B League Picayune
Often in error, never in doubt.
Volume 7, Issue 22 – May 19, 2025
Dave Berra’s weather reports:
Game one: 83 degrees, felt like 90. Humidity 75%. Wind from the south-southeast at 14 MPH. Breezy and partly cloudy. “Not too bad.”
Game two: 86 degrees, felt like 94. Humidity 66%. Wind from the south at 16 MPH. Partly cloudy. “Breezy but pleasantish.”
Game three: 87 degrees, felt like 95. Humidity 64%. Wind from the south at 16 MPH. Cloudy. “Nice!”
Note concerning recaps: Again the 10:30 and 11:30 recaps are based on Dave Berra’s superb scoresheets – plays marked with an asterisk (*) are descriptions of the video in my head. David Brown again provides an excellent recap of Orange’s 12:30 game.
Game of Monday May 19:
10:30 a.m., Green (5-5) at Red (3-8):
1 2 3 4 BUFFET FINAL Green 3 5 5 5 X 18 Red 1 0 0 1 0 2 Pitchers: Green – Chunky Wright; Red – Tom Kelm. Mercenaries: Green – Don Solberg and Scott Wright; Red – George Brindley, Tom Kelm, Jimmie Maloy, and Ray Pilgrim. Umpires: home – Tommy Deleon; bases – David Pittard and Jim Foelker. Perfect at the plate: Green – Tim Coles (3 for 3 with two doubles and a home run), Doc Hobar (34 for 3), Phil Stanch (2 for 2 with a walk), Ralph Villela (4 for 4), and Scott Wright (3 for 3 with a double and a triple); Red – Tom Kelm and Jimmie Maloy (both 2 for 2). Home runs: Mike Garrison (over the fence) (2) and Tim Coles (over the fence) (4).
With Anthony Galindo (broken pinky) and Mark Dolan (broken wrist, rehabbing in paradise) out of commission and Joe Bernal and Jack Spellman out of town, a diminished Red team had to pick up four mercenaries and struggled mightily in this game, which Green led pillar to post, building an 18-1 lead through the top of the fourth, recording only five outs over those four innings. Tim Coles led the way, knocking two doubles and an over-the-fence home run, a towering drive just left of center field*, driving in four runs and scoring three. Mike Garrison also hit a ball over the fence in left-center*, to end the top of the third inning – it would have been a three-run homer except that the fifth run of the inning scored ahead of Mike. Still, I’m counting it as a home run. Note that Tim’s home run led off the bottom of the fourth inning, so in effect Mike and Tim hit back-to-back dingers.
In addition to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, while in Cooperstown I also visited the Fenimore Art Musem and on the way back to Newark the FDR Presidential Library and Home in Hyde Park, New York. At the Fenimore I saw the figure above left, which is pretty much how I imagine Mike Garrison looked as he watched his drive leave the yard. On the right is a depiction of FDR as the Sphinx, and you can’t tell me that this doesn’t bear a startling resemblance to Tim Coles, who might have missed his calling as an FDR impersonator. Tim’s home run was his fourth of the season, drawing him into a tie with Bobby Miller for the league lead.
Tim was one of five Green hitters who were perfect at the plate. Everyone in the Green lineup reached base at least twice. Scott Wright had a notable performance, bagging three-quarters of the cycle in his three at bats at the bottom of the lineup, denied a chance for a home run by the teams flip-flopping for the buffet.
Red’s single runs came in the first and fourth innings. In the first, singles by Jack McDermott, Gary Coyle, and Rolando Rodriguez loaded the bases; Jack tagged and scored on Jim McAnelly’s pop into short left field, run down and caught, back and to his right, by shortstop Ralph Villela, again displaying his great, deeply unfair range; Jack surprised everyone by tagging on the play, and he beat Ralph’s hurried throw home. In the fourth, Jim led off with a single; his pinch-runner tagged and took second on Donald Drummer’s fly to Don Solberg in left-center, then scored on George Brindley’s double. Jim Maloy followed with a single, but the inning ended with Ralph starting a 6-4-3 double play on Ray Pilgrim’s one-hop smash to shortstop*.
