Good Night at the Fitzgerald Theater

I enjoyed a nice night at the Fitzgerald Theater with Garrison Keillor and John Thorn.  Who is John Thorn?  He is the official historian of Major League Baseball.  He has written a new book, Baseball in the Garden of Eden:  The Secret History of the Early Game. 

Garrison came out first and told about his experience with the game of baseball.  It was before the game of soccer had been introduced to Minnesota and was a time when he and his friends got together and made up any number of games that were baseball related.  "We benefitted from great neglect," he smiled explaining that there was not an adult anywhere in sight. 

Then came John Thorn.  Keillor questioned him about the origins of baseball and Thorn expained how neither Abner Doubleday nor Alexander Cartwright invented baseball.  He told how the clubs in New York and the Massachusetts area played different kinds of "baseball" and how the New York rules eventually won out. 

Thorn said that baseball started in America because people wanted more exercise.  "It was part of a sanitary movement," said Thorn because the people of New York were so alcohol dependent and disease ridden. 

After discussing the history for about 45 minutes during which Thorn showed his humor and adamant opinion that "History Matters," Keillor went down to the theater floor and opened the evening up for questions.  There were sizeable contingents of Northwest Umpires and SABR (Society for American Baseball Research) present and it made for a lively question and answer period. 

Thorn turned a little cranky when he didn't understand a question or maybe it was because he thought it was just a poor question, but he was glib and fun when the subject was one he wanted to expound on.  It brought images of Tom Kelly to me from his radio show when they used to go the the callers and Tom thought the callers were asking stupid questions.  (Of course that was before the Twins sent him to Charm School). 

Thorn drew a loud response when he said that he would have preferred that the Massachusetts rules had won out because he loves Chaos.  Under those rules there was no foul ground and batters would sometimes turn around and hit the ball away from the diamond.  He went on to say that the essential elements of baseball are "randomness and risk" and the more they are involved the more entertaining the game.  He didn't think that instant replay had any place in the game and thought the real "hayday or golden era of baseball" was from 1909-1925.  When asked what could kill the game of baseball, he responded that "nothing could kill this game."  

A questioner asked Thorn what the best non-fiction baseball books were and he replied that the Glory of Their Times:  The Story of Baseball Told by the Men Who Played It, by Lawrence Ritter and Jim Bouton's Ball Four are the best.  "If you haven't read the Glory of Their Times, you should go home and start reading tonight," said Thorn.

Hadley Buttermakers Have Loss Too

Landon Erickson dropped me a note last week and said that the Southwestern, Minnesota area also lost a great baseball player.  Luke Beers, a player with the Hadley Buttermakers died in a car accident on March 15, 2011.  “He was a better person than he was a baseball player and he was a darn good baseball player,” said Erickson.  “He was from a family who has spent many years playing town team baseball.”

Luke died one bay before his 31^st birthday.  He played 14 seasons as an outfielder for Hadley.  Click here for his obituary.

"He was the team leader...the guy we wanted up there when the game was on the line...he was like the captain," said Hadley manager Myron Bennett.  "We'll be able to put someone out in left field, but we'll never be able to replace Luke Beers," he continued. 

“Like many small towns across Minnesota, Hadley draws a strong fan base.  With no lights at the ballpark to play midweek games, most Sunday

afternoons in the summer, there is a home game or two,” said his brother, Ryan.  “A couple hundred fans show and, like church, people sit in the same spot each time depending if their preference is shade or sunshine.  Luke revelled in this atmosphere of friendship, baseball, and love of life,” continued Ryan.   

Ryan explained that Luke liked to have fun and often was a leader in group activities including baseball-golf prior to games and playing practical jokes on unsuspecting teammates. He also was serious about his team, driving the Hadley van to away games and raising money to help with equipment needs.  

“Luke loved baseball.  He umpired junior high games in the spring for Murray County Central Schools and enjoyed visits to the major league venues of the Twins, Cubs, Brewers, and Royals, along with spring training for the Twins and Red Sox,” said Ryan. 

“The outpouring of support from the Minnesota amateur baseball family has been incredible, said Ryan.  "Please pass along our family's appreciation." 

Two Great Baseball People Die

Last week was a tough one for me.  Four people that I knew well died.  Two of them, Dan Carey 61, and Glenn Gostick 83, were great baseball people. 

Dan Carey had a car accident a year ago. That accident led to an examination which revealed a malignant brain tumor.  He battled the tumer and returned to his University of St. Thomas job.  Recently, he was back at the hospital with pneumonia and an infection.  At that time a CAT SCAN revealed that the tumor had enlarged and was active.  Dan died Saturday morning March 19. 

