. I’ll tell you something here….our catchers had the respect of the entire league. Fielder and Haggs did a phenomenal job all season long. Fielder was behind the plate. Jody not only sacrificed the runner to second base with a bunt….but Notre Dame didn’t even attempt to steal a base off of Fielder the entire game. Even when they led 7-3….Jody wouldn’t risk it.

Garza came up and drove in Dongo with a base hit and Notre Dame led 1-0. That was all they got.

In the bottom of the first, Workman and Turner walked to lead it off for Verdugo. Fielder drives in Hack with a base hit. Canale gets retired on the eight pitch of the at-bat. Moreno drives in Turner with a base hit. Cowsill drives in Fielder with a base hit and it’s 3-1 Verdugo.

In the second inning, Notre Dame loads the bases with one out. Hack K’s Dongo….then their number two hitter hits a line SHOT that Robb Turner dives to his right (getting horizontal) and somehow MEATHOOKS and the threat is over. If that ball goes through or off his glove….It may have been a different game. I will at some point include video footage of this play, I do have it ….and what a fucking play it was!

We went quietly in the 2nd and in the top of the third…Notre Dame exploded. They sent 12 guys to the plate and rolled a SIX. Three hits, four walks and an error.. I had to go get Hack and give the ball to Parque. Parque got the final out on a fly ball with the bases loaded. It’s 7-3 Notre Dame.

In the bottom of the third, Ivan Moreno leads off with a base hit. He gets wild-pitched to 2nd. Up steps Yves with two out and he rips a base hit making it 7-4. That’s all we got but you could see the little beads of sweat forming on Jody’s forehead. He knew what was coming.

Parque shut their asses down in the fourth with two K’s and a ground ball right back to him. The momentum was shifting. There were a lotta people at that game and our crowd was making a lotta noise.

In the bottom of the fourth, Verdugo erupted, and we chased Garza. Workman walks. Turner is called out on strikes on a horrible call. How do I know? It’s on video and Nance wrote in the scorebook “BFC”…..

Fielder rips a base hit and their left fielder misplays it…..Hack scores all the way from first. Fielder now at 2nd. The momentum is shifting. Canale steps in and rips a base hit. First and third now. Moreno steps in and rips a base hit scoring Fielder, officially chasing Garza. Jody gave the ball to Dongo.

Cowsill draws a walk, but not before Dongo wild pitched Canale to third and Moreno to second. Haggs steps in with the bases loaded and draws a walk and it’s all tied at 7-7.

Yves comes up with bases loaded and hits into a fielders choice….it’s 8-7 verdugo….with Cowsill advancing to third. I’m thinking “okay there’s two outs and here comes Vo” up to hit. I wasn’t going to pinch hit for him but I was like “dammit” because I wasn’t exactly thrilled about the idea of Vo with a bat in his hands.

Thankfully….Dongo wild pitched Cowsill in. Making it 9-7 Verdugo.

Then Vo surprised everyone by hitting a line shot back at the mound that Dongo (in self-defense) catches. Inning over.

A game that looked like it was going to be a total shootout turned into a pitchers duel. Parque holding Notre Dame to one run (unearned) over five innings. Jim retired the first two batters in the eighth inning and gave up a base hit and I wasted no time and summoned Brendan Cowsill to get us out of trouble. Cowsill got a ground ball out (Yves making a clutch play) and we were out of trouble.

Parque finished the day with five innings pitched, allowing three hits, no walks and striking out four. It was an incredible performance by Jim and the defense.

It’s the bottom of the eighth and I gotta give credit to Dongo as well. After we chased Garza he held us to two hits (two singles……both by Hack Workman) over the last four innings. He got everyone out again in the bottom of the eighth with the exception of Josh Canale….who was hit in the head by an off speed pitch and ran down to first base with the bill of his helmet down in his eyes like nothing had happened. It was ….. something only a Verdugo player would do and had the entire HUGE CROWD laughing their asses off.

Hey…..it’s top of the ninth and we got a one run lead with “B” on the mound. “B” was loose and firing BB’s…..

Notre Dame led off the ninth with some fool named Jimmy Landress. I mention this because all the Notre Dame players were calling this dude “The Natural”….I was sick of this guy. “The Natural” (lol). Hey….You know what? I saw that movie just like everyone else had. And I’ll tell you what…..you don’t nickname some fool “The Natural” if he’s hitting in the NUMBER EIGHT SLOT in your lineup.

Anyways, as he’s walking up to the plate, I’m listening to the obligatory B.S. from the Notre Dame bench saying “yeah let’s go Natural….blah blah blah….

“B” struck his ass out!

I remember saying (and not loud to where their guys could hear it…..but the guys on our side could hear me) “sit down fucker” as he walked back to the dugout. Henry Fernandez knew it was over and was laughing his ass off….He said to me “those guys are going to be soooo disappointed with this loss”

I started to smile but hid it pretty well as my smile morphed into a yawn.

The next batter hits a ground ball to Yves…..he’s hustling down the line HARD. Yves’ throw was a little wide…..drawing Gabe off the bag . Gabe MAKES THE TAG!!!!

The crowd is going crazy. Up comes their leadoff hitter Dongo.

“B” challenges him. The first pitch and there’s a flyball to center! It’s right at Hack!!!! Hack is under it! He’s………………. got it!!!!

As soon as he caught it we all started sprinting towards Hack in center. Sprinting past the defeated Jody who was standing in the third base coaching box with everyone yelling “THEY’VE DONE IT!!!!!” as we ran past him!!!!

We had no time to enjoy Jody’s dejection. After all…. we had it on video ….and I’ll be sharing it here soon.

Jody was really hamming it up down there. All the looks of anguish…..The “where did we go wrong” look….the “I can’t believe it look” …..looking up to the Baseball gods who had turned on him, as if to say “how could you do this to me?”…..he stood there at least 30 seconds to maybe a minute as we celebrated.

This was our finest hour. And looking back, after what was about to happen to us over the next couple of days, I’ll take it. If you were to tell me at the beginning of the season that you’re not going to win The District…..you’re not going to advance…..BUT…..you ARE going to beat the team who won The District….and you ARE going to take two out of three from them……and you told me that it was JODY…..I’d have been been more than happy with that.

We needed one more win. I liked our chances. We were going against Crespi. They were coming into their game against Verdugo on a sixteen game winning streak. The last team to beat Crespi? Who else? Verdugo….

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