“Perfection is Short-Lived”

Posted: October 12, 2025 in Uncategorized
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I was happy to see our team play a damn near perfect game in Game One of the playoffs. I mention this because we were about to play three more playoff games that were “less-than perfect” and you know what? We won one of those games and the other two games could have gone either way.

Going into the playoffs we had the second best record in the 20th District at 20-3. Now we are 21-3. Now we get a showdown against a Notre Dame team that was now 22-2. We split the regular season games against them, so this win against Notre Dame was (in my mind) Verdugo’s “finest hour”……EVEN IF WE WOUND UP WINNING THE DISTRICT. This game was THE showdown that really put us on the map and accomplished my own personal goal of Verdugo becoming the “most feared team” in the 20th District.

And taking two out of three from the eventual 20th District Champs was special. Yeah….Jody won the District….but I always wondered if he ever told the tale about one team in particular he just couldn’t handle.

By the time this matchup had ended…..Everybody knew who Verdugo was and what we had accomplished. Obviously, I’d have liked to see the team go further.

Josh admitted to me after the season that he felt something “pop’ in his arm/shoulder when he pitched the playoff game against Newhall-Saugus.

He never would have come off the field (or the mound) for us…because he probably never would have said a word……………he was an incredibly strong-willed dude. But as to how far we would have gone if we advanced, our chances would have been dwindled with him not being able to pitch. But I know he still could have hit…and we were going to get Evans back from his broken arm the next week. But it would have been a challenging road ahead for us.

The Legion playoffs were played under (what was then) National League Rules. No DH. As you now know, all of MLB can use a DH. So we were going to see how Jim Parque and (unbelievably) Lance Evans could swing the bats. Evans in particular….as he was sporting a fucking CAST on his left arm. Hell….Evans wasn’t even supposed to play until he got his cast removed. The effort you guys put forth in these playoffs was nothing short of magnificent.

I’m into victories. Moral victories don’t mean much to me. But the things I saw in the four games DID make me realize there’s more to life than baseball. I kind of felt like the guy in the movie as things were slipping away….the cameras zooming in on his face where some kind of epiphany dawns on him and he sees something no one else can see….or maybe he is seeing for the first time what was hidden in plain sight….something hidden to him….something he was blinded by……because of his “ambitions”…………

My epiphany was “Jesus Christ look at the fucking EFFORT these guys are giving me!!!!”

Not that all of you hadn’t been doing that all season long. All of you had…..

It was just unreal the way you guys gave it up for Verdugo….and I want to thank you all for that. You guys played your fucking guts out….

Hack got hit hard in the Notre Dame game. Wiley got hit hard in the Chatsworth game. Big fucking deal. In both games our bats brought us back into the games….taking the lead in BOTH of those games, and closing it out against Fat Jody. A couple of plays going our way in the Chatsworth game and we may have beat them as well…..

I made some questionable decisions as well…..particularly in the Encino-Crespi game…..and I will be pointing them out as I write about that game.

You’ve heard me say “Here at Verdugo whatever you did….you’re forgiven for”

I say it jokingly (and I mean it yet it’s funny) but as you know “there’s truth in humor”….

We were all in this thing together. And I guess it’s my way of saying…..”hey guys I made a lot of mistakes too”

So maybe you guys will forgive me for my blunders as well…………

Come whatever may…..let’s get to the final three games of the ’92 season.

Verdugo 9 Newhall-Saugus 3

Posted: October 10, 2025 in Uncategorized
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I can officially say that we owned Newhall-Saugus. This was our fifth meeting with these guys over the last three seasons. They were a good team and made the playoffs every year, but never advanced. We had dominated them in our first four meetings, every game at their yard. We had just beaten these guys a couple of days earlier in the season finale (remember Turner yelling out “fence” to warn their left fielder not to run into the wall about five seconds after he smashed into it?)….so I went into this game a little worried because (really) how many times in a row can we beat a team that always makes the playoffs?

I mean….the law of averages will eventually catch up with you. But once again…we dominated them in an impressive come-from-behind win. Bull Oxen (after walking the first four hitters) settled down and fired a masterpiece, striking out nine and going all the way. At one point he was so dominant he retired 21 hitters IN-A-ROW….a Verdugo record that was never broken.

