A 'lil HooHaa

Messing with the blogging world since 2005

oneonta

The perfect game … that wasn’t (for me, anyway)

For six seasons, I covered short-season Single A baseball.

The team I covered was the farm team of the Detroit Tigers. That team has since left my area and moved to another place. It’s a shame, too, being the long history. Alas, that’s six years ago now, so have to move on, right?

In those years, I never had the chance to cover a no-hitter or a perfect game. The funny part is three times over the time I covered the team, this happened.

Three.

A New York-Penn League ball and a scorebook ... but not from any perfect game.

A New York-Penn League ball and a scorebook … but not from any perfect game.

Allow me to explain some things, though. Despite it being my beat, I didn’t travel for away games, and we didn’t cover Saturday games (we were a six-day paper). There were also other times that I would get send to cover other things, thus leaving the game coverage to somebody else or nobody at all. I guess that’s the bad part of a small paper and being a person who covered many different things that, well, others didn’t want to cover. So I would get sent.

July 15, 2007.

It was a Sunday. I remember that day well. The Tigers were playing an earlier game (5ish maybe?) and I wasn’t, unfortunately, going to cover the game. Instead, I was sent to cover the national motocross race that comes to our area once a year. Another reporter was sent to cover my beat.

It’s a decision I wish had never happened.

What happened was magical. Guillermo Moscoso, who eventually saw some time in the majors, went nine innings. That, on its own, is something special in the NY-Penn, where pitchers usually have a pretty tight pitch count.

But history was made that night as Moscoso threw just the second nine-inning perfect game in NY-Penn history. There, at that point, were only three total (including Moscoso’s) in league history. The last one had been a seven-inning perfecto, thrown by somebody in the same organization (then with the Yankees) in 1974.

As this was unfolding, I got a call from my editor to tell me. Unfortunately, I was stuck in traffic leaving the motocross and didn’t get back in time to see the ending. Didn’t matter anyway as it would have still annoyed me that I was at a motocross that day and not covering … my beat. Unfortunately, the beat was always treated like I would have liked, but that’s water under the bridge.

Then in 2008, the chances were there once again. Not for a perfect game, this time, but still.

On June 21, the Tigers were no-hit by the Tri-City ValleyCats (three pitchers). That game was at home, but it was on a Saturday, so…

Just nine days later the Tigers returned the favor, this time to the Lowell Spinners. Three pitchers combined for a 2-1 no-hit victory in seven innings. Alas, the game was on the road, so once again…

To be fair, I once covered a perfect game in high school softball. I actually think I may have covered two. But it’s not the same. Not one bit.

The perfect game was on my beat and I was sent somewhere else. Nothing I can do now, but looking back, it definitely stings knowing how fun it would have been to be keeping book, taking notes and snapping a few photos as the game went on. Maybe one day I’ll get to see one in person. Maybe not. But I’ll always remember the one I missed.

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Mo’ne and Monarchs dazzle during barnstorming tour stop

It shouldn’t be all about Mo’ne Davis.

Heck, I’m sure she’d even say that.

A group of 13-year-old (maybe a few are 14, too?) kids from the Philadelphia area are embarking on a 23-day, 21-city journey as a tribute to Jackie Robinson, the Negro Leagues, and the Civil Rights Movement.

Mo'ne Davis delivers a pitch at Damaschke Field.

Mo’ne Davis delivers a pitch at Damaschke Field.

They are doing so in the luxury of a 1947 Flxible Clipper touring bus — one with no AC and all that good, modern stuff (such as electronics). This “barnstorming” tour has taken these kids through the Deep South, the Midwest, and back to the East Coast. When all is said and done, they’ll have traveled more than 4,000 miles together.

The team — named the Anderson Monarchs — had the chance to see some of the most historical spots with the Civil Rights Movement. They met African-American players who played during that era. They played against local teams in the cities they visited. They threw out first pitches at games.

The Monarchs even got the tour of the White House!

With what these kids are learning along the way, this tour shouldn’t be about Mo’ne Davis.

Riding in style in a 1947 touring bus.

Riding in style in a 1947 touring bus.

But, in a way, it is.

The intrepid group of kids visited my area Sunday, July 5. That came after a stop in Binghamton on July 4. They were at Oneonta’s historic Damaschke Field on a warm and sunny summer day to play one of the local traveling teams.

Damaschke Field is an historic spot. The former home of the Oneonta Tigers (New York-Penn League), and before that the Oneonta Yankees, Damaschke has seen a lot of incredible players start their professional careers.

