Archive for the ‘Turner’ Category

1990 STATS

Posted: June 13, 2011 in 1990, BullOxen, Chili, Frost, Hank, Rogers, Sammy, Spongy, Turner, Vic, Weapon
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1990 was a pretty damn good year.  I like what we pulled off.  I really enjoyed pulling the strings from the third base coaching box with this group because we had a lot of speed on this Team.  Straight steals, hit-and-runs, delayed steals….taking an extra base….it all added up.  Rogers hit .246, but he led the Team in stings (eight), sacrifices (six), and was right near the top in RBI.  Rogers’ six sacrifices were an all-time Verdugo record.  Rogers also played EVERY position on the diamond for us that season!  Hank had 21 hits….20 of them singles!  Martin led in average, slugging percentage and doubles, Weap and Canale led in RBI.  Canale, a 16 year old in his rookie season led Verdugo with 27 hits!  Canale struck out only ONE TIME!….an all-time contact percentage record that was never broken.  And Martin’s 10 doubles was another Verdugo record that was never broken.  Same with VIC’s 19 stolen bases…no one ever broke that record either. Vic also set an all-time record for walks in one season (18).  Vic also led the squad that year in runs (18), triples (three), on-base percentage (.549), and times reached base (45).  Sammy was one of two players we ever had in our history to steal more than 10 bases in one season (12) and NOT get caught stealing.  Yep…12 for 12!  Turner may have only hit .178…but he was 5th in on-base percentage.  Turner also was second on the Team in walks with 15, and fourth on the Team in runs scored with 13.  As you can also see….Chili had a great year for us at the plate.  He had four doubles in nine games.  And then there’s Frost.  He didn’t play any ball his senior year in High School and look at what he did.  I looked back in the scorebook and he started the season one for 12!  So he had a nice year for us as well once he got back into the swing of things. 

Our .865 contact-percentage as a Team in 1990 was also a record that was never broken.  1990 Also hit the most triples we ever had in a season with 11…..a record that was TIED by the ’91 Team.

Check out the Original Verdugo numbers…..pretty impressive indeed!  Ahhh Original Verdugo Team!!!!

Landmines, Potholes, and Three Sheets of Paper…..

Posted: May 30, 2011 in 1990, BullOxen, Hank, McBride, Turner, Vic, Weapon
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Now we traveled out to San Fernando High School for a Sunday Doubleheader.  I’ll never forget the condition of the field when we arrived.  It was the most brutal war zone I have ever seen.  Not only had the field not been dragged……..I don’t think it had EVER been dragged.  No chalk lines…..nothing. 

I was greeted by a smiling old man who was (I guess) coaching the San Fernando team.  From the looks of the field…I knew he HAD to be the coach (the dress-shoes he was wearing gave it away).

“Are you gonna drag the field?” I asked.

“No, no, no it’s good” he told me.

I saw a couple of guys from his team now trying to dig into the ground to find the anchors for the bases.  I gotta give him credit…he DID have some bases.

“Look” I said, “I will personally drag the field.”

“No, no it’s good” he said.

I then tore three empty pages out of our scorebook and handed them to him.

He then looked at me as if to say “what the hell is this?”

“Really…..you’ve gone to alot of trouble this morning here I can see……..why don’t we just use THESE as the bases today?”

THAT……… pissed him off!  But I didn’t care.  And I think I made my point with that guy.  Somebody was gonna get hurt with the field like that…………jeez.

I’m not real picky…but the condition of this field was the worst I had EVER seen in my life.  And it was a decent facility.  All it needed was to be taken care of.  Incredible.

I hit everybody HIGH CHOPPERS during Pre-game so no one got hurt. 

We took a 3-1 lead into the bottom of the sixth inning of the first game and they rolled an eight on us.  We dropped the opener 9-3.  We only had three hits in the first game. Frost hit a two-out triple in the second inning but we couldn’t bring him in.  Vic had a two-RBI Double in the third, and an RBI triple in the fifth.  Apart from that we didn’t really get anything going in that first game. 

The San Fernando team was pretty loose, and had a good squad.  They were having fun out there on the field. Some of you guys may remember they had a pitcher on the mound named “Bobby.”  All I remember is pretty much the whole game I had to listen to their team saying “Hey Bobby”…..”Hey Bobby”….it actually was kind of funny.  Well, it wasn’t THAT funny.  The way I saw it I just lost a game to a guy who was not only wearing DRESS SHOES, he didn’t even have enough respect for the game to drag the ‘effin field!!  Fucker……..yeah, I was pissed!

