Thanks to Tony Finocchiaro for sending this photo of Albert Pujols hitting.
From Tony’s email:
The photographer, Scott Rovak, says in 26 years of shooting baseball, he’s been able to get a photo of the ball “embedded” in the bat only three times. This one happened because he knows Pujols’ swing well enough to fire a shot as Pujols moves his lead shoulder.
Filed under General by on Jan 21st, 2012. Comment. 
I’m late getting this going, so I need quick response if you’re interested. I need to send in a deposit on Friday, 1/20, if we’re going to do this. That’s this week. So please respond right away!
MSBL is offering a 65+ division for the second weekend of the Las Vegas Kickoff Classic. That’s March 10-12. First game on Saturday morning, probably early. Championship on Monday.
Player fees will be $115. I’ll put up a paypal button soon.
I’d like to put together a team with about 16 players and go have some fun. After posting this on the website, I plan to send email to 40+ guys to see how much interest I can scare up.
So please send me email (denny at antiquesbaseball.com) or post a comment on the website or call me with one of these answers:
- I’m in. Sign me up.
- I’m very interested, but not quite ready to commit.
- Maybe, don’t know yet.
- Proably not, but keep me informed.
- Definite no for me this time.
If I get enough 1’s and 2’s, I’ll send in the deposit.
-Denny
PS: If you’re at least 62, and you’d like to play, let me know and I’ll ask for a waiver.
PPS: If you’re already signed up with Donny and Rankin’s team, stay there. I don’t want to poach from their team.
Filed under Tournaments by on Jan 18th, 2012. Comment.
Sunday, 11/13/11. We beat the Kent Mudhens 15-11 in our opener at Lee County Stadium. We scored in every inning but the 9th. Steve Pauley pitched a complete game, even though the Mudhens wouldn’t go away.
Monday, 11/14/11. We had a back and forth game with the RIMA Hawks. Carl Boyer started and went 6, leaving with a 6-5 lead. Rich Hinkle pitched the 7th and 8th. The Hawks scored 3 in the 8th to take an 8-7 lead. Denny Brown relieved Rich in the 9th, and kept the score at 8-7. In the bottom of the 9th, Jim Tygrettt walked and Jim Lortz singled to start the inning. Kevin Short forced Lortz at second to bring Wiley Weiss to the plate. Kevin stole second and Wiley stroked a single to right center to give us the walk-off win.
Tuesday, 11/15/11. We beat the Philadelphia Brewers, 17-3, in our Tuesday game. Brad Baker,Terry Gammill, and Denny Brown pitched in the game, shortened to 7 innings by the mercy rule.
Wednesday, 11/16/11. We lost to the Asheville Sox, 15-7, at Terry Park Stadium. Rich Battiato, Lanny Ropke, Zach Jones, and Denny Brown did the pitching. The Sox jumped out to an early lead. We got close by scoring 5 in the top of the 5th to pull to 8-7. But we didn’t score any more and they did.
Thursday, 11/17/11. We played the Washington Titans in the placement game on Thursday. We gave up 4 runs in the first, and that ended up being the margin of victory. We got close again in the 5th. We scored 4 runs, making it 6-4. Final score was 9-5, Titans. Rich Hinkle pitched the first 6, and Denny Brown finished.
Our 3-2 record put us in the middle of the AAA group. They split the tournament into 7 teams in AAAA, 9 teams in AAA, and 14 teams in AA. We ended up as the 6th seed in AAA.
Friday, 11/18/11. We won our quarterfinal game against the Nova Scotia Monarchs, 19-6. We got out to a 5-0 lead by scoring 3 in the first and 2 in the second. The Monarchs put up a 6 run inning in the bottom of the third to take a 6-5 lead.We came right back in the top of the fourth with our own 6 spot. We added 5 in the fifth and 3 in the 7th. Steve Pauley pitched all 7 innings of the game, shortened by the mercy rule. After the 3rd, Steve retired 12 of the 13 batters he faced, giving up only a double to lead off the 5th.
Saturday, 11/19/11. We faced our old nemesis, the Detroit 60s, in our semi-final. They got 2 in the bottom of the first on 6 singles. A Detroit baserunning mistake limited the damage. They scored another 3 in the second, to mount a 5-0 lead. Brad Baker relieved Rich Battiato in the middle of that inning. We started the third strong. Mike Rezzonico and Jim Lortz each singled. Art White moved them up with a bunt that he nearly beat out. But we only ended up with one run on Kevin Short’s groundout. Detroit answered our run by scoring another 4 in the bottom of the third to go ahead 9-1. We got one more run in the 6th. Wiley Weiss walked. Wiley was running on the pitch when Lanny Ropke grounded to short. Wiley kept going to third after the throw to first, and scored when Detroit threw the ball away trying to get Wiley at third. Detroit got that run back in the bottom of the seventh. Final score: Detroit 10 – Antiques 2.
We ended up tied for 3rd in AAA, which means tied for 10th out of a field of 30 teams. Detroit lost to the Ohio Classics in the finals of AAA. The Washington Titans, #1 seed in AAAA, beat the #7 seed Toledo Mud Dogs in their final.
Filed under Tournaments by on Nov 22nd, 2011. Comment.
Sunday, 11/6/11. We beat the New England Red Sox, managed by Joel Weinstein, 15-5. Dick Hill and Bob Fortier did the pitching.
Monday, 11/7/11. We beat the Georgia Classics, 11-6, at City of Palms Stadium in a night game. Robert Custard pitched all 9.
Tuesday, 11/8/11. We beat the Silver Foxes of Rhode Island, 12-8. Rankin Lyman, Bob Fortier, and Robert Custard pitched this one.