The first time I saw Dan pitch was at the high school State Tournament in 1966.  Hastings beat Albert Lea and Dan was the winning pitcher.  Dan ended up being drafted by the New York Mets and was in their system for six years.  He played for the Miesville Mudhens for many years.  He was the MVP of the State Tournament is 1978 when Miesville won it all in Faribault.  He was a feared pitcher and also an excellent hitter. 

But that wasn't what I remembered him for (I try to forget all of the guys that hit numerous HRs off of me).  What I remember was that he always seemed a little shy and he had a wonderful smile.  And what a sense of humor.  Just when you thought you were home free he would throw in a zinger that would make the whole group laugh--not demeaning but just enough to entertain everyone. 

Whenever I saw Dan at a ballgame I knew that he was a person that would be fun to hang with.  He knew the game, knew people and had a human side that invited being around.  We will all miss him. 

A funeral Mass for Carey will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday, March 23, in the Chapel of St. Thomas Aquinas on the university’s St. Paul campus. Visitation will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, March 22, at the Willwerscheid Funeral Home, 1167 Grand Ave., St. Paul, and also at St. Thomas one hour before the funeral.  Click here for Dan's Obituary.

If you were a member of the Minnesota baseball scene you would recognize Glenn Gostick.  He was at all kinds of games.  He started as a player moved on to coach and umpire.  He also was a trainer and worked with many different organizations including hockey teams.  Glenn also worked for the Minnesota Twins for a time.  

I saw him at numerous games and always tried to make a point to talk to him because I knew he would be doing something interesting.  One time in the Dome, I sat down by him and asked him what he was researching at that time.  He told me that he was checiking all the major league records for players that were from North Dakota.  Another time he told me how the Twins would have won a World Series if they had batted Earl Battey in the two hole.  

According to his obit he was "a walking encyclopedia of baseball trivia."  One time he told me about the advantages of having a left-handed catcher and how statistically speaking the lefty had an advantage.  He told Jay Olson, one of the Dundas Dukes that he was a statistical oddity because he threw left and batted right.  Glenn pointed out that there were a lot more throw right, bat left players.  Of course he quoted Jay the exact percentages.  

My favorite memory of Glenn was one Sunday in Eagan.  The Dukes all pulled into Goathill Park after a Friday and Saturday of baseball in Milroy and Marshall.  We had played hard and socialized extremely hard and really weren't in any kind of shape for a baseball game.  Anyway, we pulled in, decided to take a little five minute nap in the car to ready ourselves for the game, and wouldn't you know it, here, right in front of us, was Glenn doing one-arm push-ups to get ready to umpire our game.  We decided we couldn't sit in the car while he was doing that.  Click here for Glenn's Obituary.

More Updates from March Board Meeting

There were a couple things that were of interest at the March State Board meeting besides the Super Sectional and two week State Tournament for Class B.  On Saturday, the board was approached by Brad Weiers to play for Union Hill.  He is a junior at the University of St. Thomas and played for Commanding Edge in the summer of 2010.  He is originally from New Prague and this year he wants to play for Union Hill, the team that he came from and where his father also played. 

When asked what address he had put on the contract that he signed with Commanding Edge he said that he thought he had put  his St. Thomas address on but he wasn't sure.  The Board explained that if he put his college address on that he would have to re-establish his residence by March 15 to be eligible to play in Union Hill. 

The Board also explained to him that if he had put his New Prague address down he could have gone back to Union Hill any time he wanted.  That is because Class A has no radius and they may get ballplayers from anywhere.  Andre Lanoue, a Class A commissioner, attending the meeting said that he had Weiers' contract and would contact the Board with the official address. 

I checked with Andre on Wednesday night (March 16) and he informed me that he had checked the contract and it was a St. Paul address.  According to him, Weiers had decided to move home and commute to college in order to be able to play with Union Hill this summer.

There was a lengthy discussion of the responsibilities that managers should have to explain things like the college rule to their ballplayers.  As bad luck would have it, both the Union Hill and Commanding Edge managers were new last year. 

I'll let you know how it turns out. 

The other thing of interest involved Green Isle.  When they were allowed to move from Class B to Class C in November, it was with the stipulation that Mac Zachow would be retiring and would not play with Green Isle in 2011.  The Green Isle reps were there and said that Zachow was possibly thinking of returning again this summer.  They wanted to know from the Board if they would be moved up to Class B if that happened. 

Section 3B has already made a stipulation that if Green Isle comes back to B this year that they would be the five seed.  Green Isle informed the Board that if Zachow, who is a member of their Baseball Board and has played there for a number of years, comes back, they would like to remain in Class C.

