The pros won their game against the Raccoons and then set their sights on the Saber Met-rics. I arrived in the bottom of the 2nd inning for this one and the Met-rics were leading 2-0. There was a very large chance that the pros could go down to a rare defeat. The other campers who were watching this were enjoying it immensely. The Met-rics did close it out and took the game 2-0. That meant someone would have to pay, as far as the pros were concerned. Their next opponents proved a suitable victim as they played like they wanted to get back at the Met-rics.
My team, Lenny's Brides, were the fourth team to take the field. We had a couple of runners on in the first but did not score. The top of the second was led off by your truly. I came to the plate with Nelson Figueroa on the mound. I stepped to the plate and he missed off the outside corner on his first two offerings. Which is good, when you consider that I've been looking at pitches which hover around the 50-55 mph range. After Figgy's second pitch I glanced a the center field scoreboard momentarily to see that the previous pitch had sailed past me doing 77 mph. The next two pitches were right on the outside corner and the count was 2-2. I managed to foul off the next two gas attacks from Nelson and then he missed high on his offering to run the count full. He then threw a pitch that I only heard, as it pretty much disappeared when his hand reached the release point. I swung under it and returned to the bench with solace in the fact that I had made contact twice. Now, when I see Figueroa on SNY broadcasts from home I can say that I've faced him. I had hoped that the gift I gave him on Tuesday might buy me a break. Figgy likes to talk about his "sock game" on air and will sometimes show what he's wearing that day on camera. So, before I left home I picked up a pair of socks with the nighttime skyline picture of downtown Minneapolis on them. He was very appreciative and I hope he shows them on a broadcast that I'm viewing.
Lenny's Brides put up a valiant fight but the pros took the victory over our squad. I was in left field enjoying the moment and seeing the kid-like looks on the faces of all of the rookies. There were said to be 92 campers here this week, but 80 of them were rookies. 6 of the 12 veterans were members of the Brides.
We hung around after our game to partake in the bounty of snacks which were offered by the catering staff under the tiki bar awning. I stayed to watch teams 6 and 7 take their chances at the pros. Team 7 actually was one out away from tying them at zero, but "Bad Dude" dropped a single into center to score Pete Schourek from second and they escaped with a 1-0 win.
I started to make my way back toward the clubhouse and see my locker for one last time. As I did I put on my headphones and just as I cued up "Beautiful Day" by U2 on Monday, today I cued up "These Are The Days" by Van Morrison and make a slow and deliberate walk where I looked around in an attempt to have the images linger in my cerebral iPhoto folder. If you aren't familiar with the song, you will discover how it could serve as the soundtrack to any highlight reel from a fantasy camp for any team.
This evening the awards banquet was held at the Island Club. Always a melancholy event in some respects as it allows us to acknowledge those who have excelled here during the week for each team, but also pulls the curtain down on yet another amazing week of memories that will not soon be forgotten.
Tonight's awards banquet was very enjoyable. The awards were handed out in categories like best batting average, hits, best pitcher, best defensive player, best recovery from injury and one new award. The Anthony Young Award is new this year. Anthony Young played for the Mets from 1991-1993. He also pitched for the Cubs and Astros during his career. He had been a fantasy camp coach for a number of years and his personality and positive attitude made him a favorite of everyone at MFC for many, many years. At last year's Kangaroo Court Anthony told us of his ongoing battle with brain cancer. He lost that battle on June 27th of last year at the age of 51. He won an MFC championship last year and he won one with yours truly on his team in 2014. The award is basically an humanitarian-style award given to someone who is a great person not only on the field but off of it as well. This season's winner was my teammate with the Brides, catcher Pat Mascarini. Pat is a tremendous guy and I enjoyed being his teammate a great deal. He was quite emotional when he accepted the award, as he met A.Y.'s family last week when they were here. A.Y.'s jersey hung in the first locker you come to in the clubhouse for both weeks of camp.
Each year in the past each camper received a baseball with the signatures of all of that particular camp's pros. They changed things up this time and presented with a replica of a home plate signed by all of the coaches. In a similar but unknown context I have asked all of the players on my team to sign a regulation-size batting helmet for myself to display. But those things, while nice to admire when you see them, are just so bloody hard to pack. So I opted to go to a new idea-why not try a home plate and have everyone sign that. So, both the powers that be from the Mets and myself opted for the lower profile home plate to display the signatures.
