Archive for February, 2011

19 years Later……..

Posted: February 28, 2011 in 1990, Behind the Scenes, Hank
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Some of you know I’m a Golf Pro now.  I turned Pro on April the 21st, 2009 at the ripe-old age of 49.  I had to take a 36-hole test with the PGA of America called the PAT (Playing Ability Test).  I took it up in San Jose.  The Test has about an 80% failure rate…so passing that test on my first try was a big thrill for me.  Still, I make my money working at a Law Firm during the week.  I’m like a really, really part-time Golf Pro now. 

So I was out at Hansen Dam one day during the week in July of ’09.  I like to go out as a single and play with whoever.  It doesn’t matter much to me who I end up playing with.  I just love The Game of Golf.  You run into all kinds of interesting folks out there, and this day was no exception.

I was paired with an OLD guy about 60 years old and a younger guy around 35-40.  I say the guy around 60 was OLD because I’m now 50…..(in fact 51 here in just a few days) and I’m always now looking to call someone else OLD so I feel a bit younger.  Anyways, they were nice guys and we were having a good time out there.

The younger kid was just flat-out BOMBING the ball.  I mean, this guy could hit it!  He didn’t have much of a short game but I was cracking up at how far he could hit a golf ball.  The second hole was a LONG par five and his second shot went OVER the green!  Damn..I’m thinking.  But that’s what I love about Golf.  I don’t ever get into this thing where I’m playing AGAINST someone in the group…I just play against the course.  The course gives me plenty to handle. 

Then around the third hole I was thinking that this kid that was bombing the hell out of the ball looked REALLY familiar.  He had already told me his first name.  I kept thinking “who is this guy?”….it was driving me crazy!

Then after my approach shot on the fourth hole I figured it out.  It’s MILLIGAN!!!  I couldn’t stop laughing to myself.  The guy Hank had slap-tagged the shit out of 19 years ago!!  It brought back so many great memories.  So what should I do?  Should I tell him who I was?  Should I dare mention the name Verdugo to the guy?  What if he went ballistic and clubbed me to death with a nine-iron?  This made it even more interesting…and I still couldn’t stop laughing to myself…at least when I had a chance.  I certainly didn’t want him putting me on the spot and saying…”okay…what’s so funny?”  So I had to be cool when I was laughing/smiling and thinking of ‘Ol Hank’s slap tags.

Finally, on the sixth hole…(another long par five) I decided to say something.  I said “Hey, is your last name MILLIGAN?”

“Yeah” he said.  “How did you know that?”

“I used to coach a little baseball a few years ago and I remember you.”  I said.

“What team did you coach?” he asked.

I just kind of smiled and said to him “Does the name Verdugo Hills mean anything to you?”

He looked at the ground.  He was searching his memory bank.  He looked back at me.  Then he looked back at the ground.  Then his face started to kind of contort a little bit.  He got a big frown on his face.  He looked back at me.  I thought he was going to kill me.

“You guys had that fucking first baseman who wore the goggles and his jersey number was zero.” he said.

“Oh fuck”…he said.  “what a fucking rivalry we had.” 

He went on.  “It took everything we had in us to not brawl you guys that day.  We were SO close to brawling you guys.”

Over the next 12 holes we talked about everything.  Hank.  Jody.  American Legion.  And yes, even the slap-tagging incident.  It was 19 years later, probably almost to the day.  He said something very cool.  He said “we hated you guys, but we respected you.” 

I spent an afternoon with Milligan on the Golf Course.  It was a great day.  I realized that bad blood and bad feelings don’t have to last.  We had a great time.  And you know what?  Milligan would have fit right in with our Program as well.  He was and IS a good guy.  He turned out well.  Other than wearing a different uniform than we wore and playing for Jody….he was just like the rest of us.  I have to say…I liked him.

Still….you know ‘Ol Milligan and I were doing a “little” scorekeeping of our own that day on the course.  Even though we were getting along and exchanging pleasantries…it was STILL  (in our minds) VERDUGO against Notre Dame.  And I shot a 73 that afternoon and beat him by about 10 shots………………

Slap Taggin’ Milligan

Posted: February 28, 2011 in 1990, Games, Hank
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This is a continuation of our last two posts.  Yeah, Notre Dame beat us up pretty good in the second game of the double-header that day, but like I said we STOLE a game from them.  Even though we got beat…we still got in a few shots Verdugo-style.  And we got our shots in on the big-gun cleanup hitter they had with the last name Milligan.

Milligan looked like what you’d expect a guy named Milligan to look like.  Fair skinned, reddish hair.  But he was a stout dude and he was strong.  He had big forearms and with his hat on kind of reminded me of Popeye.  He had that step haircut thing going on.  Nobody gave this guy any shit I noticed…and he didn’t have much of a sense of humor.  He came from a Baseball family.  He was pretty much all business out there on the field and I must admit he did hit the shit out of the ball.

