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We at Verdugo are always on the hunt for former players.  Just a couple of days ago CHILI was at his 20th H.S. Reunion and he ran into yet another Verdugo All-Time Great….Jason Chandler.  We tried to get Chandler at the Verdugo Reunion, but he now lives in Arizona and with BOTH Reunions just a week apart it would have been TWO very long trips for Chandler. 

Still, we have to question just WHY Chandler would select going to the Burbank High School Reunion over a Verdugo Reunion (I’m just sayin’)…….

I think CHILI kind of hit ‘Ol Chandler up and said “Where the Hell were YOU at the Verdugo Reunion?”

Chandler was quoted as saying he was indeed “very sorry” for missing the Verdugo Reunion. 

Chandler, like all former Verdugo Alumni now has NO CHOICE but to be at the NEXT Verdugo Reunion.

Yes-sir-ree….THERE WILL BE ANOTHER VERDUGO REUNION.  And the theme for the next Reunion will be called “No excuses THIS TIME!!!!”

So take a look here at a couple of GREAT pitchers for Verdugo.  I say that if they didn’t get pulled from the Roster in ’90….we’re IN the Playoffs that season!!!!

A frustrated Police Chief held a Press Conference early Sunday morning and informed the public of the impossible:  No former Verdugo Players or Coaches were arrested before, during, or after The Reunion BASH which took place Saturday night July the 9th. 

“It is with great regret we would like to hereby inform our concerned community that no arrests were made” stated Police Chief Jody Redden.

“What is unfortunate is that we not only knew where they would be, but the fact that they were all in the same building…..that’s what is so frustrating” he said.

“We had all of our squad cars lining the streets” he said.  “We were ready.”

“We even had several members of the Oakland Police Department who drove all the way down here to participate in the big bust.  I’m humiliated that I wasted their time like this” Redden said.

But apparently the “wiley veterans”  from Verdugo escaped through a tunnel that was later discovered by the authorities.

“As it turned out” Redden said, ” The cars parked out on the street that we thought belonged to them didn’t belong to any of them at all.”

Reeden was hoping for a huge bust that night.  He has spent his life as a volunteer baseball coach and has suffered many losses at the hands of Verdugo.  Even though he admits the losses were “many years ago,”  Redden still acknowledges that the defeats still “haunt” him.

“This was our opportunity to really bring home a victory to the community” Reeden said.  “And once again, I have failed.”

“I hate to say it..but they beat me again.  It was like losing a double-header to them.  First, they hold this Big Reunion, then they escape.”

Before the Press Conference ended, a small Cessna airplane flew overhead with an advertisement flapping in the back of it for all the world to see.  All it said was “We Still Own You Jody!!!!”

Redden was later admitted to a psychiatric ward at a local hospital and is still under 24/7 observation.

Yes, it’s TRUE!!!  You, too, can see the Verdugo Hills REUNION BASH Tonight!!!!

The KINGS of American Legion Baseball shall gather at an undisclosed location in just a few hours!!! 

We’d tell you where it’s going to be…but we’d like to be able and get inside and see one another after all of these years!!!

If you are too tired to attend one of the many ONGOING ticker-tape-parades being held in our honor WORLDWIDE…..well, then pull up a chair and watch us LIVE on the WEB!!!!

Ahhhh!!!! Verdugo!!!!!

Use this URL to see THE BASH!!! http://www.ustream.tv/channel/the-kings-of-american-legion-baseball or simply copy and paste it to your browser!!!

Word finally got out yesterday in downtown Los Angeles that The KINGS of American Legion Baseball were gathering for a Reunion Bash!!!

We tried to keep it quiet…but somebody leaked it.  I can’t really hold anyone responsible.  They would have all found out anyways!!!!

Look at the “sea of humanity” celebrating our BASH!!!!

The announcement of our BASH kicked off a series of ticker-tape parades all around the WORLD.  This photograph was taken in one of the major cities somewhere here in the United States yesterday….

‘Ol Gee and HANK were actually riding in a Firetruck similar to the ones in this picture…. but HANK and I were at the ticker-tape-parade that went on in Downtown Los Angeles.   Special thanks to all of the people who attended the Los Angeles Parade yesterday for respecting our wishes of  “no cameras allowed.”    Sorry we couldn’t get ALL of you out for this Parade!!!!  But we didn’t want to start a RIOT!!!!

These were the guys from the 1992 Team.  The first year we broke-through and reached the playoffs.  But before I list the names….Here is What they DID:

1.)  Had the second-best Regular Season won-loss record in the 20th District for 1992 at 20-3.

