Bay Area Nine 1 MC Saw Dogs 9
The Saw Dogs Boarded the Santa Fe Express and traveled to Clear Lake to meet the
challenge of the Bay Area 9. The game was played as part of the 2007 Continental
League All-Star game. The Dogs played the field first and quickly disposed the Bar
Area strikers 1-2-3. The Montgomery College boys tallied five quick aces in the first
hand and never looked back. On the day, the swatters from up north toed the marble
base nine times. Hurler "Joltin" Joe Garza dished out nothing but goose eggs, until the
fifth hand, when Bay Area tallied their lone ace. On this day, the Saw Dogs welcomed
two new ballists into their ranks: Jeff "Home-Run" Temple and Chuck "Pipes" West.
This excellent evening of base ball would not have been possible without the help of
Jason Sadeghbeigi and Mike Pede of the Bay Area Toros. Huzzah!
Michael Hickey
___________________See photos from game here__________________________
_Old Timers Game has nostalgia
By CHUCK HLAVA Citizen Sports Editor
07/19/2007
Old Timer and Sports editor Chuck Hlava shows perfect form as he picks up the ball to
throw from right field to second base.
IT'S BEEN A LONG, long time since I've played ball.
That was many years ago when I was part of our newspaper's
industrial league team in Scottsdale, Arizona.
So when I was asked to play in the Old Timers Game, my old
competitive genes got the best of me.
The Old Timers Game was part of the first Continental
Baseball League All-Star Week, which included a golf
tournament, a home run derby and, finally, Tuesday night's
All-Star game.
All I had to do was show up Monday evening at Wildcat Field. I
was going to get fitted for a uniform, etc.
Clear Creek High's Wildcat Field, of course, is home to our Bay
Area Toros, one of the four teams in the fledgling CBL.
The Old Timers Game was, well, an Old Timers Game.
Uniforms and balls were circa 1860s. We were read the riot act
as to the rules. Spitting and cussing wasn't allowed. You
couldn't overrun first base. If a ball was caught on one hop,
the batter was out. Actually, you're not called "out," instead,
you're "dead." Another old-time rule: you couldn't slide into
base. If you actually did score you had to check in at the
scorer's table and ring a bell. Everything was 1860s. It was so
authentic I kept looking around to see if Abraham Lincoln was
in the bleachers.
I thought our team of local elected officials, media and other
VIPs was going to be tough to beat. We might dress funny but
we mean business.
Then we eyed our opponents, who turned out to be players
from Montgomery College Vintage Base Ball Association. I
knew we were in trouble because they dressed funnier than
we did. I think the CBL set us up with a bunch or ringers.
The vintage shirt that I donned was pure white and so was my
new ball cap. No wonder they didn't want us to slide. There
were no Pilgrim Cleaners back in the 1860s. I even rolled my
socks over my pant legs for a more authentic look.
Because of the budget designated for this Old Timers Game,
we didn't have numbers on our team's shirts. Instead, we had
fractions.
As I stood there on the field in my pristine white uniform,
looking very dapper (I thought), Toros manager Jim Bolt came
up and asked whether I was going to right field to catch fly
balls or to the kitchen to flip hamburgers.
Okay, now about the game.
We really had them worried and we were in it until the first
inning.
I can tell you that one of Montgomery College's first 9 or 10
runs wasn't really earned.
My time at bat wasn't well spent. I may be the only batter that
can strike out on two pitches. I almost caught a cold swinging
the bat through the air at the ball. But I actually did make
contact with the ball, but the little round thing did beat me to
first base.
In my ball playing days I could never hit a curve. Now on the
golf course I hit them all the time. Life is not fair.
Okay, back to the Old Timers Game. We lost. Monty (you
notice I changed our foes team's name) didn't really play fair.
They kept hitting the ball where we couldn't reach it.
But our team of good guys never gave up. Camaraderie of the
first order.
The important thing was that fun was the order of the day for
both sides.
The official broadcaster and color announcer was Toros
general manager Mike Pede. He did a superb job of informing
and entertaining the bleacher crowd.
Friends and relatives of a lot of the players on both sides
showed up for the game, also.
My wife Cherry and daughter Michele, along with my buddy
PJ, were enthralled watching the game.
It isn't very often they get to watch me play pro ball.