The second game was a different story.  We took a 2-0 lead on them after two innings keyed by RBI singles by BullOxen and Vic.  McBride started BOTH games of the doubleheader on the mound.  San Fernando then scored five unearned runs against us in the bottom of the third to take a 5-2 lead.

Tex wasn’t at the field that day………YET.  He said he had some sort of commitment he had to be at and told me he would get to the field around 3 PM.  Sure enough…around 3:00, in rolls TEX.  I immediately got him into the lineup.  Tex then stepped up to the plate in the bottom of the fifth inning with that bow-legged stance of his and promptly ROPED a two-RBI double up the gap in left-center.  All of a sudden, we were right back in it.

The Verdugo attitude was starting to kick in.  Guys were getting pissed.  Canale had thrown a couple of great innings of relief and was getting tired.  I was reluctant to give the ball to Hank, because he had thrown about 90 pitches the day before at Chaminade.  Vic stepped up….he didn’t ask for the ball, he DEMANDED the ball.

I asked Vic when the last time it was he had pitched.  “Back in Babe Ruth” was his answer.  That was NOT the right answer………now I was getting sick to my stomach.  It was then that Vic uttered the phrase the players kept telling me all year…….”Don’t worry Gee.”

Vic went out and threw two innings of no-hit ball.  The problem was…..he walked SEVEN guys in those two innings.  But only ONE guy scored….and we now trailed 6-4.

The Verdugo attitiude was now in full effect.  I kept hearing guys saying shit like “C’mon! NOBODY sweeps Verdugo!” 

All of a sudden we were TOTALLY into the game.  Frost led off the bottom of the sixth with a triple.  Hank laced a base hit and it was 6-5.  We tried a hit and run with Canale but the shortstop made a great play to nip the Bull at first.  Hank got wild-pitched to third.  Up came Weapon.  Weapon grounded out, but Hank scored.  It was 6-6 and closing in on 100 degrees.  I was starting to get really worried about Turner….he had caught every inning of both games.  I’d tell Turner “Look we gotta get Rogers in there you’re gonna die back there.”  Turner just kept saying to me “Don’t worry Gee I got it.”

This is the type of shit I’m talkin’ bout!  Total Verdugo!

Hank was getting really worked up.  All he said was “Gimme the ball.”  I told him “hell no”…. he had just thrown 90 pitches the day before.  So what does Hank say?  “Don’t worry Gee.”  So we sent him out to pitch the top of the seventh.  And he fucking struck out the side!!!!!!!  AHHHH Hank!!!!

We started a little one-out rally in the bottom of the seventh.  Tex drew a walk, and Vic singled.  The centerfielder misplayed the ball allowing Vic to get to second base, but we had to hold Martin at third.  They intentionally walked Frost to load the bases. Then the fiery Hank came up and hit into an inning-ending double play!  Fuck was Hank pissed! 

After hitting into that double-play (a 5-2-3 Double-play where he was out at first by a half a step), I was no longer worried about Hank.  He was pissed now, and he wanted this win.

So we sent Hank out to pitch the top of the eighth.  And sure enough, three up, three down.  Ahhhhh Hank!!!

Hank was just about as pumped as I’ve ever seen him.  BullOxen led off the bottom of the eighth with a walk.

Weapon then stepped up and CRUSHED a 1-0 fastball over everyone’s heads…..

And we were DOGPILING AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What  a win!!!!!!!!!!  That ball Weapon hit was hit just as hard if not harder than the ball he hit at North Hollywood where he was robbed of a homerun.  This one would have been an inside the park homer.  So I guess Weap SHOULD HAVE had two homers in 1990 for Verdugo….he kind of got robbed twice.

Somehow……….we had found a way.  Again.  What a win!!!!!!!!!

That’s all I can really say………and I’m shaking my head and smiling as I write this (in a good way) WHAT A WIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sometimes it was hard….and it usually defied logic…..but now, when the guys were telling me “Don’t worry Gee”…I was actually starting to BELIEVE them.

