verdugo288

There is one final member of the Verdugo family who we haven’t mentioned yet.  In between the ’91 and ’92 campaigns Verdugo picked up another great acquisition.  “Oodah” the cat!  Yeah, buddy….we went on quite a tear after picking up Oodah.  38-5 to be exact.  She was a great cat.  A persian.  I found this picture today.  Here she is at about 7 weeks old.  She was kind of protesting a little bit there….being forced to pose for a picture without having her hair combed perfectly.  She was there to witness all of the Verdugo glory!!!!  And look at that mop of hair on ‘Ol Gee!!!!  Ahhhh!!!! Oodah!!!!  Ahhhh!!!! Verdugo!!!!

I had given up.  I tried to find it before the Reunion BASH.  I was totally pissed I couldn’t find it.  I had pretty much given up.  But I FOUND IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THE VERDUGO HILLS VIDEOTAPE THAT HAS EXCERPTS FROM MOST OF THE GAMES IN THE ’92 SEASON!!!!!!!!!!

Now…it’s a videotape that is 20 years old.  I just gotta get it transferred to DVD and then we can let the fun begin!!!!!!!!  I have had SO many ideas of what I would do on this blog if I only could find that damn tape.  Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd….he found it!!!!

Ahhhh!!!! VERDUGO!!!!  Ahhhh!!!! VERDUGO!!!!

Nothing stops VERDUGO!!!!

I’m sure out there in Verdugo-land HANK can be heard somewhere right now screaming at the top of his lungs “FUCK YEAH!!!!”

I don’t have a video player.  It’s gonna be a few days before I can see what we got on this sacred artifact.  But I’ll keep everyone posted!!!!

AHHHH!!!!

We’re gonna see some quick and pantherlike shit here REAL SOON!!!!

I also found a couple of great pictures we can use here at verdugo288.wordpress.com.  What a day!!!!

And to cap it all off….I even played some GOLF with TURNER today!!!!  Ahhhh Verdugo!!!!!

Yesterday was quite a day.  I was inspired by the overwhelming response we had from yesterday’s blog post titled “Merry Xmas to Verdugo ONLY.”

I couldn’t believe it.  By noon we had received almost 200 hits.  I decided to head out on Christmas day and track down a few Verdugo Rivals.  Just wanted to see if they remembered us.  I wanted to try and convince them to let bygones be bygones.  I wanted to try and reach out and see how they all were doing all of these years later.  Damn was I surprised with what I found!

We all remember the left fielder for Newhall-Saugus.  This was the guy who (while in a full sprint) ran face first into the plywood-constructed “Blue Monster” left-field fence chasing down a towering fly ball hit by HACK.  We also remember Turner yelling “Fence” about 5 seconds after the collision!  Great job Turner.  Great job by Verdugo that day.  I always wondered what happened to this guy.  Well……from what you can see here in the picture, I didn’t really get to speak with him.  But his mother was there.  She says he’s doing “just fine these days…all things considered.”

She says he was “never really the same” after that collision with the left field fence.  Well, it was a life-changing event for me as well!  Now every time I see an outfield fence I can’t stop laughing!!!  So I wanted to get a quick snapshot of this guy for everyone.  It kind of goes without saying that we at Verdugo are always concerned about the welfare of others………..even if it’s 20 years later!

now he runs into the ground!

it looks like he really turned his life around!

I probably went out yesterday and tried to visit about 20, maybe 25 people who years ago had tried to tangle with Verdugo and lost.  It was kind of pathetic seeing how they had turned out.  I also discovered that many of the families I went by just to say “hello” to after all these years were in full-on DRUNKEN family arguments.  Always the peacemaker that I am….I still was unable to pull these families out of their lingering miseries that probably all started with a meeting with Verdugo!

 

I did make one final trip last night around 8 PM to visit the guy that Hank kept slap-tagging in the face when he was taking too big of a lead off of first base back in 1990.  Ironically, a former Notre Dame player.  He was pretty much passed out on the floor…..so I took it upon myself to do a little “Verdugo was here” artwork.  I think it came out pretty nice.  It was the least I could do…….after all, he was in NO condition to enjoy the bottle of champagne I wanted to give him to kind of extend a symbolic “olive branch” to those guys directly from Verdugo. 

