verdugo288

Well……some things NEVER change.  As Weapon said “the pain inflicted upon him by Verdugo is still too fresh…………20 years later!!”

Back in December I sent an email (actually THREE) to our old buddy Jody from Notre Dame.  Just trying to extend a little Verdugo Good-Will (like always).  I was thinking maybe we could get some of the players together from the Verdugo 90-93 Rosters and challenge ‘Ol Jody to a softball game against the players from his 90-93 rosters.  So I sent him the challenge, a beautiful GROUP Photo of the undisputed, outright KINGS of American Legion Baseball for All-Time taken at the Verdugo Reunion Bash, Links to our beautiful Blog here, and gave him until January 10th, 2012 to respond.  Jody was instructed that failure to respond would result in a Verdugo victory.  So what does he do?   NOTHING!!

‘Ol Jody’s silence on the matter speaks very LOUDLY about the underlying truth.  HE STILL WANTS NO PART OF VERDUGO!!!!

Ahhhh!!!! Verdugo!!!!  Verdugo continues to STRIKE FEAR 20 years later!!!!

He STILL wants no part of Verdugo!!!!

There isn’t really anything you can call us here at Verdugo that would surprise us.  It’s a common line coming from a former Verdugo player or coach to be quoted as saying “I’ve been called worse!”  We didn’t care what anybody called us.  And if we did we’d never acknowledge.  As long as you never called us COLLECT….we were pretty much cool with it.

The way we saw it was like this….it was a badge of honor.  With all the labels and names our opponents gave us we must have been doing something right.

This is the kind of shit that happens when you STRIKE the kind of fear into an opponent that Verdugo did.

But the key to Verdugo was all of the INTERNAL name-calling.  It’s just how we roll at Verdugo.  Thank God there were games to be played so we could direct our trash-talking skills at someone other than OURSELVES.  You teams around the League think we were rough on you?  Jeez, give me a break. 

Plus, it was a badge of honor to be ragged on by our own guys.  It really meant they liked you.   At least it meant that INTERNALLY.  If it was directed at someone wearing a non-Verdugo uniform….well, that’s a different story.  Some of the greatest rags we had were directed at each other.  Guys always trying to outdo one another in the art of war (or “the art of one-upsmanship” as I like to call it).  I would have paid admission to hear the shit our guys said to each other during our pre-game ritual “Flip.”  It wasn’t pretty my friends.  But it was….a bunch of guys who had known each other forever ragging on each other because they actually LIKED each other.

It’s just how we roll at Verdugo.  Personally, I’m from Texas.  I was born in Dallas.  When a Texan calls you a “son-of-a-bitch”….that means he really likes you!  Being called a “Bastard” is even better.  I still have friends from Texas to this very day who say “How you doing you mother-fucker?” every time they hear my voice on the other end of the phone.  I think even “Seinfeld” had an episode that was about the very thing I’m talkin’ ’bout here.

Like today for instance.  I got a text message from Dan Bir.  I had left a voicemail with Bir-Dawg the night before the airing of the Verdugo Highlight Tape.  Amazingly….I didn’t hear back from him.  I didn’t feel “shunned” or anything like that.  Bir-Dawg will call when he can, that much I knew.  Look at how Bir-Dawg expressed his LOVE for Verdugo on this text message he sent me today!

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                 “GHEEEE, you fucker, just got back into civilization and got your message!!  Fuck I can’t wait to see you pricks!”

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Now that’s what I call LOVE!!!!

It’s the only way we at Verdugo know how to express it.  It’s just….how we roll at Verdugo.  We truly are a family.  We talk to each other like that because we REMEMBER the way we gave it up on the field for each other.  There was no Commander-in-Chief at Verdugo.  As far as I was concerned, we were all standing in the same foxhole!!  EVERYTHING was like a god damn WAR to us!  And when we weren’t fighting with the opposition, we were fighting amongst ourselves.  But the fighting we did amongst ourselves was done in a humorous way….because we either LIKED one another, or because we were willing to PUT UP with one another.