CHILI Mows ’em Down

Posted: April 22, 2011 in 1990, Big Breck, BullOxen, Chandler, Chili, Games, McBride, Rogers, Turner, Weapon
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Okay.  Let’s get back to what was happening in the 1990 Season.  We had just pulled off a miraculous victory against Quartz Hill and now we traveled out to North Hollywood High on a Sunday morning.  This was our first of two games that we were scheduled to play that day.  Our second game would be in the evening against Glendale.  We came in to this game at 3-3-1 and overall I was very happy with the way we were playing.  Alot of the guys came to the field that Sunday morning tired and about two skin shades darker (or redder in my case) than the day before after baking in the Quartz Hill sun for almost six hours….but by gametime, we were ready to go. 

Chili got the start on the mound and came within one pitch from throwing a perfect game!  He threw only 62 pitches, and gave up one base hit in the fifth inning.  This win put us over .500 for the first time of the season.  The Team had really come together at this point..and with Hank, BullOxen, McBride, Chili, Chandler, and Big Breck on the mound for us, I started to think that we could actually make a playoff run.  And so did the players….

Chili struck out eight guys and we won 10-0.  He also had two doubles at the plate. 

Vic had two hits, including an absolute SHOT that went for a ground rule double.  BullOxen doubled, and Robb Turner’s 2nd inning double drove in two runs for us. 

But the highlight of this game was a SHOT hit by The Weapon.  When we got to the field that morning we were eyeballing the homerun area in center field and right field.  Left field was wide open… there was no fence.  There was a locker room area in right-center that was considered a homerun if you hit the roof of that building.  There was a small area out there maybe five feet wide where there was no roof…and if you hit it in there the ball was still in play. 

As we have written in earlier posts…The Weapon was always looking to hurt the opponent, and he had a little flair for the dramatic as well.  Weap came up in the fourth inning with a couple of guys on base and hit a ball that (as soon as he hit it) EVERYONE in the park knew was GONE!!!  One of those balls where the outfielders kind of start to make a move on it and then just kind of stop and admire it as it leaves the facility……….

We were all admiring it…..Including The Weapon!!!  As soon as he hit it….he just flipped the bat towards our on-deck circle and he started WALKING….just like the guys on TV used to do!  It was an awesome sight!  However, there was just one problem…..it landed in that little five foot area that was STILL IN PLAY and rattled around in there and spit itself back onto the field.  SHIT!!  Although he had hit it beyond any boundary at the field that day for a homerun….Weap had the unfortunate luck of it landing in that little five-foot porch area….NO HOMERUN!!!

When it landed back on the field….Weapon was MAYBE halfway to first base and was still in his Homerun “walk.”  The centerfielder was now chasing it down and Weap was running full bore.  To this day I still don’t know HOW he turned that thing into a triple.  Talk about going zero-to sixty!  Weap did his signature pop-up head-first slide into third base………..even though there was no play at third.  I don’t know what was more awesome…the SHOT he hit or the fact that he turned it into a triple!

Most coaches would be all bent out of shape for a guy going into a homerun “walk” like that.  Not me.  I loved it!  I also loved the look on the faces of the North Hollywood players that basically said “Okay…we give up” after that play happened.  A couple of their guys just kind of looked at him and said “damn.” 

There was one other player for us who went into a homerun walk…but it happened in 1990 in a Connie Mack League game.  John Rogers did it.  He hit a mammoth SHOT to dead-center one night at Stengel Field…and went into his walk.  I’ll never forget the look on Rogers’ face when it STUCK in the top of the ivy.  And I’ll never forget looking over at him and laughing when they held him to a SINGLE on that BOMB he it!!!  But it was worth it….I used to let our players have that swagger….it’s risky, yes indeed….and if you let the players do that then you gotta take the bad with the good.  And like I’ve said before…I wouldn’t have changed a thing about how I let the players be themselves.

This was a great win.  And I was REALLY looking forward to our match in a few hours against Glendale.  Here’s what the Newspaper said about this win………

Softening in My Old Age????

Posted: April 18, 2011 in 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, Bir-Dawg, Calf, Chandler, Evan, Hack, McBride, Moreno, Sammy, Turner, Vic, Yves
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You know, I’ve had all kinds of people who have known me through the years say that to me….”You must be softening a little in your old age.”  OUCH!!  That hurts!  Well, maybe I am A LITTLE….but I’m STILL GEE!!!  I mean, even when my wife tells me “You swear too much”…..I always tell her “The HELL I do!!!!”