2.)  Hit .342 as a TEAM.

3.)  Hit 15 Home Runs.  This Team hit more Home Runs than the 90, 91, and 93 Teams combined.

4.)  Came within two outs of advancing OUT of the 20th District Playoffs and INTO the Area 6 Playoffs.  The Team who ultimately won the World Series in 1992 was AT the Area 6 Playoff Tournament.  They Beat Notre Dame 7-6.  We BEAT Notre Dame two out of three in 1992, including a 9-8 come-from-behind Playoff victory.  I think it’s safe to say we could have played toe-to-toe with that Team….possibly even BEATING them.  Notre Dame was kind of like a gnat to us that year, but we always swatted them away….

5.)  Cracked out 235 hits as a Team for the Season.  The only Team we had who was even close to that was the 1990 Team, with 191 Hits for the season.

6.)  Had a Team ERA of 2.41.

7.)  Was without a doubt….THE MOST FEARED TEAM in the 20th District. 

These guys put together one of the most incredible efforts I have ever seen in my life!!!!  I will be going through “what they did” game-by-game over the next month or so.  It’s obvious I won’t be able to chronicle it all before The Bash.  So we need to acknowledge “what they did”….front and center….right NOW.

Here They Are Alphabetically:

Dan Bir – Yves Brancheau – Josh Canale – Kasey Canale – Brendan Cowsill – Lance Evans – Dave Fielder – John Gabrielson – Kirk Hagge – Jon Jackson – Yvan Moreno – Robb Turner – VO – John Workman.

14 Guys.  Probably the Greatest Summer in our four-year history.  There was more of the same in ’93 (18-2), but there was a bitter ending to it all.  Funny, though….18 years later The League admitted to making a mistake about a ruling AGAINST our Team in 1993.  I will talk about that as well down the road.  In the end….Verdugo ALWAYS WINS!!!!  Even if it’s 18 years later!!!!

So before we start writing about each game of the ’92 season….I wanted all of you readers out there to know “WHAT THEY DID.” 

But none of this would have happened without the warriors of ’90 and ’91.  Make no mistake about it.  Every game, every player, every story told about the first two years of our Team’s existence had a hand in this.  And it made the results of the ’92 season that much sweeter.  This was something we all could enjoy.  Everyone who ever played for us could enjoy this.  The ’92 Team avenged a LOT of losses we had the first two years. 

As far as I’m concerned….the Story of the ’92 Team is a story about the most powerful force there is in this world.  The Power of the human spirit.  The story of fourteen guys on the same page.  The story of what WILL happen if you EVER underestimate us at VERDUGO!!!! 

Maybe it was timing.  Maybe it was all of the planets aligning.  But if that was true….it wouldn’t have happened AGAIN like it did in ’93.  No, there was something special going on here.  And we ALL had created it. 

And I want to thank the members of this Team for allowing me to go on that ride with them….

It was the greatest ride of my life!!!!

I still shake my head and smile as I think about “what they did” all of these years later!!!!!

There were plenty of people who thought I had lost my mind when I trimmed the Roster from 18 down to 14.  And speaking of the number 14, there were even MORE people who thought I was out of my mind putting a 14-year-old on our Roster.  Still others thought I had lost my mind when I decided to leadoff Workman.  But ‘Ol Gee showed all of the naysayers that he still had a few tricks up his sleeve.  And you know what was so great about my little scheme I like to call “1992”?  That I was RIGHT!!!!

Anyone who knows anything about Verdugo knows NANCE.  I figured it out.  There were six witnesses to every game Verdugo ever played.  Gee, General, Hank, Weapon, BullOxen and NANCE.  That’s right.  NANCE.  She saw it all.  She loved all of us.  She was a BIG PART of Verdugo’s History.

I met with her shortly before the season started.  I think I was picking up a check from her for Bull for the season. 

For two years now, she had always told me how she was sorry that because of their age difference….Josh and Kasey would never get to play for the same Team.  Josh was now 18 and Kasey was only 14.

I told her that day ” We need one more guy on the Roster.”

She didn’t know what I was thinking.

“Who are you gonna get?” she asked.

“Well, I was going to ask you who you thought might be a good fit.”

She threw a few names out there.  So did I.  We talked about potential guys for a few minutes.

Finally I said “No, those guys aren’t anywhere CLOSE to who I’m thinking about.”

“Well WHO do you want to put on the Team?” she asked.

I just looked at her and smiled.