Final score: Green 18, Red 2
11:30 a.m., Blue (8-2) at Gray (3-7):
1 2 3 BUFFET FINAL Blue 5 4 4 0 13 Gray 3 5 4 2 14 Pitchers: Blue – Tommy Deleon; Gray – Jack Kelly. Mercenaries: Blue – Jimmie Maloy, Don Solberg, and Scott Wright; Gray – Jack McDermott. Umpires: home – Gary Coyle; bases – Mike Velaney. Perfect at the plate: Blue – Tommy Deleon and Jim Foelker (both 3 for 3); Gray – Jim Aaron and Tommy Gillis (both 3 for 3 with two doubles), Jack Crosley (2 for 2 with a walk), Jack McDermott (2 for 2), and Adam Reddell (3 for 3 with a triple).
Game of the day, I’m really sorry I missed this one. Blue led until the final two batters of the game, Gray coming away with a tremendous walk-off victory in a game dominated by the offenses.
Blue scored five times on four singles, David Pittard’s walk, and Don Solberg’s rally-capping two-run triple in the top of the first. Gray’s first five hitters reached in the home half, on Jim Aaron’s lead-off double, two singles, and walks drawn by Paul Rubin and Jack Crosley, Jim and Paul scoring on Adam Reddell’s single, Tommy Gillis coming in on Johnny Lee’s RBI ground out.
Blue scored four in the top of the second, all with two out. Jim Maloy doubled with one down, took third on George Brindley’s fly out to left-center (fine running catch back and to his left* by Jack McDermott), and scored on Jim Foelker’s hit. Jim came around on singles by David Pittard and Tommy Deleon. And Tom Bellavia’s triple to the fence in center* brought in David and Tommy’s runner. Gray responded with five runs in the bottom half, six batters reaching base after one out: singles by Jack Kelly and Jack McDermott; an RBI double by Jim Aaron; Paul Rubin walked; Tommy Gillis doubled in Jack McDermott and Jim; and Adam Reddell singled in Paul and Tommy. That cut Blue’s lead to one run.
Both teams scored four times in the third, Blue on seven singles, the first six hitters batting safely. One out resulted, however, as Don Solberg couldn’t get out of the way of Scott Wright’s hard-hit grounder to the right side. With two out and the fifth run on second, Tom Bellavia made a bid for another extra-base hit, but was denied by Jack McDermott, making his second run-saving catch in as many innings in left-center. Gray’s kept it a one-run game with four runs in the home half, the first four batters hitting safely (three singles and Morgan Witthoft’s three-run double, a drive that gapped the outfielders in center field*) and scoring.
Blue led 13-12 entering the buffet, but was unable to add to the advantage, Jack Kelly retiring the side in order. That left Gray needing one to tie, two to win, with the heart of its order due. They made short work of it: Tommy Gillis led off with a double and Adam Reddell followed with a game-tying RBI triple. Jack Crosley’s line single to right field* drove in Adam with the winning run, Gray walking off the victory. Tommy, Adam, and Jack all completed perfect games at the plate with their buffet-inning hits. Final score: Gray 14, Blue 13
12:30 p.m., Purple (6-4) at Orange (5-5):
1 2 3 4 5 BUFFET FINAL Purple 3 5 2 0 3 0 13 Orange 3 0 5 5 5 X 18 Pitchers: Purple – Spike Davidson; Orange – Ray Pilgrim. Mercenaries: Purple – Daniel Baladez, Tom Bellavia, Mike Malay, and David Pittard; Orange – Tommy Gillis and Adam Reddell. Umpires: home – Jack Crosley; bases – Jack Kelly. Perfect at the plate: Purple – Larry Fiorentino (5 for 5 with two doubles) Orange – David Brown (3 for 3 with a triple), Tommy Gillis (3 for 3), and Marvin Krabbenhoft (1 for 1 with two walks).