Even HACK noticed it in an email he sent me.  We were talking about airfare to the Reunion.  I said something like “we’ll find a way to get you there.”  What did HACK say?  “You must be softening a little in your old age.  A more typical Verdugo response would have been ‘We’ll hi-jack a plane for you.'”

Yeah…I guess he’s right.  Maybe I am.  And I’ll try to keep all the sentimentality out of this Blog……at least until AFTER this post!!!  This story is for those of you out there who haven’t said the magic words….”I’m IN!!!”  Maybe you’re thinking…”why are we doing this?” or “what’s the point?” ……..well…..read this story and tell me what you think…..

I will never forget the image in my head of Bir-Dawg rounding first base with a clenched fist in the air as he hit a TITANIC three-run shot on a Sunday night game at Stengel Field against Notre Dame in 1993.  We trailed 7-0 and Bir-Dawgs blast made it 7-6.  I had been thrown out of the game and got to watch most of this one from the stands.  Let me tell you something……..that was THE GREATEST GAME Verdugo Hills ever played.  And I can’t wait to TELL YOU WHY it was the GREATEST GAME WE EVER PLAYED in a later post!!!  But let me tell you….Bir-Dawgs SHOT….and the vivid images I can still see of EVERY SINGLE PLAYER coming out of the dugout to mob him at home plate still, to this very day, raise the hairs on the back of my neck every single time I think about it.

I will never forget Robb Turner at bat in the bottom of the seventh inning against Notre Dame in 1992.  A game that we were trailing 6-0.  There were couple of guys on base.  Turner came to the plate FURIOUS.  He had been called out on strikes twice in that game on horrible calls.  We were down…and still talking shit!!  Turner was like a Bull in a China Shop at the plate.  Snorting, digging in….fouling shit off.  The count was 3-2.  He swung at everything.  He was NOT gonna let anyone call him out on strikes again that night.  He waited…he waited…fouled everything off he could…and then on the 13th PITCH of the at-bat he JACKED a ball that went at least 450 feet.  Think about that…the THIRTEENTH PITCH of the at-bat.  And as Turner rounded the bases….he verbally unloaded on everyone on the Notre Dame squad within earshot of him.  Yeah, “The Reverend” was screaming from his pulpit that night!!!!!!!!!

I will never forget a game in 1990 we lost 10-9.  We only had NINE GUYS at the game.  VIC couldn’t make it.  He had been telling me ALL WEEK he wouldn’t be able to make the game.  I tried like hell to get him there…but what could I say when he said “Gee, I gotta study for finals.”  This is what a great kid he was.  Forget about all the heroics he pulled off on the field for us.  He, like ALL Verdugo players…was a fucking GREAT KID.  And he told me “Gee, I gotta study for finals.”  And I accepted it.  Let me tell you this ….I will NEVER FORGET that in the second or third inning I looked over towards our dugout and THERE HE WAS putting on his cleats.  All he said was “I couldn’t let you guys down.”………..Let me tell you something people……I WILL NEVER FORGET THAT.  Not only did he show up, he drove himself out to Woodland Hills that day and found the field on his own………..

I will never forget that very same day we lost 10-9 in Woodland Hills finishing the game with only EIGHT Guys on the field.  Well, actually SEVEN and a HALF.  Our second baseman, Sammy was injured.  He couldn’t move one of his wrists.  Yet he stayed on the field.  And he was hurting BAD.  Here was a guy who never complained about anything so I knew that if he told me he was hurt he wasn’t kidding.  Yet he stayed on the field.  And on the final pitch of the game….when we had no one in right field…there he was….laying it all out for us (just like he always did)….DIVING for that ball that fell in to defeat us…risking even further injury.  Yeah, I will NEVER FORGET the effort he gave for us that day……and the effort WE ALL GAVE…even though we came up short.  Sammy was a total Verdugo Warrior!

I will never forget the charge we made in ’92 to finally clinch a playoff spot.  I think of TWO balls that were hit that final game where we clinched against Fat Bitch from Sun Valley…after he had vowed to dominate us the next time we played.  TWO balls that were hit that knocked him out of the game (in the third inning).  One was off the bat of CALF….and the other off the bat of YVES!!!!!  YVES hit one of the hardest balls we hit all-season off of that hard-throwing fatso.  I think that those TWO balls that were hit were the exclamation points that said “We’re IN” (the playoffs).   That’s right…I WILL NEVER FORGET.