But make no mistake about this:  As soon as the Umpire said “Play Ball” we knew exactly who to direct our rage at.  All the internal bickering came to a screeching halt (at least until we got about halfway to the parking lot after we won again).  And no one….I repeat….NO ONE could get inside the heads of an opponent the way Verdugo could.  EVER.

Yes-sir-ree….Fuckers, Sons-of-Bitches, Bastards, and Pricks.  That’s what we WERE, that’s what we ARE, and that’s what we will ALWAYS BE here at VERDUGO!!!!

Thanks Bir Dawg for the love today….you god-damn son-of-a-bitch!!!!  I can’t wait to see you either!!!!

Ahhhh Verdugo!!!!

As we get ready to write about the ’92 season, we need to let the Verdugo fans know something about our old nemesis.  He coached the Notre Dame Team.  Jody.

Jody and I first met in June of 1990 when we went out to their field and left with the score 3-3.  His Team was a perennial powerhouse in Legion.  They had a great Team and Jody was a great coach.  We were an expansion Team that wanted to prove we belonged in the 20th District.  We had a rule at Verdugo:  We back down to no one.

That game was called on account of darkness with the score tied at three.  The outcome of that game wouldn’t be decided for about three weeks.  We were scheduled to play them again and we would play the first game out until somebody won, and then play the second game….time and sunlight permitting.

During our first meeting, we had Brian McBride pitching in relief.  We didn’t know what was going on until McBride exploded.  McBride was one of the nicest kids we ever had.  He was walking off the mound after shutting them down and he started screaming at Jody.  Throwing equipment, gloves, kicking bats.  He was telling Jody to STFU.  After a few minutes we found out from McBride that Jody was talking to him as he walked off the mound towards our dugout and as Jody was jogging towards his dugout on the first base side.  Jody was trying to get into my pitcher’s head.  It didn’t work.  McBride FIRED right back at him.  Even the home plate umpire sided with McBride.

We couldn’t believe it.  And we had a few weeks to think about it before we met with their team again at their field.  By the time we played them again, we hated their team.  We shocked them in the first game 5-3 in one of the gutsiest wins I’ve ever seen.  Cal Frost roped a clutch double to finish ’em off.  We had one hell of a celebration after that win.  They kicked our asses in the second game but make no mistake about it….a rivalry was born.

We didn’t see their Team again until the ’92 season.  But we always remembered Jody.  He wanted to beat us, and we wanted to beat him.  It was an awesome rivalry.  And I’m here to tell you right now that while we were on the field against his Teams we never backed down.  We saw them twice in ’92 and twice in ’93.  And I’m here to tell you these were two great Teams slugging it out against one another, led by coaches who were light years away from one another philosophically about how a Team should be run.  Two coaches who were polar-opposites, but had the same result:  Dominant Teams.

Jody was Tom Landry or John Wooden.  I was John Madden or Buddy Ryan.  Jody’s Teams were on a steady diet of protein and weighlifting.  The only curls Verdugo did were 12-ouncers! 

I’m looking forward to writing about the great games that these two teams played against one another.  I really believe that it was one of the greatest rivalries of all-time.

We both took verbal blasts.  I remember in 1990 hearing shit like “Hey it’s Ronald McDonald!”…or “Danny Bonaduce!”….or “Hey Bozo!” when I would go into the third base coaching box.  And we got in our verbal shots on Jody.  There are NO victims here.  There is a difference in HOW Jody and I handled the verbal darts.  I can say effectively that throughout my 10 year coaching career and ALL of my playing career I NEVER once acknowledged ANYTHING that was said to me.  When you are on a baseball field and sometimes OFF it, there will be plenty of things said about you.  Jody and I were public figures, and even took shots from the press from time-to-time. 

