verdugo288

Many people through the years would watch our ball club or play against us and make statements like “I don’t like these guys, they disrespect the game”….. or other snide comments about us.  The fact of the matter is that we at Verdugo indeed DID respect the game of baseball (and always will) and I’m here to lay out all the reasons why right here and right now…..

well…..at least some of the reasons…..

I can’t tell you how many times when we were on defense and the bases were empty and someone would hit a routine ground ball our way …..and this is what I’m Tawkin’ ’bout here…..

We easily could have (and wanted to) work on “turning the double play” …in other words, as much as we wanted to turn the double play in that situation (just to get some extra work in) we fought off those basic instincts we had.  We know many would have considered “turning two” when the bases were empty would have been a breach of baseball etiquette.  Many would have considered pulling off something like this would have been “showing-up” the opposition had we done that….right?

And that’s why I’m here to tell the truth and let everyone in the world know that we intentionally fought off our basic instincts of “turning two” (even though the bases were empty) and simply only “got one” instead and completed the ground ball out with a perfect throw to our first baseman.  We did this because we RESPECTED the game.  Let’s get that out in the open right here and now ok?

As much as we COULD HAVE “turned two” in that situation (and simply would have done this to hone our skills never to “show anyone up”) we did THE RIGHT THING and only “got one”….

So let’s let it be known that not only was it our divine right to “turn two” (even though the bases were empty) if we wanted to….and we certainly COULD HAVE done this on almost any routine groundball hit our way…..but because of our RESPECT for the game of baseball we chose to not do this.  Although had we CHOSEN to do this I really can’t see how anyone could deem this to be “disrespectful”…..

Or how about when the bases were empty and one of our pitchers punches a hitter out on strikes?  What does the catcher do?   He fires to either first or third base and the rest of the infield fires it around as our pitcher stalks the mound and adjusts his cap a little as the ball is “fired around” and everyone is barking the word “AHHHH!!!!”

Well, with the work ethic of our organization our basic instincts on a play like that would not be to have our catcher simply “fire it on down” to one of our corner infielders.  What we really wanted to do all along was FIRE it down to second.  I mean what could be more intimidating than blowing down a hitter on strikes and then having your catcher throw a bullet down to second base that lands in the same spot every time?  In this situation, the catcher is (again) getting in some additional work (which we consider a good thing) and at the same time sending a powerful message to the opposition that basically says “don’t even attempt stealing second base on me bitch”….,

But ohhhhhh no….all of our critics out there would have been all over us for that one to be sure.  Again we would have been accused of disrespecting the game, attempting to show up an opponent, etc.

And so once again, we made a conscious decision to fight against our well-intentioned instincts (of simply just getting a little extra work in and honing our skills) and so just like everyone else…our catcher would simply fire it down to one of the corner infielders to keep all of our critics happy.  We made this decision because of our RESPECT for the game (yet knowing that had we done what we REALLY wanted to do would have been in no way disrespectful)…..

We will continue to keep the world posted here periodically and provide irrefutable proof of our respect AND reverence of the game.   We will have many examples to prove our respect.  Of that you can be assured!

I hope this short discussion sheds some long overdue light on how pure and good our intentions have always been!

Oh dear….Lancaster….Lancaster….Lancaster.  My oh my …. how we despised making trips to Lancaster.  But this trip was worth it.  We pounded out 20 hits and put ‘Ol Lancaster down like the sick dog they are (and always were.)   You know what I’m sayin’……a sick dog….ya know, that’s going blind, has the mange, and is limping…..

Final Score:  Verdugo 17 Lancaster 11…..

I was worried about these guys I gotta admit.  They were 3-1 against us in 1990 and 91…..

But one thing was missing from the Lancaster team when we arrived at the yard that had that big 300 pound sheep or whatever it was just beyond the left field fence (yeah it was still there and probably hadn’t moved since we last played here in ’91)…..”Ol dead eyes” I used to call him….that thing was massive!

The one thing that was missing was their coach.  I mean….at least the original guy who ran that team before.  They had a good ball club in both ’90 and ’91 and that guy ran a good program.  But he was long gone and let’s just say that team just wasn’t the same without him….