He reached base on a fielder’s choice in the second inning.  This is when the fun began.  

Milligan was getting a little too big of a lead off of first base.  So we picked over.  Hank was playing first base.  He took the throw from the pitcher and made a sweeping slap-tag that caught the diving Milligan right in his face.  Milligan’s helmet was all out of whack from the impact.  It was down over his eyes when he got up and he tried to look cool while he readjusted it.  He wasn’t looking too cool, either.

So he then got off of the bag and took an even bigger leadoff.  So we picked over again.  Hank did the exact same thing.  Sweeping slap tag to his head…making sure that the ball was in the not-so-padded area of his glove.  Hank was making sure that when he slap-tagged him that the BALL was involved with that slap-tag as well as his glove.  The second one caught him in the nose/cheekbone area.  Milligan was NOT happy.

So he got an even bigger lead….

And we picked over again.  Hank slapped him real good in the face again.  Now Milligan was flat-out pissed.

As he was taking his lead off of the bag you could hear him say in a gravelly voice “You slap-tag me again like that and I’m gonna rip your head off.”

Then he got an even BIGGER lead.

So we picked over.  And Hank slapped-tagged him again…harder than the first three.  This went on another couple of times.  Each time Milligan getting slap-tagged harder than the last, and Milligan insisting on taking a bigger lead-off from the bag.  Hank never even made an effort to tag his arm or hand!  Every time, right in the head/face!!  Milligan finally realized after about five slap-tags to his dome that it might be a good idea to STOP taking such a big lead.  Hell, this guy could hit but he wasn’t any threat to steal a base.  Milligan finally backed down and took a normal lead-off from the bag and all the bullshit ended.

The beautiful thing about all of this was that Hank was slap-tagging a pretty big dude.  If they went at it…I’m sure most people would have put their money on Milligan.   Hank never said a word to the guy.  He just kept slap-tagging him as hard as he could until he backed off.  And if they did go at it, I’m sure Hank would have more than stood his ground.  This was just a little old-fashioned power-struggle that was going on between Milligan and Hank.  And I gotta give the “W” to Hank.  Milligan warned him..but Hank came right back and slap-tagged him again….TWICE!!!

Yes-sir-ree.  ‘Ol Hank.  The heart and soul of that 1990 Team.  His jersey number was “00.”  “Double-Ott” we called him.  And while we lost ONE of the battles that day, we WON the other battle…but the slap-tagging incident was the ‘tie-breaker.”  And the way we served notice on Milligan…Verdugo had CLEARLY won the war that day!!!!!!!!

The Double That Shook The Earth…..

Posted: February 27, 2011 in 1990, BullOxen, Frost, Games, Hank, McBride, Rogers, Weapon
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It was June 27, 1990.  We traveled out to Notre Dame high school on a Wednesday afternoon to pick up where we had left off three weeks earlier, bad blood and all.  The game we had started three weeks ago was tied 3-3, and called off due to darkness.  So the plan today was to finish the first game, and then play another seven inning game before it got dark.  So it was “Kind of” a doubleheader.  In the back of our minds we were all thinking about what went down between Fat Jody and McBride.  I am sure that all of the parents of both teams had heard about the drama….because by the time we got this thing started, the stands were FULL on both sides of the diamond.  It had the atmosphere of a playoff game.  So I was looking forward to see how we handled the spotlight that day.

We had played well over the last few weeks since McBride went off on Jody and came into the game with a 6-5 record.  All I knew was we needed to win ONE of these games…I didn’t want to drive home with a 6-7 record if they swept us.  So this was another huge game for us.

Finally, the game started.  Both teams went quietly in the eighth inning.  And I don’t even have to tell you who was pitching for us……….. 

Weapon came up in the top of the ninth inning and grounded out.  Up came Bull Oxen.  Walk.  Up came Hank.  Walk.  Rogers flew out to the center.  Two down.

Cal Frost stepped up.  Frost looked at strike one.  The next pitch he drilled a two-iron over the shortstop’s head and up the left-center gap.  I knew Bull would score from second but I wanted to make sure Hank got in from first.  And Hank was all over it.  Hank was moving so fast he almost caught up to Bull.  I was halfway down the line windmilling when I realized there wasn’t even going to be a play at the plate.  Frost’s double had cleared the bases and given us a 5-3 lead.

When Hank stepped on the plate he damn near split it in half.  I don’t think I had ever seen Hank this fired up and emotional as he got.  And no one…and I mean NO ONE wants to win more than Hank.  When Hank scored he continued to sprint towards the chain link fence on the first base side.  He leaped in the air about three feet and his momentum carried him right into the fence, where he clung to it…Spiderman-style.