I will never forget the game “White” Chandler threw against Burbank for our first win in 1990.  Chandler was emotional, hard-throwing and was coming off a not-so-great season at Burbank High.  But he did throw a gem in our season final at Burbank High…and I was wondering how long he could ride that wave.   As it turns out…he rode that wave quite a long time.  Because he was pretty much unbeatable the rest of his Legion/High School career.  Got drafted in the 49th round by the Royals.  I will never forget the front row seat I had to watch him develop into what he became.  I got to see him throw all of his emotions out the window and become one of the most poised pitchers I have ever seen……and “White”…if you’re out there reading this…..thanks.  I’ll NEVER forget.

I’ll never forget McBride.  How he lit a fire for our ballclub that will always burn with his profanity-laced tirade against Fat jody.  One of the defining moments of Verdugo-lore.  And by the way…he didn’t get thrown out of the game for all the four-letter words, either.  Throwing his glove into our dugout, kicking bats, batting helmets, waving his arms around and screaming.  We were lucky that day…the Ump was a reasonable guy….and he came to the conclusion that McBride was RIGHT.  Contrary to public opinion….it was VERDUGO who actually had the good kids…and we usually didn’t throw the first punch.  But if someone did, they found out in a hurry that getting into a game of BENCH JOCKEYING with us was not a very wise decision.  McBride wanted to wear number 14…..and so did “White” Chandler…so what did McBride do?  He wore number 14 and a HALF!!!  McBride…We’ll NEVER forget!!

I’ll never forget Yvan Moreno in the playoff game against Chatsworth in 1992.  The Umps had already thrown three guys out of the game.  Yet the Warriors from Verdugo stepped it up big time.  Lance Evans came off of the bench and PITCHED WITH A BROKEN ARM.  I will talk about that in greater detail in a later post.  But it was Moreno, the quiet kid, the guy who never said too much who came of age on this day.  We trailed 5-0…..then they threw three guys out of the game.  Yet in TRUE Verdugo-style..we rallied to take the lead 6-5.  When we took the lead…Moreno had made it to third base on a crazy play where he just flat-out took off on his own.  I was yelling “Get Back!!!”  but Moreno was possessed.  The throw beat him by ten feet and he just jarred the ball out of the third baseman’s glove when he came in HARD!!!!  Moreno was safe…the crowd was going wild and he was just feeding off of it.  I had never seen this kid show even a trace of emotion in two seasons with us.  Yet there he was …..standing on third base…staring down Chatsworth’s shit-talking POS third-baseman.  All of a sudden…the shit-talking third baseman didn’t have anything to say.  It was Moreno doing the talking….or the screaming I should say.  “Get the fuck away from Me!!!!!!  It’s 1-0 VERDUGO….get the fuck away from me I’m gonna stuff you in that trash can!!!!!!!!!!!”

That piece of shit third baseman didn’t just believe Moreno…he was CONVINCED.  He backed up close to the left field grass.  I will NEVER FORGET the way I felt at that exact moment.  Everything that I wanted to say myself was being said by my own players!!!!!!!  I didn’t have to say anything.  I will NEVER forget that moment……..and I just wanted to say to Yvan……Thanks!!!!!!!  And to all of you for the fight we gave them that day………….

Most of the guys I have mentioned here have not said the magic words “I’m IN”………

If what we did 20 years ago didn’t mean anything at the time I can see how it wouldn’t matter now.  But from the brief stories I have mentioned here (and I have plenty more) it is obvious that what we did way back then DID indeed mean something. 

I know this…I WILL NEVER FORGET.

And I know, you haven’t forgotten either……

I’ll see you guys at the Reunion.  And don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to this BLOG!!!!!

The Collective CHIP on our 1990 Shoulders….

