Sorry about the delay, but this is a very difficult story to tell. I feel responsible to finish the story, so here goes: The Albany Braves and the Las Vegas 55's squared off in the World Series final at 9:00 am Pacific Coast time, at the spring training stadium for the Oakland A's (Hohokam Stadium). Both teams had gotten through the grueling round robin round and the quarter and semi finals. This was for all of the marbles and most importantly the rings! The Braves took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the 1st on a double by Randy Craft, a single by Mike Girard, and a 2-RBI single by David Mitchell, one pitch after Girard had stolen second base. The Braves pushed the lead to 3-0, in the bottom of the 3rd on a single and stolen base by Jim McQuade, followed by a 2-out RBI single by Mike Girard. Mike Girard started on the mound for the Braves and held the Las Vegas 55's hitless through the first 3 innings. The LV 55's broke through in the top of the 4th on a single, stolen base, and an infield single, with a throwing error. The game score remain unchanged through the next 4-1/2 innings, and the Braves were on the verge of championship, entering the top of the 9th with a 3-1 lead. Only 3 outs to get. The number 11 hitter for the Las Vegas 55's led off the top of the ninth and Girard struck him out for the first out. That is when all hell broke loose. The LV 55's leadoff hitter worked a walk, the next hitter laced a single to right, that got under the glove of the Braves right fielder, and the runners ended up on second and third. The next guy up was the 3 hitter who had 2 of the 55's 4 hits to that point. The obvious move was to walk him, and that is what was supposed to happen. After 3 perfect intentional walk pitches, Girard, let the 4th pitch leak a little too close to the plate and the Vegas hitter stroked a professional single through the hole between SS and 3B, scoring their second run of the game and leaving runners on 2nd and 3rd with 1 out. Girard walked the next batter, and it was obvious that he was out of gas. He was allowed one more batter to see if he could get out of the jam on his own, but he hit the next guy, with the third pitch. TJ Scorsone came on with the bases loaded and only one out in the 9th inning of a championship game, with the score tied. That is a tough situation to come into! Even though he had a very sore arm, he stepped up and took on the job. The first 3 batters he faced, singled, and the Las Vegas team was up 6-3. It all happened so fast. The Braves had one more chance in the bottom of the ninth, but all they were able to get was a one out single by Girard (his 4th of the game) It was a really tough scene that ensued, with the Braves sitting dejected on the bench, while the Las Vegas boys celebrated on the field. It was that much harder because we were so close! The sting from this one was tough to take, but we quickly realized how great it was playing a young man's game while hanging out with your best buddies in the world in beautiful Phoenix, Arizona. Nobody is feeling sorry for ourselves, and while every ten minutes someone yells out, "Damn! We were so close!", we are all very proud of our effort here, we will take away many more fond memories and many, many, more war stories for those times we get together off the field. A great time was had by all!
-- Edited by mgirard11 on Friday 28th of October 2016 12:56:01 AM
no doubt hard one to write, mike, but you did it well, and it sounds like you all played a great game and tournament. so, raised glasses are due everyone, and an extra toast to tommy maney for being inducted into the msbl hall of fame.
-mike
-- Edited by mhart on Friday 28th of October 2016 02:40:58 AM
Wow ~ heart wrenching to even read... And yet so well written...
Most def your best work to date as well Mike and what a game for you as 8 1/3 of 1-run ball from the bump and 4 hits in the championship game is mighty impressive indeed...
Love the ending though as yes, great story to tell ~ especially amongst yourselves ~ about how you were so, sooooo close and yet so far away...
The circle of life...
And now I am up packing for Florida as Lex, I, and the boys get ready to head down for next week's Fall Classic...
Many of our Championship team and some even younger studs sprinkled in (JJ #1 and JJ #2 ~ Jamie Janetsky and Jeff Jeanette), as well as a couple of out-of-towners we befriended down there last year round out our squad who is eyeing a similar type run as yours...
We are lighter on numbers and pitching depth than were you so may be a bit harder for us, but sheesh, your run actually gives us even more hope and a boost as we head out... Plus everyone knows Lex can and prolly will pitch all week if necessary, ey??? Lol...
Thanks again for all the updates Mike as it was very cool to feel a little part of your journey and despite the heart breaking end, what a long, strange (read "good" here) trip it's been...
Thanks for sharing it with us...
I'll give similar updates next week as your ray of Arizona sunshine was also appreciated on our first day of snow this year as today is a GREAT day to be heading down to the Sunshine State and we will do our best to shine it back here a bit too...
Congrats on an absolutely awesome tourney and safe travels back home...
Dress warmly!
-- Edited by Marcus Aurelius on Friday 28th of October 2016 05:42:05 AM
Thanks for the kind words! We had a great time. it would have been a little easier, and maybe we would have had a little more left in the tank, if it wasn't so damned hot! 93-97 degrees all week as we played dh, single game, dh, single game, dh, single game! Oh yeah, and there isn't much shade in the desert! good luck next week.
Congratulations on a great tournament run. I'm sure your team was a perfect representation of the quality of baseball played in the CDMSBL and the type of guys who play it.
While I'm still out here enjoying time with my nephew and friends, Don Ball you got it right. We were a pure CDMSBL team. Every time we played, I always asked one of their players before the game if their players all played in the same local league. None did. Some may have been mostly local, but none I spoke to had all players from the same local league. That's what makes this experience special. Lil ol' Albany can ball with anyone!
Great guys, great baseball and an experience proud to be a part of and one I will obviously never forget.
jimk
(We finished 7-2 overall. Our only loss in the Round Robin was to the Angels, a team with players from California, Texas, Florida and one New Yorker. THAT New Yorker is our very own Mike Labanowski, who now lives in Tampa).
-- Edited by sfgiants on Friday 28th of October 2016 05:30:26 PM
Great job guys. I feel bad about the outcome but can't imagine how bad the team feels about a missed opportunity. What you can take away is that you competed against the best as Jim K has stated with a group of guys from the CDMSBL. It just goes to show the superior talent we have in our league. Mike, don't beat yourself up over the outcome. You are an exceptional player and we are proud to play and compete against you in the league. Again, you guys played an exceptional tournament and have nothing to hang your heads about.