“You’re kidding me” she said.

I just kept smiling.

“No!….Kelly are you serious?”

I just kept smiling and nodding my head “yes”…….

She knew EXACTLY who I was talking about.

“Kasey?”

I just kept smiling and nodding my head “yes.”

“He’s gonna play for us, too.  You watch.  He’s ready for this”  I told her.

We stood there for a few seconds smiling at each other.  Just four eyes looking at each other.  Two eyes from Nance, and two eyes from Gee.

And none of those eyes were dry….

I liked what I was seeing with the way this Roster for ’92 was coming together.  Everyone was comfortable and got along with one another.  We had three damn good pitchers in BullOxen, HACK, and Evans.  Plus “B” was there.  We knew “B” could pitch, but he never threw an inning for us in ’91.  Not that he didn’t want to….it was just that we had BullOxen, Chili, Big Breck, and Hack in ’91.  “B” was cool with whatever.  He always had a great attitude.  He would be there to help us out any way he could.  We also had Wiley.

We were headed west in our Train.  Headed towards CV from St. Francis.  I intentionally took that Train way above Foothill Boulevard to make our final descent upon CV.  I wanted to make sure we came in from the NORTH….heading SOUTH….as in SOUTHPAWS!!!!  That’s right!!!!  Or should I say “That’s LEFT!!!!”   Yes-sir-ree  “Go south, Young Man”…..

That’s what we needed.  And there were a couple of them growing on that CV Baseball Tree down the street ripe for the pickin’. 

Jon Gabrielson was the first.  He came to CV for his senior year after playing at a Private School his first three years of High School.  He had a great attitude.  He was ready to be one of our role-players.  He was going to get his shots at playing, but he was going to have to be patient.  I communicated this to him and I could tell that all he really wanted to do was play ball and be a part of it.  He had a great attitude.  And….he was a lefty. 

Little did we know what a great season “Gabe” was going to have for us.  He was a great fit.  NO EGO.  He wore the uniform proudly.

The last guy was a guy I had coached on my JV Team at CV in 1991.  He was a lefty, too.  It was kind of an adventure every time he went to the mound because he was so damn small.  Sometimes he got rocked HARD.  He rotted away on the Varsity Team at the High School in ’92 sitting on the bench, only pitching in relief.  He was pissed about it, too.  I felt we at Verdugo should give him a shot.  I felt he was ready to START games at this level.  The High School had not given him the chance to do this at this point.  But I did.  I was the first.  I felt we could spot-start him here and there and try to find some opportunities for him to throw and be successful for us.  I don’t think I have seen anyone approach the game quite as seriously as he did.  This sometimes worked in his favor, sometimes it worked against him. 

Yeah, he wasn’t really one of us.  But on the field, he WAS.  He expressed his love for the game differently than the rest of us.  But no doubt….he loved it like the rest of us.  Verdugo was all about the love of the game.   And if you love the game of Baseball, you pretty much got a seat on The Verdugo Train.  And as it turned out….he ultimately became one of us.

What was his name?  VO.  Yep, that was his name.  VO.

No one worked harder at his craft than VO.  He deserved the chance.  Some people say I was crazy to put him in the rotation….but he deserved the chance. 

He expressed his love for the game in a different way than the rest of us.  I was a hard-drinkin, hell-raising guy.  So were a lot of players and coaches for The Team.  We had that EDGE to us.   It was going to be a different environment for him….but I figured the dominant alpha males we had on the Verdugo squad might be able to pull him through the rough spots and teach him how to play with no fear.  Ultimately, he learned how to do that.

When I had him on my JV Team I used to say to the players “Hey!…you guys need to QUIT partying all night and staying out and raising hell!”  Then I would say “Except YOU VO…. you need to START partying all night and going out and raising hell!!!!”

It was kind of true.  He was small, but he had all of the tools to be successful.  He just needed that Verdugo EDGE.  As to whether or not we gave him that EDGE….that is something you’d have to ask him.  But I’ll bet you he’d tell you that yes indeed, Verdugo provided him with that EDGE.  Or, at the very least….we gave him his first exposure to that EDGE.

The older guys on the ballclub talked him through the nail-biters we played in.  Guys gave it up for him defensively.  Myself and a lot of the guys were very HARD on him.  But he kept showing up at the ballpark and he worked his ass off.  And he made it….all the way to the Major Leagues.  I’ll say that again….HE MADE IT, ALL THE WAY TO THE MAJOR LEAGUES.  For six seasons!!!!  And I’ll bet you he would tell anyone that he took a piece of Verdugo with him all the way to “The Show.”

