B League Picayune
Often in error, never in doubt.
Volume 8, Issue 56 – October 8, 2026
Late-breaking news from B League President George Brindley: PARD has informed us that they will be moving us back to Krieg field 2 starting Monday October 19.
Games of Thursday October 8:
10:30 a.m.: Gray (5-3) at Blue (4-4):
1 2 3 4 BUFFET EXTRA FINAL Gray 5 1 5 2 2 1 16 Blue 5 2 3 5 0 0 15 Pitchers: Gray – Luis Sanchez; Blue – Joe Bernal. Mercenaries: Gray – George Brindley, Anthony Galindo, Rex Horvath, Patrick Schmidt, Jack Spellman, and Peter Sundquist; Blue – Steve Browne. Umpires: home – Scott Wright and Jack McDermott; bases – Ralph Villela. Perfect at the plate: Gray – Paul Rubin (4 for 4) and Luis Sanchez (4 for 4 with a double – Ohtani Award; Blue – Donnie Janac (3 for 3 with a double), Larry Shupe (2 for 2 with a walk), and Larry Young (3 for 3).
Dave Berra’s weather report: 81°, feels like 82°; humidity 46%; sunny; wind from the North at 5 MPH – beautiful.
Terrific game. Both teams came out hitting, scoring five times in the first, Gray on three singles, a walk, and back-to-back doubles by Clint Fletcher and Luis Sanchez, Luis driving in the first two runs of the game. With three runs in and the bases loaded, George Brindley grounded to shortstop George Romo, who threw home to catcher Daniel Baladez for the force out, but that proved to be the only out Blue would record, as Rex Horvath followed with a two-run single. George then flied out to left fielder Anthony Galindo to start the home half, but the next six Blue batters hit safely, five runs coming around. Lawrence Page doubled home the first run, Daniel Baladez singled in the second, and Donnie Janac drove in the last three with a drive that gapped the outfielders in left-center – his ball likely would have been a triple or homer if the fifth run hadn’t scored ahead of him.
Gray went back ahead with a run in the top of the second. Peter Sundquist drew a one-out walk and came around on singles by Paul Rubin and Luis Sanchez.
Blue then took the lead with two runs in the bottom half. Larry Young led off with a line single to center field. Larry Shupe then hit a short fly to left-center. Clint Fletcher charged in for the ball, but couldn’t make the catch; he quickly recovered the ball and threw to second; Tom Bellavia, running for Larry Young, beat the throw to second baseman George Brindley, but he ran to the bag and his momentum carried him a step past, and George tagged him out. Ralph Villela was well positioned to see the play, and assertively made the out call. David Brown followed with a hard grounder to George at second – George stayed down on the worm-burner and made a clean play and throw to second for the force on Larry Shupe, a very good play. Steve Browne followed with a double, and David and Steve both scored on George Romo’s base hit, Blue going ahead 7-6. Joe Bernal also singled, but the inning ended with Tom Bellavia hitting into a 6-4 force out.
Gray took the lead in the third, scoring five times on seven singles, the last four with two out, in the top half and holding Blue to three in the bottom. Luis Sanchez retired Lawrence Page on a grounder to second baseman George Brindley and J.C. Schmeil on a fly to Clint Fletcher in left-center to start the home half. The next five hitters reached: Daniel Baladez doubled and his pinch-runner scored on Donnie Janac’s single. Larry Young’s single and Larry Shupe’s walk loaded the bases for David Brown, who knocked a two-run single. Steve Browne popped out to second baseman George Brindley to end the frame.
Gray extended its lead to 13-10 with two runs in the top of the fourth, the final five-run inning. Anthony Galindo singled with one out and scored on Jack Spellman’s triple to right-center field. Spellman then scored on George Brindley’s ground out to shortstop David Brown.
Blue went back ahead with five runs in the bottom half, making just one out. George Romo doubled leading off. Joe Bernal popped out to shortstop, but the next six batters hit safely: Tom Bellavia doubled in George, and the following five hitters singled, Donnie Janac driving in the third run (his fifth RBI of the game), Larry Young the fourth and fifth, both of them completing 3-for-3 games.
