B League Picayune
Often in error, never in doubt.
Volume 7, Issue 64 – November 3, 2025
Apologies for the late delivery of this edition. It’s a cautionary tale: kids, don’t celebrate Matthew McConaughey’s birthday too hard.
Games of Thursday November 3:
10:00 a.m.: Gray (4-9) at Red (6-7):
1 2 3 4 BUFFET FINAL Gray 2 0 3 0 0 5 Red 2 1 1 2 X 6 Pitchers: Gray – Jack Kelly; Red – Joe Bernal. Mercenaries: Red – George Brindley, Steve Sandall, and Jimmy Sneed. Umpires: home – Scott Wright; bases – Tom Kelm. Perfect at the plate: Gray – Adam Reddell (2 for 2 with a walk); Red – Joe Bernal (2 for 2 – Ohtani Award), Gary Coyle and Steve Sandall (both 2 for 2 with a double), and Jack Spellman (3 for 3 with a double). Home run: Jack McDermott (inside the park) (3).
Dave Berra’s weather summary: Perfect – and food!
Hard-fought game, neither team ever leading by more than one run at the end of an inning. Both teams scored twice in the first as they acclimated to the modified one-pitch rules (2-2 starting count, no courtesy foul). Gray got a lead-off single by Paul Rubin, who scored from first on George Romo’s one-out double. George took third on Adam Reddell’s single and then scored on Mike Malay’s 1-6 force out, Joe Bernal to Jimmy Sneed. Johnny Lee followed with a liner to the right side that second baseman Jack Spellman overjumped for; the ball knuckled, hit the heel of my mitt, and fell in front of me, for an easy 4-6 force for the third out.
Jack McDermott led off the home half with a drive to the fence in left-center and a quick run around the bases for an inside-the-park home run, his third of the season. Jack Spellman followed with a pop-fly double behind first base and advanced and scored on back-to-back one-out singles by Gary Coyle and Joe Bernal.
Jack McDermott, looking so ripped you’d think he’d had his Lupe’s beans and rice before the game, led off the bottom of the first with his third home run of the season.
Joe Bernal retired Gray in order in the top of the second, and Red took the lead with a run in the home half thanks to its mercenaries: Steve Sandall led off with a double and scored on George Brindley’s single. George Romo then started a 6-4-3 double play, making a good play on Jimmy Sneed’s hard grounder, and Paul Rubin made a fine catch of Jack McDermott’s drive to left-center.
Gray took the lead with three runs in the top of the third, all scoring after two were out. Paul Rubin drew a one-out walk and took third on Tommy Gillis’s hard-struck double to left field. George Romo fouled off a pitch for the first out. Adam Reddell’s single, I think to left-center, drove in both Paul and Tommy. Mike Malay followed with a double, Adam taking third. Johnny Lee’s line single to left-center brought in Adam; Mike halted at third. Joe Bernal got Jack Kelly to foul off a pitch for the third out.
Red got one run back in the home half: Jack Spellman lined a lead-off single to right-center, took third on Gary Coyle’s one-out double, and scored on Joe Bernal’s single up the middle. Jack Kelly stranded the runners at the corners by getting Dale Fugate to pop out to second baseman Mike Malay and Jim McAnelly to foul off a pitch.
Joe Bernal worked another 1-2-3 inning in the top of the fourth. Red’s mercenaries came through again in the bottom half: Steve Sandall singled to start the inning and scored from first on Jimmy Sneed’s one-out double. Jimmy scored on a hit to right-center by Jack McDermott, but Jack was thrown out 9-4, Morgan Witthoft to Mike Malay, trying to stretch the hit into a double. Jack Spellman singled, but was forced out at second 6-4 on Anthony Galindo’s grounder to George Romo.