Let me take this moment to thank my fantastic team. To coaches Kevin Baez and Lenny Harris who allowed us to be ourselves and were incredibly supportive at all times. To team MVP Dan "Squirrel" Gould (long story on the nickname, but a super guy, to say the least),who allowed me to talk a little hockey even though baseball was our focus. To Joe "JR" Russo who is one of the kindest teammates I've ever had on any team. Joe is the quintessential team player and was willing to play wherever he was needed. To Larry "Goldie" Chiles, who by week's end had about a half dozen nicknames, including Denzel, Lamont Sanford and Leon Durham from the Chicago Cubs. To Elvis Diaz, who was Mr. Everything for this team, playing at least five different positions, I believe. To John "Mongo" Manfredi, who played center field and also backed me up in left at times when my blinding speed wasn't as blinding as it could have been. To Gary "Pinky" Pincus, who is an absolute gem of a human being. A businessman who has his heart in the right place all the time. An MFC Hall Of Famer who was Captain Clutch for us is a couple of games. It was a thrill to finally be his teammate for a week. To Tara Zarcone, who has an incredible amount of enthusiasm and strives to be a better player for the good of the team. Who wouldn't want a teammate like that. I taught her one of those multi-level hand shakes that the late Kirby Puckett taught me back when I worked of the Minnesota Twins. After a day of it she had it down cold. I hope she passes it along to someone and keeps it going. To "Peppermint" Pat Mascarini, who caught every inning for us this week. This, after already playing a full seven games LAST week. He was frustrated early because after two games he'd had six or seven plate appearances and had either walked or been hit by a pitch in each and every one of them. To Nicole "Nicky Love" Lee. A young lady who just turned the age old enough to qualify to even be here at camp. Another rookie, she pitched for the first time in her life and recorded a scoreless relief inning in her hurling debut. Today in the pros game she struck out John Stearns and I told her that she now had something in common with Nolan Ryan. Also during camp, she accepted a new job as an architect, so she had an amazing week. She may never be the same again. To Dean "Dean-O" Pflaum, another HOFer whom I had admired and respected for all of my previous years here at camp. I got the chance to be his teammate and I tell you, it was worth the wait. He's a class act with a great family and it's no wonder to this reporter as to why he's in the MFC Hall of Fame. And also last but not least, Phil "Philly Dawg" Forman. My closest friend and brother at camp. An incredible talent and leader on the field but also off the field as well. Phil, too, was in his second consecutive week of camp. The man can flat-out "Wilson Pick-it" as Keith Hernandez would say. He can do it all. Pitch effectively, hit "like he wrote the book" as well as make the tough plays look easy and make the easy plays look easier still. I can honestly say that I don't look forward to seeing anyone at camp more than I do this guy. I hadn't been his teammate since 2014 when we won it all, but he helped make this week an absolute pleasure. I loves me some "Philly-Dawg".
One of the beautiful things I saw tonight, and as I have at every camp, is as I looked around the room I saw people from all walks of life. Different ages, different races, different genders, different political views, different religious views, different health issues, and other differences too numerous to name here. But the one thing that bonded us all is the love of the New...York...Mets. We are dyed-in-the-wool Mets fans, some of us since birth. Others like Alan Herbert didn't even know who the Mets were when he took ownership of a Pedro Martinez #45 jersey a few years ago. But that is our common bond. We live is such tumultuous times right now. I just wish that the comradeship that I saw in the room tonight could carry on to everyone from far and wide. To be able to talk in respectful tones and not need to shout above one another. To want to be the part of the greater good and to be compassionate to one another in times of need and stress. It was a great experience and I'm glad that I was here for it.
It hardly seemed like twelve months had passed since the last time I cleaned it out. Much has happened since then. Some of it good, some of it not so good, and some of it downright awful. But getting to hang out with people of this quality is something everyone should have the chance to do.
Many of us will "reconvene" during the summer in New York for the reunion. The date is TBA based on the actual schedule of the New York Mets in Flushing. Those reunions are glorious events where we get to pick up the last conversation with some people as though we saw them only 6 or 7 days earlier. Once again I will be able to see the childlike expressions on the faces of the rookies as we are introduced on the field and have our names announced on the public address system. And that's just the beginning of it....again.
Webster had a lot of words in his dictionary and Roget had a bunch in his thesaurus, but finding the right words to describe a week at fantasy camp is virtually impossible. A futile effort to say the least. But I do know that saying that I loved every minute of it is a huge understatement.
Baseball. The Greatest Game Ever Invented.
Thanks for spending the last few days with me. I hope you enjoyed it.
Do good, people.
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