I wanted to let all of our CDMSBL baseball family know that Kevin had another incident on Sat. He was called in to close out the game and as the batter popped out Keving lost consciousness. Lucky for him, and us his friends, the defribullator went off and brought him back. 911 was called and after stabilizing him, they brought him to Ellis for observation. He was in good spirits, and his usual ball busting humor was in tack as he was rolled off and into the ambulence. He is doing fine, but his playing days are problably done. Knowing Moony he will still fight to play but has been recommended to retire. My thanks go out to Brian Downey, A's catcher and EMT, who immediately took control of the situation and assisted the EMT's when they got there, to all of the Saratoga players who helped and showed their class during the situation, I thank you also. Kevin is a special man and friend to all of us and his pitching will be missed by the 25 A's but his health and friendship far outway the need for his pitching. His role on the team will now consist as a coach. We love you Kevin and our thoughts and prayers go out for your speedy recovery.\
Thank goodness for those of you who were there to help him. Kevin indeed is a stand-up guy, a great player and is respected by everyone inside and outside CDMSBL. Kevin, do what's best for your wife and kids, buddy. And we will continue to look forward to seeing you on the field - as a coach or manager. God bless. JimK
Sorry to hear about your incident buddy. Hang in there and let the Docs do their thing! Who knows, if you need bypass, they always say that you end up with a young man's heart. My Dad had quadruple bypass last year and his doctors encourage physical activity and he golfs twice a week. Things are going to be alright! Smile and take it easy on those nurses.
Kevin is one of the many characters of this league with character. Part of the reason I still play (if you want to call it that) is to bust chops with Kevin during the games. God forbid you make an error while he is pitchingit would surely make Kevins hilarious play-by-play recap after the game! Unfortunate things always seem to happen to the good people we have around us. This is no exception. The ironic thing is that Kevin is known to have one of the biggest hearts, on and off the field. And now, his heart is keeping him from doing what he has done well for so long. baseball. In the overall grand scheme of things, baseball is a minor part of a life. But, though baseball we have made some friends for life. Im looking forward to still busting chops during the games, and Kevins hilarious play-by-play recap after the game!
To all my fellow CDMSBL brothers....I just want to say thanks again for all of your support and for always being there for me on and off the field, you are a terrific bunch of men and great individuals and I will miss the competition more then anything. That is why it is so hard to give it up as you all will realize sometime down the road. Hopefully a long time. I know Artie will be pitching into his 80's which isn't that far off...sorry Artie, I loved playing with you bro! Remember the time you were left behind "by accident" and had to "fly" down to Kingston doing about 90 in your convertible for the >38's. Boy were you pissed, we all thought it was hysterical though....Sorry bro! I wish I had Artie's secret Hairstylist though, not one grey hair at his age. We should all be so lucky.
It is to my great sorrow that I must walk away from the game that I love more then life itself which is evident because I almost lost it to this great game.
I must now consider my wife Jacki and my 3 kids as well as my mom ahead of playing the game. I felt extremely bad for my eldest son Ben, 16, who had to witness his father collapsing on the field the other day and the emotional toll that it took on him almost losing his father. He asked me to "hang them up" and for him to say that, I know what pain he must have endured. I can now dedicate myself more to him and his love for the great sport of wrestling for Guilderland Varsity. He recently won the award for most dedicated and hardworking individual on the Varsity team at GHS and received his award at the end of year banquet in front of many people. I am extremely proud of him and his efforts.
I will continue to manage Baseball, Football and Basketball for the great kids of Colonie including my 8 year old son Ryan for many years to come hopefully. Ryan is turning into a quite a little leaguer in his own right batting lefty with a sweet stroke of his own just missing his first homerun last night by a few short feet. He seems to be taking after one of my longtime buddies in our league but hopefully with a little more power...Lifetime Oriole Mario Arduini, one of my arch nemesis to whom I could rarely get out as he always seemed to scrap his way on base against me with a bunt or one of dozens of his classic "Texas Leaguers" that ALWAYS fell in no matter how tough you pitched him!!! I almost incorporated my own "Arduini Shift" where all of my infielders played about 20-30 feet onto the outfield grass, this would have stopped about 90% of his hits off of me...lol.
I am starting to realize how enjoyable coaching can be when things come together with a group of kids who start out not knowing what is expected of them and wind up playing sports as a team, learning how to play so they may be more successful down the road for their next coach and so on down the road to possible college team games and who knows what from there. Also how successful and rewarding that can be for everyone involved including the other coaches and all of the parents involved as well.