We played an errorless game. Not a single passed ball or wild pitch. Clutch hitting. Cowsill’s two run SHOT in the top of the sixth inning tied it at three and it was all Verdugo from that point forward. Meanwhile….Bull was dominating them. During his “run” of the 21 consecutive hitters he retired….only two balls were hit out of the infield. Haggs made four plays. Yves made four plays, “B’ made four plays…Thunder made a great play on a ball in foul territory….A couple of “routine” fly ball outs and the rest of the hitters got flat out MOWED down by Josh.

As a coach your goal is to get your team to play a perfect game. Sure…we gave up three runs but you know what? This game was as close to perfection as you could get from a team standpoint.

Yeah he walked the first four hitters. Big deal. I went out to the mound and was thinking to myself “there’s no way I’m taking him out”….and it was clear he didn’t want out. He had that look in his eye…..so I just kind looked at everyone in our huddle around the mound and said “let’s go”….

He got an out….then the next hitter got a base hit….

That made it 2-0 and the runner on second was trying to score. Hack Workman came up with the ball and BLEW DOWN the runner at the plate. HUGE fucking play!!!! Whatever momentum Newhall had at that point was gone. Josh struck out the next hitter and that ended their threat of a huge inning.

It took us a while to get the thunder going offensively. Robb Turner doubled in the top half of the fifth inning, and ended up getting WILD PITCHED home. That got us on the board but we still trailed 3-1.

But you all know the story with Verdugo. If you’re a starting pitcher and you’re facing Verdugo….the second time through our order is gonna get tougher…and if you make it through that the third time is going to be brutal.

In the sixth inning, Haggs came up with one out and ripped a base hit. Cowsill stepped up to the plate. He hit a SHOT about 400 feet down the left field line that was foul. That drew a visit from the Newhall-Saugus manager Pat Eggleston. I’m in the box at third base thinking “WTF is this guy bitching about?” well….it turns out he was accusing Cowsill of having a corked bat! WTF!?!? He probably knew the bat wasn’t illegal, he was trying to turn the momentum of the game back in his favor. You know….get in “B’s” head a little bit.

After the Umpire inspected the bat….and ruled that Cowsills bat was indeed LEGAL…..Old “B” decided to return the favor to ‘Old Pat Eggleston…..and on the very next pitch he UNCORKED a shot DEEP into the tennis courts over the left-center field fence!!!! It’s 3-3 now.

The seventh inning got worse for Newhall. Turner leads off with a walk, Fielder rips his second base hit of the game, they then INTENTIONALLY walk The Bull Oxen. Then their pitcher FIRES a wild pitch that scores Turner. It’s 4-3 Verdugo.

Up comes Ivan Moreno…he rips a base hit……its 6-3 Verdugo. That was all we got but for Newhall-Saugus….you could see it slipping away.

In the eighth inning Yves leads off with a base hit. Gabe then follows up with a base hit.

Up comes Hack. It’s still a tight game….I like a lead…but I really like a lead that’s out of “grand-slam-reach”

Hack could have broke the thing open with a hit…but I had him bunt. Does Hack look at me when I gave him the sign and give me attitude? Hell NO he didn’t. And that’s what I’m talking about when I mentioned “selfless play” ….Hack laid down a beauty….a perfectly executed Sacrifice bunt and we had runners at 2nd and third.

Fielder steps up….Base hit!!! It’s 7-3.

Moreno comes up with two outs and doubles everybody in!!!! It’s 9-3 Verdugo and all but over.

Bull finished ’em off in the ninth and Verdugo was 1-0. We put on an absolute clinic against a damn good team. We didn’t panic when Bull got off to a slow start. We didn’t lose focus after they shut us out the first four innings. One of my proudest moments coaching this team. Canale??? Nine innings….five hits….nine K’s and after walking the first four hitters….finishes the game with four walks!!!

Turner reaches base four times and has two hits.

Thunder reaches base Four times and has three hits.

Bull gets a hit.

Moreno with two hits a FOUR RBI….

Haggs gets a hit…

Cowsill with two hits and an electrifying Home Run

Yves gets a hit…

Gabe gets two hits….

