verdugo288

This was yet another BIG game. With Gabe getting the ball, having thrown only a total of eight pitches in a Verdugo uniform prior to this game in that playoff-clinching win against Sun Valley.

Gabe was CLUTCH in that game ….and GABE was CLUTCH today!!!!

Gabe threw six innings…..picking up the win. He gave up four hits….walked five and struck out two. Hack pitched the 7th to get the save.

We made only one error on the day.

I mentioned in the previous post that the Newhall hitters were hitting shots all over the yard against Gabe. This was a good team. And they did hit the ball hard. But at the end of the day, Gabe only gave up four hits. And you can’t throw six innings and win against a team like this without having some good stuff and making some big pitches and getting some big outs.

And that’s exactly what Gabe did. He also pulled it off without really having pitched for us the whole season.

I gotta say this here. Gabe threw a great game. He was a great player for us all year. We started him. He came off the bench. Sometimes we’d sit him. He pinch hit, he pinch ran, he played all the outfield positions and had a lot of games at first base. He was the quintessential role-player. He produced offensively and hit over .400 on the year.

He was a role player for us who just always came to the ballpark and always had a great attitude. He even tried to kick Spiro out of our dugout!!!!

How can you not love that?

Their lead-off hitter led off in the 1st with what probably should have been a double. He challenged our center-fielder Hack Workman. He got blown down at second base.

You remember at yesterday’s game against Panorama City when Canale hitting a home run when we (jokingly) asked him to.

Today was more of that….kinda.

Newhall had runners at second and third with one out in the 2nd. Everybody in the dugout was “nervous” you could tell.

These were my exact words I said in the dugout before the next pitch:

“I don’t know about you General but I got a feeling something good is about to happen” as I smiled.

Ground ball to Hagge. The runner on third challenged….trying to score….Haggs fired to Fielder behind the plate. The throw got to Fielder so quickly the runner retreated back to third. Fielder calmly runs the baserunner back towards third. He dumps it off to Turner who lays a tag on him.

The runner on second is still halfway between second and third….

The batter is now trying to stretch his fielders choice into a double.

Turner FIRES to Yves. Gunning his ass down by ten feet at second base.

Inning over.

And you can bet our entire coaching staff erupted with the words “now that’s what I’m tawkin’ bout” after that play

Right? Like we’d been working on that at practice or something.

Yeah….”something good” had just happened. It was just that kind of season.

They scored three in the third ….all unearned. They indeed hit three balls HARD…..but we got out of trouble.

After that….Gabe coasted. After the first few innings were under his belt he was on a roll. They really didn’t hit anything hard from that point forward.

Let’s talk offense. We had 10 hits.

THREE by Hack Workman. Workman was 11-15 in the final three games.

Staggering. Just staggering.

Hack came up in the top of the 4th and hit a big towering drive into left-center. They had a solid wood fence painted blue there….it was one of the few fences around the League that had that cool yellow-line (the home-run line) painted at the top of the fence.

Both the left fielder and center fielder were in a full sprint to flag it down. The center fielder just forgot to warn the left fielder when he got to the warning track.

He failed to warn him about that big…..blue….solid plywood FENCE.

The left-fielder in a FULL SPRINT ran straight into it. The ball (I think anyways) hit the yellow line and should have been ruled a Home Run.

But I think with the collision with the fence the umpire was distracted. The outfielder who smashed into the fence went straight down in a heap.

It seemed like the entire field went dead silent when this happened for at least a few seconds (which is a LONG TIME during a baseball game) as the ball rebounded BACK towards the infield and the outfielder layed there flattened by the impact.

That silence was broken by Robb Turner when he barked out at the top of his lungs “FENCE!!!!”

I was waving Gabe home and I was about halfway down the line when Robb said it and I started laughing so hard I went down.

I’ve written a story about this already here on the blog and the link to that story will be at the bottom of this post.

The kid survived and even stayed in the game…..

One of the most brutal rags in Verdugo History!!!!

Here are the other guys that helped out on offense!!!!

Gabe, Haggs, and Yves each had two hits.

Yves doubling and Haggs driving in a run and Gabe scoring twice.

Bull Oxen had our only other hit. A single in the 3rd.

Robb Turner’s seven-game hitting streak finally came to an end today. He really picked it up a notch down the stretch…

Phil Halford….THE GENERAL also handled the post-game interview with the members of the press that were at this game. I was egging him on before the interview to make sure to keep telling the reporters during the interview that we were “quick….pantherlike” because we needed to get that in the papers!!!!

Phil was having a blast…he kept telling them how “quick and pantherlike” we were while they asked him questions. He must have said it 20 times. He was inventing ways to interject “quick….panther-like” into every question they asked him!!!!

I was laughing my ass off!!!!

It was one of those laughing sessions where if I would have been taking a drink of something while General was answering questions I’d have spit it all out.

He was acting the part like he’d done a million interviews. Even starting off every answer he gave to them with the words “well ya know…..”

Myself, Henry and The Weapon were about ten feet away giggling like little kids while he was doing this shit. He was masterful!!!!

It was that funny.

They all looked at him strange each time he said “quick….pantherlike”

General could hear us laughing …but he never wavered…he kept a straight face and sounded like a political press secretary throughout the whole thing!!!!