That is why all the rags I TOOK as a player and coach always ended a short time after they began.  I ignored them.  Yeah, I heard them….and some players, coaches, and fans got in some great zingers on me.  But I NEVER acknowledged.  That’s why it always stopped.  We’re talking BASEBALL here.  If you’re gonna give out some rags, then you gotta be able to take ’em like a man.

But let this be known.  I think Jody was a great coach.  He was dedicated, his teams were always prepared, and Jody loved the game.  It was our polar-opposite style of coaching that was the void between us.  We never got to sit down and enjoy one another or the game.  Perhaps the rivalry itself prevented that from ever happening.  It is what it is.

But Jody….if you are out there reading this, I thought you did an awesome job with your Team(s).  I like to think I did, too.  In our own ways we got as much as we could out of what we had.  Jody, you are a good man.  I DO respect you.  I appreciate the battles you gave us and the chess matches we had.  Not too many Teams put up a fight against Verdugo the way your Teams did.  And we never backed down to you.  It was like two heavyweight boxers slugging it out in the ring.  Awesome.

Let’s put the BS aside Jody and embrace our rivalry for what it was.  Maybe one day we can sit down and remember it all.  You can’t fault us here at Verdugo for never backing down to you.  We would have disrespected the game if we did back down.  Verdugo never backs down, that was our rule.  It was this rule that we had (NEVER backing down) that carried us to our final destination:  The outright, undisputed KINGS of American Legion Baseball of All-Time. 

Win or lose, I always saw from Jody the same thing:  The FEAR in his eyes when he played Verdugo.  Playing against Verdugo was not a pleasant experience for him.

We built our program around the idea of defeating Jody.  It’s pretty much all we talked about during the off-season.  Getting the right horses in place and creating the right environment to beat him down.   We always looked forward to playing Jody.  The way I felt was if you want to BE the best, you have to PLAY against best and ultimately BEAT the best.  And VERDUGO dethroned him….

Even when Jody beat us he left the field with the FEAR OF GOD in his eyes.  I LIVED to see that.

By the time we were done in ’93….Verdugo was the MOST FEARED TEAM in 20th District play.

Jody, I think you have had an incredible coaching career and that you have given generously to the kids that you helped mold throughout the years.  I’m giving you credit here Jody.  We’ve talked a lot of trash about one another through the years.  It’s all good from my end.  The way I see it….The Baseball Gods wouldn’t have wanted it any other way!

Jody was a great coach, a great man, and had a great program.  I mean that.  We did things differently, yes.  But The Verdugo way worked, too.  Two polar-opposites.  Same result: Dominant Teams.  I’m looking forward to writing about our battles with Jody in the ’92 season.  Thanks Jody for the great battles!  I really do mean it….

Here’s a great shot of our catcher “Thunder” (Dave Fielder) getting the full-on effect of the Verdugo Webcast on Monday…..from his home office on his Laptop, Desktop, and iPad…..

Ahhhh!!!! Thunder!!!!

Once again they’ve done it!  It was just Friday night that we located the ’92 Verdugo Highlight tape and look at all that has happened since.  On short notice, we gathered five former players/coaches from that Team and organized and pulled off quite a feat…….a viewing of this Holy artifact LIVE on the WEB. 

At the height of our Webcast today, over 29,000 people were tuned-in and watching the undisputed, outright KINGS of American Legion Baseball (of All-Time) punish any opponent who dared get in our way.  We can talk about it all day….but a .342 TEAM batting average?  That Team was just downright SICK.  Now all of the fans have SEEN our trail of carnage firsthand, and we can’t thank all of you enough for tuning-in.