So we had the thirteen guys.  It looked like the Roster was finally complete.  That Train was loaded not only with players and coaches….but with a LOT of talent.  A perfect blend of gritty veterans, young and talented rookies, and a few role players.

But wait a minute!  I got to thinking about the number thirteen.  Most of you guys know how superstitious I am.  We couldn’t go with thirteen!!  I needed an insurance guy.  Kind of a “just-in-Kase” guy.  Yeah, here at Verdugo we spell the word “case” with a “K.”  I thought about it….thought about it….and when I was done thinking about it I thought about it some more.  I figured out what I needed to do.   I needed to talk to NANCE!!!!

Our Big Train rolled into St. Francis looking to close a couple of more deals.  Well, the deal(s) had already been closed.  Kirk Hagge and Dan Bir boarded the Verdugo Train.  No questions asked.  They already knew what the rules were thanks to Bull.  Bull had already spelled it out to them.  And when BullOxen spells something out….well, it’s kind of like “Rocko” or “Vito” from THE MOB spelling it out.  And we didn’t have to break any kneecaps to get Bir and Haggs on board.

They were totally into it!  And GREAT players who were still young.  Both would have three years of eligibility with our Program.  So once again….our future looked bright.  I had watched both of them play a couple of games for St. Francis that spring and I liked what I saw. 

Bir was a pretty big kid to begin with and his hands and feet were even bigger.  He was going to be huge someday!

Hagge was already like 6-4.  And only sixteen!  He could switch-hit.  He could play anywhere on the field for you. 

They both had grown up in the La Crescenta area and knew all of the guys on the Team.  The chemistry with the other guys was already there.  It was wonderful bringing them onto our Train.  It was a perfect fit.

I had decided that thirteen was going to be the magic number for our Roster.  As of now….we had TEN.  The final stop on my recruiting trip for ’92 was going to be CV.  I knew pretty much every kid at CV.  

I had coached every guy on their Team over the last couple of years.  There was plenty of talent there.  But I wasn’t looking for talent alone.  It was all about attitude.  And having that proverbial chip on the shoulder.  I was going to have to REALLY do some thinking about this one.  One of them was a no-brainer:  Fielder.  He had the attitude and the chip on the shoulder.  His seat was already reserved.  But I still had a couple of seats left on the train.  And rumors were flying around that about TEN guys wanted in. 

I decided to actually go with two guys who didn’t even realize that they were in the running for those last couple of seats.  And it turned out to be one of the best decisions I ever made.

As it turns out, there was yet ANOTHER guy who wanted to come join forces with VERDUGO from Glendale High.  Wiley Jackson.  And the Glendale coaching staff signed him over as well.  Nice. 

I had seen ‘Ol Wiley when I had my JV Team in ’91.  We took two out of three from Glendale that season.  In the one loss….guess who beat us?  Yeah….Wiley!

I didn’t like Wiley when he beat us that day….but I respected his will-to-win.  He was fiesty and didn’t take any shit from anyone.  I also noticed he could fire off a few scud-missle-type RAGS when he wasn’t on the field.  He could fill-in here and there in the outfield, and he had NO EGO.  He was okay with whatever playing time he got or didn’t get.  After talking with him it was obvious….he just wanted to contribute wherever he could and be a part of what we had going on.  And I didn’t for a second feel like he was telling me whatever I wanted to hear.  I knew he was going to be there for us….and give it his all.

As it turned out….Wiley was instrumental in shaping the attitude of our ballclub for the next two years.  We all really loved having ‘Ol Wiley in a Verdugo uniform.  His word was good.  He was loyal.  He pitched some clutch games for us.  Check out my earlier post “The ‘Wiley Jackson’s’ Tough Knuckler.”

He embraced the role of being “Wiley.”  He even drew a PERFECT cartoon character of Wile E. Coyote under the bill of his cap.  It kind of symbolized who he was with us in ’92 and ’93.  He was a GREAT acquisition. 

Evans and Wiley were historic players for Verdugo.  They became the first players in the history of Glendale Legion who said to the Glendale coaching staff “Nope….I’m playing for Verdugo.”

We still had some open seats for ’92.  And off on the horizon I could see we were headed towards a High School called St. Francis.  I had a few questions to ask a couple of ballplayers there we had been watching about COMMITMENT.  As it turned out, we never even had to ask.  They were already waiting for us at the Train Station with their bags packed!!!!