Father’s Day with Ron Cey

Posted: December 23, 2010 in Behind the Scenes, No Way!, Rags/Trash Talk
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by Gee

1992 was the season we broke through.  We had certainly “served notice” to the rest of the league in ’90 and ’91, but ’92 was the year.  We just flat out pounded the shit out of the ball.  This was a big game for us.  Going in we were charging hard and carving out our name around the league as the new bully in the block.  Here we were on Father’s Day playing against a team that had won the Legion World Series three years earlier.  And I must admit we all took personal pleasure in ruining Ron Cey’s Father’s Day.  Kind of has a nice ring to it, huh?

We were at the field early, guys were getting ready to go through their pre-game “flip” ritual.  The other team arrived and upon their arrival Ron Cey kind of took it upon himself to hop right down onto our field and start distracting my players.  Cey’s son was playing for the other team that day.  We all knew who he was.  But I’m thinking “what’s this guy doing?”  Isn’t he getting enough attention on those 1-800-THE-LAW-2 commercials?  I’m thinking “whatever dude.”  But we DO have a rule at Verdugo.  It’s called “get out of my dugout,”  and Ron Cey is no exception.  And he handed it to me on a silver platter.  I broke the silence by saying “Hey look everybody Steve Garvey’s here!”

Yeah, he didn’t like that.  I knew I had taken the upper hand when he corrected me and told me who he really was.  As if we didn’t know.   I wanted to abruptly tell him to “get outta my dugout” but decided to use a little finesse on this one.  Have a little fun with it.  He started out by telling us about how he had hit home runs against Nolan Ryan.  He said they had “figured out” Ryan.  He said they always knew when Ryan was going to throw a curveball because every time he threw it he would “look down” at the ground when starting his windup.  Sounded like Rocket Science to me.  So I asked him “and I suppose you had all of this inside information on Ryan the time he threw the no-hitter against you boys on Monday Night Baseball?”

Yeah he didn’t like that comment either.  Our guys were no longer in awe of him.  So I continued to interview him about “the big contracts”…and the “bad attitudes of the (then) modern-day players”…and other questions.  I really wasn’t interested in his answers, I was more interested in cutting him off in the middle of his long-winded pontifications and firing another question at him that would always finish with the words “what do you think of that?”

His frustration was growing.  He probably hadn’t been treated that way since being in the Minor Leagues.  I don’t know what the final question was that I asked him (that ended in “what do you think of that?”) but the last answer he gave to me was “I think you’re full of shit!” and he walked away……pissed!  Mission accomplished!  He had officially “gotten out of my dugout” and our players were laughing about it.  Ron Cey and his son were the least of our worries.  We went out on the field and punished them 8-3.  The score was not really indicative of the beating they took.  BullOxen threw a gem even though he was stung by a bee while on the mound.

The other team was grumbling that the playing field was not really level that day because they all had been at the prom last night.  Funny, I was thinking.  You poor babies did a little partying last night?  Well, you just ran up against a team that parties EVERY night…so quit crying about it.   Hell, our guys probably spilled more alcohol last night than you wimps drank.  Once again I was thinking “whatever dude.”

Cey’s kid had an 0-fer (three?) at the plate.  In the fifth or sixth inning we hit another bullet up the middle that Cey tried to dive at.  The ball went through (again) and Cey didn’t get up.  He just lied there on the field face down.  They stopped the game.  Onto the field (again) jumps Ron Cey himself to go check on his kid and make sure he’s okay.  It didn’t take long for a few of our players to yell out “CALL 1-800-THE-LAW-2!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

I had a hard time keeping a straight face on that one, but I did.  And Cey and his kid didn’t stick around for the outcome of the game.  They went home early.  They probably had some things planned for Father’s Day.  I’m sure he had a great Father’s day.  But I’ll bet you it was a Father’s Day He’ll NEVER forget.

“They burned their bodies”

Posted: December 23, 2010 in 1992, Behind the Scenes, Hank, No Way!, Weapon
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by Colin James

I have finally met with the coach of this baseball team.  This was our second interview and we couldn’t even get past the first question before I was inspired to write.  All I asked him was the following:  “So just what was it about this team that made it so special?”

He said “They did all the little things that you hoped a team would do.  On the field and off the field, too.  They hung around together, they were always picking each other up, they were looking to slide headfirst, they went in hard to break up double-plays, they were looking to dive and make spectacular plays, they talked a lot of shit,  they dogpiled, they burned their bodies, they…..”

“Stop!” I asked in disbelief…….”Did you just say that they burned their bodies?”

A smile lit up his face.  “Yes” he said, “they burned their bodies.”  Now he was laughing.

“What on earth are you talking about?” I asked.