It was also fun getting around the microphone and saying a few words to all of our great fans out there!   There was quite a celebrity list who were watching/listening to us today.  Included were Jay Leno, Kevin Costner (hey Kevin…don’t get any ideas about writing a movie about all of this we already ARE), The Rock, Lady Gaga, former Congressman Anthony Weiner, and (believe it or not) musician Chris Brown.  Brown apparently blew off some anger management classes he was scheduled to attend but was quoted as saying “sorry, but Verdugo comes first!”   Wow.  Pretty humbling, indeed.  Once again, we’ve done it!

We never really knew the effect we had on our fans.  Today really brought it home!  Who would have thought that here it is 20 years later and we’re basking in more glory now than we actually did at the time back in ’92 when we were schooling the rest of the 20th District!!!!

Yes-sir-ree, Verdugo has done it again!  I guess you could say “we’re humble, and PROUD of it!!!!”

Special thanks to all of the folks who sent us text messages, emails, well-wishes, etc…and those who stood outside for hours in hope of getting autographs.  To those who didn’t get autographs, we apologize.  Our hands were getting sore from all of the writing.  Almost as sore as my left arm was from wind-milling all of those runners in from the third base coaching box!  Let me tell you….that takes a toll on the rotator cuff!

We hope you all enjoyed the first Verdugo telecast LIVE from the Web. 

Robb Turner is a movie producer and Director now and is working on a script for what we are calling right now “The Verdugo Movie.”  It has no title yet, but Robb should have the second draft of his screenplay ready by summertime.

And speaking of summertime….all of the guys at the mini-bash today were talking about our NEXT Reunion.  Should be in the summer of 2012!

And on a final note, we’d like to welcome back someone to the Verdugo family.  I finally spoke with him today.  It’s all good.  His name is Vo.  Otherwise known as Jim Parque.  Jim and I chatted about an hour before the Webcast and it’s all good!  It was good to hear his voice.  Jim played for a lot of Teams in his career, but he pretty much admitted today that the only one that was worth a damn was VERDUGO.  Why is it ALL of our guys end up saying that?

Happy New Year to all …..from the undisputed, outright KINGS of American Legion Baseball for All-Time….VERDUGO!!!!

Yes indeed.  The official Verdugo Video highlight tape will be broadcast LIVE on the internet tomorrow.

We have sent out invites to former ’92 alumni.  Many are scattered all over the US so we will broadcast it LIVE on U-Stream as well for those of you who are not local.  The private screening will be held at an undisclosed location (as we did at THE BASH) to avoid any appearances from our long list of enemies. 

To you Verdugo-haters out there I just wanted to say this:  Everybody knows Verdugo is the outright, undisputed KINGS of American Legion Baseball for All-Time.  So quit fighting it.  Accept it.  Take ownership of it (just like we do!).  And instead of driving around all day tomorrow trying to hunt us down, pull up a chair and enjoy the show!  You’ll NEVER find us anyway!

Yes-sir-ree, The KINGS of Legion shall gather again on short notice for this impromptu mini-bash.  No autograph seekers either, please!  So far we have confirmations from Yours Truly, BullOxen, Turner, Haggs, and HANK!!!!  We have tried to reach Kasey, General, Weapon , Bir, and “B.”  We can’t expect Jackson, Hack or Gabe to fly in but if any of them do it wouldn’t surprise me.  Thunder is way up in central California now and Yves is in San Diego.  Evans lives in Vegas now.   We also extended an invite to Vo!!!!  I’ll send an email to Moreno as well.

Anyways….we hope many folks tune in tomorrow.  If you see any ticker-tape parades tomorrow….you’ll know WHY they are having it!!!!

Clcik this link to watch the highlights of 1992!!!! http://www.ustream.tv/channel/verdugo92

AHHHH!!!!

At midnight I got a bunch of text messages wishing me a Happy New Year.  But the one that meant the most to me was the one from Haggs.  I texted him back and told him I was watching us beat Sun Valley (and knocking the bra off of “Fat Bitch”) in the game that clinched our first playoff spot.  Haggs had made three diving stops at shortstop for us this game and hit a whistler up the middle that had Fat Bitch covering his head and doing a little dance as it screamed by him.

