Diary of a GM

Here is my wish for you...

Go to Blakes Lottaburger for lunch (NM version of the Whataburger)and order the double-double with green chiles. I hope the chiles hit your tummy at game time and you have to sit in your hotel and miss DBAT's first game...

I have been to Farmington as a batbaoy in 1979, a player in 1987, and a coach in 1993 and the tourney is the best baseball experience I have ever had...

Good luck DBAT and Tigers...

Farmington is the greatest experience as far as amateur baseball is concerned. I hope the Dbat and Tigers players and families experience what the Wildcats family got to experience the last 2 years.

I wish every kid at this level would have the opportunity to experience
what the Connie Mack World Series is all about. The memories and friends will last a lifetime.

John keep the infor coming. It brings back memories as we have lived the experience even though we are jealous that your there and we are not.

Good luck to Dbat and Tigers.
Swac you made the trip I hope?

I really enjoyed the post and looking forward to
reading more.

Congratulations to all.

Thanks for sharing your experiences with all us baseball junkies. This thread will be fun to read.

keep them coming John i am going to enjoy reading them.
Good luck to the TEXAS boys in the CMWS

It only gets better John.

Wait till opening night tonight.

Act like you've been there before.

Doh

You haven't, my bad

I thought this same group of boys went last year as 17's. Am I having another blonde moment?

I can tell you for sure that it is hard having your son there, knowing the great experiences he's having, and not being able to be there.

Some of us have to work I suppose!!

Good luck to DBAT and the Tigers...oh.........and the Farmington Storm (OPson picked up with them)!!

OP,
Good luck to ML and his new pick-up team. Maybe you could start a thread titled: Diary of a Dad left behind while son is in Farmington.

It's a thought.

Friday, August 3rd

Started the day by visiting with the Tigers brain trust in the hotel lobby. Our coaches and I had breakfast with Brent Powers’ father (LH Wildcat picked up by Tigers). Brent was game #1 starter and is playing in his third straight CMWS. He’s a great kid that played with us last fall and he’s eligible to play CM again next year so he could possibly become the first player in history to play in the CMWS four times. Brent is currently tied with Ken Griffey Jr. who played three times for Midland Redskins.

Had a morning coaches meeting where the AABC folks went over the rules, ins and outs and introduced the CMWS umpiring crew. I was very pleased to see Mark Lewis from Dallas as one of the umpires. Mark gave me my first thumb back in 1995 and we had a good long talk afterwards….been friends ever since. Coach T and I also had a great conversation with Papa Joe Hayden, the patriarch of the 9-time CMWS champion Midland Redskins. I wanted to ask him if the people of New Mexico had voiced any displeasure over the years about their nickname considering the population is largely Indian….but I decided against it.

Gotta mention that I was surprised when the AABC Director walked up and handed me a check for our coaching staff’s per diem. Wasn’t told about that little perk.

Late morning we gathered for the CMWS Parade down Main Street. The host families delivered all of our boys and the float was sponsored by the Farmington Rotary Club. Our kids were the only team that was giving out loot throughout the parade and thanks to the generosity of Cade and Kyle we were able to hand out DBAT t-shirts, mini bats, jock clocks and more. There were several thousand people lining the streets and the expressions on the little kids’ faces as they got their goodies was priceless. Promoting Dallas baseball and making new fans!

We had an afternoon practice at a local field before heading to the Tigers-East Cobb game. East Cobb bested the Tigers 6-2. Was a close game early but a couple of 'altitude' homeruns allowed the Yankees to pull away.....apparently Farmington is at a higher elevation than Denver, CO. The Opening Ceremonies were held after the game in front of a packed house. All ten teams lined around the back of the infield and, as is customary at the CMWS, ran a quick jog from corner to corner around home plate as they are announced. Now, I’m not in the best of shape compared to all of these finely tuned athletes and it was duly noted that several other teams’ larger coaches declined to join in the jog but yours truly decided that since I was here I would experience it all. I did the jog (that turned out to be more like a sprint!) thinking the whole time that if I trip I will never hear the end of it or outlive the youtube video.