Originally built in 1906 (the grandstand was added in 1939), Damaschke is a throwback field. It’s not the prettiest place, but it’s baseball in the truest form. Barnstorming tours came through here many years ago, so having one in the modern era — with a throwback feel — seemed fitting. 

So it made sense for this group to stop here. To see some history. And it was a good spot to stop before they continued to Cooperstown the following day.

And Mo’ne was front and center.

Despite being in the spotlight for the better part of a year, Mo'ne Davis seemingly stays grounded.

Despite being in the spotlight for the better part of a year, Mo’ne Davis seemingly stays grounded.

For those who aren’t sure who Mo’ne Davis is, well, do a quick Google search and at the top of the page it will show you that there is almost 6,000,000 results. At the top of the search is her Wikipedia page. Yes, a 14-year-old teen girl has a Wikipedia page.

Last summer, she took the sports world by storm as she became the first girl to earn a win and pitch a shutout at the Little League World Series. According to her Wikipedia page, she’s the 18th overall girl to play at the LLWS, the sixth to get a hit and the first African-American girl to play in the LLWS.

How to top that? Well, she’s also the first Little League player to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated. All in a day’s work, right?

With everything that this tour is about, it shouldn’t be about Mo’ne Davis.

But those who come to these games make sure it is. 

Her star power draws people. Yes, she’s just 14 (she turned 14 in late June), but she’s been through more in the past year and change that most teens will see in a lifetime. She’s been under the spotlight and in the eye of the world.

Her smile is shy. She laughs with her teammates. On the field, she plays just like everybody else. She pitches like a fierce competitor. When not pitching Sunday, she played third base. There were times she seemed to let her eyes wander, almost to absorb the surroundings. From watching her, it seems like she would rather take photos with her teammates and with other kids, rather than adults and others who were enamored more by the name than who she is. 

The Monarchs -- not just Mo'ne Davis -- put on a fine baseball show, hitting, fielding and playing the game the right way during their stop in Oneonta.

The Monarchs — not just Mo’ne Davis — put on a fine baseball show, hitting, fielding and playing the game the right way during their stop in Oneonta.

Mo’ne walked a few times at the plate, too. Like many kids her age, she jogged down to first, almost upset with the free pass. Hey, she probably wanted to swing the bat and who can blame her?

She gave high fives to her teammates and was part of the team — an important concept to always keep.

To be fair, her teammates and others truly seemed to understand the magnitude of how big Mo’ne is. A year removed from the “spotlight” and she’s still going strong. People clamor to see her. But her teammates — from the average eye — treated her just like a teammate. A friend. Not a superstar who graced the cover of Sports Illustrated. And good for them — it’s how it should be.

It shouldn’t be all about Mo’ne Davis.

This trip is special. It teaches these kids the history of the Civil Rights Movement. It teaches them the history of our country. It teaches them about such leaders as Martin Luther King Jr. Hopefully, it gives them an appreciation for what we have today, yet still reminds them that our country has a long way to go in many aspects. Visit the team’s website or the blog of the photographer following them on this tour, and you’ll see what these kids get to learn — an important aspect of this whole experience. 

Mo’ne Davis helps bring this tour and the team to the forefront. Every pitch she threw. Every time she batted. Every time she was in viewing — people took photos. They sought autographs. They wanted their photo taken with her.

Star power.

That night, she threw out the first pitch at an Oneonta Outlaws game. The Outlaws are a collegiate wood-bat league team. After her game, there were some from the teams looking to take a photo with her, too. They then had the chance to head over to one of the local baseball camps. 

And, I’m sure, if you spoke to Mo’ne, she could talk about this tour and what it means. What it’s like to spend this journey with her teammates, on this bus, and through all of these cities and all of those miles. I’m sure she could tell you stories of fun and learning and the experiences they’ve had together. In 20 years, I’m sure each of these kids will look back at this trip as something that helped shape them in life.

Maybe it shouldn’t be about Mo’ne Davis.

For her teammates, friends, and others associated with this tour, it probably isn’t, which is good. But for the places they visit and when the people come out to see this group — it is about her.

And for that, this tour becomes bigger and gets the word out there even more, which in the end is the most important aspect of it all. This trip isn’t just about baseball and getting more eyes to what these kids are doing and experiencing is important, no matter how it happens.

See a photo gallery of the images I shot on my Flickr page.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

A long road pays off with a soccer state championship

Long before becoming a state champion, youth soccer was King.

This is a story that started long ago.

Maybe 2006? Earlier? Somewhere around there, anyway.