Entering the buffet, Red team thought the game was tied – we couldn’t read the scoreboard because of glare from the low November sun – but in fact Red was ahead by a run. Gray had the top of its lineup due. Joe Bernal got a key out to start the inning, getting Paul Rubin to hit a foul. Tommy Gillis ripped a double to left field. George Romo made a bid for a hit through the 5-6 hole, but Jimmy Sneed made a good play to his backhand on a hard-hit grounder; Tommy broke for third, I’m thinking because he thought the ball would go through and that, representing the tying run, he needed to score. Jimmy alertly saw Tommy commit, so he threw to third baseman Gary Coyle. Tommy stopped and retreated toward second, but was put out on a very short rundown, Gary throwing to Jimmy, who applied the tag. Adam Reddell drew a walk, putting runners on first and second. Mike Malay hit a grounder to the 5-6 hole, but Jimmy Sneed made another outstanding play to his backhand, fielding the ball cleanly and snapping a throw to second for the force.
Red began running to the dugout, thinking the game was tied, but in fact it was over, as Gray realized – they were lining up for the post-game handshake. Brief confusion until Red realized it had reached .500 for the session.
Final score: Red 6, Gray 5
Joe Bernal receives his fifth Ohtani Award of the season from Japanese prime minister Sanae Takaichi. (Nice of them to fly Joe to Tokyo for the ceremony and then get him back in time for the luncheon.)
10:45 a.m.: Maroon (8-6) at Orange (12-2):
1 2 3 4 BUFFET FINAL Maroon 3 0 3 3 3 12 Orange 0 1 2 0 7 10 Pitchers: Maroon – Jeff Stone; Orange – Terry Thompson. Mercenaries: Maroon – Tom Brownfield, Jim Foelker, and David Pittard. Umpires: home – Jack McDermott and Gary Coyle; bases – Jim McAnelly. Perfect at the plate: Maroon – Ken Brown (3 for 3 with a walk) and Tony Garcia (4 for 4 with a double); Orange – Boo Resnick (2 for 2). Home run: David Brown (inside the park) (8).
Jeff Stone is really good at the one-pitch-ish format, holding the potent Orange offense (a league-leading 177 runs this session entering this game) to just three runs over the first four innings, giving his teammates room to build a 9-3 lead entering the buffet. Maroon’s first four batters hit safely to start the game, Ken Brown and Tony Garcia opening with infield hits, Scott Wright lining a single past second and into right field to drive in Ken, and Jeff Stone lining a double to left to score Tony and Scott. Jeff tried for third on his hit, but was thrown out 7-6-5-1 (I think – Ken Mockler to David Brown to Ray Pilgrim to Terry Thompson), a very close play that I did not have a good view of. Terry got Don Solberg to foul out, a ball to right that hooked foul, and Tom Kelm to line out to Peter Atkins in left-center. Jeff then took the mound and retired Orange in order in the bottom of the inning.
Maroon got singles in the top of the second from Tom Brownfield, Jim Foelker, and Ken Brown, but came away empty as Tom’s pinch-runner – Scott Wright, maybe? I’m not sure – was thrown out at home 9-4-2 (Clint Fletcher to Terry O’Brien to Marvin Krabbenhoft) trying to score on Ken’s hit.
Orange got on the board in the bottom of the second when David Brown led off with an inside-the-park home run, legging out a line drive up the middle that gapped the outfielders and rolled to the fence. It was David’s eighth homer of the season, and he takes over the league lead from Mike Garrison.
David Brown, looking mighty jacked, in anticipation of fighting the apes in our dystopian future, knocks his eighth home run of the season.
That was the only run Jeff Stone allowed in the inning. After Ray Pilgrim grounded out to shortstop Tony Garcia, Orange loaded the bases on singles by Daniel Carvajal, Ken Mockler, and Terry Thompson, but the inning ended with Marvin Krabbenhoft hitting a one-hopper back to the box that Jeff converted into a 1-5-2 double play, throwing to David Pittard at third for the force there, David then firing home to catcher Tom Kelm.
Maroon increased its lead to 6-1 with three runs in the top of the third on a (mostly) station-to-station rally. Tony Garcia singled through the 5-6 hole and Scott again singled past second base into right-center to put runners on the corners to open the frame. A walk to Jeff Stone loaded the bases. Everyone moved up one base, Tony scoring, on Don Solberg’s single to left. (After fouling out batting left-handed, Don batted from the right side the rest of the game.) Tom Kelm grounded a ball to the 5-6 hole; David Brown, moving to his right, made a nice play on the ball and then a quick backhanded flip to David Pittard for the force at third, Scott scoring on the play. A walk to Ivan Budiselic re-loaded the bases. Terry Thompson got Tom Brownfield to foul off a pitch for the second out. David Pittard topped a ball in front of the plate, no play possible, everyone moving up and Don scoring on the squib hit. Jim Foelker’s pop to David Brown ended the inning.