David Brown provides the recap:
Mercenaries were the key variable in this game. Orange picked up two players from the Gray team who combined for five hits in six at bats and scored three runs. Purple picked up three players from Blue and one from Gray who combined for four hits, three walks, and two runs in 16 plate appearances.
The top three in Purple’s lineup (Matt Levitt, Larry Fiorentino, and Mark Hernandez) started the game with singles and came around to score as Spike Davidson added a walk and Larry Young hit a line-drive single to right field. Orange matched Purple’s scoring output with singles by Daniel Carvajal, Terry O’Brien, Ray Pilgrim, and Larry Shupe, a walk to Marvin Krabbenhoft, and a base hit by David Brown that somehow resulted in him circling the bases. There would have been more damage in the inning if not for the Matt Levitt-to-Rick Jensen-to-Daniel Baladez relay (8-6-2) from the outfield that arrived at the plate just a split second before Ray Pilgrim crossed the scoring line. Daniel Baladez made an excellent scoop on the short-hop to secure the final out of the inning.
The second inning was much more favorable for Purple as they scored five runs on singles by Daniel Baladez, Larry Fiorentino, Rick Jensen, and Spike Davidson; a double by Matt Levitt that landed on the left-field line; and walks by David Pittard and Mike Malay. Purple then held Orange scoreless with two force outs at second base (Mike Malay fielding groundballs and tossing to Rick Jensen at the bag) and a catch by Matt Levitt on a well-struck ball to LCF by Daniel Carvajal.
Purple continued their offensive onslaught in the third with a triple by Tom Bellavia, a double by Larry Fiorentino, and singles by Mark Hernandez and Rick Jensen. Purple had a commanding 10-3 lead going into the bottom of the third when the softball gods looked down on Krieg Field #3 and decided to have a little fun. Orange had a series of ground balls and pop ups that found their way to the outfield, two walks, and then a blast to the gap in RCF by Clint Fletcher that Larry Fiorentino almost tracked down. The hodge-podge of offense netted five runs and tightened the score to 10-8.
Terry O’Brien made a great play to begin the fourth inning with a run-stretch-stop sequence on a groundball up the middle and then a Jeteresque [Editorial note: BOO! I reject this adjective!] jump throw to Daniel Carvajal to cut down Larry Young. Purple had runners at the corners with two outs when Tom Bellavia hit a hard groundball up the middle that pitcher Ray Pilgrim snagged and threw to 1B to secure the scoreless half inning. Orange then hit six consecutive singles (a few dinks but mostly well-struck balls) to score five runs and take a 13-10 lead.
Purple had the top of their order due up in the fifth inning and they managed to score three more runs on a walk to Matt Levitt, a line-drive double to center field by Larry Fiorentino, and singles by Rick Jensen, Spike Davidson, and David Pittard. Ray Pilgrim stopped the bleeding with a fine stop on a ground ball up the middle and a throw to 1B to record the third out of the inning. Orange recorded their third consecutive five-run inning with five consecutive singles and a line drive by Ken Mockler that only stopped because it collided with the center-field fence. Over the last three innings, Orange had 16 singles, two walks, and one out in 19 plate appearances. The softball gods had a fine time.
Purple entered the buffet needing five runs to tie. The inning started with a ground out and pop out to shortstop, got interesting with back-to-back singles by Matt Levitt and Larry Fiorentino, and ended on a sharp ground ball to 3B that Clint Fletcher fielded and threw to Terry O’Brien at 2B for the third out.