As he was up in the air, clinging to that fence,  he started shaking it with his hands and feet.  He made sure every single person in the Notre Dame stands was watching him while he shook the fence and yelled out “Fuck Yeah!!!!!!” for about 10 seconds.  They were shocked!  Every mouth in that stands dropped about a foot!  And ‘Ol Hank was up there giving it to ’em….I think he made eye-contact with every last one of ’em!!!

Our dugout and fans were making a lot of noise.  Their side was silent.  Normally, an outburst like that was crazy…..the outcome of the game had not yet been determined…..and we STILL needed three outs to win…..but that’s what we all were FEELING at that moment.  So I let ’em go.  I didn’t say anything.  I just squinted my eyes and looked straight at Fat Jody.  He looked away when he caught my squinting eyes………..

Then I looked around for McBride.  He was sitting down and just STARING at the field.  Yeah, he had that look in his eye.  I knew he was gonna finish ’em off.

But Hank wasn’t done.  When Hank came down from the fence….he started yelling “Fuck Yeah!!!  That’s 7-5, now let’s make it 8-5 in another 10 minutes!!!”

He was predicting the WIN!!!   We still needed three outs but Hank had just moved us up in the standings from 6-5 to 7-5..and was even talking about 8-5!!!

I loved it!!  Mcbride’s outburst three weeks earlier had pulled us together.  And Hank took us out on a limb.  And we were about to find out if we could trash talk and back it up. 

McBride was a little too pumped and walked their leadoff hitter in the bottom of the ninth.  The next hitter laced a single to left, but the runner who moved to second on the base-hit took too big of a turn towards third.  Damon Martin, our left fielder…fired the ball to the cutoff man Frost, and Frosty back-picked to second where BullOxen made a great play tagging out the runner.  That broke their backs.  And Hank was over there at first base (right in front of their dugout) barking “Fuck Yeah!!” again.

The next hitter popped out.  One out to go.

McBride was totally pumped!  He was overthrowing.  He walked their cleanup hitter on four pitches.  Turner went out to the mound and calmed him down.

Runners at first and second…two out.  And McBride STRIKES OUT their other big gun Lou Tapia LOOKING!!!!

Done!  We walked the Walk!!  No crazy celebration when it ended.  Yeah, David had kind of beaten Goliath but I liked the way we handled ourselves when it ended.  You could sense that our guys were figuring out just what we were capable of.  And we proved we could play with anybody that day.  And yeah…as Hank predicted….we were now 7-5. 

We had woken up a sleeping giant with that win.  Notre Dame had a lot of talent on that team and they beat our asses pretty good the second game that day.  But it didn’t matter.  We STOLE a game from them with nothing more than will, resolve, grit, and determination.  

And you know what’s really cool?  Notre Dame missed the Playoffs that year by ONE GAME.

You think ‘Ol Fat Jody spent a little time over the winter thinking about THIS ONE????????? 

Yes-sir-ree….’Ol Cal Frost’s double……..The Double that SHOOK THE EARTH.  The Double that was one of the greatest DEFINING  moments of our four years of Glory.  The Rock in our sling that SLAYED Goliath……….

McBride FIRES Back!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted: February 27, 2011 in 1990, Games, McBride, Rags/Trash Talk
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Some of you guys remember Brian McBride.  He played one year for us…on our 1990 team.  He led the team in wins that season with four and innings pitched with 39.  He was a good kid.  Never complained about anything.  In fact..when we had two guys on our roster who wanted to wear number 14 on their jersey…McBride let the other guy ( a guy we called “White” Chandler) wear it and Brian wore jersey number 14 and a half!!!  He was funny, well-mannered and a hard worker.  He had already played for a Colt-League team for me in 1989 (a team that came within a dropped fly-ball of winning it all) and I never saw him lose his cool.  That is, until our first meeting with our old friend……..FAT JODY.  Thanks to McBride and a couple of other guys…..one of the greatest Legion rivalries of all-time was born.

This was a huge game for us.  We came into the game 1-2, and were blown out of our previous game 13-2.  We needed a win, and with our rag-tag group of guys going up against the mighty Notre Dame squad I would venture to say we were the underdogs going into this one.  Hank started on the mound and gave us a great five innings…although we trailed 2-0 when he left. 

In the top of the sixth, we rolled a three to take the lead.  This game was turning into quite a chessmatch between Jody and I.  They’d steal, and we’d pitchout.  We’d steal, and they’d pitchout.  Both teams were bunting, trying to move guys over, and playing for a run.  Great calls by both coaches in first and third situations.  It was taxing, but fun.  A couple of times ‘Ol Jody looked over at our bench with that look of his that said…”Oh shit.”  Yeah, he was worried.