Orange got two back in the home half. Boo Resnick led off with a line single up the middle, and one out later Clint Fletcher singled to left. Ivan Budiselic caught Terry O’Brien’s infield fly at first base for the second out. Peter Atkins then lined a double to left field, both Boo and Clint scoring. Jeff Stone got David Brown to pop out to second baseman Scott Wright to strand David.
Maroon decisively won the final five-run inning, scoring three times in the top half. Ken Brown led off with a triple and Tony Garcia with a double, both to right field. Scott Wright’s single to right-center brought in Tony, Scott taking second on the throw home. Scott took third when Jeff Stone grounded out to second baseman Terry O’Brien. Terry Thompson got Don Solberg to hit a foul fly to left field for the second out. Tom Kelm grounded a ball to the shortstop hole, and it turned into an RBI single when Ken Brown, running from home, beat David Brown’s throw to first while Scott scored. Jeff Stone then held Orange scoreless in the bottom half, working around Ray Pilgrim’s lead-off single.
Maroon led by six entering the buffet. Its first five batters reached, on four singles and a walk to Ken Brown (completing a perfect day at the plate, as did Tony Garcia), two runs scoring. That should have resulted in a flip-flop, but Scott Wright wheedled his way into getting another at bat, which produced a sacrifice fly to Clint Fletcher in right-center. This prompted the flip-flop, and also cost Scott a perfect day at the plate, so maybe there was a tiny bit of justice in it.
Trailing by nine, Orange put together an impressive rally. Marvin Krabbenhoft and Boo Resnick singled to open the inning. Larry Shupe lined a ball to left-center for what looked like a hit, but Ken Brown charged the ball, came up throwing, and got the ball to second before Boo could reach the bag. Clint Fletcher fouled out for the second out. The next seven batters hit safely: Terry O’Brien’s single to right drove in Marvin’s runner; Peter Atkins’s double up the middle scored Terry; David Brown singled to right, Peter scoring while David took second on the throw home; Ray Pilgrim lined a double to left field, David scoring; Daniel Carvajal singled to left, putting runners at the corners; Ken Mockler singled, another line drive to left field, Ray’s runner scoring; and Terry Thompson singled on a pop behind shortstop, Daniel (or his runner, not sure) scoring. That cut Maroon’s lead to just two runs and brought Marvin Krabbenhoft, who’d started the inning, back to the plate. Jeff Stone’s next pitch froze Marvin and hit the mat for a game-ending called strike three.
Final score: Maroon 12, Orange 10, Orange losing as the home team for the first time this session.
11:30 a.m.: Purple (6-8) at Green (6.5 – 7.5):
1 2 3 4 BUFFET FINAL Purple 0 2 3 0 0 5 Green 5 5 0 0 X 10 Pitchers: Purple – Spike Davidson; Green – Chunky Wright. Mercenaries: Purple – Tommy Gillis, George Romo, and Jack Spellman; Green – George Brindley. Umpires: home – David Brown; bases – Clint Fletcher. Perfect at the plate: Purple – Mark Hernandez (3 for 3 with a double) and Jack Spellman (2 for 2); Green – Doc Hobat (3 for 3), Rick Kahn (3 for 3 with two doubles), and Johnny Wimpy and Chunky Wright (both 2 for 2; Ohtani Award for Chunky).
Ace reporter David Brown provides this recap of the day’s final game:
The Green hitters adapted quickly to the 2-pitch rule, scoring ten runs while making only one out in the first two innings. Purple took a little longer to adjust and spent the game trying to get to double figures in the run column. Purple batted first and Green pitcher Chunky Wright struck out the first hitter on a foul ball and the second hitter on a called strike that was on the border of being called too low. Spike Davidson managed to put a ball in play with a single to left field, and then the inning ended with a fly ball to center field that mercenary George Brindley caught after a long run.