Final score: Maroon 9, Orange 7
Session 2 standings:
| Session 2 | Games | Runs | Runs | Run dif- | W/L | |||
| Wins | Losses | Win %: | behind: | for: | allowed: | ferential: | streak: | |
| Blue | 8 | 3 | .727 | 0 | 136 | 98 | 38 | L1 |
| Green | 6 | 5 | .545 | 2 | 151 | 127 | 24 | W5 |
| Orange | 6 | 5 | .545 | 2 | 124 | 120 | 4 | W1 |
| Maroon | 6 | 5 | .545 | 2 | 128 | 125 | 3 | W1 |
| Purple | 6 | 5 | .545 | 2 | 124 | 132 | -8 | L4 |
| Gray | 4 | 7 | .364 | 4 | 122 | 149 | -27 | W2 |
| Red | 3 | 9 | .250 | 5.5 | 125 | 159 | -34 | L3 |
| Home | Visitor | Walk-off | Extra-inning | Flip-flop | 1-run games | |||
| W-L: | W-L: | wins: | wins: | W-L: | W-L: | |||
| Blue | 5-0 | 3-3 | 1 | 0-0 | 4-0 | 1-2 | ||
| Green | 2-3 | 4-2 | 1 | 0-0 | 4-1 | 2-1 | ||
| Orange | 4-2 | 2-3 | 0 | 0-0 | 2-2 | 2-0 | ||
| Maroon | 3-2 | 3-3 | 2 | 0-0 | 2-1 | 2-1 | ||
| Purple | 2-3 | 4-2 | 0 | 0-0 | 1-3 | 0-1 | ||
| Gray | 3-3 | 1-4 | 2 | 0-0 | 1-3 | 3-3 | ||
| Red | 2-5 | 1-4 | 0 | 0-0 | 1-5 | 0-2 |
2025 total victories (read across) and losses (read down):
| Blue | Gray | Green | Maroon | Orange | Purple | Red | TOTAL | |
| Blue | X | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 13 |
| Gray | 2 | X | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 8 |
| Green | 1 | 2 | X | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 10 |
| Maroon | 1 | 3 | 2 | X | 2 | 2 | 1 | 11 |
| Orange | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | X | 2 | 1 | 7 |
| Purple | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | X | 2 | 10 |
| Red | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | X | 7 |
| TOTAL: | 5 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 9 | 12 | 66 |
2025 season home run leaders:
Tim Coles – 4
Bobby Miller – 4
George Brindley – 3
Anthony Galindo – 3
Tommy Gillis – 3
Tim Bruton – 2
Larry Fiorentino – 2
Mike Garrison – 2
Rex Horvath – 2
Pat Scott – 2
Peter Atkins – 1
Tom Bellavia – 1
David Brown – 1
Donald Drummer – 1
Tony Garcia – 1
Doc Hobar – 1
Matt Levitt – 1
Mike Malay – 1
Terry O’Brien – 1
Ray Pilgrim – 1
Jimmy Sneed – 1
Jack Spellman – 1
Jeff Stone – 1
Mike Velaney – 1
Ralph Villela – 1
Chris Waddell – 1
Chunky Wright – 1
Schedule for Thursday May 22:
10:30 a.m.: Gray (4-7) at Maroon (6-5), Red umpiring
11:30 a.m.: Red (3-9) at Purple (6-5), Maroon umpiring
12:30 p.m.: Orange (6-5) at Blue (8-3), Purple umpiring
Green has the bye, with priority for its players out of the bucket.
Preview: We’ve got a logjam in second place, four teams tied at 6-5. Green is one of them, riding a five-game winning streak, and they get the day off. The others play in each of Thursday’s games: Maroon takes on surging Gray at 10:30, Maroon’s one- and Gray’s two-game winning streak on the line. Red (three games) and Purple (four) have the longest extant losing streaks; one will get back in the win column at 11:30. And Orange will try to cut Blue’s Session lead to one game at 12:30.
Keggy’s Korner:
The Baseball Hall of Fame is great, I highly recommend it. I was surprised to find an exhibit of rejected Short Porch bats donated by our own Bobby Miller – one of many highlights.