2006

16-14

“Correct thinkers think that ‘baseball trivia’ is an oxymoron: nothing
about baseball is trivial.”
–George Will

“That goes double for softball, you pompous twit.”
–The Historian

The quote: “Best crop of rookies since 1984” (Gary Eichten)…. The
weather: For the first time in most Old Farts’ memory, there are no
rainouts during the regular season. The only rain postponement is the
Pups/Farts Game…. The disappointing trend: Early-season chalk-talk
numbers are shockingly low…. The turnaround: rookie Gus Liepitz sends
out an e-mail demanding better attendance. This actually works. In the
end, 38 people show up at the post-Pups/Farts chalk talk…. The
milestone: We began playing in the state employees’ league in 1986, so
this season marks our 20th anniversary…. The low point: Savoy scores
60 runs against us in one game-the most ever, quoth the Historian. Worth
noting: we actually don’t play all that badly; it could have been
worse…. The fashion statement: We encounter our first-ever female
opponent in a haute-couture peekaboo blouse, or, as Linda Wareham puts
it, “black fishnet top with a cropped tank top underneath and LOTS of
pasty white skin bubbling up”…. The tangentially related item: JR
Mac’s waitress Erin passes out business cards to the team-she is
studying to become a certified body waxer…. The Historian’s surmise: Several team members have patronized Erin’s burgeoning business on their
way to the banquet…. The sad truth: Most team members don’t much care
whether their body waxers are certified or not…. The macho moment: Randy Greenly shows up at the bar on the same day he has hernia
surgery…. The moxie moment: During a transitory moment of wildness for
pitcher Al Schoch, rookie catcher Maria Montello actually goes out to
the mound and encourages him to throw strikes. This catcher-to-mound
visit, while common throughout the world of baseball, is a team
first…. The faux pas: Tim Dennis answers his cell phone and converses.
In the middle of an inning. While standing on third base…. The brave
new stat: Tom Scheck inaugurates a tradition of noting, in the official
score book, the number of people at the bar, the total of the food bill,
and the waitress’s name…. The reason we don’t offshore any aspect of
this team: Rookie Ochen Kahlen creates a nifty piece of software that
allows for easy manipulation of online rosters and shows the coach when
the lineup is out of proper gender balance…. The tournament roundup: Trailing 6-3 in the semifinals, we rally against last year’s champion,
Cherry Pit, when Tom Scheck smacks a three-run homer to tie the game and
then, moments later, Nancy Rothman-having been mercilessly robbed by web
gems all afternoon-hits a single that drives in her husband with the
game-winning run. It’s the first time we’ve ever beaten Cherry Pit, and
it’s all the sweeter because, earlier in the day, a Pit player had been
heard to remark to the tournament director, “Just give us the
first-place trophy now.” Though we lose in the finals to a Savoy team
peopled by swaggering louts with BALCO-related subpoenas stuffed in
their hip pockets, we are the only team in the league to win tournament
hardware in each of the last two seasons. The Whippet family highlight
reel: Johnny Rothman not only plays for the team, he plays
shortstop-just like his dad. And he turns an unassisted double play-just
like his dad. But unlike his dad, he doesn’t have to fake a throw to
first in order to turn it.

2006 Roster

Captain Jim Bickal
Rookies of the Year Gus Liepitz, Mason Wibstad
Most Improved Kate Weinstock, Mitch Hanley
Batting Champions KT Cragg , Jim Bickal, Tom Rothman
Golden Glove Gus Liepitz
Most Valuable Player Tom Scheck
Whippets of the Year The Rothmans
The Wick The Tie-Dye Team

Hall of Fame notes: Now storming the hall from every angle: Al Schoch!

The Wing & the Ward

Al Schoch (’97- ) (Most Improved-’98; Co-Whippet of the Year-’98;
Whippet of the Year-’99)… Bats: left. Throws: right. Plays: for the
sheer love of the game. Few indeed are the softball titans who can
qualify for the Satchel Paige Wing and the Wally Pipp Ward in their
careers, never mind in the same year. But Al Schoch, a.k.a. The Shocker,
is a pioneer. In fact, he comes from pioneer stock-for was it not Al’s
parents who, several years back, actually paid the tab at Gabe’s for the
entire men’s team? A similar-but even grander-spirit of generosity led
Al, last year, to donate a kidney to his sister…and then to hustle
back to the softball diamond just as soon as he could, there to yank
line drives over first base or, just to mess with the opponents’ heads,
to slice outside pitches down the left-field line. On this august and
unprecedented occasion, the Historian would like to make it known that
no one exemplifies the statement “There is no I in team” better than Al
Schoch. The Historian would also like to point that there is an Al in
softball – as well as in Hall of Fame.

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