Hello everyone. This is Alan Hart, most recently (2011-2012) a member of the over-55 Cougars. I have been a member of the league since 1999 (Yankees, Blue Jays, Vets, Americans, Cougars -- did I leave any team out?) and I wanted all the friends I have met over this time to know that have decided it is time for me to call it quits as a player. As many of you know, I am a clergyman (Episcopalian deacon) and my recent transfer to St. Ann's of Amsterdam and some added duties I have taken on with the Diocese of Albany just confirm that I have very little time to devote to playing ball anymore. While I am sorry to leave, I just know ... it's time! And twenty years of playing adult ball (I spent 1993-98 with the Roy Hobbs League) is long enough, and so now I will have more time to devote to Him and His work. Thank you all for being such great teammates, opponents, etc. I will never forget any of you, and thank you for all the great times. I hope to drop by New Scotland now and then and see you again in the future. Thanks again!
If you don't know Al Hart, then you have missed out on meeting one of the kindest gentlemen you could ever possibly hope to meet.
Al was my mentor when I was first hired into the newspaper business in 1984. Bright and energetic, Al was the Times Union/Knickerbocker News high school beat director. Without his guidance, I would never have succeeded in the news business.
Then, well after leaving the TU, I was talking to Al one day on the phone when he mentioned this league called CDMSBL. I had been living in Dutchess County working for a subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co. He gave me John Reel's phone number. An so began my 3-year commute to Albany on weekends to reunite myself with Al and the game of baseball.
While Al and I will continue to chat in the future, I just want to thank him publicly for everyting he has done for me. He is a beautiful person and has definitely found his calling. He'd do anything for anyone who needed help or guidance.
Al, your sense of humor and kindness toward mankind will be missed on and off the field. And, just want to mention you were one helluva hitter, too! That's about the only thing I couldn't learn from you!
newspaper people are in the business of dealing in tips. so it pleases me no end that one day, while we were both working the sports desk at the times union, i emailed a tip al's way: cdmsbl, try it, you might like it.
he did, and the beauty, from my perspective, is that al not only liked the game, and did well at it, (his specialty? line shots over second, then hitting over .300 nearly every season, with a .500 season in 2011 at the ripe age of 65, and proving to certain doubting managers that thin guys under 5'10'' can play this game, too), but he also had the rare quality of helping others like the game, or like it more, and get better at it.
meaning? more than once i've seen al go to a down-in-the-dumps teammate (someone who'd just whiffed for the third straight time, or had dropped an easy pop-up, etc. ), and offer words of encouragement and, if the teammate were open to it, an idea as to how he might hit that pitcher or catch that ball. al studied pitchers, and he had between his ears, a book on every one he ever faced. more than once, i asked him, what's so and so throw. al would say something like, "fastball away, slider, changeup" and, time after time, he'd be right.
al and i are not related (he's the of scot harts, i'm of the irish ones) but over the years we've come to view each other as brothers who'd pull for each other and help each other. that, for me, was often best found every april, when just the two of us, and my dog, finnegan, would go to collins park in scotia on a sunny, lime-green grass day, and we'd throw and pitch to each other. soon, we'd be hitting white balls against the blue sky, finnegan would be barking, and both of us would know an excitement and an anticipation for a new season, feelings that are usually reserved for 8-year-olds. but on april afternoons, we two geezers-in-the-making had them. we and one dog.
al's part of the good times. the beauty is he shared his with others. he'll continue to do that, in other ways.
-mike
-- Edited by mhart on Friday 28th of September 2012 02:47:50 AM
Like many of you, I met Al while playing baseball. And like many of you, I saw a true gentleman, a competitor, and a compassionate person. I also saw him take a knee after every game (way before Tebow started doing it!). It made me stop to give thanks for the opportunity to play the game, to give thanks for the friendships that have been made, and to feel blessed. Thank you for that, Al, and may your future be blessed. Jim Porter
Al - my best wishes to you. It's tough to say goodbye to this friggen game. I know you will miss it as it will you. Hope to see you around the ballpark once in awhile. Clergy? I did not know that : )
Al - you always carried yourself with class and dignity that you brought to each game. A gentleman in every way. Best wishes, and hope it is a "see you later" rather than a good bye...alot of ball to still be played....
Well well well. If I remember correctly Mr. Hart, I first met you via an article you wrote for the Times Union (Thinking About Hitting Will Drive You Bats - July 16, 2002) way back when. After our initial chat, I joined the Mets in the Roy Hobbs League, because I thought if a man of your maturity and spunk can keep up the the "junior" crowd, well maybe I can too. A couple of years later, I was "recruited" by some guy named Jim K-----------could not even pronounce his name nor even spell it at the time, to start up a new team (Blue Thunder) and well history is written. Strange it was to play against a team called the Vets and who is dressed up in the yellow and green - but you. It was and will always be a pleasure to play baseball with you and against you in the CDMSBL. If you did not write that article about a Mens' baseball league back in 2002, I would not have experienced the thrill of competitive baseball all those years. I "retired" in 2010 and I do miss the game, the players, and the comradery. Maybe I will come out of retirement like Andy Petitte did - Best wishes to you and your family, best wishes for your role at St. Ann's and congratulations on a stellar career in Roy Hobbs and the CDMSBL. Sincerely, Bob Lounsbury former Manager and player for Blue Thunder and former player for the Americans (still got the uniform - you never know)
As Jimmy K indicated Al is one of the nicest, classiest people I have had the previledge of playing with and against over the years he has played in our league. I wish you Al the best in whatever life brings you.
Al It's been a pleasure playing on the same team with you, and a few times against you. I will always remember our Blue Jays team. You were always a graceful person and competitor. Good luck with your future endeavors.