Our entire roster played in this game and even Jim Parque picked up a base-hit and an RBI single when Lancaster intentionally walked Ivan Moreno to get to Parque (who was batting behind Moreno in the #3 hole after relieving Lance Evans who started on the mound for us)…..

For the coaching staff in Lancaster…That had to hurt…..I’m just sayin’…..

The game wasn’t really as close as the score indicated…it was pretty clear early-on we were the top dogs.

We played solid defense all season with the exception of this game (5 errors) but when you score 17 runs and hit the ball as hard as we were hitting it….(and continued to do so pretty much the entire season)…..it just kind of wears down the opposition, as our now “good friends” from Lancaster had learned.  Yeah…I was starting to actually kinda like these guys from Lancaster now!

Evans got the start on the mound for us and threw three scoreless innings right out of the gate but ran into a little trouble in the fourth inning and we gave the ball for the first time in his Verdugo career to Jim Parque.  Jim ended up picking up the “W” and burned that fungo we had with a big ‘Ol cigar I had brought.  I remember taking a few puffs on that thing (and it tasted like shit) as we left the field that day and in total disrespect for Lancaster I stomped that “Gar” out right on their mound where the pitchers foot lands to make sure they saw it next time they raked the mound!

You know how we at Verdugo love to “leave our mark” wherever we go…..

Hack Workman threw a couple innings as well and Wiley Jackson finished ’em off …throwing a scoreless ninth inning.

Offensively we just flat out hit it hard all day long.  Prior to the ’92 season I would always keep track of what I called “stings” in our stats.  A “sting” is when we hit the ball hard….right on the screws…..and unfortunately, right at someone for an out.  It’s a great stat.  I ended up stopping keeping track of “stings” in the ’92 season….you know why? ……because there were just too many of ’em!

Kasey started and actually led-off for us and played some great D that day but was hitless in three at-bats.  Yves came in and ripped a single in his first plate appearance.

Ivan Moreno had two hits and an RBI…..

Lance Evans had three hits and two RBI…..

Josh Canale had two hits and two RBI….

Dan Bir came into the game for Canale in the 7th and drew a walk and scored a run in his first Verdugo appearance…..

Robb Turner had two hits and an RBI….

John Gabrielson came in for Turner in the 9th inning and singled, stole second and scored a run in his Verdugo debut…,

“B” Cowsill had two hits and a couple of RBI….

Haggs played a great game with two hits and FOUR RBI….

Dave Fielder singled and stole a base…

Wiley Jackson reached base early on in the game and scored a run for us as well….

Hack Workman came in for Wiley in the sixth inning and had THREE hits (two in one inning when we rolled a “7”) and had two RBI….

As you can see, everybody contributed….

I remember the drive to this game and the build-up to it.  Myself and The General and Hank and Weapon all wanted to avenge our previous defeats to the Lancaster Team.  Just as badly as the coaching staff wanted to win on opening day….

I was starting to think “this ’92 team we have here is making it look pretty easy”

I liked what was happening….we were loose, we were having fun, and everybody was getting involved.  We started Kasey and led him off.  Hack was on the bench at the start of the game.  We pulled Canale in the 7th to give rookie Dan Bir some time.  We pulled Turner to give Gabe some time as well.  We didn’t pull anyone from the game because they weren’t playing well, we did it to give some time to the other guys.  Everybody had a great attitude whether they were on the field or in the dugout (which was slowly evolving into the full-blown ragging section)….

I’m not sure but I think “between-inning-hockey” (With Henry goaltending) was pretty much in full-force as well….

Yeah we even did that shit on the road, too……hell Yeah…..you know how we at Verdugo love to “leave our mark” wherever we go!  Right?

We knew Agoura/Oakpark had a feisty team and that’s exactly what they were.  Feisty.  But we wore ’em down and picked up our first opening day victory 5-2 at Glendale High.

Bull Oxen had the ball for us on opening day and was dominant.  In seven innings he struck out 12, allowed only three hits and one run, and as the winning pitcher he burned the first mark in our new fungo.   Lance Evans pitched the 8th and 9th innings, giving up one run and picking up the save.

We turned a beautiful 3-6-3 double play in the first inning….Ivan Moreno at first to Evans at shortstop and back to Moreno to end the inning.

