verdugo288

Time for a little double-header action against a team called “Valley ET.”  The “ET” stood for Encino-Tarzana.  They were having a rough year.  The kind of year everyone had predicted US to have.  But Verdugo always “beats the spread”…in Vegas, or anywhere else for that matter.  And if there WAS a line in Vegas for this game…it was nice to be FINALLY playing a couple of games where we were actually FAVORED to win.

By this time of the year, the Team and I had an interesting relationship going on.  It was an “open door” policy…everyone could kind of speak their mind.  Guys knew I didn’t take myself TOO seriously, they knew all I cared about was kicking as much ass as we could.  So it worked.  I was about 12-14 years older than the players.  Not old enough to be looked at like a parent…too old to be looked at like an older brother.  I don’t really know what I was.  But it must have been fun for onlookers to watch us “go back and forth” on certain things.  We’d argue, rag on each other…it was all good. 

The cool thing was this…I can’t even tell you how many people came up to me that season and told me how hard you guys played.  And that’s about ALL I cared about.  People telling me I had the “Team from Hell”….or “it’s like a mix of the WWF and Baseball”…..one guy told me “no brick wall is thick enough for those guys to run through.”  Yeah, that was cool.  It was parents, coaches, umpires, everybody.  They always had something to say about Verdugo Hills.  Sometimes the things they said weren’t real nice, either.  But make no mistake about this….we had carved out quite a name for ourselves that first season.

McBride started the first game of the twin bill.  All I told him before the game was “just pitch the whole game!”

Hey, what else could I say?  McBride would always battle for us….so I started pushing the envelope with him as much as I could.  There’s an old saying…”when you get a good horse, YOU RIDE IT.”  I’d make sure there were plenty of people listening when I’d say to him “anything short of a complete-game-victory is unacceptable.”

McBride just laughed.  He knew I was toying with him. But that’s exactly what he did in the opening game. We won 5-3.

We made the most of four hits in the win.  Hank singled to lead off the third inning.  Sammy singled him to third and ‘Ol Hank scored on Vic’s sacrifice fly to give us a 1-0 lead.   

In the fifth, Hank led off again with a base-hit and stole second.  He moved to third on a wild-pitch and Sammy squeezed him in.  One of their infielders threw the ball into the right field corner on Sammy’s bunt and he ended up at third on the play.  Vic and Tex drew walks………and BullOxen came up and broke the game open with a three RBI double. 5-0 just like that.

McBride threw a great game…walking three and striking out three.  They mounted a little threat in the bottom of the sixth, but Vic made a diving catch in center and back-picked to first base to double-off a runner who had wandered too far towards second.  And of course…Hank was rubbing it in all the way!  We were back on track.

The second game we had BIG BRECK.  Big Breck had gotten out of some kind of Basketball commitment he had and got the start.  Big Breck’s numbers?  Five Innings…three hits…three walks…a tight little shutout.  We win 11-0.  Mercy Rule.  AHHH Big Breck!!!  Big Breck was locked in with Basketball the rest of the season so it was his last appearance for us that season.  But it gave Hank and Bull some rest.

I gotta say this.  HANK had really caught fire at the plate.  He was on a 7-12 tear over the last four games.  Hank hit .339 in the summer of 1990.  Yeah, some of those were chinkers, some were dunkers….some were “routine” ground balls that ended up being base hits when one of the middle infielders would vacate when we’d hit and run….but .339 is .339.  Who would have thought ‘Ol Hank with that sweepin’ swing of his would hit .339?  Great job HANK!

Hank was three for three in the second game, Rogers doubled in two runs, and we had base hits by Tex, Bull, Frost, and Turner.

Shit…Hank was hitting the ball so well I hit him in the three hole…….BOTH GAMES! 

Even better…we were back over .500 at 10-9.  Most importantly, we got through both games and didn’t have to pitch Hank or Bull.  Now it was time for another little trip to North Hollywood High.  The “Traveling Salesmen” were back on a roll….riding high….having fun….and closing deals!!!