I couldn’t wait to read the papers tomorrow to see “quick pantherike” IN THE PAPERS!!!!

I still can’t believe it. They edited out all the “quick….pantherlikes” from General’s brilliant interview session.

We tried like hell. And I gotta admit….just seeing the words “quick…..pantherlike” in the papers would have been our crowning glory no doubt about it at all.

These reporters man….they just don’t get it.

Right?

Anyways…..Another BIG win for Verdugo.

It’s playoff time!!!

I can’t remember if they gave us one or two days off before the playoffs but I do think it was two days off.

We’re going to the dance!!!! And we just won our 20th game of the season.

I’ll say it again….20!!!!

https://verdugo288.wordpress.com/2011/02/18/fence/

Honestly….I wanted to win. Just like any other game. But at the same time whatever happened today wasn’t going to affect our seeding in the playoffs if we ended up a wild-card team.

We still had a chance of winning the Division today.

I don’t know who Jody was playing against today, but if they won today (which they did) then they win the Division. However, if they lose and we win…then we win the Division and are the number one seed in the playoffs.

We almost pulled that off. Pretty fucking incredible.

Think about that. Jody ended up 21-2. We ended up 20-3. That right there are the two best records of all the teams in 1992. All the teams. All 30 of ’em…..may have even been 32 teams that year. I don’t think there were any teams that even won 19….including teams that won their divisions. As a wild card team, we had a better won-loss record than three of the four teams who won their divisions. And we damn near won our division.

We had the second best record in the 20th District. But still ended up as a wild-card team.

That made us the number five seed.

Sounds like a pretty fucking dangerous number five seed to me. And that indeed we proved to be.

In our second playoff game ….we beat the number one seed…..for the second time of the year.

But seriously, take a second and think about what we did. Just.Staggering.

Starting with wins. 20…..

Need anything else be said?

Let’s talk about the three losses…..

The Burbank game got away from us earlier in the year. We lost that one 6-4.

Then we lost one to a ball club I still say was “illegal as hell.” We lost that one 9-6.

Jody beat us 6-3 in a game that could have gone either way.

We lost three games in 1992 by a total of eight runs.

We were in every game.

Think about it.

If we ended up winning any one of those three….we would have been the number one seed in the playoff tournament.

I think we did everything we could.

After losing to Notre Dame earlier in the week …. we had to win the final four games to even have a shot at the division title. We pulled that off.

And let’s not forget …. Verdugo NEVER won the big games ….right?????

Our rookies came through massively.

Wiley and Gabe were key in the innings they gave us.

I can’t badmouth anything about our three losses this year.

And our last four wins….with our backs a little bit against the wall….and a little short-handed…..especially the clincher against Sun Valley were just absolutely awe-inspiring and EPIC.

This last game against Newhall-Saugus was Fun. The dugout was loose….we were popping off and making plays and hitting the ball with authority.

We were ready for the playoffs win or lose today.

I think we dodged quite a few bullets today and could have got beat. But something was watching over us in ’92.

Gabe courageously gave us six innings and we won. Hack picked up the save.

Newhall-Saugus had a good team. We ended up opening the playoffs against them.

They were hitting SHOTS all over the yard in the early innings off ‘Ol Gabe….many RIGHT AT US. The other ones they hit hard we made plays on. But Gabe kept getting the BIG outs…and we frustrated yet another team.

Gabe? You were great!!!!

We got a lot of fresh arms going into the playoffs now thanks to what Gabe and Wiley did this week.

EPIC!!!!

Time to finish it out and see if we can make it 20!!!!

We were all moving pretty slow today. And this one went as easy as I anticipated. We came into this game with 32 hits in the last couple of games….and today we added 17 more.

Every hitter in the starting lineup had at least one hit.

The game was stopped in the 8th inning due to the ten-run rule.

Wiley pitched the win and defensively we played an errorless game.

Hack Workman set a new Verdugo record with FIVE HITS today. He had six plate appearances. He singled in the first, doubled in the second, TRIPLED in the fifth….

He had a chance to hit for the cycle and we were all pulling for him to do it…but unfortunately was only able to hit two more SHOTS for base-hits in his final two plate appearances.

He was definitely slacking off again!!!!

Incredible game Hack!!!! This was a Verdugo record that was never broken.

We had a few guys who had some four-hit games for us in the past, including Bull and Turner, and even Chili Rivera back in 1990.

Turner had two hits in the win today and doubled.

There was one other absolutely amazing thing that went down today. We were up 6-0 in the sixth and Bull Oxen stepped up.

We were all tired…it was a hot day and I was looking to mercy-rule these guys in seven innings if possible.

Canale looked down to me in the third base coaching box with a 1-1 count. I gave no hand signals. All I did was mouth the word “Bomb!”

Canale did a double-take. He looked at me like “say what?”

I did it again. I kinda flicked an arm towards the left field wall as I mouthed the word “bomb!” again.

He looked at me like “ohhh okay you want me to hit it outta here? Ok”….

I’m not kidding ya here. The very next pitch he bombed it over the left field fence for a homerun.

That’s the kind of season 1992 was. At this point it was getting kinda scary. And more of this kinda shit happened tomorrow against Newhall-Saugus.