Kirk Hagge’s 3rd inning lead-off triple was our first hit of the 92 campaign and he ultimately scored our first run of the season when Robb Turner drove him in with a sacrifice fly.

Canale struck out six consecutive batters in the 2nd and 3rd innings….

Yves Brancheau led off the 5th with a single and stole second base, and scored on Robb Turner’s single to increase our lead to 2-0 through five innings.

Bull Oxen continued to mow ’em down,  and had a one-hit shutout going, facing only three Batters above the minimum through six.

Josh led off the bottom of the 6th for us with a double, and Ivan Moreno followed up with a base hit that scored Canale and made it 3-0.  Brendan Cowsill reached base on an error and Dave Fielder came up and ripped a base hit that scored Moreno and made it 4-0 Verdugo.

Agoura/Oakpark mounted a little bit of a threat in the seventh on a couple of walks and base hits that broke up the shutout but Canale battled out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam where some great defense helped us out.  Solid plays by both Kasey Canale (who had come in to play 2nd base in the 6th inning) and Kirk Hagge on ground balls helped get us out of that jam.

We added another run in the 8th inning.  Kirk Hagge reached base on a fielders choice, then Dave Fielder ripped another base-hit, and Kasey Canale (at age 14 and in his first at-bat in a Verdugo uniform) ripped a base hit to score Hagge and it was 5-1 Verdugo!

Agoura/Oakpark came battling back in the 9th, and had runners at first and second with two out.  Their lead-off hitter singled to left and Dave Fielder (playing left field that day) picked up the ball and crow-hopped a bullet to Hagge who was catching that day…..I DO REMEMBER this play…..

The throw from Fielder didn’t get the runner at the plate, and the runner who was on first had advanced to third on the throw to the plate.

The base runner also made the mistake of rounding third base a little too much after he made it to third.  At least enough for an alert Hagge to back-pick to Brendan Cowsill at third…..who slap tagged a diving (and now embarrassed) baserunner for the final out of the game.

But the throw from Fielder in left field…was just like….”whoa”….I think everybody at the game and from both sides did a little double-take as if to say “dang did you just see the throw that dude made?”

Great way to end the game.  Heads up play by both Hagge and Cowsill to back-pick that guy at third to end it.

I remember enjoying the small roster.  Not a lot of reserves in the dugout that day…in fact more coaches in the dugout than reserves.  I distinctly remember Dan Bir that day.  This was his first game with Verdugo.  He got to see “how we roll” and I remember him smiling as even laughing out loud at some of the stuff the coaches were saying in the dugout as the game progressed.  I am sure he had heard a lot of stories about Verdugo before he joined our team to play.  The look on his face as everything unfolded that day was basically “oh my God everything they told me about this team and the stuff they do IS TRUE!!!! IT’S ALL TRUE!!!!” And you could tell he was loving it!

Agoura/Oakpark was a feisty ball club definitely.  They played us tough…I give ’em credit…..but we just kinda wore ’em down.

Finally we were 1-0 and it felt great!

We had a new fungo also for the ’92 season.  In the past, I had always hit pre-game with whatever bat I could grab ahold of.  It never really mattered to me.  So it was cool to actually have our own fungo now.  I am not sure if the area of the fungo where the ball meets the bat was taped-up on opening day in ’92 or if it was taped-up at a practice we may have had before the season…..

I do remember that the ’92 and ’93 fungoes were both taped up by David Fielder.  As I mentioned in a post here many years ago I still have both fungoes….I’m looking at them right now and the tape on both of them is still holding up pretty well….(great job on the taping Dave!)

I was happy to finally have a fungo.  But I felt this fungo needed a purpose.  I didn’t want it to be “just a fungo”…..

So I started bringing a cigar to every game starting in ’92….

I thought it would be cool to light up a victory cigar when we would win and whoever was the winning pitcher could take the lit cigar and “brand” our fungo with a nice big fat burn mark to signify and celebrate our victory.  You know….kind of like “notches in a belt”…..  It was a pretty cool ritual.  And for the next two seasons that’s exactly what we did…..

The Los Angeles Times even picked up on it and wrote a small story about it in the paper during the ’92 season….the link to this story they ran is at the bottom of this post….