 

It looks like the Verdugo legacy lives on.  We ruined many lives.  It was kind of sad to see, but this is what happens to those who dared to challenge us.  As always, I was just trying to “reach out” after all of these years and try to sit down and sort out any differences they may have had with Verdugo.  Unfortunately, none of them were in any condition to communicate. 

 

Well, it was a great Christmas for VERDUGO…..and I guess that’s all that matters!

 

Well……..here he is.  That guy from Notre Dame.  What do you guys think of my “artwork?”

 

Gee does a little artwork with a bag of baking soda!

I just wanted to say Merry Christmas to all of the members of the undisputed, outright KINGS of American Legion…..VERDUGO!!!!!!!  It goes without saying that peace and goodwill shall continue to dog every footstep we take…….but I still had to extend to all former Verdugo-ites my sincerest blessings (as biased as they may be).

Now, to all of the rest of the green-eyed-with-envy-opponents of ours (who became our personal whipping boys for all of those years) I also have a Holiday message for you,too!  And here it is:

May your Holiday Season(s) always be tainted with drunken family arguments.  May the turkey dinner you eat be tainted with salmonella.  May the eggnog you drink “taste funny”….and may it be discovered after ingesting that the expiration date on it was about three weeks ago.  

Sincerely,

Gee

Once again…..THEY’VE DONE IT!!!  Verdugo….the outright, undisputed KINGS of American Legion Baseball for All-Time!!!!

I have also taken the opportunity over the Holiday Season to extend a challenge to Fat-Jody from Notre Dame.  I have sent him TWO emails challenging him to a softball game between the members of Verdugo (90-93) against Notre Dame (90-93).  

I sent these emails a couple of weeks ago.  As of today………NO ANSWER from Fat Jody.  And Jody..if you’re reading this out there, remember this.  We at Verdugo have no respect at all for you.  We do (I must say) have “great admiration” for you……but still (after all of these years)……no respect.  And I’m sure that neither of us would want it any other way.  We’re pretty sure you have no respect for us, either!!!  

The Deadline for your response to our challenge Jody is January 10th, 2012.  If we do not hear back from you by 11:59PM on that date…….we will have to assume you are in no position to move on our challenge.  Verdugo will be awarded the victory via forfeit. 

I sent ‘Ol Jody a nice picture of us from our Reunion as well.   I would have paid $$$ to see the look on his face!!!!

So here is my Holiday message to Jody:  “LIKE A NIGHTMARE…….WE’RE BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!”

And once again….to the members of VERDUGO:  Merry Xmas and Happy New Year!!!! AHHHH!!!!

Well, it’s been almost a month since The Bash.  Verdugo is the only Team in the history of Legion (probably) to ever even have a Bash, and it was well-deserved.  To see everyone again was incredible.  I just want to take the time here to thank everyone for attending and making the long trips to be there.  To Hack and Gabe….that is so incredible that you guys actually FLEW IN to be there.  Turner actually flew in as well, and I got to see him TWICE while he was here in L.A.  And let me tell you all out there…Turner is still TURNER!!!!  Ahhhh!!!!

“B” Cowsill would have been there as well. He is now playing in the Band “The Cowsills” and unfortunately their first gig of the 2011 season was in Ohio on 7-9-11.  Dan Bir would have been there as well….he had made plans for a trip in the Bahamas somewhere BEFORE we announced the Official Date.  Kasey would have been there as well….and he ended up going over to BullOxen’s house the day after The Bash for some whiffle-ball with Hank, Thunder, and HACK.  By the way, HANK is “claiming” that his Team defeated Hack and Bull….but you never know with Hank. 

Lance Evans had to stay in Vegas to help his mother move in and kind of get settled in.  “Tex” Martin had something come up 11th hour as well.  “Tex” was packed and ready to go….