I was happy with the way we were playing.  The game was scheduled to go seven innings but darkness was setting in.  McBride came in to relieve Hank in the bottom of the sixth.  He shut them off.  We didn’t score in the top of the seventh.  All we needed was three outs for the upset.  They scored on a passed ball in the bottom of the seventh to force the game into extra innings.

It looked like there was enough light to start the eighth inning.  As Brian walked from the mound towards our dugout after Notre Dame had scored and tied the game he walked right past fat Jody, who was doing his little dorky jog back to the first base dugout.  That was when McBride exploded.

“Why don’t you shut your fucking mouth you fat piece of shit!!!!!!!!!!!” he screamed.  McBride then took his glove and threw it about 20 feet into our dugout. 

Jody stopped near home plate and looked at him as if to say “Who me?”

We had all figured it out by now, and Jody was BUSTED.  He was talking to my pitcher when my pitcher was making his way back to the dugout.  This shit had been going on for a couple of innings, and McBride put him in his place. 

By now Mcbride was in our dugout kicking shit around, waving his arms, and screaming at Fat Jody.  “What the fuck is your problem you fucking Bush-leaguer?”

The umpire came over.  I just kind of sat there and watched everything that was happening.  This was between McBride and Jody, as far as I was concerned.  And the more information I gathered, it became clear Jody was out-of-line.  McBride was yelling at the ump about whatever Jody had been saying to him and let the ump know he didn’t like it.  The ump just kind of looked at Jody like “Are you doing this shit?”

Look…I coached alot of years and I said plenty of shit on my own….but I never got “weird” like that and singled a guy out like Jody was doing.  At least everything I said was there for EVERYONE to hear…not some weird kind of “stalker” conversation between me and another guy that nobody else knew about.   What Jody was doing was just flat-out WEIRD.

Jody never said another word in his defense.  He knew he was busted.  The game was called on account of darkness and the outcome of the game was going to be decided in three weeks when we were scheduled to play them again.  We all left the field PISSED!!!  I was proud of McBride.  It was nice to see how underneath all of his pleasant demeanor there was a FIERCE competitor. 

The next three weeks before we played those guys again it seemed like that was all we talked about.  Those were the guys our Team wanted to beat.  McBride’s outburst lit a fire for our ballclub that still burns to this very day.  We never let anyone say ANYTHING to us after that single event.  McBride set the tone, and I’ll bet to this very day ‘Ol Jody wishes he never said a word to that kid. 

1990 was one of our finest hours as a Team.  We played all 22 games ON THE ROAD that season.  And we still finished 12-10.  We lost one game in extra innings, and three games by a run.  One team that went 15-7 reached the playoffs.  That’s how close we came.  Yes, we did a lot of damage in ’92 and ’93….going 38-5…but that 1990 Team may have been the greatest Team I ever coached.  That was the Team that basically sent this message to everyone:  If you’re playing Verdugo, then get ready for the dogfight of your life!!!

I believe that this was the turning point in the season for us.  And we couldn’t wait to finish the game against Notre Dame in three weeks.  We didn’t care about their players…it was all about beating Fat Jody from that point forward. 

The next post is going to be fun…I already have the Title for it……I’m going to call it “‘The Double That Shook The Earth”……………

The “Wiley” Jackson’s “Tough Knuckler”……

Posted: February 27, 2011 in 1992, 1993, Wiley
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I’m sorry.  I’ve made it a point through the years to NEVER single out anyone on our team(s) as “the greatest” at anything.  I just don’t think it would be fair to say that any ONE guy in particular was “The Greatest” hitter, player, or pitcher we ever had.  And in regard to that, I won’t.  But I’m sorry.  I have to finally single ONE GUY out as “The Greatest.”  I am giving him the tag as “The greatest RAGGER to ever wear a Verdugo Uniform.”  And I’m sure no one would dispute it….and you guys know who I’m talking about…The “Wiley” Jackson. 

Wiley was one of two players to first break away from the Glendale Legion team and come over and play for us in 1992.  The other, was of course Lance Evans.  Wiley was not the greatest player, but soon after joining us he had created a role for himself.  His job was to simply get in every head of every member of the opposition he could.  And….he did.  Here we are in 2011….18 years later…….and I’m sure if Fat Jody saw ‘Ol Wiley walking down the street today someone would have to hold Fat Jody back from trying to kill Wiley.  There was a certain FINALITY with Wiley’s rags.  We will mention some of his brutal rags in a future post.