Hack was hitless….but played a crucial role when he threw out the runner at the plate in the first inning and dropping the sac bunt that set the table for the three insurance runs we needed in the eighth inning…..

Next Up???? Fat Jody!!!!


Verdugo (20-3) Heads to Playoffs!!!!

Posted: October 9, 2025 in Uncategorized
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I’m hearing a lot of rumors about Verdugo getting ready to release the ’93 files….I don’t know what all the hype is about….I mean….shit man….we still got four playoff games from 92 to write about!!!!

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again….Verdugo had the greatest players who played in the greatest games. And now that over thirty years has passed, I can effectively say that yeah….these were four EPIC dogfights that I’m proud to have been a part of.

We came within a couple of outs of qualifying for the next Tournament at Jackie Robinson Stadium. While I wasn’t exactly overjoyed we didn’t get there, I’ve realized slowwwwwly over the last three decades what we were up against, and how we damn near did it.

I saw a lot of selfless play, guys taking responsibility, and every guy on our Roster playing their asses off to do whatever it took to get to the promised land and I’m going to talk about the moments in all the games that stood out for me…where our character and fire shined brightest.

And yeah….going through the books for these stories brought it all back to life. I remember it ALL….so if you don’t that’s okay…because ‘Ol Gee doesn’t have dementia YET!!!!

We won out during the regular season. Clutch wins in the last week of the season without pitching the guy who I wanted to start Game ONE of the playoffs if we qualified. We came into the playoffs on a four-game win streak. Turner shaved his head!!!! I kinda half-assed shaved the lower half of my head. We had a casual workout down at Occidental College a couple of days before the first playoff game and we were ready to go. If we get to the next Tournament we’re gonna have a healthy Lance Evans back. Everybody was fucking jacked up and ready to show everyone what Verdugo could do.

All I knew was I had the guy who I wanted on the mound for that first game. We were ready. We had all our horses. Cowsill and Moreno got cleared by their summer basketball and football coaches to play for Verdugo during the playoffs….as long as it might last. And if you keep advancing….you could still be playing DEEP into August.

Myself, Hank, Weapon and the General were proud of what we had accomplished. But the being the greedy, devious bastards we were we wanted MORE. So we had a coaches meeting before the playoffs as well and even hired a consulting firm (The Mcallen Group) to give the final approval of our little plan of winning the District!!!!

So sit back and relax….and let me tell the story….because VERDUGO is about to make their first playoff appearance!!!!

Verdugo288.com

Posted: February 23, 2024 in Uncategorized
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I have purchased the domain name and this will be the URL for the website now.

I’ll begin by going through everything and deciding what to put where and certainly the look and features will be changing in the future.

I’ve still got a lot of writing to do so stay tuned everyone!

Please comment when you feel like it and don’t panic if your comment doesn’t appear straight away. We still have quite a few enemies out there lurking so all comments are subject to approval by yours truly.

If you don’t have my email you can send one to gee@verdugo288.com

“You’re Still Under My Command!”

Posted: September 27, 2022 in Uncategorized
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A lot of you guys have heard me say this over the last couple of years. I think it’s funny. Imagine a coach so deluded that he still thinks 30 years later that all of his players are still “under his command”….

Well, make no mistake about it. Each and every one of you is ….”DE FACTO” (as Dave Haskell used to say) still UNDER MY COMMAND!

And what a great feeling it is! Knowing that I can text or email or phone any of you and say “get one!” ….or “get two!”….or “silence on three!”

I would have told everybody to go long on Apple and BitCoin and Tesla but being the considerate guy I am I didn’t want to overstep my boundaries!

Yes-sir-ree there’s no better feeling than knowing everybody is still basically under my command!

Where did I get this?

When I was managing the Service Department at the Mini Cooper Dealership in Universal City (and just about everybody there was under my command) I met this guy across the street that provided us with rental cars.

We had loaner cars that were MINI’s. But we ran out of them all the time because MINI’s are total pieces of shit. This is a good thing when you’re in the racket of fixing cars for a living.

Anyways this guy loved running this Rent-a-car outfit. His name was Dave. Probably in his early to mid 40’s. Fat. Bald. Divorced. May have even lived in a van down by the river. But he ran a top-notch operation. Always made me laugh. He took that job maybe a little too seriously I suspected.