All-in-All…..I think we had a great turnout.  We invited 29 guys and 22 were there.  Think about that.  For some guys it had been over 20 years since they had even heard from me and they dropped whatever they were doing to be there.  Just incredible.  And the guys who didn’t make it had actual “reasons” they could not attend.  No one had any “excuses” (and there IS a difference between “reasons” and “excuses”).  It was quite humbling, the whole thing. 

I have been asked many times in the months leading up to The Bash and just here over the last four weeks the question “Why?”

People who have no knowledge of us and what we did have asked me so many times “Why would you put all of this time and energy into something like this?”

I just look at them and say “You’d never understand.”

And it’s true.  HACK (so far) is the only one who has commented on the Bash here at The Blog and said something to the effect of “it’s hard to make people understand how great it was” playing for Verdugo.  I agree.

From my perspective, no one could ever understand either. 

No one would ever know the feeling I had when you guys took the field.  And how it developed and where it led us to.

No one could ever understand the feeling of starting a game with you guys on the field.  And someone from the other team hits a routine ground ball.  And everyone knows it will be an out.  And as soon as the ball is hit…..you hear our guys barking out “QUICK.”  And when our infielder comes up with it cleanly and fires a perfect throw to first….you hear our guys barking “PANTHERLIKE!!!”  And after the out is recorded and we’re throwing it around….you can hear our guys on the bench and in the outfield barking out “Ahhh!!!!” 

THAT….my friends, is the greatest feeling in the world.

Yeah….NO ONE could ever understand that feeling except for myself.  

No one could ever understand the feeling I had seeing all the bodies flying around on the field when we played defense.  Guys giving it up…picking each other up.  Guys battling like they had never battled before.  Guys playing hurt.  Guys diving.  Hustling.  Catchers taking a beating behind the plate blocking shit in the dirt.  Silence on three….

No one could ever understand the feeling of the dogpiles we had.  The come from behind victories.  The games we stole.  The hearts we broke.  The jubilation of reaching the playoffs for the very first time when guys like Turner and Canale had been telling me all season that it WAS going to happen.  They were right.  No one would ever understand it.  Except for myself and the rest of you.

No one could ever understand how happy I was to see each and every one of you guys again.  I know I will never forget all that each of you gave to our Team.  It may not have meant anything to anyone else….but it meant the world to me.  It really did….

Gabe kind of summed it up at The Bash.  He said….”Even though we didn’t win it all, we DID win it all.”

Yeah, Gabe….you’re right.  We did.

I am the luckiest guy in the world.  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again:  “Verdugo had the greatest players who played in the greatest games ever played.”

It’s true.  No one could possibly understand.  But WE do. 

And at the end of the day….that’s all that really matters.

I am….without a doubt….the luckiest man to ever live on the face of this planet.

Thanks to every one of you.  From the bottom of my heart.  Even the guys who couldn’t make it….I know you were there with us that night.

We WILL have another one.  I forgot to tell you….7-9-11 was just an “icebreaker.”

Now….I want to get back to writing about what I have always called “The Thunder Years” (the 92 and 93 seasons).  Yeah buddy, 38-5 coming up.  Here we go!!!!

Wow.  5,000 hits on this Blog.  5,000 unique visitors to our little world here.  I think I have given the Blog adress out to maybe 20 people.  Pretty Cool. 

We’ve all had some time since The Verdugo Bash to reflect a little bit as well.  I needed to take a little rest from writing and just kind of let the experience of seeing everyone again kind of “breathe.”

I will be be picking up where I left off soon…and getting into the stories of the great seasons we had in ’92 and ’93.

Before I start that, though…..I wanted to write a little bit about The Reunion. 

I think my next post will be about July 9th, 2011.  What it was like, and what it meant to me.  For those of you out there reading The Blog, I hope you take some time to do the same……kind of gather your thoughts and prepare yourself to make some comments about what a great night it was.  I hope everyone has something to say about that night….

There has been talk already about having another.  I am sure we will.

I hope The Verdugo Bash brought some people together.  People who otherwise had lost track of one another.  People who may have kind of forgotten through the years the power of the game of Baseball.  It was a great time to remember and feel good about all we had done together….on and off the field.

It is my hope that we all never lose track of one another again….

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!!!