Wiley played two seasons for us.  He pitched in a total of six games during the regular seasons in ’92 and ’93.  I never kept any of the playoff stats…and I know he got hit hard in one playoff game.  But he was crucial in ’92.  We had great pitching that season…but we were not DEEP in pitching, especially after Evans got hurt and missed the last 10 games of the season.  So there were some key games that Wiley had to step in and keep the Verdugo ball rolliing….and that’s EXACTLY what he did for us. 

I’ve heard people say that “there is no such thing as a crafty right-hander.  There are only crafty left-handers.”  Bullshit I say.  Wiley was about as crafty as it got.  Every pitch he threw kind of went down and away from a right hander…and he would change speeds.  Then he would change his arm angle a little bit.  Then he would screw around with different grips on the ball.  He may have tried to change speeds, grips and arm angles but the RESULT of just about every pitch he threw was the same.  And nobody ever figured it out.  And he probably topped out on the Juggs gun at about 77 mph.  But he threw strikes and got ahead of people, and he battled….Verdugo style.

Even from the bench we would help him out…trying to sell the opposition that Wiley had a “tough knuckler” in his arsenal.  I think Wiley loved it.  He kept throwing the same pitch…and the guys in our dugout kept selling everyone that the next pitch old Wiley threw was going to be that “tough knuckler.”  I would even see Wiley screwing around with a knuckler when he was playing catch between his appearances on the mound for us……but I don’t think he ever used it in a game.  But he loved having the label as the guy with the “tough knuckler.”  He would even HOLD the ball while he was off the rubber like a knuckler just to get in their heads a little..but never would throw one.

Then…around the sixth or seventh inning…the other team would finally realize “hey wait a minute…this guy doesn’t even HAVE a knuckler.”  And we would start selling from the bench that he would be bustin’ out that knuckler soon….and how he only uses it if he NEEDS to use it.  And the other team would continue to believe again that maybe just indeed “Ol Wiley actually did have a knuckler.  And they would believe because he was getting guys out, we usually had a big lead at this point in the game, and really…if he DID have a “tough knuckler”….he certainly had no reason to use it…..he had been getting guys out with the same pitch the whole game!!!!

So the other team never really knew FOR SURE whether or not ‘Ol Wiley even had a “tough knuckler.”  Then, when there was only one or two outs to record before another win…we would start saying “And it looks like he’s done it!  He said before the game that he could beat these guys WITHOUT his knuckler and it looks like he’s done it!!”  (pretending to sound like play-by-play announcers)………..this would really get in the heads of our opponents.

Well….even though none of us and the rest of the league ever saw The Wiley Jackson’s “tough knuckler”……it still became kind of like “The Legend of Bigfoot” or something like that.  We’d just keep telling everybody he had one, and all of those dumbshits on the other team just kept believing us!!!  Even a couple of coaches around the League asked me about our guy with “The Knuckler.”  I would tell ’em…..”Yeah, it’s pretty wicked.  In fact, we’re not worried about anyone hitting it…we’re more worried about our catcher CATCHING IT!”

And Wiley kept that poker face going while we were selling it.  He kind of had that look of a guy who just might have a knuckler……

Here were Wiley’s regular season numbers for Verdugo for two seasons.  23 and 2/3rds innings pitched.  24 hits allowed.  ONE walk.  That’s right…ONE walk.  18 strikeouts.  Five earned runs.  Three wins…NO losses…One save.  Three Complete-Game victories.  Wiley’s ERA???   1.69…….

Shit, with numbers like that, I’m beginning to think that maybe he DID have a tough knuckler!!!

“Now That’s What I’m Talkin’ About!!!”

Posted: February 26, 2011 in Rags/Trash Talk, Thunder
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I know…I know.  I said I needed a breather.  Well…I lied, I guess.  The bottom line is this…I’m ADDICTED to this Blog!!!!  Ahh!!!!  Every time I want to take a rest from it….. yet another great story comes to mind and I know if I don’t write it down I will forget it.   Now, we all know how much we loved getting in everyone’s head.  Well, General and I had a cool thing going that we would pull out of the hat every once in a while to get in the other COACHES heads.  It’s called “Now That’s What I’m Talking About!!!”

What we would do is wait.  And wait.  And wait.  And finally it would happen.  A play would happen on the field that there is no way in hell we EVER talked about to you guys.  I’m talking about a play that would happen once every five years or something like that.  Preferably some kind of play that no one had EVER seen.  A spectacular play where there is no way our player EVER could have received ANY instructions from us.  This is when we would bark out….”Now That’s What I’m Talkin’ Bout!!!!!”….making it APPEAR as though we had PLANNED what had just happened on the field, or that we had been working on it. 

