Saturday, October 11 at Clifton Commons the 46 division All-Star game was played. Unfortunately, there was very short notice of the date it was to be played due to the numerous rainouts we experienced in the division playoffs. I want to thank all the players who were able to attend. Since I did not know who was going to be present until they showed up at the field the teams were chosen by Frank Montegano and myself, by using the old sandlot method of tossing the bat in the air and then proceeding by placing our hands around the bat, one at a time, until one of our hands reached the nob of the handle. On this day I won the right to choose first, and as it turned out, that was the only thing I won. Frank, thank you so much for managing the winning team, of which I believe, you were the winning pitcher. I was not planning on playing but at final count, including me, there were 16 ballplayers. I can not thank enough, Brian Quinn, of the Cougars, who showed up to watch the game, not playing on doctor's advice, but as he said to me, "the doc said I needed to rest the knee for 3 or 4 weeks, so I figure I'll start tomorrow", and proceeded to play right field for both teams. Frank's team jumped out to an early lead and were never headed the rest of the way. As the saying goes, "hit 'em where they ain't", is exactly what Frank's boys did. I believe the final score was 13-7.
Frank's team was composed of the following players: Read Shepherd (Cougars), Frank (Cougars), Jim Wing (Cougars), Don Ball (Vets), Nick Kanellis (Dodgers), Gino Rodriguez (Dodgers), Steve VanGelder (Yankees) and Vince Koster (Black Sox).
The opposition was composed of: Kevin Jackson (Yankees), Mike Eplite (Yankees), Ed Rogers (Dodgers), Mike LaFave (Marlins), Bill Smith (Hornets), Bill Kervan (Vets), and Mike Aiello (Black Sox).
Thank you to Mark Fitch for providing umpires, who did an excellent job, and also to Roger Mason for securing the field at no cost to the league.
Sincerest thanks for your gracious words, and for all of the work you did in putting this game together.
It was a beautiful day and thanks to your efforts and guidance we were able to make the best of the situation. Indeed, I'd say that the game was a success. I know for a fact that my team had a lot of fun!