My other ritual just kind of happened due to time constraints.  I had my uniform with me on opening day 1992.  In my car.  I didn’t want to get it all dirty doing field prep before the game (which I didn’t end up having to do anyways thankfully)….

So I arrived at the field opening day wearing a Russell Athletic set of “sleeves” that were going to end up being worn under my jersey.  You know….”sleeves”….basically a white shirt with some long sleeves attached to it that are a different color….and they go under your jersey.  The sleeves I was wearing that day were navy-blue.

I was wearing my baseball pants but to keep them from getting dirty (I was planning on doing field prep) I wore some long baggy navy-blue nylon basketball warm-up pants over them.  I had the Verdugo cap on, and I wore high-top basketball shoes (with the laces untied)…..

When I had made the long walk and gone to my car earlier to get several things we needed before the game (including my uniform) I got back to the field and realized I had left my jersey and cleats in the car.

Game time was getting close (time constraints)…..I wasn’t in the mood to walk all the way back to my car to get my jersey and cleats…..and so I decided to coach my first Legion game ever without a uniform.  I wore the Verdugo cap, sleeves, big baggy basketball warm-up pants, and high tops with the laces untied….kind of a half-baseball, half-basketball vibe.  My thinking was “ok if we win yeah I am going to have to wear this again but it won’t last long…I can just wear this until we play a lousy game”

Well, over the next two seasons we never played a lousy enough game for me to change that look!  The anchor of this new “uniform” I had devised for myself was the baggy navy-blue basketball pants! That and the cap and the high tops.  I mixed-in different shirts here and there depending on how hot it was during the season….but that was what I wore for two seasons!

I actually liked the half-basketball/half-baseball vibe.  It was unassuming.  I am sure many teams we played over the next couple of years read or heard about our success….and when they played us and met us for the first time probably thought to themselves “THAT GUY is the ring-leader of this outfit?”

I think they all eventually learned to not judge a book by its cover….

As only we know, there just may be reasons, or rituals, or even superstitions that help create the cover of the book that is being looked at so hard under the microscope.

I do remember a few people asking me in 92 and 93 why I didn’t wear a uniform…I just tried to say as politely as I could “it’s a long story” or I would say “you’d probably never understand” and leave it at that.

I also had another ritual I did in the scorebook before every game.  Wherever Lance Evans was in the lineup I would always simply write the name “Evan”…..removing the “s” from his last name.  It just sounded better….right?  “Lance Evan” ….I even called him “Evan” ….

I would hand the scorebook to Nancy Canale before every game and when the game ended and I had gone home to start in on the stats I always noticed Nancy would add in the “s” at the end of his last name.  I think she was thinking “c’mon Kelly don’t you even know his name?” So she was (in her own way) “educating” ‘Ol Gee as to how to spell his last name.

Gotta give credit to Nancy for never actually saying to me  “uhhh hey his last name is E-V-A-N-S” but I must admit I did  enjoy the little cat-and-mouse interplay that was going on between her and I regarding the scorebook and Lance’s last name.

I did see your correction(s) Nancy every time but chose to ignore it…haha he’s always “Lance Evan” as far as I’m concerned simply because it sounds better!

I have included some pics of the scorebook (including one game when Nancy may not have been there to keep score) and as you can see the name “Evan” remains in the book as I originally wrote it in…..

The other two shots I’ve included show the “s” that Nancy added in when she was handling the scorekeeping duties for us…

Pretty funny in my book…..

I still have the baggy navy-blue basketball warm-up pants too by the way and still wear them when I go on power walks! I will post a pic of them soon.

June 6, 1992 ended up being quite a day for new rituals!

Los Angeles Times link http://articles.latimes.com/1992-07-08/sports/sp-1447_1_verdugo-hills

When we got to the field early that day for field prep at Glendale High The General and I weren’t exactly looking forward to getting the field ready.  But it was what it was and we knew we what we had to do.  You have to realize that in 1990 we had zero games at home and only four games at Glendale High in 1991…..all the other games in 1990 and 1991 were on THE ROAD….

So yeah I was pretty stoked we had scheduled 10 games that season between Stengel and Glendale High….but wasn’t looking forward to the field maintenance.