Let’s say Fielder is catching and the batter hits a weak foul ball over by the first base dugout…just high enough for Fielder to sprint for and make a sliding catch to avoid crashing into the fence.  You know, one of those sliding catches a catcher makes right in front of the other coaches near their dugout opening.  “Now that’s what I’m Talkin’ Bout!!!!” we would roar out loud enough for the opposing coaches to hear.  Almost making it appear as though we had actually spent time with Fielder WORKING on that play!!  God that would piss the other coaches off!!!  They would just look at us like “Fuck you”………

Or how about a hooking line drive towards the left field corner that our left fielder get horizontal to the ground diving for and he comes up with the ball and a mouthful of grass…and then he shows the ball to the umps to let them know it was a clean play.  “Now That’s What I’m Talkin’ About!” we would yell….more stares from the opposing coaches. 

Or how about when we run a squeeze play and our batter doesn’t get the sign and takes a swing at it…misses the pitch…the guy on third gets in a rundown and somehow SCORES!!!  “Now That’s What I’m Talkin’ Bout!!”

The crazier the play, the louder we would yell it.  It just gave fits to the other guys.  But you know, General and I were always just kind of looking to get our fair advantage against the other coaches.  And Speaking of Fielder……How about when (like a fool) I sent him home on an overthrow?  The Crespi third baseman picked it up and had Fielder thrown out by about 15 feet…yet Fielder stops, waits for the catcher to leap forward to tag him…..and then Fielder simply leaps over the catcher who is now lying face down in the dirt for the walk-off, winning run!!  “Now That’s What I’m Talkin’ About!!!!”  Of course you guys know we spent HOURS working on that play, right??? 

I really didn’t care how we got things done on the field.  As long as we did it….pretty or ugly…..there’s really only one thing to say…….”NOW THAT’S WHAT I’M TALKIN’ BOUT!!!!!!”  It always used to amuse me with these other coaches around the league who had to win pretty, and make everything look all pretty to give the impression that they had something to do with whatever success their team was having.  Me?  Winning ugly is fine.  I never tried to take myself too seriously out there.  I took the job seriously, but I didn’t take myself too seriously.  I made all kinds of mistakes.  You guys made the plays…I was just along for the ride.  Really, the more I got out of the way of our Team the better we played.  Go figure.  All I know is this:  Our players played the game harder and with more fire than anyone else in the league……and THAT is ALL I’m talkin’ bout!!!  That’s part of the reason we would bark that shit out like that.  Because you guys were out their busting your asses and running through brick walls for us and it got General and myself TOTALLY fired up!!!!!!

Winning ugly?  I have no problem with that.  As long as we won, I really didn’t care what it looked like.  And it never mattered when we lost, because you guys ALWAYS played hard.  All I know is this…if a crazy play happened, and the result was in OUR favor, there’s only ONE thing you’re gonna hear from me and General:  “Now That’s What I’m Talkin’ Bout!!!!!!”

MANHUNT

Posted: February 25, 2011 in Behind the Scenes
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I’ve done about 20 posts here in the last couple of weeks.  I need a little breather.  So I will be taking a day or two off from the keyboard to just kind of regroup.  I hope you guys are enjoying The Blog.  Subscribe to it!!  It will automatically alert you when a new post has been written.  I appreciate all of the comments you guys are making, the pictures being sent in, and the feedback we are getting.  We even had a comment a couple of days ago from someone called “JimmyMack35″……you know what’s cool about that?  I have NO idea who JimmyMack35 is!!  JimmyMack35 posted a comment in the story “Estimated Cost…$10,000.00…”   I think you guys might like my response to his question.  Keep in mind…this is an attempt from someone to kind of “get in our dugout”….so perhaps you guys might want to say something to “JimmyMack35” as well.  So if you are reading this out there “JimmyMack35” please don’t take offense to our responses…we’re kind of protective of “our dugout.”  And to the rest you folks out there reading this who have no affiliation with any of us….ROCK ON!!!  Thanks for checking in and reading all of the great stories………..

I will be posting more stats and I’m trying to get my scanner working so I can get some stories in here that were originally written by the L.A. Times, Daily News, and Foothill Leader.  I still have just about everything the papers ever wrote about us.  So in a day or so I’ll be hitting the ground running again with lots of new material. 

There is one thing some of you guys could do that would be a big help.  Help us find some of your old teammates who we are having trouble locating!!!  Here is a list of the guys we are looking for:  Wiley Jackson, Gantt, Greenberg, Fielder, Gabrielson,  Cal Frost, Ivan Moreno, Garrett Lee, Brian McBride, Damon Martin, Breckow, and Vic Ramirez.  Help….we need to find these guys…..

