In this time of Thanksgiving, it seems fitting to thank all of the team managers who have given their time and effort to run teams so that the rest of us can just show up to the field and play the game we love.
Collecting fees and paperwork, organizing rosters, communicating via e-mail,text and phone messages, hauling helmets, balls and catchers gear, overseeing scorebooks, making out lineups, and picking up dugouts and equipment left behind after games all the while trying to keep team drama to a minimum and team unity to the max.
To my many league managers Bob Lounsbury, Bob Weitz, Steve Vangelder, John Reel, Jim Ansel, Jim McQuade, Ray Demers; my Labor Day skippers Don Wixon, Mike Hart, Rick Caruso and Steve Lounello; my Florida generals Artie Gianokas, Wixon, Vangelder, Reel, Mike Girard, Jim Konstantakis, Jerry Hawkins and McQuade; my Arizona head coach Ted Poleto; and Matinee Division organizers Jimmy M & Jimmy K: a big thank you for taking on a thankless job.
I hope everyone has a safe and healthy Thanksgiving with those closest to them, and am hopeful that we can have a season of mask-less baseball in 2021.
Tim - that's awfully nice of you to say that. It's a great thought for Thanksgiving.
I suspect all of the guys who've managed you (and wow, that's a lot! What? You can't keep a manager?) would say you make any team you're on better.
And that's not just for your talent, though it is that; it's also because you've regularly shown you know that a team is more than two or three stars, that every manager has to hold the reins on 14 to 18 egos, all those players eager to play, to do their best. More than once, you've helped managers, certainly me, do that. It takes a special vision to see a whole team.
So, belatedly, thank you. And thanks, too, to the many players in the league, actually, perhaps most, who also have a wide view of team, and help managers keep everything together.
Right back at you Timmy as I assume the 55 Yankees feel the same about you as do all the 55 Managers and players who depend on you for scheduling our division. Your contributions on and off the field make our league great. Thank You!
Ive had several managers since I started playing in the CDMSBL back in the 1990s. Steve Penisha of the 30+ Adirondack team was the first guy I played for. Steve was big and strong and an above average catcher. He was very fair with the players . Surprisingly, he let me pitch a lot that season, probably 40 something innings. The more I pitched, the more success I had. I was lucky enough to make friends with Wayne Newcomb who was on that team. We had some fun. Another manager that stands out to me, in a positive way, was Jim Brearton who managed the Hawks in the 55s. I had been away from the game for about 10 years , somehow learned there was a 55 division and Brearton was good enough to let me join the team about a third of the way into the season. I have to admit, our Hawks werent very successful to put it mildly, but, we were playing baseball and making new friends. Tom Warner was our primary pitcher and pretty good, but suffered from very weak defensive play. Steve Schaefer was also on the team behind the plate. Jim Brearton was no wizard as a manager, but he was fiercely committed to his players and we all knew it. Ive saved the best for last, and that is Brian Allen. I approached Brian 5 years ago asking if he would let me on the Twins. We met over coffee and he hemmed and hawed and did not commit to me at that meeting. I must say I was a bit incredulous having to wait for what he said would be his decision soon. My thought was that it was his way of letting me down easy. I figured if I heard anything from him again it would be a rejection. WRONG ! Obviously, Brian called me and said, sure, youll be welcome on the Twins. Brian turned out to be the best manager I ever played for, at any level, and also a good friend. When he left the team a couple seasons ago it made me sad. Yeah, he was an excellent baseball player, but even more importantly, he added palpable depth to the soul of the team. Thats rare.
While I did have a couple other managers in CDMSBL, these three are the ones I recall most fondly.
Although I have not played for Brad Buchan or Jim Porter, these two guys are veteran managers who always put playing time for everyone else ahead of their own.