One early evening I walked a customer across the street to hook them up with a rental car. There was old Dave. Being ….Dave.

It was 6:23 PM on a Friday. Closing time is 37 minutes.

He had a kid who had worked there for several years who was probably in his mid-20’s. Good guy. Good worker. I walked in and the kid proudly announced “This is my last day”

He couldn’t wait until 7PM to finally free himself from the bondage, tyranny and the oppression of working under Dave for several years.

I told him “congratulations! What’s your next move?” Trying to start a conversation about his time there and future plans.

Dave was having NONE of it! He fired out “I’ll tell ya what his next move is! Get that Camry cleaned up NOW! We gotta take care of this customer!”

“But the Pathfinder and the Accord and the Explorer and ….wait a second” his soon-to-be no longer a co-worker said….”wait a second…..we got eight cars cleaned and ready-to-go! Why do we have to give them the Camry? Cut me some slack man!”

Dave looks at his watch and says “Why? I’ll tell why! Because for the next 37 minutes you’re STILL UNDER MY COMMAND!”

“Dang!” I’m thinking. “That’s harsh!” Dave was smiling and I was looking on in disbelief as the kid shrugged his shoulders and looked at me before he made the long walk to clean that final car under Dave’s watch!

I finally said something. I was chuckling and said “dude are you serious?!? It’s his last day”

Dave just smiled gleefully and said “he’s still under my command!”

😂😂😂

I told Dave “I’m going to have to borrow that line….like….for the rest of my life. I’m not sure when I’ll use it but I’ll find a spot for it for sure!”

Just the unreasonableness of it all. The way Dave refused to let up on this guy until the final seconds of his employment there. The way the kid just did it as he realized he still was DE FACTO under Dave’s command was so….so….VERDUGO! They BOTH were VERDUGO!!

The other reason I find it funny that I sometimes say to some of you “you’re still under my command!” Is because one could easily make the argument that NONE of the VERDUGO players were ever “under my command” to begin with!

So this is my official disclaimer if I ever say it. But I have to agree with Dave. There’s no better feeling than being able to say the words “you’re still under my command!” even though everyone knows when I say it, it doesn’t hold any water at all !!!! 😂😂

Verdugo Troops Rally for our Fallen Brother

Posted: August 2, 2021 in Uncategorized
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It was a tough day for everyone. But also an uplifting one. We were there …. and I’m proud of all the Verdugo Alumni who attended Scott’s Memorial yesterday. I know we will all miss him.

Rogers….Canale….Fernandez….Ramirez….Cowsill….Hagge….Saltsman….and a touching appearance by JR’s dad….Don Workman.

I know for a fact that Fielder and Big Breck would have been there….but had other commitments and I know they were both there in spirit. 😢

My favorite moment of the day was when I was over at a table looking at all of the pictures of Scott. Bats he had swung, gloves he had worn…and many of his favorite personal items that had meaning to him. Posters of his favorite bands. The degrees he obtained from studying at both Glendale College and Azusa Pacific.

I was laying low and feeling sadness as I took it all in….and a woman walked up to me and broke the silence and said “are you…..Gee?”

It was Scott’s mom. It meant so much to me that she ……remembered me. 😢

Don Workman said some things about the Team in general that were some pretty cool things to say. I will get to what he said in a future post. It was touching when he literally appeared from out of nowhere in front of me …..a father who had taken time to be there on behalf of himself ….and his son. 😢

Great love abounded yesterday. For one another….and especially for Scott.

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed connecting with all of you as we’ve all dealt with this in our own way. Seeing everyone yesterday and watching you all interact with one another kind of brought me back to another time. Especially when you guys started throwing the whiffle balls around. 😢

Forgive me for the little icons with the tears.

Sometimes we shed tears of sadness and sometimes they are tears of joy.

But I know this ….Tears are important.

They are the safety valves to the heart when too much pressure has been laid upon it.

They are the messengers of grief, and deep contrition…..and unspeakable love.

Tears are words that the mouth can’t say….nor can the heart bear.