I have to say that was probably the most incredible feat I ever saw. I had never given anyone “the homerun sign” before from the third-base coaching box….and never even tried again. But I was one-for-one thanks to Bull Oxen the only time I gave it.

Bull gave me quite a smile when he rounded-third while in his homerun trot. I still can’t even believe it.

Jon Gabrielson had two hits, drove in a run and scored twice.

Dave Fielder singled in the first, had a sac fly in the second hitting from the three-hole for us today. He also blew down the only runner who tried to run on us in the third inning. They didn’t try again after that.

Dan Bir had a big two-RBI double in the first that got us out front 4-0. Bir was really swinging the bat well for us this time of the season.

Haggs scored three runs…singled in the third, and drove in a run in the first inning on a fielders choice.

Yves Brancheau picked up a base-hit and an RBI.

Ivan Moreno singled.

Kasey came into the game for Josh in the seventh inning and singled in his only plate appearance. Yeah he was hitting in the cleanup spot!!!!

And to top it all off?

Wiley Jackson.

Wiley picked up his second victory in three days!!!! I had to ask him if his shoulders were getting tired from carrying us. I know…. I broke the rule. But fifteen innings in 3 days is fifteen innings.

It’s too bad I couldn’t shout about this one from the mountaintops!

Wiley made it look easy again. 86 pitches. Scattered six hits. Walked one and struck out seven.

Say what you want about me breaking a rule.

We got through this week and had pitchers ready and rested for the playoffs thanks in part to what Wiley had contributed. It was huge.

He even told me after this one “if you need me tomorrow I’m ready”

The way he was throwing….I gotta admit I was thinking “hmmmm”……

Next up: Newhall-Saugus

The infamous day Robb Turner shouted out the word “Fence!!!!”

Indeed that’s what we were. Even starting back in 1990. But we weren’t much of a threat to the status quo back then. We almost were in 1991….but not enough to warrant any full-blown investigations….

Sure we always had guys getting launched from games. We had a reputation of being a little “vocal” at times. We didn’t take any shit from anybody. Many consider that to be “controversial”…. right?

Well…. I learned in 1992 that the most “controversial” thing you could do in American Legion Baseball (at least in the 20th District) is to dominate.

I won’t go into too much detail about it now. But right around the time we swept Glendale my phone was ringing. All of a sudden there were “questions” everyone had regarding the “legality” of my team. All those questions were being funneled through the Commissioner of the 20th District Mel Swerdling.

All of a sudden everyone and their brother was combing through our paperwork. They wanted to see birth certificates…. which they already had….they called schools to verify the enrollment numbers I had submitted.

Everything was being verified. And to their utter chagrin ….all of our paperwork was clean. It was clean in ’93 when they burned us, too….but that’s another story.

And that’s fine, because I knew the rule book like the back of my hand. We had no illegal players. Everything checked out.

If everything hadn’t checked out….we would have been denied the playoffs and been forced to forfeit every game any illegal players played in for the entire season. That was the rule.

That didn’t happen did it?

And that is the rule. If they determine you have “illegal players” …..then you forfeit every game they played in.

But that didn’t happen. Can you believe what these dogs were trying to do to our miraculous team in 1992?

I still shake my head when I think about it.

So why in ’93 were three of our players determined to be “illegal” and subsequently removed from our roster….and yet we didn’t have to forfeit any games they had played in? (Which was all the games we had played in ’93)

Why did they allow us to participate in the playoffs in ’93 after it was determined that for the first 17 games of the regular season that we had “illegal players?”

They should have made us forfeit all of our games at that point and made us 0-17…instead of leaving us at 15-2. They didn’t do that.

Why?

Well….That will be another story as well…but towards the end of this blog….way in the future.

This is what I mean when I say the most controversial thing you could do in the 20th District is to dominate.

But in ’92 they tried. Ohhhh did they try.

So while we were doing our thing and rising and dominating I had this “struggle” going on behind the scenes. I didn’t mention it really to anyone. It was between myself and the League.

I didn’t mention it to any of the players because I felt it would be a distraction and what was funny was ….I never even mentioned it to the one guy on our team they were targeting.

Because we hadn’t….and he hadn’t ….done anything illegal.

This was a plain and simple case of the cronies in the 20th District putting together a posse to “get Verdugo” and I “got it”…I understood….they should verify everything. But this was a little over the top as you’ll end up seeing.

I ended up getting Dave Haskell involved from Post 288. He was helpful, but I could have fought these guys off without him. It was more of the time element that was taxing me.

I had enough on my plate as it was with just managing the ball club.

But expect me to embellish upon this at some point on the blog. Everything in the end worked out for us….but we had to fight for our lives to get one guy cleared. And I think eventually they may have even had to make a change in their rule book because of it.

Because in the end….we had a guy who was targeted, but I kept telling Mel “he’s untouchable”

Fuck that pissed him off.

In fact….I told Mel he was “untouchable” so many times that I even gave this player a nickname. I stopped even referring to him by his real name when Mel was trying to pull him from our Roster.

I started calling him “The Golden Child”

Fuck that really pissed him off.

“Cmon Mel are we gonna have another conversation about The Golden Child? Don’t waste your time Mel…he’s untouchable” I would tell him.

