verdugo288

by Gee

1992 was the season we broke through.  We had certainly “served notice” to the rest of the league in ’90 and ’91, but ’92 was the year.  We just flat out pounded the shit out of the ball.  This was a big game for us.  Going in we were charging hard and carving out our name around the league as the new bully in the block.  Here we were on Father’s Day playing against a team that had won the Legion World Series three years earlier.  And I must admit we all took personal pleasure in ruining Ron Cey’s Father’s Day.  Kind of has a nice ring to it, huh?

We were at the field early, guys were getting ready to go through their pre-game “flip” ritual.  The other team arrived and upon their arrival Ron Cey kind of took it upon himself to hop right down onto our field and start distracting my players.  Cey’s son was playing for the other team that day.  We all knew who he was.  But I’m thinking “what’s this guy doing?”  Isn’t he getting enough attention on those 1-800-THE-LAW-2 commercials?  I’m thinking “whatever dude.”  But we DO have a rule at Verdugo.  It’s called “get out of my dugout,”  and Ron Cey is no exception.  And he handed it to me on a silver platter.  I broke the silence by saying “Hey look everybody Steve Garvey’s here!”

Yeah, he didn’t like that.  I knew I had taken the upper hand when he corrected me and told me who he really was.  As if we didn’t know.   I wanted to abruptly tell him to “get outta my dugout” but decided to use a little finesse on this one.  Have a little fun with it.  He started out by telling us about how he had hit home runs against Nolan Ryan.  He said they had “figured out” Ryan.  He said they always knew when Ryan was going to throw a curveball because every time he threw it he would “look down” at the ground when starting his windup.  Sounded like Rocket Science to me.  So I asked him “and I suppose you had all of this inside information on Ryan the time he threw the no-hitter against you boys on Monday Night Baseball?”

Yeah he didn’t like that comment either.  Our guys were no longer in awe of him.  So I continued to interview him about “the big contracts”…and the “bad attitudes of the (then) modern-day players”…and other questions.  I really wasn’t interested in his answers, I was more interested in cutting him off in the middle of his long-winded pontifications and firing another question at him that would always finish with the words “what do you think of that?”

His frustration was growing.  He probably hadn’t been treated that way since being in the Minor Leagues.  I don’t know what the final question was that I asked him (that ended in “what do you think of that?”) but the last answer he gave to me was “I think you’re full of shit!” and he walked away……pissed!  Mission accomplished!  He had officially “gotten out of my dugout” and our players were laughing about it.  Ron Cey and his son were the least of our worries.  We went out on the field and punished them 8-3.  The score was not really indicative of the beating they took.  BullOxen threw a gem even though he was stung by a bee while on the mound.

The other team was grumbling that the playing field was not really level that day because they all had been at the prom last night.  Funny, I was thinking.  You poor babies did a little partying last night?  Well, you just ran up against a team that parties EVERY night…so quit crying about it.   Hell, our guys probably spilled more alcohol last night than you wimps drank.  Once again I was thinking “whatever dude.”

Cey’s kid had an 0-fer (three?) at the plate.  In the fifth or sixth inning we hit another bullet up the middle that Cey tried to dive at.  The ball went through (again) and Cey didn’t get up.  He just lied there on the field face down.  They stopped the game.  Onto the field (again) jumps Ron Cey himself to go check on his kid and make sure he’s okay.  It didn’t take long for a few of our players to yell out “CALL 1-800-THE-LAW-2!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

I had a hard time keeping a straight face on that one, but I did.  And Cey and his kid didn’t stick around for the outcome of the game.  They went home early.  They probably had some things planned for Father’s Day.  I’m sure he had a great Father’s day.  But I’ll bet you it was a Father’s Day He’ll NEVER forget.