Blue led 15-13 entering the buffet inning. Joe Bernal retired mercenaries Patrick Schmidt and Peter Sundquist on infield pops, to shortstop David Brown and second baseman J.C. Schmeil, to start the inning. The top of the Gray lineup then came through with four consecutive singles: Paul Rubin, completing a 4-for-4 game; Clint Fletcher; Luis Sanchez, driving in Paul, his fifth RBI of the game, and also completing a 4-for-4 effort; and Jim McAnelly, who singled up the middle to drive in Clint with the tying run. Anthony Galindo came up with a chance to put Gray in the lead, and popped what looked off the bat like a possible Texas League single to short left field, but David Brown got an excellent jump on the ball and ran it down for the third out.
Blue needed one run to win in the bottom of the buffet. Larry Shupe led off with an infield single, a grounder to third baseman Rex Horvath, whose cross-diamond throw pulled first baseman Peter Sundquist off the bag. It was Larry’s third time reaching base in as many plate appearances. J.C. Schmeil ran for Larry. David Brown came up and walked. (Tom Bellavia then ran for David.) Steve Browne was up next, and he made a bid for a single through the 3-4 hole, but Peter Sundquist was playing well off the bag and fielded the hard grounder. Shortstop/correspondent Jack Spellman covered second, thinking Peter would go for the force on Tom, but he went after lead runner J.C. instead, throwing cross diamond, only for his throw to sail over Rex’s head to the fence. Having run through the base almost to the dugout fence, J.C. then turned and headed for home, not retreating to tag (or re-tag) the base.
After J.C. crossed home, with what would have been the winning run, time was called, and Rex called for the ball and tagged third base, certain that J.C. had not touched the bag when running through – his argument, in the aftermath, was that he, Rex, was more or less occupying the bag as he awaited Peter’s throw, and J.C. couldn’t have touched it. From where I was, at second base, I didn’t see J.C. touch the base, but I thought that Rex had moved off the bag in his attempt to catch Peter’s throw, leaving the base touchable. Disinterested onlooker Joe Roche, looking on from either inside or on the other side of the visitors dugout, but with a pretty clear view of the play, later was adamant (as was third-base coach Lawrence Page in the moment) that he thought J.C. had touched the base. But base umpire Ralph Villela disagreed, and called J.C. Out. (Home plate umpire Jack McDermott allowed that he didn’t have a view of the play at third.)
Tom and Steve had stopped running, thinking the game was over, so they were still at second and first with the top of the order up for Blue. Both George Romo and Joe Bernal flied out to Anthony Galindo in left field, ending the inning, and the game went into overtime.
Anthony Galindo started the top of the extra inning as the runner at second, with one out and one-pitch rules in effect. Joe Bernal got Jack Spellman to pop out to second baseman J.C. Schmeil for the second out, but George Brindley knocked a double to right-center to drive Anthony in with the go-ahead run. That was all Gray got, however, as Joe got Rex Horvath to hit a fly down the left-field line – Steve Browne raced over and made a spectacular tumbling catch of the ball, but it would have landed foul in any case. (Aside: man, Steve is one hell of an outfielder.)
Blue came up with Joe Bernal on second base, one out, one-pitch rules. Tom Bellavia took a pitch that was well outside for a walk. Lawrence Page singled, a line drive to left field, loading the bases – Clint Fletcher was playing Lawrence deep, but came in quickly, fielded the ball on one hop, and made a strong throw to third, holding Joe there. J.C. Schmeil popped out to shortstop – might have been an infield fly, but I didn’t hear it called. Daniel Baladez came up and hit a grounder to the left side – Rex Horvath moved to his left and fielded the ball cleanly on a short hop, then made a quick, low throw to George Brindley covering second. George made a good play to catch the ball cleanly before Lawrence reached the bag, for a game-ending 5-4 force out.
Final score: Gray 16, Blue 15
Luis Sanchez earned his third Ohtani Award of the season, going 4 for 4 with a double and driving in five runs while pitching Blue to victory.