So we arrived and as mentioned earlier there were some guys playing flip and by the time everyone showed up at the yard all the rookies just took over.  I don’t know what happened…..but all the new guys on the team like Gabrielson and Parque and Calf and Bir started grabbing rakes and drags and hoses and string and the chalk machine…..

We didn’t even have to ask them!  They just did it!

The General and I just kinda hung out in the dugout and talked about the lineup while the field was perfectly manicured by these guys.  I don’t think we even had to touch a rake for the next two seasons…..

It just became a ritual….the guys we had just took it upon themselves to handle it.  Wow…..lets just say The General and I were pretty pleased with this new ritual!

And let me tell ya….these guys did a beautiful job on the field every time and it made my life a lot easier….

To those of you who got involved with this and did such a great job before and after the games I just want to say “thanks”…,

And this was pretty much our new home game ritual….General and Myself and Hank and Weapon hanging out in the dugout and BS-ing…..The dugout always open to any fellow-Verdugo-ite to join in the BS with us……a flip game going on that would end up with guys playing catch or stretching or whatever they felt they needed to do to get ready…..and the field always being taken care of by a different group of guys each time…..someone new seeming to step up and join in and helping out….we never knew just who would do it….and we never had to ask anyone…..it just somehow amazingly always got done!

Some of the guys were what I called “togglers”….they would kind of “toggle” over to the dugout, then back to watching or playing flip, or grabbing a rake and helping out, then playing some catch or whatever….

Always ending the pre-game ritual with a good, sharp pre-game drill with our cigar-burned fungo in my hands….knowing after I had hit the pre-game infield-outfield drill and our opponents for that day were watching us do our thing that they were probably very concerned about who they were facing that day.

Finally, before taking the field when we were the home team this was also the day we all gathered in a circle for the first time and got the gloves up in the air and touching and began our ritual “silence on three” before we took the field….we continued this ritual as well from this day forward.

6/6/92…..a very interesting day and more Rituals to come so stay tuned!

As The General and I arrived on opening day at Glendale High nice and early we kind of looked at each other and raised our eyebrows as we noticed how many guys had gotten to the field BEFORE we did….we didn’t really say anything about it but definitely took note of it….

I’ve already written a post about this….including a pic of the 93 team doing it down at Stengel Field one day…..

But this was the day it officially began as far as I could tell.  It didn’t have everyone involved because I don’t think everyone knew what the heck this small group of guys were doing.  Maybe half a dozen guys were involved with it.

The guys who were doing it seemed like they knew what they were doing.  Like there was some meaning to it….but it looked chaotic and didn’t make any sense to me…..so myself and the General and the others who weren’t in on it just kind of watched and tried to figure it out what it was…..

It began on this day and was a ritual that took place every game (Home or away)  for the next two seasons until we disbanded…..

It grew fast too.  Pretty soon after a few games just about everyone on the team was in there doing it and it was like this bizarre yet brilliant thing.   I would watch from afar and saw it as a good thing.  All I knew was this….I had never seen ANY ball club do this before a game…..

And after it was over some of the guys would start playing catch and get ready for the game….others felt that after they did whatever it was they were doing that that was “enough” and they were “ready to go”….

I think sometime around mid-season I finally asked someone “what is that thing you guys are doing down there?”

I cant remember who finally told me what it was…..but it was a one-word answer…..

All he said was……..

“Flip”

I blame it on my mom.  When I was a kid she got me into all this superstitious stuff. In a fun and lighthearted way as well.  And it always involved sports.  She would make “banana pancakes” the morning of a big game i was going to be playing in.  Or sardine sandwiches before games on Saturday afternoons or evening games during the week.   Sardine sandwiches?!?!?!?!  Really?!?!?!   Let me tell ya if you’re slumping at the plate there’s no better remedy!  Whether it was real or had a placebo effect let’s just say it definitely had an effect on me!  I was ripping bullets all over the yard after a couple of sardine sandwiches!

I always put my cleats on in this order:  Left shoe on but don’t tie it.  Then on goes the right shoe.  Then you tie the right shoe then come back and finish by tying the left shoe.  It’s a long story why but that’s how I’ve always done it since I was a kid.  I will suffice it to say the list is long of the “stuff I’ve done” throughout my life to keep the superstitions alive….

