Ol' G, as we call him, is usually gone from one of our Conehead games in a flash. He stays long enough for the beginnings of the post-game banter because he is our teammate and friend, and he usually had a lot to do with the outcome. But ten minutes or so later, it's 'great game', see you all next week, and he's off.
Well, last Monday was a different deal. Gerry, the reigning Mr. Conehead, showed up to give out this year's Mr. C award. For those that aren't in the know, this is given every year to the teammate that best shows the qualities that make up a true Conehead - the full list of them is the subject for another post, but it includes the usual things one might expect - contributing something special on and off the field. Each year there is only one vote - the reigning Mr. Conehead - although consulting with the previous honorees is allowed, and one suspects that a certain former Mr. Conehead with the most years on the team is usually consulted.
It's a tough choice because we have so many players, especially these days, that are so deserving of the award. We play so well as a team, and the hallmark of a great team is that everyone contributes in a major way, sometime or other. And the camaraderie has never been better, at least in my 15 years as a Conehead, than it is now.
This year Ol' G was most deserving of the award and Gerry gave a great speech listing all the tangibles and intangibles that made him the obvious choice. He started with the stats from this year - Gary had a particularly productive season in the Orinda Summer League - but so did others, and he worked up to naming G by starting out in more generalities and then worked to more and more specifics that could only point to our second baseman. By the time he talked about 'the guy you want in your foxhole with you', and then finally to the reference to the time G got the crazy guy from Two Score Or More in a headlock when he tried to attack us in our own dugout, we all knew who he was talking about.
Ol' G gave a short speech, it was humble yet you could tell he was flattered, and then he said "Well, I gotta go". Laughs all around, and then he was gone.
His wife Deb is also steady as a rock, and I am sure his anchor at home. But she is also a gamer, and an athlete in her own right and a die hard sports fan. So you wonder how it went when he got home, and I think it probably went something like this:
(G drives up, parks and walks in the house)
G: "Deb, I'm home! You won't believe what happened at our game."
D: "Did you win?"
G: "Yeah 20-10 against the team we beat in the finals last year, we own those guys. But you won't believe what happened after the game."
D: "Did you knock in any runs?"
G: "Yeah, I think three, although the strike zone was ridiculous and I took a called third strike in one at bat."
D: "You what?!?!?!?!?"
G: "I wasn't the only one, Derek did too, and he was pissed! It's ok, what I wanted to tell you was that they named me this year's Mr. Conehead...see the trophy? It's quite the honor! I was so surprised!"
D: "You struck out???? LOOKING???"
G: "Deb, I'm Mr. Conehead, they love me!"
D: "You're Mr. Looker around here, and I don't mean that in a good way!"
And so on.
I kid...I love Deb and I am sure she was proud of her man, and I know that G goes home so soon because he actually has a life outside of softball, and he can't wait to get back to it.
Speaking of the game (isn't that what this is about?), we came out blazing - Nine runs in the top of the first, which technically is not a Conehead inning because it wasn't double digits, but nevertheless it set the tone. Pope hit a monster two run shot as the second batter, and it was off to the races. Six straight singles with one out, and then Joe came up with runners at the corners, and slashed a hit down the left field line. It was hit so far past the left fielder that I scored from first and Joe made it to second base on his reconstructed knees.
After that even though we scored the next two innings (including a two out two run knock by the soon to be named Mr. Conehead), we got a little complacent, and saw our lead slip down to 15-10 at the end of the fourth, and when for the second inning in a row we did not score in the top of the fifth, Joe was nervous.
But a funny thing happened. Chopper, on the DL, showed up and soon there were the calls of "Popcorn" and "Alley! Alley!", although they came from the bleachers. And Joe put in Lefty to pitch, and he shut down DubMD after they had scored ten runs in the last three innings.
We topped it off with a good five run rally in the top of the last inning, highlighted by a lead off triple by Lefty, a double by Sting, and another triple by Pope, who by the way hit for the Cycle.
With Joe returning to the mound for the save (although the rally made it a non-save situation), DubMD was done and they knew it. See you in the playoffs, Dub.
Randy went 5-5, Pope and Lefty had four hits, and Heffe three. RBIs and runs scored were spread out as they usually are when everyone contributes.
Ahem, and two guys looked at strike three - in the same inning.
And finally, we might be too old to worry about having to go to war - but if we did, we know we have the guy that can be trusted to be there with us. Good to have him on our side.