Wednesday, 11/9/11. We beat Dan Rodgers Sports, 10-1. Terry Gammill and Denny Brown combined for the win.
Thursday, 11/10/11. We beat the Kent Mudhens, 8-4, in the placement game on Thursday. Bob Fortier pitched into the 8th inning, and Robert Custard finished.
Our 5-0 record tied us with the Ohio Bucks. We got the top seed based on lower runs allowed. The 12 team 65+ field was divided into two 6 team brackets for the elimination tournament. Our top seed gave us a bye in the first round on Friday.
Friday, 11/11/11. The American National Wildcats beat the Kent Mudhens, 11-7, in the first game on Friday. We beat them,10-5, in our semi-final. Robert Custard went all the way for the win.
In the other semi-final, the Ohio Bucks came from behind 3 times to beat the Detroit 65s, 9-8. Detroit was ahead by 2 in the 9th and the Bucks tied it. Detroit went ahead in the 10th, and the Bucks tied it. In the 12th, Detroit scored 2 and the Bucks scored 3 to win.
Saturday, 11/12/11. Dick Hill pitched masterfully into the 7th. He had a two hitter going, and both hits were “tainted”. When he pulled a muscle, Robert Custard again came in to close the game. The Bucks made it interesting in the 9th. We led 5-0 to start the 9th. They scored a run and had the bases loaded with one out. So the tying run was at the plate. The game ended on a pitcher to home to first double play.
Filed under Tournaments by on Nov 22nd, 2011. Comment.
The Antiques are seeded 6th of 9 in the AAA division of 60+. We beat the #3 seed, Nova Scotia Monarchs, on Friday, 19-6.
We play the Detroit 60s (#2 seed) at 10am on Saturday in the semi-finals. If we win, we’ll play in the championship game at 1:30pm against the other semi-final winner, either Ohio Classics (#1 seed) or Midwest Nine (#5 seed).
In the AAAA playoffs, the Washington Titans (#1 seed) will play the Toledo Mud Dogs (#7) in the finals.
Filed under Tournaments by on Nov 18th, 2011. Comment.
A bunch of us played for the Boston Braves in the Vintage (65+) division last week. We won the top bracket of the tournament with a 7-0 record! Antiques players on the team were: Denny Brown, Gus Manning, George Esposito, Mike Tarens, Rankin Lyman, and Terry Gammill. We beat the Ohio Bucks in the championship game, 5-1.
The Norcal Giants came in second in the top bracket of the Legends (55+) division. They lost to the Washington Titans, 4-2, in the championship game.
Our Norcal Antiques team is playing in the Classics (60+) division this week. We’re 3-0 at this point.
George Esposito is also playing in the Timeless (70+) division. His team is also 3-0.
If you have any questions, submit a comment here and I’ll answer when I have time…
Filed under Tournaments by on Nov 15th, 2011. 1 Comment.
Here’s the preliminary schedule for Norcal Antiques in the 60+ division. Download and look at it in Adobe Acrobat.
Here’s a reminder about checkin and other details. It’s really about the 65+ and 55+ week, but most of the info applies to 60+ too. Just change the dates.
Filed under Tournaments by on Nov 4th, 2011. Comment.
All players must check in at tournament headquarters prior to playing in any game. For guys who have played in the past couple of years, the drill is the same. Download a waiver form, fill it out, and bring it to check in. Do NOT send it to me. I need only take care of my own form.
Like last year, there will be an “entrance fee” for spectators. If you’re bringing any guests, buy a tournament pass at check in. It’s something like $5 for the week.
For the new guys…
Tournament headquarters is at Lee County Stadium, the Twins spring training complex. Checkin will be open all day on the Saturday just before the tournament starts. It is highly recommended that you check in on Saturday. You may also check in on Sunday morning starting about 8am. We could play in a 10am game, and we might be at another venue, which could take as long as 40 minutes travel time. So checking in on Saturday is a good idea.
You must (i.e MUST) check in with an official picture ID with your birthday on it. Drivers license is the usual ID. Passport or similar is also OK.
You should download the waiver form, fill it out, and bring it with you to checkin. If you don’t, you’ll have to fill it out at checkin, which will slow you down and cause the check in guys to hate you.
Note: It’s a two-page form. Be sure to fill out both sides. Both sides require a signature too.
At check in, you’ll receive a plastic player participation card. You must (i.e MUST) have this card at every game. An opposing manager can prevent you from playing if you don’t have your card. The card is also good for redeeming the “goodies” you get for participating.
If you’re bringing a guest, you’ll need to buy a season ticket for each guest that is good for entry to every game all week. It’s cheap; $5 I think. The reason for this mini-hassle has to do with the tax laws in Florida. It’s a long story. Ask me about it if you care. So, bring some cash to checkin.
Goodies include:
- A barbecue on the Saturday evening prior to the tournament. There is usually a championship game going on in the stadium during the barbecue. Barbecue starts about 6pm. Championship game usually about 7pm. Barbecue is free for players, cheap for guests.
- Tournament t-shirt
- Program with lots of good info in it
- Coupons for local restaurants and businesses
- Miscellaneous other “stuff”
Summary
- Download the form
- Fill it out
- Bring the form, your ID, and some cash to checkin, preferably on Saturday
- Redeem your goodies at Lee County some time early in the week
Filed under Tournaments by on Oct 18th, 2011. Comment.
Some of you (Angelo and Mike Rezzonico, at least) have reported problems using the Paypal buttons to pay your Locker Room fees. I tried it tonight and had the same problem you guys did.
I have replaced the buttons on the Pay Your Fees! page. I think they are working now. The only way to test it is for you to give it a try. 
-Denny
Filed under Tournaments by on Oct 18th, 2011. Comment.
Recent Comments