The Board had a lengthy discussion on this also and ended up voting 5-3 that Green Isle would be moved back to Class B if Zachow does come back.  Dave Hartmann was not at the meeting and Joe Kreger, Mike Barry, and Mark Forsman voted against the motion.  So it looks like Green Isle will be moved to Class B if Zachow returns to the Irish at any time this summer. 

Class B Gets Super Sectionals and Two Week State Tournament

The State Board voted 8-0 today (3-13-11) to allow Class B to hold Super Sectional Tournaments.  In conjunction with this the Class B State Tournament will be held over the first two weekends of the State Tournament.  The Class C Tournament will be held over all three weekends as in the past. 

The Class B set-up will be the same as it has been in the past to determine their final sixteen teams.  Each of the eight sections will play their own tournament to get down to two teams that will move on.  Then the managers of the 16 remaining teams will rank each team 1-16 and there will be four Super Sectional Tournaments.  These Super Sectionals will all have an identical format (a four team double elimination tournament) and will  be played the weekend of August 12, 13 and 14.  The top two teams from each Super Sectional advance to the State Tournament in Brownton and Glencoe (Hutchinson is the third site). 

The State Tournament will consist of an eight team double elimination tournament played over two weekends.  The B Tounament dates are August 19, 20, 21, 26, 27 and 28.  The Championship game is scheduled for Sunday August 28, 2011. 

More details to come.

Some Guys Still Love to Play

As I read "Beyond the Fence" a book on townball by Josh Eidem, it became apparent that one of the themes was how hard it is to quit this great game of baseball.  His characters think of quitting and find it a tough thing to do.  One of the players, Johnson, who is a catcher, seems to come back over and over.  The guys love the game, but their bodies say it's time to quit. 

I started in Dundas in 1975.  You can imagine that I've gone through several complete changes of personnel over those years.  There is one player that stands out in my mind.  He is Rich Bordas.  Rich graduated from Apple Valley HS in 1983.  He went to Oral Roberts University and graduated in 1987.  He has played with Savage, Eagan, two Burnsville teams and the Dundas Dukes.  He has no plans to retire and will be 46 before the 2011 season starts. 

Last year Rich hit .349 while getting 51 hits in 146 at bats.  He plays any position in the outfield, fills in at first base occasionally and also does some DH duty.  I've never seen a player that enjoyed playing more than Rich.  If we had a rainout, he would almost cry.  In the 2008 State Tournament, we had some issues that made it impossible for three of our regular players to make the tournament.  Even though Rich had been a starter all season long, when everyone was there, he was the player that would often have to sit. Rich started, got some big hits against Chaska and played every game of the tournament.  On the final day, our centerfielder was pitching so I put Rich in Center.  Mankato hit shot after shot into center and Rich made all of the plays.  He played all of both games and had a great day overall even though it was 90 degrees out and other players were dropping.  He was named to the All-Tournament team at the age of 43. 

I asked Rich to tell me a few of his feelings on playing so long.  Here are some of his responses:  "I feel extremely fortunate to be able to make an effort at playing, though some might say that I can't, and they may be right. Who knows what each new year holds including this one. I only want to play if I deserve to play based on performance....Baseball is a nostalgic game. I play for the fun and the competition but also think that like many areas in life, it is about building memories. Plus it is a great change of pace from work and it keeps you young. And I like to hit. Hitting is just fun, in games, in the cage, it doesn't matter."  He's right--he can hit the ball.

A few memories from Rich:  "I played in MN every year since 1982 , except one year in a college league and one year where I only played a few games due to overseas for work. Very pleased to have stayed almost completely injury free. Essentially this year would be the 30th year, minus the 2 years. I figure 28 years equates to over 5000 at bats and maybe 1500 to 2000 hits, though really don't have any idea. I have never been overly concerned with the format or set up or rules, just want to enjoy each at bat."

He continues:  "I like the wood bats better because it limits the number of runs (compared with aluminum) and means that it is actually possible to make a difference with a few key hits. In games that used to be 15 to 12 in score, even if you were 4 for 4, it might not matter. (eg Luke Appert hitting 3 home runs and a double but his team losing a playoff game)."

"Saw many close teammates stop playing - wished that they would have continued to play, but as new teammates come on board, new friendships are made. Even though ball is now organized, when I am in the field now, I try to think back to make it like when I was a kid at the playground, just standing in the outfield and trying to not let anything fall. You run and get it and throw it in. Running isn't so easy any more, or rather, slowing down is not so easy on the knees. So its better to stand where you think they are going to hit it," quiped Bordas. 

"And I love to stand on the line with the anthem playing - so appreciative of this land of opportunity. I don't know why God gave me a passion for playing the game because the game is really not so important, but I am going to appreciate it and go with it, and see where the journey leads. And when it's over, its OK."

That is the kind of guy Rich Bordas is.  Class all the way.