Schwartz was out late partying with this guy.Dr. Venkman had to talk me down off a ledge after the game which I brutally mismanaged, we could have won if I came up with a shallow fly to center which I dove and missed. The sun hid behind the clouds for the whole game, except for one play when it blinded me and a routine fly ball fell within my reach.
We still could have won, but I could have put us in a better position. I'm so upset I'm writing in first person. We lost to a pair of phenomenal pitchers, BJ Rankin and Ben Sorosky. The Bats beat us, and went on to win the Chapionship. They deserve the victory, and the hypothetical trophy.
The Crush had the best offensive lineup 1-9 and Necheff and Guthrie were two of the better pitchers this fall. When the Bats added Sorosky at the deadline to compliment BJ Rankin, who was originally a Ghostbuster, they suddenly had the best one-two punch on the hill. I still think the Ghostbusters were the best all-around team this fall. We deserved better.
Ray Parker Jr. leads the way
I did not plan on participating in the second game of the day, but when I saw Craig Boley umpiring and catching for the Gray Bats, I had a flashback to 2003 when that sort of thing happened almost weekly, and I decided to stick around and get behind the plate for the Bats. It was a pleasure to catch Rankin, who pitched nine masterful innings, after throwing four in the semi-finals, and won the Championship for the Gray Bats.
OC, catcher Joe Graff (left) and BJ Rankin (right) helped the Bats defeat the Ghostbusters in the Wild Card Playoff.
If Larry doesn't give significant credit to Schwartz and Eric Lee, and I guess myself for sticking around and helping secure the Bats the Fall Ball trophy, it will be tragic. Schwartz threw the potential winning run out at the plate from right field, I caught the one hop throw, blocked the plate and applied the tag on the runner who did not slide. I finally got a hit off Necheff, in the top of the ninth to load the bases, and Schwartz scored the winning run on Rankin's fielder's choice. I don't think Necheff allowed an earned run, the Crush defense was shaky.
My fall awards: MVP: BJ Rankin, CY Young: Christian Necheff, Gold Glove Award: Tony Casale.
The Fall season was a success, but came to a bittersweet end, for the Avalon Ghostbusters of the North Hills. I would be honored to manage the team next fall, and I hope to retain the same core group of players.
The Fall Ball season concludes this Saturday at 10:30 am at Pie Traynor Field with the All-Star Extravaganza. All the Ghostbusters have been placed on one of two teams, and we will play a nine inning game for fun, baseball is fun.