Swerdling would be seething on the other end of the phone. I knew it and I loved it because I was right and I knew in the end I would be proven right.

While all of this was still up in the air, I would call in games to tell him we had won and I’d tell him “you should have seen the Golden Child out on the field today Mel….he dominated again”

Just to turn his screws!!!! Fuck that pissed him off.

He was fucking with me….and I fucked with him right back!!!! Verdugo-style!!!!

We had the League Commissioner threatening to yank a guy from my team. He could have. We would have got him back on the roster but he could have at least temporarily caused some damage. It wouldn’t have lasted more than a day or two because he would have been overruled. I just kept telling him “he’s untouchable”….

I was daring him to….but he couldn’t.

In the end….,The Powers-that-be ruled in favor of Verdugo!!!!

Is their anywhere Verdugo doesn’t leave their mark????

I still think I made the right move. Our pitching was running thin….and Gabe was going to get the ball tomorrow against Newhall-Saugus.

Cowsill had basketball commitments today. Evans still had a cast on. Bull I needed to keep rested for the playoffs. Same with Hack. And same with Vo.

So who the hell you throwing at these guys today Gee?

Wiley.

You know me…when Verdugo wins a game I’m gonna let the whole world know about it. Damn straight.

But there was ONE GAME we played in our history that I didn’t report the results of to the LA Times or the Daily News. That game was played three days ago up in Lancaster. And Wiley had gone all the way for the win.

I knew I was going to need him today. If I reported that game …..there was a chance ….highly unlikely ….but a chance that we would get BUSTED for having a guy throw too many innings in one week. That’s of course if he did.

Wiley hadn’t crossed that threshold on innings pitched….yet.

But there was a chance he would. And eventually he did.

We broke that rule on this day. Or let me correct that….I broke that rule. I made a conscious decision to do this. But because I didn’t report the results of the Lancaster game to the Times or Daily News…nobody found out.

Of course I reported our win against Lancaster to the league commissioner. But he didn’t keep track of who pitched or innings they pitched….nor did he care. All he gave a damn about was who won and who lost whatever games were played.

So the only way anybody would have been able to find out is if I had reported the Lancaster game to the papers….and another coach read about it….and he then read about our next game….and our next game….got out his calculator and said “hey wait a minute here”

The odds of that happening were like the odds of you or me going to the moon.

Now….was I jeopardizing Wiley’s career as a future big-leaguer? Potentially destroying his ability to continue to blow down hitters with his 97 mph fastball?

I think you guys and even Wiley himself all know the answer to that.

He threw 82 pitches on Wednesday. He came back today and threw 86. But…..a total of 15 innings for the week. The limit was 12.

My thinking was if they catch us they catch us. But with my little scheme of not reporting the Lancaster game to the papers….we were probably gonna be okay.

And Wiley was loving having the ball. He probably would have taken the ball if we asked him to in the next game as well.

But again….I did what I felt I had to do.

This isn’t like I was throwing Bull Oxen in both games of a double-header either. You know? This was the only time in our history I did this. But I did.

Incidentally…..Panorama City was not much of a threat. They won 3 or 4 games in ’92. We could have brought in relief after Wiley had thrown his 12 innings for the week and still won.

But this was a call I made. I take full responsibility for it. And I was ready to suffer whatever consequences came of this.

And right or wrong….I did pull this off….

And as far as tomorrow went ….Gabe was going all the way….even if he was getting battered around. Maybe if it got out of hand I’d have let some position players throw an inning or two….and I’m sure those guys would have been lovin’ every minute of it.

Let’s not forget either….the goal was to get into the playoffs and have Bull going in game one on at least one weeks rest.

We were now IN the playoffs. They couldn’t take that away. Any penalties incurred for what I was about to try would be for this game only. We didn’t break any rules in the Lancaster game. They couldn’t take that win away.

They couldn’t take any wins away from us for the whole season up to this point as well. If they dinged us….it would be for this game and this game only.

Furthermore, we ended up not winning the Division. So with 19 or 20 wins….it wouldn’t have changed our seeding in the playoffs. We were a wild card team that had the most regular season wins of all the wild card teams….with 19 or 20 wins. That made us the number 5 seed going into that thing.

We needed to go into the playoffs (in which every game was going to be a nine-inning game) with at least four pitchers totally rested.

I did what I had to do….

And those four guys were going to be Canale, Vo, Hack, and “B”…..

We accomplished that goal. I had to get “a little creative” to pull that off….but I did.

And looking back….I can’t say enough about what Jackson did. He stepped up. So did Gabe when he went all the way and won on Sunday for us.

Huge.

Instrumental.

CLUTCH!!!!

But let it be known now….I did what I felt I had to do.

P.S. – I’m starting to wonder if this is a blog or a damn confessional!!!! I thought I’d take this one with me to my grave. I’ve kept this one with me …. until now….for almost 28 years.

Whew….I feel….”whole”(?) again

Yes-sir-ree it was one hell of a celebration that ignited after that victory. The General and I made a few rounds at the local watering holes and basked in the glory for a bit.

Everybody was happy with what we had just done. We must have taken about five 400-500 pretty hard congratulatory slaps on the back and were the subject(s) of about one or two at least three-dozen toasts.