Green followed with six singles by Ralph Villela, Doc Hobar, Mike Garrison, Johnny Wimpy, Chunky Wright, and Greg Lloyd; a walk by Donnie Janac; and a double to center field by Rick Kahn which produced five runs.
Purple got untracked in the top of the second with singles by Mark Hernandez, Larry Young, Matt Levitt, and mercenaries George Romo and Jack Spellman. Chunky Wright limited Purple to two runs by inducing two foul ball outs, including one by mercenary Tommy Gillis on a long fly ball that fell six inches from the left field line.
Purple failed to get even a single hitter out in the bottom of the inning with Green getting five more runs on five singles and doubles by Ralph Villela and Rick Kahn.
Purple narrowed Green’s lead to five in the top of the 3rd inning with three runs on four singles and a double to deep left-center field by Mark Hernandez. Chunky Wright stranded two runners by fielding a sharp groundball up the middle and throwing to 1B to get the third out in the inning.
Purple pitcher Spike Davidson gave up a lead-off single in the bottom of the inning and then induced a groundball to shortstop that produced a 6-4 putout and a fouled third strike. With two outs, George Brindley hit a fly ball to center field that Matt Levitt caught after a long run from his position in left center.
Matt followed his excellent catch in the bottom of the 3rd with a hard line drive down the left field line in the top of the fourth. Richard Battle then hit an equally hard line drive to center field and Matt rounded 2B and headed to third as Rick Kahn fielded the ball on a hop. Rick’s right arm versus Matt’s legs is about as good as it gets in the B League, and on this day Rick’s on-target throw hit Johnny Wimpy’s glove a split second before Matt’s foot hit the ground beyond the 3B line. Chunky then got a pop out to 3B and a ground out to 2B to complete a scoreless top of the fourth.
The situation seemed dire for Purple with the top of the order coming up for Green in the bottom of the inning, but Tommy Gillis caught a deep fly ball in right center field, Richard Battle caught a hard line drive in left field, and Jack Spellman knocked down a hard groundball to 3B and threw to Rick Jensen at 2B in time to get a force out before Green could tally even a single run.
In the top of the buffet, Mark Hernandez completed a perfect day at the plate with a line drive to left field. Rick Jensen followed with groundball to shortstop that Ralph Villela fielded and tossed to newly inducted Texas Senior Softball Hall-of-Famer Doc Hobar at 2B for the first out of the inning. Larry Young then scorched a liner up the middle that Chunky Wright caught and threw to 1B to double off Rick Jensen, who had broken for 2B on contact. It was an impressive play to complete an impressive win for the Green team.
Final score: Green 10, Purple 5
Chunky Wright, rocking that sleeveless jersey, receives his third Ohtani Award of the season from renowned sushi chef Masaharu Morimoto.
Session 4 standings:
| Session 4 | Games | Runs | Runs | Runs dif- | W/L | |||
| Wins | Losses | Win %: | behind: | for: | allowed: | ferential: | streak: | |
| Orange | 12 | 3 | .800 | 0 | 197 | 156 | 41 | L1 |
| Maroon | 9 | 6 | .600 | 3 | 168 | 154 | 14 | W2 |
| Green | 7.5 | 7.5 | .500 | 4.5 | 176 | 161 | 15 | W3 |
| Red | 7 | 7 | .500 | 4.5 | 153 | 161 | -8 | W1 |
| Purple | 6 | 9 | .400 | 6 | 156 | 180 | -24 | L2 |