Milestones:
Sting 90 2b (#6)
Randy 100 ab (#29)
Randy 50 rbi (#29)
Well, last Monday was a different deal. Gerry, the reigning Mr. Conehead, showed up to give out this year's Mr. C award. For those that aren't in the know, this is given every year to the teammate that best shows the qualities that make up a true Conehead - the full list of them is the subject for another post, but it includes the usual things one might expect - contributing something special on and off the field. Each year there is only one vote - the reigning Mr. Conehead - although consulting with the previous honorees is allowed, and one suspects that a certain former Mr. Conehead with the most years on the team is usually consulted.
It's a tough choice because we have so many players, especially these days, that are so deserving of the award. We play so well as a team, and the hallmark of a great team is that everyone contributes in a major way, sometime or other. And the camaraderie has never been better, at least in my 15 years as a Conehead, than it is now.
This year Ol' G was most deserving of the award and Gerry gave a great speech listing all the tangibles and intangibles that made him the obvious choice. He started with the stats from this year - Gary had a particularly productive season in the Orinda Summer League - but so did others, and he worked up to naming G by starting out in more generalities and then worked to more and more specifics that could only point to our second baseman. By the time he talked about 'the guy you want in your foxhole with you', and then finally to the reference to the time G got the crazy guy from Two Score Or More in a headlock when he tried to attack us in our own dugout, we all knew who he was talking about.
Ol' G gave a short speech, it was humble yet you could tell he was flattered, and then he said "Well, I gotta go". Laughs all around, and then he was gone.
His wife Deb is also steady as a rock, and I am sure his anchor at home. But she is also a gamer, and an athlete in her own right and a die hard sports fan. So you wonder how it went when he got home, and I think it probably went something like this:
(G drives up, parks and walks in the house)
G: "Deb, I'm home! You won't believe what happened at our game."
D: "Did you win?"
G: "Yeah 20-10 against the team we beat in the finals last year, we own those guys. But you won't believe what happened after the game."
D: "Did you knock in any runs?"
G: "Yeah, I think three, although the strike zone was ridiculous and I took a called third strike in one at bat."
D: "You what?!?!?!?!?"
G: "I wasn't the only one, Derek did too, and he was pissed! It's ok, what I wanted to tell you was that they named me this year's Mr. Conehead...see the trophy? It's quite the honor! I was so surprised!"
D: "You struck out???? LOOKING???"
G: "Deb, I'm Mr. Conehead, they love me!"
D: "You're Mr. Looker around here, and I don't mean that in a good way!"
And so on.
I kid...I love Deb and I am sure she was proud of her man, and I know that G goes home so soon because he actually has a life outside of softball, and he can't wait to get back to it.
Speaking of the game (isn't that what this is about?), we came out blazing - Nine runs in the top of the first, which technically is not a Conehead inning because it wasn't double digits, but nevertheless it set the tone. Pope hit a monster two run shot as the second batter, and it was off to the races. Six straight singles with one out, and then Joe came up with runners at the corners, and slashed a hit down the left field line. It was hit so far past the left fielder that I scored from first and Joe made it to second base on his reconstructed knees.
After that even though we scored the next two innings (including a two out two run knock by the soon to be named Mr. Conehead), we got a little complacent, and saw our lead slip down to 15-10 at the end of the fourth, and when for the second inning in a row we did not score in the top of the fifth, Joe was nervous.
But a funny thing happened. Chopper, on the DL, showed up and soon there were the calls of "Popcorn" and "Alley! Alley!", although they came from the bleachers. And Joe put in Lefty to pitch, and he shut down DubMD after they had scored ten runs in the last three innings.
We topped it off with a good five run rally in the top of the last inning, highlighted by a lead off triple by Lefty, a double by Sting, and another triple by Pope, who by the way hit for the Cycle.
With Joe returning to the mound for the save (although the rally made it a non-save situation), DubMD was done and they knew it. See you in the playoffs, Dub.
Randy went 5-5, Pope and Lefty had four hits, and Heffe three. RBIs and runs scored were spread out as they usually are when everyone contributes.
Ahem, and two guys looked at strike three - in the same inning.
And finally, we might be too old to worry about having to go to war - but if we did, we know we have the guy that can be trusted to be there with us. Good to have him on our side.
Milestones:
Sting 90 2b (#6)
Randy 100 ab (#29)
Randy 50 rbi (#29)
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