The Saw Dogs Boarded the Santa Fe Express and traveled to Clear Lake to meet the
challenge of the Bay Area 9. The game was played as part of the 2007 Continental
League All-Star game. The Dogs played the field first and quickly disposed the Bar
Area strikers 1-2-3. The Montgomery College boys tallied five quick aces in the first
hand and never looked back. On the day, the swatters from up north toed the marble
base nine times. Hurler "Joltin" Joe Garza dished out nothing but goose eggs, until the
fifth hand, when Bay Area tallied their lone ace. On this day, the Saw Dogs welcomed
two new ballists into their ranks: Jeff "Home-Run" Temple and Chuck "Pipes" West.
This excellent evening of base ball would not have been possible without the help of
Jason Sadeghbeigi and Mike Pede of the Bay Area Toros. Huzzah!
Michael Hickey
___________________See photos from game here__________________________
_Old Timers Game has nostalgia
By CHUCK HLAVA Citizen Sports Editor
07/19/2007
Old Timer and Sports editor Chuck Hlava shows perfect form as he picks up the ball to
throw from right field to second base.
IT'S BEEN A LONG, long time since I've played ball.
That was many years ago when I was part of our newspaper's
industrial league team in Scottsdale, Arizona.
So when I was asked to play in the Old Timers Game, my old
competitive genes got the best of me.
The Old Timers Game was part of the first Continental
Baseball League All-Star Week, which included a golf
tournament, a home run derby and, finally, Tuesday night's
All-Star game.
All I had to do was show up Monday evening at Wildcat Field. I
was going to get fitted for a uniform, etc.
Clear Creek High's Wildcat Field, of course, is home to our Bay
Area Toros, one of the four teams in the fledgling CBL.
The Old Timers Game was, well, an Old Timers Game.
Uniforms and balls were circa 1860s. We were read the riot act
as to the rules. Spitting and cussing wasn't allowed. You
couldn't overrun first base. If a ball was caught on one hop,
the batter was out. Actually, you're not called "out," instead,
you're "dead." Another old-time rule: you couldn't slide into
base. If you actually did score you had to check in at the
scorer's table and ring a bell. Everything was 1860s. It was so
authentic I kept looking around to see if Abraham Lincoln was
in the bleachers.
I thought our team of local elected officials, media and other
VIPs was going to be tough to beat. We might dress funny but
we mean business.
Then we eyed our opponents, who turned out to be players
from Montgomery College Vintage Base Ball Association. I
knew we were in trouble because they dressed funnier than
we did. I think the CBL set us up with a bunch or ringers.
The vintage shirt that I donned was pure white and so was my
new ball cap. No wonder they didn't want us to slide. There
were no Pilgrim Cleaners back in the 1860s. I even rolled my
socks over my pant legs for a more authentic look.
Because of the budget designated for this Old Timers Game,
we didn't have numbers on our team's shirts. Instead, we had
fractions.
As I stood there on the field in my pristine white uniform,
looking very dapper (I thought), Toros manager Jim Bolt came
up and asked whether I was going to right field to catch fly
balls or to the kitchen to flip hamburgers.
Okay, now about the game.
We really had them worried and we were in it until the first
inning.
I can tell you that one of Montgomery College's first 9 or 10
runs wasn't really earned.
My time at bat wasn't well spent. I may be the only batter that
can strike out on two pitches. I almost caught a cold swinging
the bat through the air at the ball. But I actually did make
contact with the ball, but the little round thing did beat me to
first base.
In my ball playing days I could never hit a curve. Now on the
golf course I hit them all the time. Life is not fair.
Okay, back to the Old Timers Game. We lost. Monty (you
notice I changed our foes team's name) didn't really play fair.
They kept hitting the ball where we couldn't reach it.
But our team of good guys never gave up. Camaraderie of the
first order.
The important thing was that fun was the order of the day for
both sides.
The official broadcaster and color announcer was Toros
general manager Mike Pede. He did a superb job of informing
and entertaining the bleacher crowd.
Friends and relatives of a lot of the players on both sides
showed up for the game, also.
My wife Cherry and daughter Michele, along with my buddy
PJ, were enthralled watching the game.
It isn't very often they get to watch me play pro ball.
| Montgomery College Saw Dogs play a picked nine from the Bay Area in an exhibition game before the scheduled Continental League All-Star game |