Dinner and back to the hotel to watch the Farmington/Top Tier game. The locals love their hometown boys and this year they have the talent to make some noise. The newest Storm player, OP's son, is having a great time and it was a shame we couldn't steal him onto our float. Tomorrow the pomp and pageantry is of no matter as it will be time to get down to business against Puerto Rico. The boys are loose and have an air of confidence about them.


Oh yeah.…have been asked about fifty times for my autograph. Go figure.

I love it John.............

One question though...........

Did you really hit the sack early? Or did you visit the "Upper Tank" as it is customary for all DBAT affiliates to ..................

"Stay up with the Owls yet fly with the Eagles"

Saturday, August 4th

Had a great conversation at breakfast with New Mexico Head Coach Ray Birmingham. He just got the new job after much success at New Mexico Junior College and has one of the nicest fields in the country at Isotopes Field in Albuquerque. The Florida Legends had a pre-game team meeting in our hotel while Ray and I were there and a lot of their talk was about one of their players who learned from his host family as soon as he got here that his mother had passed away. He had to fly back to Florida the very first night. Tragic.

The Farmington Rotary Club set up a team picnic for us and our host families at a big rock park. The boys chowed on steak & chicken and then played Frisbee golf among the cliffs. The kids have really bonded with the families and it was a pleasure to visit with them at the picnic.

Back to the hotel to watch Midland beat Florida 7-3 and then take a pre-game nap.

Got to the field about 3:30 for our 5:15pm game. Boys were pretty loose and went about preparations with a business-like attitude. We're in the third base dugout because we won the toss and are home team. There are four umpires for every game as well as ball boys on each side of the field to chase fouls on the field. All of the balls have the CMWS logo on them so when they are hit ino the stands they don't come back. We were given two bat boys and one of them is Danny, the 7 year-old son of Kim Carpenter who is the Vertical Radio announcer and host dad of Rupp & Leftridge. My guess is there were four to five thousand people at the game and the crowd got larger toward the later innings. There's also about five hundred teenagers that congregate in the concourse areas.....some kind of teen social scene. I don't think they ever go into the seats although there are TVs at the concession stands to watch. Cade and Craig Penfold were sitting in the seats right behind our dugout and the foster and player families have a reserved area along the fence just down from our dugout. Got a good luck call from Rusty Hill just before we all lined up on the baseline as they called our names. One of the Puerto Rico players sang the PR national anthem and after the US anthem was sung (not by one of our players) it was finally time to play ball at the CMWS.

Chad Bettis from Lubbock toed the mound for us and pitched well allowing just three hits over six innings. He didn’t have his usual zip early but was 94-95 mph in the fifth and sixth as he cruised to the victory. PR's only challenge came in the third on a hit to right with runners at second and third. A highlight-reel laser from Josh Wilson to Cam Rupp at the plate shot down the runner to end the inning. Their starter was mixing in lots of curves and splitters and held our bats in check until we pushed across five runs in the fifth and then three more in the sixth to end the game by mercy rule 8-0. Joe Leftridge was named the Player of The Game after going 3-4 with a 1B, 2B, two runs and three rbis.

Every pitcher that gets a win in the CMWS gets a certificate as well as an official CMWS pitching jacket. Pretty cool. The boys were mobbed by autograph-seeking kids that clogged the field entrance and kept us from having our post-game meeting for over fifteen minutes.

We’re watching the Arizona/NJ Diamond Jacks game as I type this. We play the winner at 7:30pm on Monday night. Shout out to SWAC and KG who I know were listening tonight!

quote:

Originally posted by catcher:
Here is my wish for you...

Go to Blakes Lottaburger for lunch (NM version of the Whataburger)and order the double-double with green chiles. I hope the chiles hit your tummy at game time and you have to sit in your hotel and miss DBAT's first game...

Thanks for the, er, well wishes, Shayne.
Haven't been to Blake's but Sonic here has a Green Chile Cheeseburger that is out of sight!

quote:

Originally posted by Ken Guthrie:
I love it John.............

One question though...........

Did you really hit the sack early? Or did you visit the "Upper Tank" as it is customary for all DBAT affiliates to ..................

"Stay up with the Owls yet fly with the Eagles"

Gut, as far as the late night happenings of the coaching staff....what happens in NM stays in NM!!!

