Let me take a brief, I mean exceptionally brief, moment to be serious. There are some people in this league that contribute a great deal of time and energy. They do it not for fame, wealth or adulation. They do it for a sense of community, a willingness to be involved and yearning to leave things better than they found them.
Easy examples of this can be found with the league executive and by extension its captains. Each bring a balance of competitive spirit and a sense of fair play that makes this league an exceptional one to play in. Further, there are the umpires. Having played in other leagues with paid umpires, they often tend to just 'put in time', gripe about how little they make and pay marginal attention to the game. Our umpires do a great job of injecting humour while also paying marginal attention to the game (see, I told you I couldn't be serious for very long). Really though, our umpires do an excellent job of blending rules with spirit, in my very humble opinion. Safe & out is the easy part of the job. Diffusing controversy and staying engaged in the game is where they excel.
So the group that remains unmentioned in this "how great thou art" speech to the league are the scorers. The scorers are integral to our locker room blustering and bragging (that's the Legion, for those who have not following along). Who hit better, who struck out who, who's hitting .797 and leading the league (Doyle, McCarron), who was ROBBED of a base hit (me) by stretching a single into a pathetically easy out at second...etc..etc..etc. Its not just the statistics but the "why" behind the ruling.
As I'm still learning about the mechanics of this league, I was shocked to find out that the scorers perform this role in a volunteer capacity! There is a heck of lot more to scoring than watching the game. Having had the occasion to see Tito (Fonzie, at least until he makes me stop calling him that) input data from time-to-time, I've seen first hand the value that he sees in a well done score sheet.
I can only hope that every team is lucky enough to have a scorer as good as the Grisslies. Sue Farah is fabulous. I could stop there, but I won't. She never misses a game, rain or shine. She NEVER misses a play. She knows the score, the outs, who the next pinch runner will be (and the pinch runner after that) and can explain why Doris had a hit taken away when I got thrown out at the commit line (yes, I have serious base running issues - I'm hoping therapy will resolve that problem).
Lets be honest, Sue hasn't let her inability to dance hold her back one iota!
Sue at the Prom (Thanks for the PIC Rob!)My advice to all teams ..... Give your score keeper a hug (but check if its okay first! I have a lengthy background in Human Resources and this could be problematic!) If you don't already do it, buy your score keeper a drink after the next game. Thank them for their time, interest and commitment. Make sure their efforts are appreciated!
NEW AND NOTES:
- For those of you who called the weather office last night reporting the Lunar eclipse, please review the following statement from environment Canada: "The eclipse reported in Tottenham on September 7th seems to have been a localized non-weather phenomena generated by the pitcher on Tito's team."
- I'm not saying that guy is big, but there were two small children in orbit around him!
- Before anyone gets angry (particularly the big guy)....he's a good sport, good pitcher, good bat & we're hoping has a great sense of humour!!!
- Team Extreme seems to be one of those slow starting and good finishing clubs, that isn't all bad. Proof will be in the pudding today (never understood that expression...kinda grosses me out a bit).
- Only three more days until I strike out against Tito.
Paul McCartney & Angela Lansbury
(Paul has seen better days)
The Pope
Senator John Kerry & the Easter Island Statues
1 comment:
Awesome job!
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