Posted: March 8, 2011 in 1990, Behind the Scenes, BullOxen, Chandler, Chili, Frost, Hank, McBride, Rogers, Sammy, Spongy, Turner, Vic, Weapon
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When we started this thing in 1990 I went in to the Post and somehow got them to sponsor our Team…something Verdugo Hills Post 288 had not done in about 30 years.  For more info on how that came about read my earlier Post titled “From $1000.00 to a Team Bus?”  While I was excited to have been “hired” to coach Post 288 (for no pay)…….I had just ONE PROBLEM.  I didn’t have any players……

I had just finished up my first year as a PAID coach at Burbank High.  So I was planning on taking a couple of pitchers with me from that school……our tough little right-hander Chili Rivera and left-hander Jason “White” Chandler.  But that’s really all I had.  I knew some of the kids from CV and had coached many of them in Colt League in ’88 and ’89.  Alot of those guys had already verbally committed to joining us but I still had many slots on the Roster to fill. 

So I started picking the brain of one of the players from my 1989 Colt Team..John Rogers.  Rogers was smart, funny, and most importantly…he could SELL.  In reality, Rogers was the GM for our Team the first year of our existence.  He kind of bridged the gap with a lot of these players we wanted to recruit for the Team and he really opened up the lines of communication with these players.  Rogers had already played for me for a couple of years and had a feel for how I liked to run a program and I think he did an unbelieveable job SELLING this to the players who ultimately ended up on our Roster.  But being the new guy, I still had ALOT of selling of my own to do.

Glendale had a powerful program going on, and I am sure many of the guys who played with us that first year (if given the choice) would have played for them instead of us.  But there was something going on behind the scenes that worked in our favor.  Glendale was trying to recruit the guys who ended up on our Roster as “Filler” players.  They wanted them on their team, but they wouldn’t make any commitments to these players as to how much (or little) playing time they were going to get. 

Most of our guys probably felt (and rightfully so) that they could be STARTING for the Glendale team.  As I spoke more and more with these players that we ended up with, I realized that they were pretty pissed about the whole thing.  This kind of worked to our advantage.  And in the end, they decided that PLAYING for us was better than SITTING for anybody.  I started to realize that this was a great group of guys….they all kind of had a CHIP on their shoulders and wanted to prove Glendale (and the rest of the world) that they were WRONG.  And I think that our guys more than accomplished this.

Glendale wanted all of the BIG NAME players.  The marquee players, if you will.  Hell, I’ve always said just give me nine guys who want to play hard and I’ll do fine with whoever it is.  Even if we play the entire season ON THE ROAD like we did. 

One of those Marquee players was Vic Ramirez.  The Glendale team was trying to get me to sign off on a waiver sheet and effectively “release” Vic over to them.  I had two words for the Glendale team when that was proposed to me…..those two words were “Hell NO.”  It looked like Vic might not even play that season at all.  But thanks to Hank, BullOxen, and some of the other guys doing a little behind the scenes “selling” Vic ended up playing for us and having a great season. This is the reason the Glendale team had it in for us and wouldn’t let us use Stengel Field at all in our first season.  And I’ll bet you if they did acquire Vic from us they would have won the District.  So Glendale may have ruined our plans of having a home field…but we ruined their season……….

You know what I say?  Canale is a marquee player.  Damon Martin is a marquee player. Weapon is a marquee player.  Hank is a marquee player.  Rogers is a marquee player.  Same with the pitchers we brought over from Burbank.  And the guys we filled out our Roster with were great players, too.  At least this is how I SAW IT.  And as far as I’m concerned, I SAW IT and the guys running the Glendale program missed it.  This is why Verdugo Hills had the greatest players….we had the guys who had HEART.  We had the guys who ate, lived and breathed the game.  So from our inception we had this great group of kids who felt they had kind of been OVERLOOKED.  They had a nice, big, fat CHIP on their shoulders.  And over the next several posts…I’m gonna tell you all about it!  I’m getting fired up right now just writing about it!!

It kind of goes without saying the chip I had on MY SHOULDER.  It was the perfect union…a coach who wanted to prove he could win at this level and a bunch of players who felt like they had been overlooked and wanted to prove that they could PLAY at this level.  Well, I think we proved our critics WRONG by the end of that first season.  Take a look at the stats from the 1990 Team when I post them here and try to tell me these guys were not players.  Canale as a 16 year-old made the ALL-STAR TEAM.  He had 88 Plate Appearances that season…..and he struck out ONE time!!!  