John,

Love the updates, please keep them coming. Congrats on the big win tonight. Give my son a hug from me and mom if you can. Good luck the rest of the way. Make us proud here in the metroplex and win this thing.

quote:

Originally posted by DBAT GM:

Gut, as far as the late night happenings of the coaching staff....what happens in NM stays in NM!!!

That a boy.........

You may not have learned much from me, but if you've learned that...... it's enough.

Sunday, August 5th

Started the day by having breakfast with Rusty Hill’s father who is here to see his grandson Brent Powers play with the Tigers. He has likely forgotten more about baseball than most of us know.

The Farmington paper had a good write up about our game against Puerto Rico and Joe Leftridge was the main topic of the article and got his picture in there as well. One of my all-time favorite kids, I was thrilled to see Joe get some great ink after being injured last week in the Regional and not knowing if he would even get to play in the Series.

The team had a late morning practice at one of the local fields that are provided to CMWS teams. After practice was over we had a Home Run Derby contest between the pitchers. Wasn’t even close as Chad Bettis pounded bomb after bomb to run away with the Derby. Coaches got into the act too....Cade hit five, Corey hit one and Pat came up with a goose egg. I did not participate but thanks for wondering.

The afternoon event was the CMWS Home Run Derby where every team has one hitter and Cameron Rupp was our guy. In the first round hitters got ten outs. Each slugger had one at the most until the Diamond Jack’s Brandon Boykin hit four, Cam was the 7th hitter and he put on quite a display in smashing six bombs. As I posted in the CMWS thread, several were easily 425+ but one in particular cleared the left field lights and the ivy wall across the street to find it’s way deep into the little league field. Oohs, aahs and a standing ovation ensued. Fellow UT-signee Cole Green hit three dingers to also advance to the second round. After Cole and Cam advanced they had a three-out championship round but neither hit a HR so they had another round with five outs. Cam hit the first pitch over the left center fence and then got five straight outs. Cole stepped up and hit the wall three times but couldn’t get one over so Cam got the trophy. Was dramatic and the two friends were laughing and cutting up throughout as the two Dallas teams cheered them both on.

Just a guess but I bet Cam has signed more autographs than anybody in the tournament.

There were two games on the slate for today and Jack Cust Diamond Jacks eliminated Puerto Rico in the first one. The second game between Farmington/Florida is currently in a looooooong rain delay.

John-

Glad to hear all is going well up there... keep the great updates coming... talk to you soon....

great article in the local paper today, sorry don't have the link, might do a google search for it

Diary boy,
Have you made it Blake's Lottaburger? Find a restaurant up there that serves a FLAT (stacked) enchilada that has the fried egg on top. It is true New Mexico cuisine...Trust me...

Monday, August 6th

Slept in today and hung out in the room until late morning. Went to a movie and saw Jason Bourne in action. Good flick. After the movie, stopped by Ricketts Park and caught the end of the suspended game from the night before. Florida eliminated Farmington 7-2.

Coach T and I had pre-game dinner at Blake’s LottaBurger at the suggestion of the vaunted Catcher and had the double lottaburger with green chiles. Was fantastic! My cast iron stomach didn’t cave so I did make the game ….sorry Shayne.

The game before ours was a wild one. Top Tier was up 3-0 on East Cobb, then down 6-3, then back up 10-6 going into the bottom of the 6th before a big 7-run collapse allowed the Yankees to snatch one 13-10. As soon as the game ended, a storm decided to roll through with big gusts, lightning and some light rain. Somehow it stayed around us and just drizzled a bit so we avoided any delays.

Brandon Workman was on the bump and surrendered a leadoff single and then a bunt base hit. An odd sac fly to first got the Arizona Firebirds on the board first but that was all they would get as B-dub settled into a groove the rest of the way.

Fleece started the second inning scoring for DBAT with a leadoff double followed by consecutive singles by Marvel and Bundy and a walk by Wilson. After two Ks, Chris Slater tripled off the center field wall to put us up 4-1. Rupp started the 3rd with a 450-ft bomb to right center and two batters later Marvel hit one out to left for a 6-1 lead.