We got back to The Dome with the cheapest twelve-pack we could find some very high-end and top-dollar private reserve we had just purchased and then heard all this noise.

You all remember that alley running down parallel with Ocean View Boulevard that led to The Dome.

Cars were ripping down that alley!!! Blasting horns!!! A couple of explosions went off!!! Word had definitely spread regarding what Verdugo had done.

It was mighty humbling. The fact that what we just done really had no meaning to anyone but ourselves had finally brought this divided City together again. We opened one of the windows to try and get some air moving around in that stuffy little place and we heard lots of singing and could smell the barbecues!!!!

Then we heard all kinds of noise outside. We looked down to the patio area of The Dome and some random dudes were down there who had obviously started some kind of party!!!! They were drinking, smoking cigars, raising hell, cranking music on one of those ghetto blasters!!!!

The General and I knew these dudes from somewhere …. we weren’t sure exactly where we knew these guys from but we thought “what the hell?” and we went down there and partied down for a while with those guys….whoever they were….

At least until the police came and broke it up. I gotta say, those police officers were some mighty upstanding guys!!!! They broke things up….sure….they were just doing their jobs.

Before they left….one of the Officers said “oh …and one more thing”

I thought for sure they were gonna slap the cuffs on us.

Until the other Officer said “would you two guys mind signing our Police Hats? We’re pretty big Verdugo fans ourselves!!!!”

We squinted our eyes at ’em and said “well….okay” kinda letting ’em know we were doing them a favor.

I told the guy….”we’ll sign ’em….as long as you promise not to auction ’em off some day on eBay”

He gave me a funny look and said “eBay????”

Anyways, we went ahead and signed ’em.

The General told them “we’d like to take this opportunity as well to Thank you guys for your service to the community!”

We all shook hands before they left….

Like I said….some real upstanding guys!!!!

The General left and I cleaned up the mess from that party and got in the shower. About an hour after I got out of the shower the phone rang….I’m guessing around 9pm.

It’s…..THE GENERAL!!!!

“let’s go” he said

“Where we going?” I asked

“Don’t worry I got a cab I’m on my way”

I was completely plastered at this point buzzing pretty good already but thought “what the hell? Bring it!”

He arrived and the cab drove us about 6-7 blocks over to “Lady Janes” in Montrose.

The General said “we can walk back home from here if we spend all our money”

And that we did.

Dang….

We staggered into Lady Jane’s proudly, confidently and triumphantly walked into Lady Jane’s to quite a rousing ovation. Nobody in there gave a fuck about who we were or what we had just done It was humbling to see all the familiar faces and how proud they were of what we had just accomplished….and about two minutes in…,over at a table we saw a couple of the MOM’s of the Verdugo Team!!!!

They were celebrating our win too!!!!

They waved us over to their table and we sat right down and joined them.

We soon found out they weren’t messing around either!!!!

KAMIKAZI’s!!!!!

I told you they weren’t messing around!!!!

We obviously were in no condition to be drinking any more at this stage felt it was our duty, so The General and I proceeded to match those lovely ladies shot-for-shot and even got out on the dance floor at one point!!!!

I’m guessing at least…..ten?

They left before we did….mostly due to the fact that these two ladies had completely drank us under the table “had to get going”….

It’s a good thing you can only clinch a playoff spot once a year right????

I woke up the next morning….STILL DRUNK….with a slight buzz still going.

It was about 9:45 and the General was due to arrive in about 15 minutes.

I LEAPT OUT OF BED and started checking my body. Looking at my arms all over. My wife is looking at me

“What are you doing?” she asked

I took off my shirt and asked her “do I have any burn marks anywhere on me?”

I was looking in the mirror….

She’s like “burn marks?”

I realized (thankfully) I didn’t have any burn marks on my body.

“Yeah…..” I told her….”uhhhhh….ummm….yeah…..uhhhh….I had this weird dream like maybe one or both or my arms had been burned ….like….with a cigar or something”……”I mean …..I coulda sworn…..”

“It was probably just a crazy dream” I told her as I took a big sigh of relief and jumped in the shower.

I was ready by 10….

Then the phone rang….

It was The General !!!!

All he said was “GONNA BE LATE…..STILL DRUNK” “I’m gassing up the truck and running just a little behind schedule….just wanted to let you know!”

He was about maybe five minutes late….

We loaded up the gear….and General drove about ten feet….stopped his truck ….opened the door and PUKED ALL OVER THE GROUND courteously threw some trash out of the car that was over on my side to make for a more enjoyable ride.

“I appreciate you making sure my side of the ride is clean Gen…thanks!” I told him.

Finally we were on our way to the field…..both of us STILL DRUNK now free from any effects from the party last night. We got to the field by around 10:30….about a half-hour before game time.

DAMN what a bash!!!!

P.S. – gentlemen? I wanted to write that one to let you guys know a couple of things. I’m 60 years old now. I’ve “evolved” as a person. We all have. But two things here….number one I really haven’t changed too much have I? And secondly, I’m the luckiest guy on earth. Not too many coaches can say they partied with the players AND some of the parents. I was the proverbial “man-in-the-middle. We all deserved THAT day. And 28 years later….I still have no regrets. I am also thankful that someone….or something….was watching over all of us back at that time.