Haggs texted me back and said “It was all for the VH Family.”

This great Blog we have here has been all about words up to this point.  I did my best to try and convey the magic of Verdugo.  About all I have had to work with up to this point was words, and a few pictures.   But as you know….”A picture is worth a thousand words.”   We now have the images that will say alot more than words could ever say.  And after watching this tape, it has become pretty obvious that Verdugo Hills indeed is a Family.

It really came across on the tape.  Guys picking each other up.  No egos.  Great shots of the parents.  Nance.  The Brancheaus.  Don Workman.  The Birs.  And what would a Verdugo tape be without a running commentary from one of the greatest Verdugo fans of all-time….Rusty Fielder.  The things Rusty would say were priceless.  “Hey Blue how about you and me right now?”  Awesome!!!!  Ahhhh Rusty Fielder!!!!

Just incredible.  The Verdugo Hills Family.  You could really see on tape how everyone was allowed to be an individual.  Just to be themselves. 

Yes-sir-ree.  The Verdugo Hills Family.  I’m proud to be a part of it.

I really want to give a heartfelt thanks to all of the players and parents of The Verdugo Hills Family.  What a great chapter it was for all of our lives.  We had four seasons of glory.  But if I was to pick ONE of those years that I would have given anything to have video footage of….it would have been 1992.  And that is the video that is sitting next to me as I write this.  I truly am the luckiest guy on earth!!!!

I can’t tell you how fired up I am about this Tape.  And I can’t tell you how awe-inspiring it is that all of these years later, we’re STILL a family.

Thanks to all of you.  Happy New Year.

As most of you know, I have found THE TAPE.  Last night (New Year’s Eve) I got ahold of a VCR.  Plugged it in around 10:30 PM.  Let’s just say when midnight rolled around I was watching VERDUGO highlights!!!!  What a way to Ring in the New Year!!!!

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Mrs. Brancheau for not only filming most of the season, but also for putting together a copy for me at the end of that magical season!!!! 

Amazingly, The Tape is in perfect condition.  I was blown away.  And get this….I went to sleep around 3:00 AM and there were highlights from two more games on that tape that I didn’t even watch.  I didn’t time it from beginning to end….but I have to say that there is a good FOUR hours of pure VERDUGO on this Tape.   

Close-ups of just about everyone at some point during the season.  Great Audio where you can hear guys barking out “AHHHH!!!!” or “QUICK!!!!….PANTHERLIKE!!!!”

Pictures of great celebrations at the end of games.  Gatorade Cooler.  Even (so far) I have seen THREE shots of THE RALLY WIG.  One shot where Kasey was wearing it underneath his hat in the dugout as we mounted a rally. 

We have live video of BullOxen wearing that towel under his hat on that 105 degree day.

HACK and Turner doing a forearm bash after HACK bombed one outta the park.  I can’t believe the bodies we had flying around the field….giving it up 24/7 for Verdugo!!!!

We have BullOxen’s homerun where I said to him “BOMB!!!!” before he hit it.

And the list goes on and on and on.

I will get it transferred this week to DVD and get copies to everyone.  I know for sure I will be using my own copy (along with footage from THE BASH) to edit something cool into what will hopefully become the Official Verdugo Video.  That thing is definitely going on Youtube.

So I wanted to tell everyone how surprised I was with the quality of the Tape after all of these years and the fact that all of the magic of ’92 is ON THAT TAPE!!!!

Incredible!!!!

Happy New Year to all Verdugo-ites!!!!

Watching this tape has really inspired me.  Got some great ideas on what to do with The Blog now.

Oh, yeah.  And we got BOTH wins against Fat Jody on the Tape as well.  AND….the Chatsworth brawl is on it, too.

What a Tape.  What a Team.  ’92 was definitely our finest hour!!!!

Happy New Year to anyone associated with VERDUGO!!!!