The first two batters went down to start the 4th before a triple and two doubles by Leftridge, Rupp & Fleece gave us an 8-1 lead. Bundy led off the 5th with another dinger and we run ruled the defending champs 9-1. Workman earned a certificate and jacket and Big Cam got Player Of The Game for going 2-3 with a 2B, HR and two rbis.

This was our second win over the Firebirds this summer in as many games and this one was much sweeter than the first. I should report that there were no drink tossing altercations before, during or after the game.

quote:

I should report that there were no drink tossing altercations before, during or after the game. [/color]

How bout drink tipping?

**** you need to learn how to celebrate.

John -- I enjoy the recaps.

I plan on BLOGGING my son's senior season -- mostly for something he can look back on when he's my age. I imagine it will turn out to be full of personal messages....and hopefully something he can learn from when it's his time to be a baseball dad.

So, anyone want to subscribe early? I'm kidding.....but.....10000 posters @ $10/year = a baseball inheritance! hmmm.

Tuesday, August 7th

Corey and I had breakfast with Tom Gambino who is the Manager of the Jack Cust Diamond Jacks. Great conversation about East Coast baseball. For those 10 degree days of winter and early spring they have a totally enclosed turf field. Gotta go check that out some time. By the way, Tom is not related to the Gambino crime family....I asked.

Spent the day on my laptop getting some real work done (where I earn my income) and then went by The Strike Zone which is a local indoor facility owned by one of our foster families. Nice place with one of those state-of-the-art Pro Batter systems which projects a pitcher onto a large screen and the pitch comes out of it. The system records the batter's swing on video. Very cool.

Went out to watch the Tigers/Arizona game that was just ahead of ours. Tigers jumped out front from the get-go with a first inning grand slam by Tant Shepherd. They went on to eliminate the Firebirds 8-2. Great bounce back for Linty and JAFO’s squad.

In the nightcap we faced the Midland Redskins. Andrew Armstrong started the game for us and pitched well despite multiple mistakes and errors on our part. Midland scored one in the first on a successful hit & run and another in the second on a single and three straight fielder’s choices. We cut the lead to 2-1 when Slater singled in Bundy in the 4th.

The wheels came off in the top of the 5th behind a third strike that went to the backstop and consecutive misplays of sac bunts followed by a homerun. Stayton Thomas came into the game and pitched the last three innings allowing just one more run as the game ended 7-1. We had just four hits on the night but had opportunities in several innings to score and didn’t....left 8 runners on base through the first five. Midland’s Seth Blair pitched a very good complete game.

After the game, there was a coaches meeting at the plate to pair up the games for tomorrow. East Cobb vs. Midland will determine the last unbeaten team so there was a draw for the other two games. Coach T got to draw from a hat between Tigers, Top Tier & Florida. He drew Florida. So Tigers play Top Tier and we play the Florida Legends. There will be just four teams left in the CMWS after tomorrow night.

Corey and I left Ricketts Park and had a late dinner with the East Cobb coaching staff at the Pancake House. Was stimulating conversation from a great group of baseball guys. Have learned a lot about baseball from other areas while here. Farmington - the great melting pot!

Just got back to the hotel and we do it all over again tomorrow.

quote:

By the way, Tom is not related to the Gambino crime family....I asked.

Like he would tell you the truth??? Come on man, all Italians are hooked up one way or the other.

Tom Gambino... Awesome name!

Wednesday, August 8th

My roommate (Corey) and I slept in and went to Ricketts Park for the noon Dallas Tigers/Top Tier game. Cole Green started slow but came around and so did the Tiger bats as they won handily 13-2. It appeared that Cole had tossed a no-no but we were told the scorekeeper changed an error to a hit that cost him from getting his name into the CMWS record book. Tough break.

After the game Coach T and I went to a local Mexican Food restaurant and I had the stacked enchiladas with green chile and a fried egg on top just as was suggested by Catcher. He was dead on and the grub was really good. When we got back to the hotel Shayne called and I got to thank him for his culinary expertise.