And I can’t think of ANY coach on earth….ever….who can look someone in the eye and be truthful when he tells a story about how more than a few of his players branded themselves with cigars after a big win.

I loved VERDUGO with all my heart and all my soul. Back then….and even still….today.

Gee

You think we hit that fat-bitch hard last time? This was the HARDEST we hit any one pitcher in all of 1992. And every single hitter in our lineup bitch-slapped him. HARD.

Fielder sent him packing in the top-of-the-fourth inning (yes we were the visiting team even though this game was played at Glendale High) with an absolute bullet. And yet again, we had the pleasure of watching him make “the walk of shame” when Les came out and pulled him.

And for every step he took when he walked off that mound there were about seven rags from the Verdugo dugout absolutely RAINING DOWN on that bitch!!!!

Four of the HARDEST HIT SHOTS came from the bottom three slots in the lineup. Yves got him TWICE for two doubles.

Calf …and absolute fricking SEED in the second inning.

GABE….a line shot bullet in the third.

Dan Bir clubbed him in the first….driving in Hack Workman ….who had already blistered a base-hit to lead off the game.

I’m talking this dude was getting abused!!!!

Haggs ripped one that about went through his legs.

Canale drove one damn near into the street for a solo-SHOT off him in the third.

Turner TRIPLED DEEP.

All in all we POUNDED 11 hits off his sorry ass by the time Riley pulled him!!!!

After four innings we led 4-3…but the momentum was majorly in our favor with how HARD we were hitting the ball.

I’m not kidding ….it was awe-inspiring.

Les Riley was up to his usual tactics with his runners on the base-paths. We were back-picking when they made overly aggressive turns that resulted in textbook rundowns executed by the pantherlike defense we were playing.

Thunder blew down THREE of ’em who tried running on us. Those dudes just never learn.

And a composed and determined Vo was quietly picking their hitters apart. They did some damage, sure…they’re a good team. But Jim Parque was absolutely magnificent for us tonight.

We added two more runs in the fifth

Yves singled again….his third hit of the night. Kasey drew a walk….and Hack ripped another base hit.

Up steps Robb Turner. Base hit. CLUTCH. Driving in two. Huge. This gave us some breathing room because you know Sun Valley will never stop battling.

We loaded the bases in the sixth but couldn’t get anyone across to score.

It’s still 6-3 Verdugo

Both dugouts LOUD. Both sides of the big crowd were getting into it. It’s still a game. Sun Valley still is within grand-slam reach.

Jim shut them down in the sixth. He had thrown 89 pitches and he was done as far as I was concerned. Gabe had been up and down a few times over in the pen area throughout the game so I had him ready….but Gabe wasn’t expecting the ball. There was only ONE WAY I was gonna pull Parque from this game after what he had just done. I told Gabe he was throwing the last inning but to keep it between him and me. He did.

We added another run in the 7th. Hack triples deep! His THIRD HIT of the game.

Robb Turner…..

Robb Turner …..

Robb Turner…..what a warrior!!!!

He steps in and RIPS his FOURTH HIT of the night to drive in Hack!!!!

7-3 Verdugo

That’s all we got that inning but it was a huge run.

In all …..we POUNDED OUT 17 hits in this one. CLUTCH!!!!

I sent Jim out to pitch the 7th. Why? I thought you were pulling him Gee. I was. But I had something to say to him and I wanted three things. I wanted to tell him what I wanted to say to him on that mound. Because that was now HIS TERRITORY. To let him know how fucking PUMPED I was with what he just did and I wanted him to get the ovation from the crowd when I pulled him as he walked to the dugout.

David has just slayed Goliath in every manner. With confidence, poise, control.

This kid had just pitched us into the playoffs. A rookie….in the biggest game we had played thus far.

Even though we still needed three outs…..I KNEW this game was over.

Yeah…..Verdugo indeed had proven that we had another miracle in us.

I got out to the mound and it must have looked like I was going off on him. I was out there “fuck yeah!!! Fuck yeah!! You stuck their bats right up their asses!!! Among other things….I was just very very proud of our team and what he had done. I wanted some of you guys to hear it too, and to see how pumped I was and how much I wanted you guys to finish it.

He just kinda stood there and looked at me….as only Jim can do….and made the walk to the dugout to a HUGE ovation. An ovation he deserved.

Gabe came on. And ya gotta remember…this was Gabe’s first inning for us all season long.

But a precedent had been set. You take the ball for Verdugo it’s a known fact you have a job to do. I think that’s why Wiley pitched such a great game in Lancaster when we needed it.

Gabe knew what he had to do….and he did it.

It took Gabe just eight pitches to get three outs.

Ground ball to Haggs….he fires to Turner for the final out….and Verdugo Hills had just clinched!!!!

I remember with this one I didn’t join you guys in the celebration on the field. I just watched. Watching how happy you guys were and what you all had accomplished.

Our entire history kinda flashed before me as I watched you guys celebrate.

I remembered the tough losses and heartbreaks we had the first couple of seasons. I was happy for Bull and for Turner especially. And Henry and The Weapon. The General and I hugged. It was an emotional moment for me that’s for sure.

