Success both on and off the field came yesterday as the 15 Homers who came to play defeated the Radars 11 to 8. As usual, individual Homers arrived early and arrived often, so much so that the Homers could have fielded a team before a single opponent showed, giving the team ample time to warm up and practice like the big boys:
Matt Batts caught a lot of batting practice that spring, and he loved catching when [Ted] Williams was up. Batts had barely made the team as a rookie the previous year, and yet here he was with the great star, talking to him as though they were equals. "Goddman Batts, did you see that," Williams would say as he lashed a ball on a line to right. In would come another pitch. Again a swing, again a line drive. "Batts, I'm goin to tell you a secret - I'm good and I'm getting better." In came another pitch. Again he swung, again the ball hurtled deep into the outfield. "I can't stand it, I'm so good," he said... He would take one more swing, Batts remembered, hit it again, and leave the batter's box most reluctantly. "Goddamn, but this is fun," he would say. "I could do this all day - and they pay me for it." Batts thought: He makes it easier to remember that baseball was supposed to be fun.
Homers 4 0 2 1 0 2 2 11
Radars 1 1 2 2 0 1 1 8
Karen P P - 2B - P -
Sue C 2B - - 2B - 2B
Scott 1B 1B - 3B OF SS -
Jeff OF OF - 1B C - C
Richard OF SS - OF SS - OF
Martha 3B - 2B OF OF - OF
Ron OF - P OF - OF P
Annette 2B - OF C - 2B OF
Tim SS - SS SS - OF SS
Amy OF - OF OF - - -
Tony - OF 1B - P 1B 1B
David - OF OF - OF OF 3B
Robb - P C P 3B C OF
Sheila - OF OF - OF OF -
Rich - 3B 3B - 1B 3B -
spectators: Barbara, Brian, Aaron, Greg, Earl
After the game, Karen, Robb, Tim, Scott, Jeff, Annette, Sheila, Tony,
Ron, Sue, and Richard made one corner of Crown City Brewery their own,
where baseball (and softball) was persuasively and definitively proved
to be the great American sport.
The game was very close as the Homers never trailed but never led by more than 4. In fact, the Radars were within one after five innings, but then Scott hit a solid home run in the sixth, and Tony followed with one of his own in the seventh for the final margin. However, neither gained ground on the Homer leaders, though, for Ron and Richard each got one of the cheap variety.
Tim made the key defensive play of the day in the last inning. With the bases loaded and 1 out, the Radar batter hit a solid one-hopper up the middle that looked certain to score two until Tim stretched and fielded it, turned, and forced a runner at second. However, the play of the day goes to Amy, who in the first inning made an excellent charging catch of a sinking line drive to right.
Next week's game is on Wednesday, May 21, on field H3 against the Voodoo Toad Fury, a team the Homers have NEVER beaten despite having played them every year since 1991.