2023 Mets Fantasy Camp

  Mother Nature sent us a surprise gift this morning. The torrential rains which had been forecast for today never materialized and thus this morning there was no rain falling. Now, that doesn't mean that it was bright sunshine for all to enjoy, but at least it wasn't raining.  The games started at 8:45 today. Touch 'Em All started off hot against the Bellmen. We scored four runs in the top of inning number one and..............well......that was it. We gave up eight runs in the second and another pair in the fourth inning and we were done. The bad weather held off for the most part, but we could not get things in gear later in the game. We all played various positions during the game as the contest meant nothing in the standings. I played left field, first base and third base.  During my time in left field (I should not be allowed to play the outfield. Only bad things can happen) a batter hit a long fly ball which was foul and then traveled to the warning track. I l...

Yesterday I neglected to mention some of the fashion statements which are sometimes made at MFC. I'm old (school) myself. I miss the days of actual stirrups being worn. I remember seeing "stirrup socks" for the first time in the 80's on a Game of the Week telecast with Joe Garagiola and Vin Scully. Joe was none too pleased to see this and commented on it briefly. Gone were the days of uniforms that were far too "fitted", as players like Jose Cardenal of the Cubs complained that his uniform pants were too large. George Hendrick of the Cardinals was probably the first player I ever saw wearing ankle-length pants. But when I play these days I typically go with the long ones as well.  But this is Fantasy Camp, and I like to break out my old school stuff. On Monday I went with the stirrup socks. After the second game Rajai Davis saw me outside the clubhouse and said he liked them. I said to him, "wait until tomorrow." He just smiled and nodded in the af...

Woke up this morning (sounds like the start of a B.B. King song, doesn't it ?) and noticed that the weather was a virtual carbon copy of yesterday morning's. My drive up I-95 to exit 121 was through heavy mist and when I reached the complex it had stopped entirely. The weather forecast showed rain on the horizon, figuratively and  literally.    With this being the case the 9:30 games were moved to 9:00 and the games not on fields 1-4 were moved to other start times as well.  We started our game by falling behind 1-0 in the top of the second, but quickly scored two in the bottom of the frame. The Crash Test Dummies led by a 6-2 score in the top of the 5th. Apparently we were finally getting over the early start as a team at this time. Three consecutive singles to start the inning (mine being the third) set up a game changing moment. Catcher David Shih crushed a double in the alley. The first two runners scored easily and I was headed for third when coach John Debus to...

  Day 2 looked rather bleak when I opened the curtains in my hotel room at 6:30 or so. Dark clouds overhead and intermittent rain falling was when I witnessed. I prepared for the drive to the minor league complex and arrived about 7:45. I grabbed a quick bit of breakfast and began to plan out my uniform for game one.  As I told you yesterday I could not recall the name of my team as introduced at the dinner last night. Well, this morning I picked up my phone from the nightstand and took a look to see if anyone had commented on my last posting. My friend Shayne, who works on the ramp for Southwest in Minneapolis had commented. His comment said, "Touch 'em all, Rod!" Now, I appreciated the comment to be sure. For those of you who are not Twins fans, "Touch 'em all" was the catchphrase for one John Gordon who was a Twins radio announcer for decades. He would add the name of the Twins player following the word "all". I smacked myself on the head, gentl...

It measures just 9 inches in circumference.  Weighs only about 5 ounces and is made of cork, wound with wool and yarn covered with two layers of cowhide, and stitched by hand precisely 108 times. The stitching, if stretched out, would extend 88 feet in length. That is the  physical  description of a baseball. The game of baseball may be one of the greatest things ever invented. My 9th Mets Fantasy Camp started today in Port St. Lucie, Florida. For those of you who may not be knowledgeable in what fantasy camps are and what they are all about let me tell you a bit about them. Former major-league catcher Randy Hundley is credited with having originated the idea of a "fantasy camp" in the early 1980's. They were called Dream Weeks back then. These camps allow fans, usually aged 40 and older, to play the game they love in a camp setting where they wear authentic uniforms and play against each other while being coached by former players of their favorite team....