But we still got a lotta work to do…..Tomorrow MORNING!!!!

But I was going to savor this moment until game time tomorrow and for the rest of tonight ….it was time to Party!!!!

We gotta party …..you know why????because VERDUGO JUST CLINCHED!!!!

Verdugo-Sun Valley Friday evening at Glendale High. Somehow I got Les Riley to agree to switch a nine-inning game at his yard to playing us in a seven-inning match here at Glendale High.

I made this deal before we beat ’em at Stengel. Had I tried to get him to agree to this after that game….I’m not so sure I would have got what I wanted.

He was reluctant even before then. But like many managers around the League (at that time anyways) he didn’t take me….or our ball club too seriously.

I bet he did now….

Their backs were against the wall and in danger of not even making the post-season Tournament. They had to win this game.

And so did we. Not so much for the playoff picture because even if we lost I knew we would clinch a spot tomorrow against Panorama City. This game….we had to win to knock their asses down and step on their necks.

We needed to show them who was boss. We were still in the hunt to win the Division. We needed to show them that it was no fluke we beat them a couple of weeks ago.

And if I’m gonna clinch a playoff spot….I’d love clinching against Sun Valley.

He was throwing a guy against us we had just torched. That was his best guy. That guy wanted us bad. He was about 6-3 and 230 pounds. He threw in the low 90’s….maybe even more.

He had just finished an entire season at the Junior College level (Valley College I think) and threw a lot of innings and led the Conference in ERA.

Riley was hoping to ride that dudes arm as far as he could. And like I said before….Sun Valley always had a damn good team.

Their pitcher had major motivation coming into this one. Revenge factor. Like I said before we may have hit him two weeks ago harder than he had ever been hit in his life.

Again….he wanted us bad….

Verdugo was throwing a 5 foot, 5 inch 110 pound left-handed rookie at him. Just like a couple weeks ago ….this is David versus Goliath.

Jim had thrown well against them last time but at times they got to him. This was gonna be a gut-check for all of us. And you know Riley with his wild-ass baserunners would be applying pressure on us to make throws all night long.

Both teams knew what was at stake. Huge crowd at Glendale for this one.

Both Cowsill and Moreno couldn’t make this game.

Here was the starting lineup we threw at ’em

1.). Workman/CF

2.). Turner/3B

3.). Fielder/C

4.) J. Canale/LF

5.). Bir/1B

6.). Hagge/SS

7.). Gabrielson/DH

8.). Brancheau/2B

9.) K. Canale/RF

Parque-P

Wiley and Evans were on the bench. Lance was in uniform but unable to play.

If there was a line in Vegas on this one….you would have to favor them. They had all their horses in the stable and their big gun on the mound.

We had defied all the odds all season long up to this point.

But I had a feeling we had another miracle in us…..

We beat these guys earlier in the season 17-11. After almost three seasons managing Legion games…I had a love-hate relationship with the Antelope Valley and the 14 Freeway. Anything could happen up there.

I gave this one a lot of thought. And you know what? It was time to unleash him. He had been waiting in the wings all year for the call.

That’s right….on the mound for Verdugo?

“The Wiley Jackson”

That’s right! Wiley!!!!

Wiley didn’t disappoint. He went all the way, giving up 6 hits….3 earned runs….zero walks….and struck out six. And he did it on just 82 pitches.

Masterful!!!!

CLUTCH!!!!

Instrumental !!!!

We had a lot of games this week. A lotta innings to cover.

Wiley’s performance gave a lot of guys on our staff the rest they needed.

Offensively…..we punished. 15 hits.

Dave Fielder and Josh Canale had three hits apiece. Canale with two doubles and two RBI…and Thunder doubling in a run for us in the 5th.

Rookie Dan Bir hit today in the five-hole and singled twice and drove in two runs. Clutch game by Bir.

Kirk Hagge and Kasey Canale both picked up two hits….with calf roaming the tundra for us out in right field and playing the entire game.

Wiley doubled in the sixth inning…..and Robb Turner and Yves Brancheau both singled.

We played an errorless game defensively and made it look easy.

Jackson really stepped up.

I didn’t report this game to the papers after the win. I let the local papers know of course, and they may have even written a story on the victory. Of course I reported our win to Mel Swerdling the Commissioner. All he wanted to know was “who won?” thats all he ever cared about.

But I didn’t contact the LA Times or Daily News. I had my reasons….I just had a feeling…..and later in the week my feeling proved to be correct. I think I made the right move. Questionable for sure….but I covered my tracks and we dodged a big bullet. I did what I had to do….

The magic number is down to ONE.

Next up? Sun Valley at Glendale High.

And yes-sir-ree….I’m giving the ball to Vo!!!!

This may have been the longest seven inning game I’ve ever seen in my life. The Umpire behind the plate had a strike-zone about the size of a coke can.

Then …out of the blue he wasn’t shy about calling a guy out on strikes outside that coke-can sized strike zone.

He was …. consistently inconsistent? Haha

Am I complaining about the umpires because we lost? No

Well c’mon Gee…you complained about the opposition having illegal players last time we lost …who are you gonna blame this time Gee?

Honestly….I’m not complaining. It is what it is.

