I'm writing to inform you that we're taking a team to San Antonio, Texas, for a friendly little tournament, March 17-19th. Wood bat, 38-up, four games minimum. As many of you know, Fearless Leader originally hails from those environs, and Mike Hart played in the San Antonio league for several years (Mike may have mentioned this fact to you once or twice . . . . or, say, dozens of times).
The idea is to build on that connection, and maybe create a friendly rivalry. So we're going down to compete against their local teams only; it's a very small deal. Mike Hart and John Reel asked me if I would consider putting together a team. Well, this was shortly after Jim Jordan's death. So when I asked everyone on the Pirates, six guys immediately said yes. So I've dubbed this the "Life Is Short" World Tour. We decided to seize the day and live a little, even though there are dozens of reasons why we shouldn't leave wife, kids, and work behind. (Of course, those are pretty good reasons for hitting the road, but I digress.) Anyway: March/Not Albany. That's an unbeatable combination. We're looking forward to it.
The team: Carlo Agneta, Bob Bolt, Todd Calhoun, Al Dudla, Mike Hart, Greg Johnson, Mike Kane, Tom Maney, Mark Myers, Jim Preller, John Reel, Dick Stark, Marc Tryon. Overall, a group that's representative of a good (but not great) team from the CDMSBL: It will be interesting to see how we measure up.
But it's about more than baseball. We're staying in a great hotel on the riverwalk, I hear the city is lively and fun, and we're going down there to enjoy all of it, living large. Hopefully this trip will be a success, and maybe next year two Albany teams will make the journey.
Two final comments: 1) If anyone has never made one of these tournaments -- Disney, Tampa, Las Vegas, Maine, etcetera -- I highly recommend the experience. As a ballplayer, there's just something special about it. I really enjoy meeting new guys, getting to know them a little, playing together and, um, getting the hell out of Albany. So if you get the chance, I encourage you to take it; 2) I find putting together a team for a tournament to be personally awkward, since it places me in a weird position of power. I feel guilty about the guys I didn't ask, who were equally deserving of the opportunity. I basically started with the guys on my team, then reached out to friends I knew and players I respected. Then, after they all turned me down, I went after strangers who I deeply disliked, which is how I got stuck with Maney. Anyway, there wasn't room for everybody -- even if you are a good player and a great teammate.
well, maybe once or twice. or three times, yes, but that's it.
in any case, jim hit all the proverbial nails on their heads here. here's hoping things work well and we can continue this somehow.
now, if y'all want to see something about san antonio's league, go to their website - sambsbl.com - and click on photos, in particular, sanchez-spencer photos. sanchez-spencer is one the fields we'll be playing on. about two years ago, league president skip bradley took over what was essentially an old, weed-strewn diamond with splintered fences, stands and dugouts and, using largely volunteer labor from the players, their families and friends, rebuilt the place. the lights, as you'll see, went in this week. (that was professionally done. mustco. corp.)