I remember when Scott shared with me via text that his father had passed away. I sent him this one….it is my favorite and will leave everyone with this:

“tears are often the telescopes which allow men to see far into Heaven”

Scott….

We will never forget you….

We miss you….

We love you….

Your friend,

“Gee”

Final Reminder

Posted: July 28, 2021 in Uncategorized
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I encourage all of you to make an appearance at The Scott Anderson Memorial to be held this coming Saturday ….July 31st at CV Park in La Crescenta from 1pm-4pm.

Bull and I spoke a couple of days ago and we’ve decided we will not be wearing a suit to The Memorial. I don’t know if there is a dress-code for this. No disrespect to The Weapon, either. I doubt we will see anyone there wearing a suit ….it’s going to be a hot day.

I still don’t really know what I will wear. Probably some denim …some boat shoes….and maybe my jersey. I don’t know.

I told Bull that the last time I saw Scott (May 13, 2016) was the only time I ever saw Wep in a regular pair of pants. Every single time I saw The Wep (whether it was 40 degrees or 105 degrees) he was wearing his signature shorts! I would probably lean towards wearing some shorts to The Memorial in Wep’s honor but I will save everyone the horror of seeing ‘Old Gee’s white skinny legs!

I don’t know what they have planned for The Memorial. I don’t know if I should bring anything so I won’t. But I think it’s important to be there. I may show up late and I may leave early …I just ….don’t know.

The only thing I will bring along with me is a heavy heart, some great memories, and a few words to say if they have an open mic. Even with the open mic….I don’t know if I will say anything or not.

As you can see here there’s a lotta stuff I just don’t know about heading into this Saturday.

I remember our first season and going through Q and A sessions with the players before the games. When I hear the words “I don’t know….” I always (to this day) think of The Wep.

I remember the first time I called on Scott during the pre-game Q and A….I can’t remember exactly what I asked him but I will never forget his answer.

He said “I don’t know I’m just here to Kick ass”….

As a coach …. and hearing this ….that’s the wrong answer! Right?

But as a coach ….I couldn’t get mad at him for that answer. In fact…his answer was the RIGHT answer. The more I thought about it ….yeah….it was the right answer.

In the heat of the battle players and coaches and everybody can’t remember everything. Wep was saying….”if I get into a situation where I don’t know what to do….don’t worry Gee….I will find my way through it ….because at the end of the day I’m just here to KICK ASS.”

I still use his line to this very day. I’ve used it with bosses I’ve had….co-workers….friends….enemies….and even with my wife for a funny moment. It always draws a smile to whoever hears me say it.

We don’t know what to expect Saturday. It’s okay. Let’s make an appearance and pay our respects. Let’s all handle it with the spirit that Scott brought to the table.

Let’s go to the Memorial ….and if we don’t know what to say or do….let’s just be there to KICK ASS.

Just like The Weapon would do….

Scott Anderson Memorial July 31…..1-4pm @ CV Park in La Crescenta

Posted: July 11, 2021 in Uncategorized
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I hope everyone can be there. This information was sent to me by Henry. If there are any changes we will announce it here at the blog. The Memorial will be held at CV park….not Montrose Park.

Any questions just get ahold of me ….if you don’t have my contact information send a comment here and I will be able to get back to you.

Thanks….

Just Beautiful….

Posted: June 12, 2021 in Uncategorized
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Scott’s sister Carrie sent me a pic of this tonight. I thought you all would like to see it. Thanks for sending this Carrie.

Update

Posted: May 30, 2021 in Uncategorized
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I want to thank everyone for the heartfelt comments made in memory of Scott here on the blog. I considered shutting things down for a while here in his honor but The Weapon was one of the biggest fans of this blog….so I will at some point resume posting here.

Henry has been in contact with Scott’s sister and Henry has reported to several of us that Scott’s family is planning a gathering to celebrate his life sometime around the end of July at CV Park.

This information may be subject to change and if anything I’ve reported here is incorrect I am hereby asking for Henry to correct me and please do his best to try and keep us all in the loop.

We all have spent the past week or so talking to or texting or emailing one another in The Weapon’s memory. I’m sure we all wish we could have seen him one more time. I know I do.

He will never be forgotten…..


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