We’ve all had issues with umps. Haven’t we? I’ve always felt that with an umpire’s strike-zone (and it does change a little from umpire to umpire) that I really didn’t care what it was….I just expect the Umpire to be consistent with whatever it was.

That’s a reasonable and fair expectation….

I have to say….this guy was consistent. He was pinching the pitchers on both sides in this game.

There were 19 walks in this game for crying out loud.

The two teams playing in this game had the two best records in the 20th District. I was throwing my number one guy…and so were they.

You’re telling me the pitching is that bad for the two top teams?

Really? 19 walks?!?!?!

Again….the umpire was consistent. He had a strike zone about the size of a coke can and he enforced it for both sides. So I can’t really complain about the guy…..

But….

Really?!?!?

Notre Dame has three hits total.

Verdugo Hills had three hits total.

We gave up five unearned runs. We got down 4-0 early and didn’t score until the bottom-of-the-seventh. Even though this game was played at Jody’s yard….we were still the home team.

Maybe we should have played these fools at Stengel. But I really don’t think it would have mattered. All I can ask for as a Manager (at least from the umpires) is that whatever they call….they call it the same for both teams. And this guy did execute that basic principle.

But both teams agreed….and both coaches agreed after the game. Dang that dude sucked!!!’

This was still a great game and I think Josh threw a great game. And I think he threw well enough for us to win.

They tried stealing three bases against us….and Dave Fielder threw out two of them. He caught a great game.

I mentioned in the last post that even if we lost to Notre Dame we could still win the Division outright. This was in the back of my mind this whole night while we were down. I didn’t say anything….but there was still something we needed to do to keep us in the hunt. And I know Jody was thinking about it, too.

With the loss…..that hurt our chances. If Jody wins all of his remaining games then he wins the Division and we tip our caps to him for doing so and move on.

But what if he LOST one of his remaining games? What if both teams end up 20-3? Who would win the Division?

Well….they would then look at the “tie breaker” categories to determine who wins the Division.

Which team had the best record against teams in their own division?

Guess what? If we beat Sun Valley on Friday…that would give Notre Dame and Verdugo Hills IDENTICAL records in that category.

Oh really?

So what’s the next “tie-breaker” category?

Head-to-head.

Ok….

Verdugo beat Jody the first time we played.

Then Jody beat Verdugo.

IDENTICAL RECORDS again….

Oh really?

So what’s the next “tie-breaker” Category?

Haha it’s getting interesting, huh?

Well….let me put it to you this way. We went into the bottom-of-the-seventh down 6-0. Not only were we down 6-0 we were still in the ears all night. The rags were bruuuuutal….

Notre Dame had to be thinking….”god damn we’re up on them 6-0 and they’re still all over us”

Dan Bir reached base on an error.

Up came Hack..,

He rips a base-hit.

Whoa now we’re making a little noise here.

Up steps Robb Turner. Turner was fucking FURIOUS. He had been called out on strikes Twice already.

Once there were two strikes on him…he just started swinging at every pitch. He didn’t care where it was he just kept fouling them off till he got something he could handle.

And he kept fouling ’em off….

And he kept fouling ’em off….

Until he got something he could handle.

He REFUSED to allow the umpire to be a factor.

And when he finally got something he could handle on the 11th pitch of the at-bat he deposited and ABSOLUTE SHOT to almost dead center.

What I remember most about this HOME RUN was THE SOUND OF IT.

You could hear it rattling around after it bounced and banged into the football stands way out beyond the lights.

As he rounded the bases he was getting in verbal shots on all their infielders and their pitcher….sending a message that yeah….you guys have the lead but we STILL OWN YOU.

It was quite a TITANIC BLAST.

I had been thinking about this all night long.

And Turner’s MASSIVE HOME RUN had just put us in a position to still win the Division.

What were you thinking about Gee?

The third “tie-breaker” category.

What is it?

Margin of victory/run-differential in head-to-head games.

We beat Jody by four runs the first time we faced him.

Even if we lose this game now 6-3….that means Jody only beat us by three.

In margin of victory category ….Verdugo would now win the tie-breaker and the division if we both finished 20-3.

This home run kept the pressure on Jody. Now….he had to win his four remaining games. This home run would now factor in on every string Jody had to pull for the rest of the week.

When Turner hit it….and was rounding the bases I looked over at Jody. His reaction to the home run was almost how one would react if they lost the game.

He did one of those “ahhhh shit are you fucking kidding me?” Reactions

He knew exactly what that three-run homer just meant….and he wasn’t real happy about it.

As a coach….I’m not going to go into a game and tell my players….”ok whatever you do don’t lose by any more than three runs.”

I don’t even like using the word “lose” around my players.

So I never even mentioned it.

But Jody and I knew. We never discussed it…..but we both knew. And even if he won the game tonight….Jody knew I had just “kinda” won as well.

But yeah….this was in the back of my mind the whole night.

When Turner hit it out I was chuckling.

Verdugo…..even in defeat continues to frustrate and cause nightmares for Jody.

We got beat. It isn’t the end of the world…..because it’s already tomorrow in China.

We’re still in this thing!!!!

We got a game in Lancaster coming up and a playoff spot still to clinch!!!!