| Blue | 5.5 | 8.5 | .393 | 6 | 151 | 161 | -10 | L1 |
| Gray | 4 | 10 | .286 | 7.5 | 131 | 159 | -28 | L4 |
| Home | Visitor | Walk-off | Extra-inning | Flip-flop | 1-run games | |||
| W-L: | W-L: | wins | W-L: | W-L: | W-L: | |||
| Orange | 6-1 | 6-2 | 2 | 0-0 | 5-2 | 2-1 | ||
| Maroon | 5-3 | 4-3 | 0 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 1-1 | ||
| Green | 4-3 | 3.5-4.5 | 1 | 0.5-0.5 | 1-1 | 2-3 | ||
| Red | 5-2 | 2-5 | 1 | 0-0 | 1-3 | 3-0 | ||
| Purple | 4-4 | 2-6 | 2 | 0-0 | 3-3 | 2-2 | ||
| Blue | 3.5-3.5 | 1-5 | 0 | 0.5-0.5 | 3-2 | 0-0 | ||
| Gray | 2-5 | 2-5 | 0 | 0-0 | 2-3 | 0-3 |
2025 total victories (read across) and losses (read down):
| Blue | Gray | Green | Maroon | Orange | Purple | Red | TOTAL | |
| Blue | X | 2 | 6.5 | 3 | 4.5 | 5 | 5 | 26 |
| Gray | 6 | X | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 22 |
| Green | 3.5 | 7 | X | 4.5 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 26 |
| Maroon | 5 | 6 | 6.5 | X | 5 | 6 | 3 | 31.5 |
| Orange | 5.5 | 7 | 5 | 4 | X | 6 | 5 | 32.5 |
| Purple | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | X | 8 | 26 |
| Red | 3 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 2 | X | 22 |
| TOTAL: | 27 | 30 | 27 | 22.5 | 20.5 | 27 | 32 | 186 |
Green and Maroon tied their game of August 7; Orange and Blue tied their game of August 28; Green and Blue tied their game of October 2; these are counted as half a win and half a loss for each team.
Full-season standings:
| Full-season standings: | ||||
| Wins | Losses | Win % | GB | |
| Orange | 32.5 | 20.5 | .613 | 0.0 |
| Maroon | 31.5 | 22.5 | .583 | 1.5 |
| Purple | 26 | 27 | .491 | 6.5 |
| Blue | 26 | 27 | .491 | 6.5 |
| Green | 26 | 27 | .491 | 6.5 |
| Gray | 22 | 30 | .423 | 10.0 |
| Red | 22 | 32 | .407 | 11.0 |
2025 season home run leaders:
David Brown – 8
Mike Garrison – 7
Bobby Miller – 6
Ralph Villela – 6
George Brindley – 5
Tim Coles – 5
Anthony Galindo – 4
Tommy Gillis – 4
Jack Spellman – 4
Larry Fiorentino – 3
Doc Hobar – 3
Mike Malay – 3
Jack McDermott – 3
Paul Rubin – 3
Jimmy Sneed – 3
Tim Bruton – 2
Tony Garcia – 2
Rex Horvath – 2
Matt Levitt – 2
Terry O’Brien – 2
George Romo – 2
Pat Scott – 2
Scott Wright – 2
Jim Aaron – 1
Peter Atkins – 1
Tom Bellavia – 1
Ken Brown – 1
Gary Coyle – 1
Donald Drummer – 1
Buddy Gaswint – 1
Ken Mockler – 1
Ray Pilgrim – 1
Jeff Stone – 1
Mike Velaney – 1
Chris Waddell – 1
Chunky Wright – 1
Hit for the cycle:
Scott Wright – June 5
Walk-off grand slam:
David Brown (inside the park) – August 4
Ohtanis (winning pitcher + perfect at the plate):
Jeff Stone – 9 (March 20, April 17, July 17, July 21, July 28, September 11, September 15 (2), September 29)
Spike Davidson – 7 (June 19, June 30, August 4, August 7, August 14, September 8, October 9)
Tommy Deleon – 6 (March 3, March 13, April 14, April 28, May 12, September 8)
Joe Bernal – 5 (March 3, April 3, June 5, October 2, November 3)
Tom Kelm – 4 (March 3, March 13, May 1, June 16)
Ray Pilgrim – 4 (April 14, August 4, August 7, October 16)
Terry Thompson – 3 (July 31, September 15, September 29)
Chunky Wright – 3 (June 9, October 30, November 3)
Donald Drummer – 2 (May 1, August 11)
Jack Kelly – 2 (March 10, May 12)
David Pittard – 2 (June 2, October 13)
Greg Lloyd – 1 (June 26)
NOTE: After reviewing results of August 14, I realized I incorrectly credited Spike Davidson with two Ohtani Awards that day; Spike actually only pitched in one of that day’s games.