Maybe it’s my Indian blood……believe it or not I have more than a negligible amount of Cherokee blood in my DNA….,

Regardless of where all this came from,  it’s no coincidence that superstitions and rituals made their way into the Verdugo Program.  And opening day 1992 we saw four (4)…..yeah count ’em! FOUR new rituals that cropped up kinda outta nowhere for us.  And before I report on our opening-day game for ’92 we’re gonna briefly go over them all…..

And here’s the first one…..

June 6,1992….opening day.  Verdugo versus Agoura/Oakpark at Glendale High. Overcast day….arrived at the ballpark nice and early to do field prep with The General.

We arrive and there is already a bunch of our players already there!  Just kinda milling around.  The field was a mess and we got it taken care of (that’s another ritual we will discuss later) but I realized game time was drawing close and  I had left a bunch of stuff in my car and walked back to the parking lot to get everything.  It’s a long walk from the field to the parking lot at Glendale High if you remember…..

I’m digging around for all the stuff we need for the game in the back of my car when I hear Bull Oxen’a voice behind me. “Gee I need a game ball so I can get loose in the pen”

I opened a brand new box of Diamond D1’s and pulled out three and started juggling them while they were still in the shrink wrap.  Canale is looking at me like “just give me the ball man”….,

I stop the juggling and catch two and flip the third one his way…..

perfect feed….

belt high…..

and what does he do?

he drops it!

I laughed and told him right there “if we win today you know we are gonna have to perform that ritual before every game until we play a lousy game and then we will find a new ritual…..you know how I like my rituals!”

The Bull Oxen and I performed that little ritual before every single game we played for the next two seasons.  Because for the next two seasons, I could honestly say we never played a lousy game.  I guess this new ritual worked out pretty well….we went 38-6 during the regular season in 1992 and ’93.

1992 would be his final season for us as a player but he was back with Verdugo in ’93 as a coach….

So all of 92 and 93 before every ballgame I would juggle ….then toss one Canale’s way ….and he would intentionally drop it…..and keep the ball if he was pitching OR it was his job to give the ball to whomever was going to be the starting pitcher for us that day……

Ritual Number two is next….

I think I wrote a post regarding the 14 names on our 1992 roster already….but we still need to include the names again as far as I’m concerned as well as their associated nicknames……

Josh Canale (“The Bull Oxen”)

Kasey Canale (“The Calf”)

John “J.R.” Workman (“Hack!”)

Jon Jackson (“The ‘Wiley’ Jackson”)

Robb Turner (“The Reverend”)

Ivan Moreno (Did he have a nickname?)

Brendan Cowsill (“B”)

Yves Brancheau (Did he have a nickname?)

Lance Evans (Don’t know if he had an official nickname but I called him “Evan” with the “s” removed from his last name)

David Fielder (“Thunder”)

Kirk Hagge (“Haggs”)

Dan Bir (did he have a nickname?)

Jim Parque (“Vo”)

John Gabrielson (“Gabe”)

And finally ….our “illustrious” coaching staff:

Phil Hallford (“The General”)

“Gee”

Henry Fernandez (“Hank”)

Scott Anderson (“The Weapon”)

As some of you may have noted from my earlier writings I do like to bounce back and forth between using everyone’s real name or their nickname so as not to make the writings “too” journalistic (or objective for that matter)…..you gotta remember when I write about this stuff all objectivity will be thrown (and quite logically i might add) directly out the window and into the proverbial forewinds……

C’mon now you know how I do it…..When I’m writing about Verdugo….I like to keep things one-sided and totally biased in favor of Verdugo….and really, would any of you expect anything less from me?

One final note…..I’ve kept in touch with several players through the years and for that I am grateful…..it seems when I talk with Robb Turner the subject comes up every once in a while to bring back the Verdugo caps again and get them fitted and done professionally….I think it’s a brilliant idea and to everyone out there let me know if you’re interested ….we will spare no expense on these caps this time around ….original color scheme and logo!

and…..as always….expect ‘Ol Gee to continue in his writing tradition which abuses and overuses his favorite thing…..the “ellipsis”

(………………)

Ok gentlemen the time is here to get this thing going again.

Yeah it’s true….going into the 1992 season was a little crazy to say the least.  Only 14 names on the official roster.  But what the hell?  I had spoken with all the players in depth and for the most part they all had me pretty much convinced they would be at the games.