The memories of playing with 100's of great guys in this league will surely last a lifetime as well as the friendships that I have developed throughout the league with teammates and the opposition. Those will most definately continue for the rest of my life including our semi regular Poker night with Brian Donnolly, Joe Fitzgerald, Ed and Ryan Class, Andy Sardela and another retired player from our league Jay "Achilles" Frament.
The competition in this league has gotten to the point that on any given day, any team can beat any other team and that is what any great league strives to accomplish.
I may have been a hot head earlier in my playing days but with age comes wisdom (hopefully) and I had learned to enjoy the competition and the skills and talents of the opponents that we faced. There are a ton of talented players now in the 25's and the 38's and I am sure with all of the hard work that our league officials do on a yearly basis that our league will only continue to florish and get even better.
To all of the teammates that I have played with there are way too many to name, you know who you are, I always appreciated your hard work and dedication to show up every week and play the game we all have loved since we were little boys...Thank you all so much!!!
In the end that is all we are....."Little Boys in Grown up Bodies Playing a Game"
Heard about what happened through Andy's brother, Todd (who was at the game). Wow, just wow. I am glad you are doing the smart (though not enjoyable) thing and hanging them up. I can't tell you how much I miss the game since retiring after the achillies injury, but there are other things to do. As you can see, I still check this site to see how the A's are doing (let's go A's, its about time to win a championship).
Let me know when you are up to losing some money and we can get a hold em game going.
Kevin, I'm sorry to see this on the board, you made my time on the A's a pleasure and a lot of fun. You were my pitching coach and good friend that I still miss not playing with. I wish you the best in anything you do in the future. Just take care of yourself. Everyone wants you around for a long,long time. When I reach 80 in August I'll reveal what only my hairdresser knows for sure. I was ready to hang em up this year and got lucky over a medical invention. You never know what the near future holds in the medical community. Stem Cells for the heart are not too far away and then you can fire those 98 MPH fastballs again. Stay well my friend.
so sorry to hear of your accident, but glad to hear that you are okay. and even though you think that your playing games are over, you never know....but you can always hang out with your cooler and cheer your teammates on.....and congrats to your son. my son also goes to guilderland high school and he is on the varsity baseball team....GO GUILDERLAND:) god bless you and your family.
Kevin, I was sorry to hear about what happened. You are a close friend and always will be. Anything you need..you have my number. You're still invited to the poker games, our Labor Day Team and of course our adventures when B. Donnelly's brother comes up just to drive us drunks around! Take care and if you need anything please don't hesitate to call.
We will miss you on the field, buddy. I have been lucky enough to be on the same team with you. When you first joined the 38 A's, I was told to "watch out for him". You were trouble. You were supposedly a hot head and were just one pitch from destroying someone. You could bring down our whole team.
I never saw that in you. I saw a fierce competitor - and a good, fun person. I saw a guy who was not afraid to make fun of himself. I saw a guy who was never malicious or dirty in any aspect of the game. I saw a good friend with a terrific sense of humor. And I still see those things now.
The fun we had after the games are some of my best memories. I remember the recaps better than the actual plays. The missed popups - the flubbed grounders - the swing and misses were never half as entertaining as watching you recreate them in your own Moondawg way. I thought that one of our "older" players (I won't menton Art, Don or Wayne - or myself) would pee their pants, but then remembered Depends had it all under control!
There are many important things in life. Enjoying your kids is pretty high on the list and I think we all understand the tough decision you have made. Being there to teach them and cheer them on is the best game in town. You have a lot to give and a long ways to go. Don't use it all up for a couple innings with a bunch of wierdos who call each other "bad names" (can't use the real words because that might upset our milder audience).
I am saddened to hear your situation. It sounds like your spirits are good, you are getting better, and the people around you are staying strong. I wish I had some advice for you about giving up playing. My strategy so far is being as miserable as possible and feeling cheated, old, and infirmed. Sure, people feel sorry for me, but eventually, they are pissed and exhausted. You may want to avoid that stuff.
Let the good karma sink in. People are really rooting for you, and they should be. You are one of the true characters of the league and one hell of a ball player. If you intend it, find a graceful way to allow that to become history. Last year alone, you were dominating on the mound. Your pitches were crisp. Your location was outstanding. Rest on your laurels. You have had a great career. You may not want to try to squeeze more out of this great game.
If it is your plan, try to resist going out there to prove that you are a force on a ball diamond. You aleady proved that a thousand times over four decades of qualilty baseball.