Schedule for Thursday November 6:
10:30 a.m.: Maroon (9-6) at Purple (6-9), Orange umpiring
11:30 a.m.: Orange (12-3 at Red (7-7), Purple umpiring
12:30 p.m.: Blue (5.5 – 8.5) at Gray (4-10), Red umpiring
Green has the bye, with priority for its players out of the bucket.
Preview: While Session Four’s winner has been settled, seeding for the end-of-season tourney is totally up in the air. Orange, up a game and a half over Maroon, can clinch at least a tie for the best full-season record and a first-day tournament bye with a win over Red at 10:30. If Orange wins, the path for Maroon to win the top seed is difficult: both teams could finish with a 33.5 – 22.5 full-season record if Maroon wins its last game, on November 13, and Orange loses its last two, versus Gray and Green, in which case league president Anthony Galindo will have to determine a winner, perhaps based on head-to-head record (Maroon is 5-4 versus Orange for the season) or season run differential (Orange currently leads, +60 to Maroon’s +36). Hard to imagine Orange losing its last four games, though.
Meanwhile, Blue, Purple, and Green all are currently tied, with 26-27 full-season records, for the #3 seed. Green has Thursday’s bye, Purple has the bye on November 13, all three need to win as much as possible in order to secure home-field advantage for the first day of the tourney. Purple takes on a surging and motivated Maroon team at 10:30 Thursday, while Blue faces Gray at 12:30. Gray has a one-game lead for the season over Red, both teams looking to avoid being the last seed and having to face a first-round game against either Maroon or Orange. Red plays Orange at 11:30.
Will Matthew McConaughey, now that he’s eligible, join the B League in 2026? One thing is certain: Only time will tell.
Pre-preview: B League president Anthony Galindo checks in with details about the end-of-season tourney:
On Monday the 17th, we will play our regular schedule of 3 games starting at 10:30 with Orange or Maroon having a bye. On the 18th, we are starting at 10:00 and playing a full 7 innings, so the second game will be at 11:15 and then 12:30 for the championship game. If any day is rained out, we will reschedule for the 19th and/or 20th, so try to keep those days open on your personal calendar. I will email the tournament schedule with the team seedings as soon as I have that information.
Keggy’s Korner:
After a splendid meal from Lupe’s Tortillas, the day concluded with league president/MC Anthony Galindo making some announcements about both this season (see the pre-preview above) and next.
The 2026 B League Board will be populated by George Brindley, Jeff Stone, Mark Dolan (treasurer), Marvin Krabbenhoft, and Daniel Baladez. Anthony recognized the efforts in assisting the board of Terry Thompson and Scott Wright.
Anthony will be succeeded as president by George Brindley, as detailed in the upcoming special print edition of the Picayune above.
Anthony kindly and unnecessarily presented me with a plaque in honor of “Outstanding Journalism,” awarded in the same dimly lit parking garage where Bob Woodward met Deep Throat while investigating the Watergate break-in. I’m not sure whether it’s the formal designation of “journalism” or the temerity of dragging Woodward into the conversation, but if you notice defensive bruises on my arms Thursday, consider that Mrs. Keggy was an actual working journalist for some number of decades.
Anthony thanked Jimmy Sneed for providing the electronic scoreboard that took the place this season of the city’s non-operative outfield scoreboards.
The B League’s greatest fan, Lisa McDermott, was presented with a whistle she probably doesn’t really need, but it does place her in the pantheon with other famous whistlers, including Lauren Bacall and her identical twin sister Bauren Lacall, Daryl Hannah as Elle Driver in Kill Bill, Eric Idle from Life of Brian, and the marching British POWs from The Bridge over the Aqueduct Kwai.
Anthony and Terry Thompson made the presentations for this year’s richly deserving inductees into the Texas Senior Softball Hall of Fame:
Doc Hobar, who shouted out his wife Robin and dedicated the honor to the great David Kruse;
and Jeff Broussard, who spoke in appreciation of Billy Hill, who had to nag and twice nominate Jeff before Jeff would accept the well-deserved honor.
The day concluded with a trivia contest and softball giveaway. I was delighted that the one question that stumped everyone was the identity of the fifth player, in addition to Tim Coles, Anthony Galindo, Mike Malay, and Bobby Miller, who hit two home runs in a single game this season.