“I can’t remember the exact date it happened,” he said.  “It was either the night after a win that had clinched our first playoff spot or it was after we had made a furious rally to beat Fat Jody in the playoffs”

Before I asked him just who “Fat Jody” was I had to ask “They burned their bodies?”

“Let’s just say we were celebrating that win in typical Verdugo fashion.  I went straight home and started pounding celebratory beers and some of the players showed up.  Maybe except for four or five guys everyone was there.  We were all drinking beer and smoking cigars.  I think it was Hank who started the whole thing.  I walked outside and there he was, standing there with a cigar in his left hand.  He reached that cigar across his chest to his right arm and was burning a mark in his right arm.  If he had pushed that cigar any harder into his arm he would have knocked the quarter-sized cherry off of it.  He was basically branding himself.    He held it there for about 30 seconds.   You could smell the flesh burning.  Smoke was just coming off his arm.  He still has that “gar”-burn mark today.  I think six or seven guys did it.”

“They were so happy with the win that they BRANDED themselves with cigars?” I asked.

“Fucking -A.  That’s exactly what they did.  Hank started doing it and it was kind of contagious.  Next thing you know like six or seven guys were doing it….all trying to outdo the other as to how long they could hold it on there while it burned.  Nobody held it on there longer than The Weapon.  In fact, Weap held it on there SO LONG that about a week later he had to go to the hospital.”

My God man, I thought to myself!  “And what happened to The Weapon?” I asked.

“He branded himself right in that spot where people slit their wrists, you know?  Well, apparently it got infected and a purple line was moving up his arm from the spot where he had branded himself with the gar.  You should let Weap tell you the story at the reunion……..I promise you WON’T stop laughing the way he tells it.”

“Did you also brand yourself that night?” I asked.

“I would have”…..he said………”but I was just too drunk.  But that’s what you gotta love about our program.  We didn’t work hard and play hard.  We played hard and played hard!”

And here I was thinking that this is something one would do IF and ONLY IF they were too drunk.  My God, I thought to myself……..I wish I could have seen this team play!

Were YOU one of the folks who “Burned their bodies?”…………….if so , please comment and tell us what it felt like (if you even remember).  Better yet take a picture of it and send it to us here at the blog and we’ll be happy to show the world your official “Verdugo Gar-Burn”!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A Summer League Baseball Team Reunion? WTF???

Posted: December 21, 2010 in No Way!
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As I listened to my friend speak on the telephone I couldn’t help but eavesdrop a bit. The fellow he was speaking with was telling my friend about a planned reunion for a summer league baseball team that played 20 years ago. As a freelance writer, I am always on the hunt for a story. But it seemed a bit ridiculous to me. A summer league team planning a reunion get-together?

As an Englishman who moved to the States 25 years ago, I have still never “got” Americans and their passion for baseball. I still have trouble calling that game they play on Sundays “football.” But this conversation my friend had with the coach of this team had piqued my interest. So I began to ask him questions about it all.

Who was the fellow who coached this team? How old were the kids who played on it? Why are they even planning on having a reunion? I mean, it’s a stupid summer-league team isn’t it?

“No it wasn’t” my friend said to me. “It was much more than that. I’ve heard just about every story about that team and you wouldn’t believe some of the shit these guys did. It may be the greatest story NEVER told.”

“Can I speak with your friend about this?” I asked.

“Yeah, he’d probably want to talk about it. He’s still a little pissed off about how it all ended, but if you can get him to start talking about it, he’ll probably never STOP talking about it. Why would you want to talk to him about it?” he asked.

“Well”..I said…”If it is what you say it is, I just may have found another story.”

He laughed and said “And you’ll probably become a millionaire if you dare tell that story.” 

I procured the telephone number of the coach. I called him. I spent at least an hour on the phone with him. It took him a while to open up, but ten minutes into the call I was on the floor in hysterics. He spoke about his players and fellow coaches with a hallowed reverence. I never learned anyone’s FULL name. He had “other” monikers he used for them…such as “General” or “Hank” or “Weapon” or “Wiley Jackson”….when I asked him their REAL names he sounded almost offended that I didn’t know who these people were. I figured I’d find all of this out later. He spoke of the things that happened in the games they played like it had happened YESTERDAY.

I must admit that by the end of the call I was a full-blown FAN. I wanted to know everything about “the four years” as he called it. I asked him if we could produce a blog that could chronicle the history of this group leading up to and also covering the events at the reunion itself.

“Oh yeah” he said. “But you’ll have to pay me……..cause I ain’t paying you nothing.”

There was silence on the phone for about five seconds. It was possibly the longest five seconds I have experienced. Someone had to say something at this point. So I broke the deafening silence with the words “When can we get started?”………

Colin James 12/21/10

From Gee:  This guy Colin is going to write the stuff, send it to me, and I will publish it.  Bear with me while I figure out how to do this wordpress blog.  I’ll figure it out.  Merry Xmas everybody……………

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