I actually FOUND Wiley Jackson.  I was looking in our scorebook from 1992 and all of the phone numbers for the players on our roster that season are written inside of it.  I took a stab and called his old house.  His mom picked up the phone.  Wiley just moved to New York City.  I left her my contact information to pass on to him but I haven’t heard from Wiley yet……….but we all KNOW ‘Ol Wiley will call.  So let’s go!  Anything you can do to try and track someone down will be helpful. 

Thanks to Workman and Turner for the pictures you sent in….and BullOxen for all the great comments.  And to all you sleezebags out there who are thinking about stealing all of the stories from this blog and making a movie out of it…..don’t even think about it…..BullOxen and Turner are already writing the screenplay as we speak!!!

“Nance”…………

Posted: February 23, 2011 in Behind the Scenes, BullOxen, Calf
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Her name was Nancy.  We all called her “Nance.”  She was a mother to all of us.  Nothing got by Nance.  She knew what was going on at ALL times.  Yet she never said a word.  She knew about all of the hell-raising we were doing…..but she just kind of looked the other way.  You know, the original coaching staff was General and I.  But every year, even as the coaching staff was growing, we had an invisible coach.  One extra coach who nobody knew about.  Someone who wanted to win as much as we did.  Someone who probably knew the game more than we did.  Someone who did more behind the scenes for this Team than we could ever report in this Blog.  It was Nance.  She understood that “Boys will be Boys” and I think that’s why we all loved her.  If we got too out of line she would just kind of give us that look.  And then, when we got the message she was sending us with that look….she would always smile.

Even the day after we clinched our first playoff spot….when everyone was hungover and walking around the field with open flesh wounds from “Gar-burns” all she said was “Kelly, did you boys burn yourselves with cigars last night?”  I just kind of looked at her…guilty as hell…as if to say “what can I say?”

Nobody kept a scorebook like Nance.  I first met Nancy at the second game of our Team’s history in 1990 when we were playing Burbank.  We got everything ready, had the pre-game drill, and I was holding the scorebook when the game started.  I was going to keep score.  She looked at me and said “you want me to do that for you?”  I was happy she offered.  I just was wondering what she was going to write down in the book.  Being the idiot that I was….I figured she didn’t know what she was doing.  Well…we won the game…and it was a big win.  I went to look at the book after the game and it was the most MASTERFUL scorekeeping I had ever seen.  The kind of thing that could bring a tear to your eye.  I was humbled.  And then when I got to talking with her I realized this woman knew the game better than I did.  When BullOxen told me that his mother was his hitting coach…..I never tried to give him ANY advice as a hitter.  His swing was in good hands………..Bull used to say “nobody knows my swing better than my mom.”

And she was the coolest.  Smoking cigs….talking baseball.  What could be better than that?  I’ve been looking at the books for the last couple of weeks and I now know how lucky we were to have Nance on our side.  Perfect Books.  You see….she would even write in comments about what happened in the game if there was room in the scorebook.  Like when Fielder leaped over the catcher at Crespi…Nance wrote in “somehow he scored – caught in rundown – overthrow at third – jumped over catcher.”

Or when there was a bad call…Nance wouldn’t write in “Bad Call” in the book.  She would abbreviate it.  She would abbreviate it to “BFC.”  I’m sure you readers out there know what the ‘F” means.  Of course she would write that in ONLY if the call went against us.  “T7″…..”MB6″….”MT4″…”RUN T7″……….pitch count at the bottom…..everything a manager could dream of was right there in the book.  Here I am almost 20 years later…and thanks to Nance…I can open the scorebooks and can literally watch the game all over again.  Incredible. 

BullOxen and Calf are lucky to have such a great mom.  And I’m lucky she didn’t kill me for all the hell I raised……or take my job as Manager of The Team.  And we’re all lucky she took such great care of us.  Thank you Nance for all you did FOR ALL OF US.  And FROM ALL OF US………if we never said it to you…we can all say it now….We love you!!!!!!!!!

“BOMB!!!”

Posted: February 23, 2011 in 1992, BullOxen, Games, Wiley
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It’s all coming back to me now.  “They burned their bodies” the night we clinched a playoff spot for the first time.  We had taken it down to the final days of the ’90 and ’91 seasons and were knocked out of the playoffs.  So when we clinched a spot in ’92…needless to say, it kicked off quite a celebration.  We clinched on a Friday night at our other home field Glendale High, beating Fat Bitch from Sun Valley for the second time in 10 days.  The problem was, we had a game to play Saturday morning at 10 AM against Panorama City……but that was the least of our worries………it was time to PARTY.

