The "Winter" Meeting went off without a hitch last night. Representatives were present from all eight teams, including the prospective final franchise, and the anticipation and excitement can be seen building in every clubhouse. No fights, some decisions, good communication, clarification on who will have fields and an idea of when teams' players will be available, an issue regarding the June All-star Tournament format that we'll find a way to work out with everyone's interests in mind, and the match-ups were set for the second day of "Opening Weekend" on Sunday 5/1; following suit with the Hoppe's tri-meet format from the day before, the Squirrels, Belgian Wiffles, and Ass Kickers will square off in a tri-meet of their own at Constanti Field Sunday afternoon. I'm sure there's a lot else I'm leaving out... I think someone bowled a strike... but I honestly can't remember. It's great to see all these guys together and really get the feel for this season so close to starting up!
On that note, Git r' Done hosted a Spring Training scrimmage today with members of the Squirrels and Belgian Wiffles. Not gonna lie, a lot of rust, especially on the bats, but the offense came around as we got deeper into the three and a half hours. The pitching picked up pretty solidly and seemed to not miss a beat, if only needing to build back up the stamina: accuracy and speed seemed right where they should be for this time of year, and for 35 degree temperatures. Chris Lewis of the Belgian Wiffles had a great first outing pitching a wiffleball, showing off a very nice deflating riser and a slider with a lot of cut. Dennis Pearson of Git r' Done brought the heat. A lot's been said about his speed, but he can bring it. He was clocked in the mid-sixties on most pitches, but dialed a few up to 69 mph with some wicked movement, nearly teleporting at times. In warmer weather and less sleeves I don't think there's any doubt he'll be pushing for the mid-70s. Absolutely unequivocally: defensive swings, bean balls/body shots, and welts were the stars of the show.
UPDATE: Threw together a promo video for our inaugural season (and the better play to come with it!) from the Spring
Training clips and photos; rusty play aside, this pretty much gets the gist of us, right?... Let's get acquainted!