We arrived at Ricketts Park early and the team went about preparing as usual for the Florida Legends. Guys seemed loose and excited about getting back on the field after last night’s loss. Before the game started, a CMWS official stopped by and gave me another per diem check for the coaches as every team that made it to Wednesday got more $$$. We were home team so we occupied the third base dugout and wore our white/white uniforms. Bobby Bundy was on the hill for us and his first inning started a little rough. An error put the leadoff guy on and then a two singles and a bomb put the Legends ahead 4-0. We came back to tie it at 4-4 after the 4th but then they put up four more in the 5th. We pulled within 8-6 but could just not muster enough offense as we fell to Florida 11-6. We had plenty of chances but left ten runners on base in the game.

That’s it for DBAT…..two wins, two losses and a fifth place finish at the CMWS. What a fantastic experience to top off a great summer!

We had a team meeting on the field and then the players signed many, many more autographs and gave away gear and whatnot to the legions of kids who were awaiting them. Lotta love for DBAT here. Next we gathered with all family and foster family for a meeting with the AABC folks. They started putting our return info together and had it all worked out within an hour or so. Believe it or not, we are to board a 4:00am chartered bus with Top Tier to head to the airport in Albuquerque. No rest for the weary. Time to say goodbye to our extended families and head back to the hotel to pack.

Talked to my wife and boys who were listening back home. They were upset that we didn’t win tonight but are happy to have dad coming home tomorrow. Special thanks to Kim Carpenter for the shout out to them during the broadcast today.

Today was my last summer ball game as I am retiring. It’s been a great ride for these last fifteen years and I have had the distinct pleasure of being involved in the lives and baseball careers of many wonderful kids and families within the Dallas Knights and DBAT programs. I’m very proud of the accomplishments of those many teams and cherish the friendships with my huge extended baseball family. The time has come to devote my full attention to my two young boys and my new career as a t–ball coach for my youngest. Far too many people to thank from over the years and probably not the most appropriate forum to do so here. Besides, they know who they are.

I want to finish by saying that the CMWS is absolutely everything it is built up to be. The pinnacle of youth sports and the time of a lifetime for every young man and coach that is fortunate enough to get to Farmington, NM. No losers here. I filled six disposable cameras with memories that will last me through my golden years. Thanks for the support of my friends back home as I blogged my way through the CMWS.

What a ride!!!

Thanks for the ride John, been a great summer

John - Congratulations on making it to the CMWS and for 15 years of service to amateur baseball. I enjoyed playing against you guys. I still remember an early Saturday game in June 2002? when you guys rallied for 8 runs in the bottom of the 7th to tie our Arlington Travelers 10-10.

Like you, I decided it was time to hang it up in '04 to raise my 3 girls and spend more time with the family. Unfortunately, my money is being spent on competitive gymnastics, not the great game.

Doing it right takes a lot of time and energy. Again thanks for all of the updates, congratulations and enjoy teaching the game to your two sons.

Steve Gray

John,
Thanks for all you did for youth baseball in DFW. You made it about the kids and not you, and you will never be forgotten.
Shayne

John,

Thanks for everything you have done for Dallas/Ft. Worth youth baseball over the years. You were in this deal for the right reasons. I have to say it was truly an honor to get to play for you and Coach T back in the day. Best of luck to you with your new endeavor!

DL

John,


I would also like to thank you for not just everything you have done for DBAT but for all the kids lives you have touched. I completely understand where John is coming from when he says it is time to spend time with your own kids. I gave up coaching 5 years ago due to having 3 kids in 20 months. Sitting in the stands and watching the games in Farmington made me realize how much I missed coaching the kids, but the moment I pulled back into the airport and my 3 kids ran up and hugged me that thought was over. John is a GREAT Manager and a wonderful dad. Dallas baseball will miss John. But some day Cory will call John and we will all see John back in the dugout.

Aw, shucks. You guys are swell.

I've gotten a ton of e-mails and phone calls since we got back and I appreciate all of the positive feedback. Even in 'retirement' I still plan on lurking amongst the friendly confines of the HSBBWEB. Gotta get MN-MOM to give me a name change though.

Any suggestions on a new moniker? Be nice, now.....that in itself might actually make for an interesting thread.

How about Luke Skywalker? You slayed the Evil Empire

Maybe Obi-Wan Kenobi?

You can be Darth Vader.

TRHit already thinks he is Obi-Wan Kenobi.