Victory - A Double Edged Sword

Baseball is a game of cliches - he's pitching a gem; he's swinging a hot bat; he was out by a mile - you get the idea. It seems there is no phrase that hasn't been coined to make the casual fan say 'huh?' and die hard say 'ah gotcha" all in one breath. Today, though, I offer you a cliche stolen from life's long list of coloqualisms - There are two sides to every coin.

It's been a week now since our win in the District Championships and while the boys deserve all the credit in the world for their accomplishments, the other day I started thinking what of those young men on the other side of the diamond. Those on the losing side. Yes, I may have had my fun in previous posts with our victories over High Park, but I trust you gather I mean no ill will toward them. They competed just as hard as our team, it just so happened that on on one night in July the baseball gods were on our side.

Unfortunately for them, their Little League experience may always be coloured by that loss. Some may never play baseball again beyond this year and that one game may very well be what they remember. Hopefully not, because they were a deserving winner too, but such is the case in sport. There must be a winner and a loser. And that is why victory is often a double edged sword - one team walks away with fond memories, the other with the sting of defeat.

In previous posts I have lamented my one chance to win this tournament many years ago. I look back now on my time playing with nothing but great memories and better stories, but for awhile I'm sure that this loss will sting a little for those boys from High Park. History may say the Ancaster Cardinals won 3-0 over High Park. What it won't tell you though is just how hard they made us work for that victory. Hold your heads high boys, we were very appreciative of the competition you gave us.

record to date: 23 W, 3 L

21 yrs in the making

So far so good for us in the Ontario District 1 Championships. After three games we are 3-0, with three kinda convincing wins - 11-1, 11-0, and 14-4.

It's our first game, against High Park that I liked most for a few reasons. One, we were playing at the very park I grew up playing all of my Little League baseball in, Erindale. I can still remember my first home run there. As can my friend that I hit it off. I think the ball travels 10 ft further every year I tell the story! It also seems as though everyone throughout recorded GTA Little League history has a story about getting beat by High Park. And I'm no different.

Twenty one years ago we (Erindale) lost to the eventual Canadian Champions, High Park, in the District Championship game. So, it may have taken two decades and four presidents, but Friday night I was able to gain some measure of revenge with the 11-1 win. And how's this for a "small world" moment - Last week at practice we had a player who played on that High Park team we lost to come out and talk to the boys about his Little League World Series experience. We both remembered that game we played, players on either team, and moments in the game. In baseball there is always one constant - the stories. And oh how they grow in grandeur with each passing year.

Last week I watched part of the Ken Burns baseball series and actor Billy Crystal recanted a story of when he first met Ted Williams 30 years after he actually saw him play for the first time live. He told Williams who was pitching and how he had tape of it and said he had struck out in one at bat. Williams, without needing any more details, looked at him and said "curve ball low and away."

Nobody forgets their first homerun. I know I haven't. Apparently the greatest hitter of all time also never forgets a strikeout either.

record to date: 19 W, 3 L

twelve and counting...

Two more games this past weekend. And two more wins. That's twelve in a row now.

First up was a team from Quebec. Yes, we won, but they did have one distinct advantage - the language barrier. Sign stealing is at a definite minimum when not one of us on the field had anything beyond a high school education in French. I'm sure if they had wanted to they could have called pitches audibibly from the dugout and it would have left us scratching our heads. Who knows, that may have been exactly what they were doing!

And then there was High Park/Etobicoke. Yes, that High Park. The one I have been waiting for 21 years to play again. The last time I remember facing them I was watching a home run ball scream over my head at first base somewhere into the abyss in Dundas. This is one moment me and my friends that were on that team still talk about to this day. Fast forward to present day. We played what amounted to one of our best games of the season against a very good team. Playing from behind for just the third time this season the boys rallied to tie then go on to win 6-2. A great all around game by all 12 guys.

After a day in the sun, it was time to party poolside. Many thanks to the Miller's for playing host. We ate. We drank (age appropriate beverages to be clear). When you're 12 yrs old you are limited to what you can legally drink out of a championship trophy. So, Coke it was. Mind you, most of it ended up all over Matthew Grabstas when it was dumped on him. (that's him holding the trophy just after this happened) Thank you Matthew for my highlight of the night!