My niece, at that point, was a soccer nut. She played travel soccer for tots. She was all of about 8 or 9. So she probably started playing well before that, but this was my time in documenting many games with my camera.

State champ!

I haven’t been to every game my niece has played in. But I’ve been to my fair share. And, despite knowing quite a bit about the game, I’m not always the biggest fan. Whether it’s fans or whatever else, I don’t always enjoy myself. When I go, however, I try and get away from people. I watch, I’ll cheer and I support.

Two Sundays ago, my nice — a junior in high school — and her teammates won a state championship. It was the second straight year they played in the title game, losing in overtime last year.

Many of these girls have played together through all these years. From “pee-wee” style, to travel, to indoor, to junior high, to JV to varsity …

Yeah, it’s been quite a trip.

It’s quite amazing, actually, to look at some of these older photos. To see how these young ladies have grown and developed as players. They’ve always been quite talented, too.

One of the best parts about these girls is many of them went through the ranks together. To be sure, there are key people who joined up at different times, but a good handful of these girls started at a young age together.

That has to help.

Controlling the ball in 2006.

Not just for the sake of knowing one another, but have been friends for a long time and know what the others can do.

Last year, this one set of girls were sophomores. Though there were upperclassmen on the team, these girls made an impact.

How good were they?

Two of them shared player of the year honors from the local newspaper.

That good.

This year, they were strong as normal. They rallied in spots they needed to. They reached the state final and the opposing team scored early. Things didn’t seem so good.

But, despite how the game went, they battled. A goal early in the second half tied it and then the winner — an extremely odd and crazy goal — came with about a minute left.

When the final horn sounded, they exploded in celebration.

I went digging for the photos of my niece in this post. But while I was at it, I found some others of the girls she is still teammates with. It’s quite amazing to see what they were like back then — still battling, still playing and still competing. They learned young and the payoff was obviously worth the time.

Hopefully, they cherish this moment and relish in the accomplish they had. It’s something to truly be proud and thankful for. A hearty congrats and maybe they’ll be able to do it again next year.

Check out some of the photos below.

This girl has become one of the top players in the area. And the other girl in the yellow jersey is one of the fastest on the team.

This gal is now one of the top defenders.

Even at a younger, this one was connecting on corner kicks. Now they are quite an offensive threat any time she takes one.

Now… the goalie.

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Oh joy, it’s New Year’s Eve

First Night from 2007 when the event had so much more to offer than in recent years.

No lie — I can’t stand New Year’s Eve.

I’ve never been much of a fan of this night. And, more often than not, I end up spending the night by myself or with a few others and I’m usually home soon after midnight.

As I’ve grown older, I’m not much of a boozer and don’t really like being around a bunch of intoxicated people. More than that, I don’t like being on the road knowing there’s a good chance somebody out there will be driving drunk.

Moody McCarthy, a highly entertaining comedian, performs at First Night 2007.

I’ve done the First Night thing a few times and it’s OK.

Most people I hang out with on a regular basis have things going on with significant others or whoever else. I’ve gotten to the point where I don’t usually ask more than a few people what they are doing because the end answer is usually something that doesn’t make the night any better.

This year, I’ll be hitting up the local First Night event.

It’s usually pretty decent. The only thing I dislike is that it’s over by 10:30. Fireworks are at 10:15 and then it’s over. Just like that.

What’s the point?

First Night events I’ve seen elsewhere go until midnight as it’s supposed to be a way for people to have an alcohol-free way to ring in the new year.

The new year doesn’t start at 10:30.

This was called something like the fire of regret. It burned at midnight and was supposed to be a way for you to put the year behind you and move forward. At the 2007 First Night.

That gives people a chance to get to bars or parties and that seems to defeat the purpose. If I felt like driving, I’d head to Saratoga or Syracuse as the events there look way more in-depth and go until midnight. Please note, I also realize those places have more money to the event than the one I am heading to — so I get that it can’t be as big. But it could still go until midnight.

I guess the one bonus is that means I can get back home before midnight and give myself the opportunity to watch the ball drop on television or walk down to the local pub for a pint of Guinness.

I will look forward to some of this First Night event because there are some musical acts I am looking forward to. And, I’ll bring the camera along to get some images throughout the night. Plus, I always like to take photos of fireworks! I’ll have to see where they are shooting from and see if I can get a cool spot from which to shoot. Maybe over the pond in the one park, though I’ve never been too successful with fireworks shots like that.