And PARTY we did.  As was mentioned in an earlier post by Colin James, ALOT of the players came over and we were all drinking and smoking cigars.  That’s when the “GAR-BURNS” happened.  Then the players went home…and General and I went out drinking at a local bar where we ran into a couple of moms from The Team.  Now don’t get any ideas out there you readers……it was a great time drinking kamikaze shots till the bar closed with a couple of parents from The Team.  They were as elated as we were.  I was drunk when I got to the bar..and must have done AT LEAST another 10 kamikaze shots.  OUCH!!!!  And General was hanging tough as always…matching me shot for shot!!!

I wouldn’t have woken up for the game but my phone rang about 9 AM Saturday morning.  It was General.  All he said was “gonna be late…still drunk”………..

Here it was SEVEN hours later and we were still totally ripped!!!  He showed up about 9:30 AM.  I loaded the gear in the back of his truck, and got in.  General was NOT looking good.  General drove about 10 feet, stopped the car, opened his door…leaned his head out of the truck and puked!!!  Somehow we made it to the game.  I think this was the first time the players were at a game before the coaches. 

I got to the game and heard that one of the moms had brought some doughnuts.  Those were the best doughnuts I have ever eaten in my life!  We all needed something to get us going and those doughnuts did the trick.  Somehow, with the hangovers, the cigar burns and everything else…we were ready to go.  Wiley Jackson was on the mound.

You never would have thought we were up partying all night when we rolled a four in the first inning….picking right up where we left off the night before.  I was thinking “these guys are unstoppable…they’re on a mission!!”  ‘Ol Wiley shut ’em down, scattering six hits and striking out seven in a 11-1 victory.  But the REAL STORY was what happened in the 6th inning.

BullOxen came up in the 6th with one out.  He took the first pitch for a ball.  The next pitch he fouled off.  Then he looked down to me for a sign.  I gave no sign…All I did was mouth the word to him “BOMB.”  He looked back at me.  I did it again.  I mouthed the word “BOMB.”  He looked at me as if to say “okay, no problem”, and got back in the box and waited for the pitch.  And sure enough, the NEXT FRICKIN’ PITCH he BOMBED it over the left field fence and into the netting that surrounds the bullpen for a HOMERUN.  He smiled at me as he rounded first.  That is the ONLY TIME I ever gave someone “The Homerun Sign” and it was also the last.  Bull hit six homers in his three-year career with us but this one was special.

Later I said to him…”Shit, if I knew it was THAT easy, I can think of about 50 other times the last three years I should have asked you to do that!!”  He just smiled.

Great moment.  Great Team.  Great Kid…………TRUE STORY…………..

Estimated Cost……..$10,000.00

Posted: February 22, 2011 in Behind the Scenes
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Yeah, I was thinking about it today.  How much money is this reunion gonna cost us (or somebody else)???  I don’t really even need to itemize anything.  If I say its gonna be ten grand, then it’s gonna be ten grand!!  And I figure the cost of this reunion will be about 10 grand.  Now, I’m not saying this to scare anyone away….easy, now.  Remember…we’re VERDUGO…so it won’t cost US ANYTHING!!!  And really, why should guys like Turner, Hack, Wiley (who is now in New York City), or anyone else outside the state have to pay airfare?  Being the Rockstars we are……..I’m sorry, but there’s just gonna have to be some fans out there reading this blog to step up!!  I mean, why should the coaching staff have to drive themselves to the event when a few of our fans out there can get us a fleet of limos for the evening (or the weekend)?  Why should we be sitting around eating pasta when some of the fans of this blog who don’t even know us ought to be stepping up to hook us up with a little Filet Mignon???  I mean, why the hell should these young men who General and I personally molded into God-fearing, upstanding, tax paying Americans have anything less than the finest?  Trust me….I’m the first guy to call someone out if they bring a “sense of entitlement” to the table….but let me tell you fans of this blog something and you better believe what I tell you…..these kids deserve it!!  Yeah…you folks out there who don’t even know us who are reading this blog and giggling to yourselves when you leave this site……Did you think all of this shit was for FREE???  As Spiro used to say……..”No, no..”

Look, never in my wildest dreams did I think that I’d write a few stories on a blog and the whole Team would become the darlings of America!!!   I mean, I can’t even go get a pack of smokes at the store now without signing a few autographs….and I’m sure these poor kids of ours are going through the same type of shit with the paparazzi.  So when I say it’s gonna cost you fans of ours 10 grand I’m not kidding!!  (Actually, 20 grand would be better).  And I’m here to say right now that Verdugo will hold the reunion all right…and it will be funded by O.P. Money…you know what O.P. Money is?  OTHER PEOPLES MONEY!!  That’s right!!!  So step it up!!  We promise to send you an autographed picture or something for your minimum donation of $1000.00.  And we might even write you a thank you note……or put your picture on this blog!!!……..but then again, we’re Verdugo…….and after we’ve taken your money….you’ll probably NEVER hear from us again!!!

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