I had to admit having a smaller roster would make things better for everyone.  It gave everyone more opportunities to see action on the field.  Having a smaller roster also would allow me to sit down with everyone before the season and explain what I felt their role would be with us….

At the end of the day we decided to roll with the smaller roster.  We had made some improvements as well not only in our roster since last season but we picked up some new catching gear….secured a deal with the Glendale Legion Team to share Stengel Field with them and best of all….we finally had official  Verdugo Caps!

Yes-sir-ree….gone were the Cleveland Indian caps we donned in 1990 and the Atlanta Brave caps we had in 1991.

Lets face it we needed our own cap!  Jack Heaney down at Tiernan Athletic in Glendale (who made our uniforms) designed the caps and stitched the new logos on to a generic wool cap.  They looked pretty good.  With the jerseys, they looked damn good.  I still got plenty of complaints from everyone that the caps weren’t fitted etc but all in all I think everyone was pretty happy we finally had ’em…..

Tiernan Athletic was the place to get your custom jerseys made…..and Jack also made the uniforms for the Lakers at that time.  One time I was down at his shop and he busted out a couple of gloves and a ball and we played catch for about a half hour in his parking lot!   We threw curves and knucklers and sinkers and two/four seamers at each other and everything we had until our arms were hanging and we went inside and had a beer.  I told him I finally figured out why he makes such great uniforms….and why he was the best around at what he does….he said “why’s that?”

i said “c’mon now you’re a LEFTY!”

I remember telling everyone we needed stickers that matched our logo to put on those boring navy blue batting helmets everyone in the league used to make ours stand out and how it would be intimidating…..well guess what happened?  Dave Fielder stepped up.  He took his new Verdugo Cap to his print shop class at CV and scanned an image of it and tweaked the color till it matched….made it perfect…..

I won’t ever forget the smile on my face when he handed me a couple of big sheets of plastic/nylon or whatever it was that had our logos on it….exact size and color of the one on our caps!  I peeled ’em off that sheet one by one and tried to center them perfectly on our old beat-up batting helmets!  Damn we were ready for 1992!

And to “cap” it all off….we had the Gatorade cooler which would now be entering its second season with us.  I can’t tell you how many coaches and umps and players asked me where the hell I got that thing.  This was 1992!  Pre-Internet days!  I bet now it would be easy to find.  I just kept making lots of phone calls until I finally tracked one down.

Many of you saw the 1992 scorebook at the reunion we had July 9, 2011.  I still have that, too.  I’d rather tell you I lost the scorebook and that my “steel-trap” memory is the reason I can remember everything I’m about to report to all of you about what happened that season….but thankfully I have the scorebook, and I looked at it today and many things I had forgotten did come back to me (thanks to some great scorekeeping by Nancy Canale.)

We also have a videotape with about six hours worth of highlights that Mrs. Brancheau gave me at the end of the ’92 season.  I will try and include some highlights along with the blog posts as we go through the season here chronologically.  These are the only things we have left to guide us through what happened that summer as I go through it all and piece together what I will always consider our greatest season.

And yeah….just like the 1992 and 1993 fungoes…..I still got the Gatorade cooler too!

We had come a long way from 1990….no home field (now we had TWO….Glendale High and Stengel)….now we had nice uniforms and I felt we also had somewhat of a fresh start….now that I had retired from coaching at the High School level.  I was pretty jacked up for 1992.

It was time to play.  Time to have some fun.  Time to grow out my hair a bit.  Time to smoke some cigs in the dugout if I could get away with it, too (I never got caught by the way either)……  Time  to get back to basics and remembering  what a “game” is.  I think I had been coaching for so long I had kind of forgotten what a “game” is.  It’s a game.  Games are meant to be fun….right?

I think for all of us who were involved in the 1992 season for Verdugo….if you had “forgotten” about what a “game” is supposed to be (like I certainly had)….well, the fog was pretty much lifted….and we all (in our own way) started to remember what it was like to have some fun again on a baseball field.  And how fun playing the “game” and coaching the “game” of baseball can really be…….

And once the fog was lifted, and we started to remember, and started to embrace that concept…..well, then the fun REALLY began…..