Yeah…..we all had a one big, fat, CHIP on our shoulder.  And I frickin’ LOVED IT.  While the rest of the league certainly didn’t label us as the new bully in the block…. I will say this….after just a few games they all were paying VERY CLOSE attention to US……….and there was a LOT of whispering going on behind the scenes about this New Team in the 20th District called Verdugo Hills……a Motley Crew of no-names who didn’t back down to ANYBODY.

 

Proof that “They Burned Their Bodies”……..

Posted: February 21, 2011 in 1992, BullOxen, Hank, No Way!, Turner, Weapon
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We’ve had close to 500 hits on this blog already.  So it’s becoming obvious that there are some people out there reading this shit every day who had nothing to do with this team and don’t know who the hell we are.  They are clearly reading this brilliant shit strictly for entertainment purposes.  For those of you who are doing so…we thank you.  And we agree that there is some pretty funny shit on this blog!!  We also urge you to write in to us here at Verdugo Headquarters and remind us of how brilliant we are!! (as if we don’t already know).  This picture came in today from New Orleans, Louisiana where one of our All-Time Greats by the name of “Turner” is now living.  For those of you who don’t know what this picture is…..may I direct your attention to one of our earlier blog entries titled “They Burned Their Bodies” by Colin James.  This is a picture of Turner’s ‘Gar-Burn.”  Turner, by the way, shaved his head when we clinched a playoff spot that season.  Turner also had a fake ID when he was 18 years old and playing for us…WITH MY NAME ON IT!!!  CLUTCH PICTURE TURNER!!!  Ahhhh!!!  Thanks for sending it in.  I know there are more of you out there who can take a few minutes and take a quick snapshot of YOUR Gar-Burn and send it in here to Verdugo Headquarters.  Weapon said he was going to send a picture of his in last time I talked to him…..but then again…I used to give “Weap” the take sign on a 3-0 pitch and he’d TAKE all right…..as in TAKE a big rip at it….(I’m just sayin’).  So Weap…we’re looking forward to seeing your Verdugo Gar-Burn indeed.  You owe it to us to send us a shot of that, dude….after all…it later caused you a trip to the hospital emergency room.  Weapon also told me that when he got to emergency the nurse asked him “Did you do this to yourself?”  In typical Verdugo-style, Weap lied and told her he had tripped at a bonfire party at the beach or some bullshit.  Then, when Weapon got the bill in the mail….in typical Verdugo-style…he never paid it!!!!!!  Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Here’s a close-up of Turner’s GAR-BURN for everyone!!!!!!!!!!

“FENCE!!!!!!!!!!!”

Posted: February 18, 2011 in 1992, Hack, Rags/Trash Talk, Turner
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I had mentioned in an earlier post about the notorious left field fence at Saugus High.  That fence they had that was colored blue and was made of solid wood.  On this day in Verdugo History….We were playing Newhall-Saugus…again.  This was NOT the day of the infamous “Saugus 500.”  No, this was another game.  In fact, this was the final regular-season game of the ’92 season and we were going to start the playoffs in a couple of days against…you guessed it….Newhall-Saugus.  There wasn’t much at stake this game as both teams had already clinched playoff spots.  And what happened on this day may have been one of the top-five laughers of all-time Verdugo lore.

Workman came up and hit an absolute SHOT up the left-center gap.  Their left and center-fielders were sprinting towards the ball.  I mean these guys were running  FULL BORE.  It looked like the left fielder might have had a chance to make a play on it.  One problem.  His teammate, the centerfielder forgot to tell him he was running out of real estate.  No warning.  The left fielder sprinted straight into that solid wood fence.  Unfortunately, there isn’t a word that can describe the sound of when he crushed into it…all I can say is that it was really, really LOUD.

The left fielder went down in a heap.  The ball caromed off the wall and our guys were now hustling around the basepaths.  Their center fielder was now chasing a ball that was rolling back towards the infield.  The guy that ran into the fence was still on the ground and looked like he was dead……….

As our guys were rounding the basepaths and I was “windmilling” guys home from the third base coaching box I heard Robb Turner yell out the word “FENCE!!!!!!!!!!”

I started laughing so hard I fell down………………

That blue fence they had also had that really cool yellow line painted at the top of it.  If a ball hit the yellow line and still stayed in the park, it’s a home run.  Hack’s shot probably hit the yellow line.  It could have gone either way.  I wanted to argue about it with the umpire but how could I have put together a convincing case when I couldn’t stop laughing?