Looking at the schedule, though, it seems like it’s basically kids things or musical acts. I realize it costs money to pull this event off, but I think of my first local First Night in 2007.

We saw a comedian, several musical acts, some variety acts, fireworks and more. It was diverse. More spots were used. It gave people a lot to choose from. But the area lost First Night for a few years and it’s returned. But it needs to grow and it doesn’t seem to get better each year, rather stay the same.

Fireworks from the 2010 First Night event.

In the end, it’s First Night or sitting at home all night tweeting/job hunting/watching TV and realizing I need to find a job in an area more populated with more options.

Though, to be fair in that regard, larger areas mean more people drinking, too.

In the end, I’ll make the most of it. I like some of the acts and there are a couple of others I want to check out. Alas, it’s not as diverse as in the past and I don’t know what some things are because there are no descriptions on the website.

But it’s better than staying home.

To everyone who loves and enjoys this night, Happy New Year! And here’s to hoping 2013 is much better than 2012.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

Brookens makes it easy to cheer for the Tigers

Tom Brookens, managing the O-Tigers in 2006.

Tonight is Game 1 of the World Series.

People who know me realize that outside of the Phillies, there aren’t many teams I’ll pull for. I have a couple of other teams I’ve been able to get behind over the years, but for the most part, if it’s not the Phillies, I’m not cheering.

This year is slightly different.

With the Detroit Tigers in the World Series, I can root for a team. See, from 2004-09, I covered Detroit’s Single-A short-season squad in Oneonta. It was one of my career goals — covering pro baseball. I enjoyed every aspect of it and over the six years, I met a lot of different personalities. I always got along quite well with the managers and coaches that were sent to Oneonta and many players were extremely fun to deal with.

Tom Brookens coaches third during the 2006 season in Oneonta.

I won’t lie that some teams were better than others to cover. The same can be said about all managers, coaches and players.

But the two years Tom Brookens was the manager of this team made it a lot of fun to cover the squad.

What I always liked about Brookens was his straight-shooting style. He didn’t hold anything back. He remained calm, but he would tell it like it is. And I liked that. He did things based on a mutual respect.

At the beginning of his first season, I spoke with him in-depth for several stories. We were in the dugout during a workout chatting about the team, season and, when the interviews were done, just some chatter about other things.

But professionally he asked one thing — after the game, he would like about five minutes or so to speak to the team. After that, it was open game. And if a player refused to talk for whatever reason, to get him and he’d help with the situation. See, being in the minors is more than just adjusting to play baseball at the professional level. It’s learning all the nuances, such as dealing with fans, media and everything else.

Especially at the level I covered.

Brookens made it that much more fun.

Those two years (2005-06) were also excellent when it came to minor leaguers in the Detroit system.

Brookens’ 2005 team went 48-27 and won the division. That team featured 10 players who, at some point, would at least get a taste of the major leagues. Some of them, such as Matt Joyce (now with the Tampa Bay Rays), Burke Badenhop (also now with the Rays) Guillermo Moscoso (now with the Rockies) and Will Rhymes (also with the Rays) would go on see some significant time in the majors. Joyce was a 2011 All-Star and Badenhop has been a reliever at the top level for several years with the Marlins and Rays.

Brennan Boesch was a core player for Tom Brookens in 2006. He’s now on the big club, where Brookens is a coach.

The following season, Oneonta went 44-32, again winning the division. Seven players on that team have major league experience, including Brennan Boesch, who has been on the big team for the past couple of years. He hasn’t been on the playoff roster this year, however, as he was a bit cold down the stretch.

That team also featured Casper Wells (now with the Mariners), Casey Fien (who pitched in 35 games with the Twins this year) and Cristhian Martinez, who has pitched out of the pen for Florida (2009) and Atlanta (2010-12).

There’s much I remember about “Brookie,” including is southern Pennsylvania sound, his way of dealing with players and the way he always treated everybody with respect. He also made himself available to me for future stories, even after he left this team as he climbed the ranks. In the end, he always showed how much of a class act he is and for that, he’s always been my favorite manager I dealt with.

And, with knowing some people in the organization, it’s nice to see some of these people reach this level and have a chance at that ring.

I watched as the Tigers swept the Yankees in the American League Championship Series and as the celebration unfolded, I saw Brookens with that big smile and his signature mustache among the crowd. It was easy to smile and be happy for this squad.

Brookens won a World Series as a player (1984 with Detroit), and if the Tigers win, this will be his first as a coach.

Knowing what kind of person Brookens is makes it easy to cheer for a Detroit World Series title this season.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!