11:30 a.m.: Purple (3-6) at Maroon (7-2):
1 2 3 4 BUFFET FINAL Purple 5 4 3 5 X 17 Maroon 5 4 0 1 2 12 Pitchers: Purple – Trent Peacock; Maroon – David Pittard. Mercenaries: Purple – Gary Coyle and Trent Peacock; Maroon – Jim McAnelly. Umpires: David Brown and Lawrence Page traded off the home base duties. Perfect at the plate: Purple – Gary Coyle (3 for 3 with a double), Billy Hill (2 for 2 with walk), and Rick Jensen, Rick Kahn, Patrick Schmidt, and Peter Sundquist (all 3 for 3); Maroon – Kevin Brown (3 for 3) and Alan Phillips (3 for 3 with a double).
Both teams came out hitting, but Purple never stopped and wound up rolling to a win over first-place Maroon.
Both squads scored five runs while making two outs in the first, Purple six singles and a double by Mike Malay on a liner to center that gapped the outfielders and rolled to the fence. Billy Hill drove in the fourth and fifth runs with a bases-loaded line-drive single to left field. Maroon scored their five on Steve Browne’s lead-off double, Tony Garcia’s sacrifice fly to right field – a great diving catch by Peter Sundquist for the out – then four singles and Alan Phillips’s double.
Trent Peacock led off the second with a single and scored from first on Gary Coyle’s double, a drive to the fence in left-center. David Pittard got both Jack McDermott and Mike Malay to fly out, Jack to Steve Browne in left, Mike to George Brindley in left-center, Gary tagging up and taking third on Mike’s drive.The next four batters singled, three more runs scoring.
Maroon matched that output in the home half, scoring four runs on four singles and Tony Garcia’s double to right field. Ken Brown’s two-out line single to center field drove in the third and fourth runs.
Purple went back ahead with three runs in the top of the third. The first four batters, the bottom of Purple’s lineup, hit safely – singles by Patrick Schmidt and Billy Hill, a double by Trent Peacock that drove in Patrick, and a single by Gary Coyle that drove in Billy’s pinch-runner Peter Sundquist and Trent. Jack McDermott and Mike Malay both flied out again. Rick Kahn singled, but David Pittard escaped the jam by getting Shane Hill to hit a two-strike fly ball foul down the right-field side.
Trent Peacock then held Maroon scoreless in the bottom half. David Pittard and Alan Phillips led off with singles, and Dale Fugate looked like he’d hit safely, too, when his short fly fell in front of left fielder Patrick Schmidt, but Patrick made a quick throw to third base that beat David to the bag, after David had to hold off advancing to see whether Patrick would make the catch. Jim McAnelly grounded to shortstop Rick Jensen, who threw to third baseman Joe Roche (welcome back!) to put out the lead runner. Trent then retired Steve Browne on a fly to Jack McDermott in left-center.
Purple added to its lead with another five-run outburst in the top of the fourth. The first four batters singled, and the fifth, Billy Hill, walked – Peter Sundquist, Rick Jensen, and Patrick Schmidt completed 3-for-3 games, and Billy also reached for the third time in as many plate appearances. And they all scored: Peter on Patrick’s single through the 5/6 hole; Rick on Billy’s bases-loaded walk; Joe Roche on Trent Peacock’s sacrifice fly to Alan Phillips in right field; and Billy’s pinch-runner Peter Sundquist on Gary Coyle’s line single to left field – Gary also went 3 for 3, and drove in five runs total. He, Patrick, Billy, and Trent, the bottom four of the order, combined to go 10 for 10 with a walk and two doubles, seven runs scored, and 11 RBI, the only out they made Trent’s sacrifice fly.
Maroon got one run back in the bottom of the inning: Scott Wright led off with a single, took second on Tony Garcia’s fly to Jack McDermott in left-center (excellent catch), and scored on Ken Brown’s two-out single. Fritz Hensel singled also, but Trent Peacock got David Pittard to pop out to first baseman Shane Hill.
With Purple leading by seven and the day’s play already running late due to C League going long and the first B League game going into an extra inning, the teams agreed to flip-flop. Maroon’s bottom three batters all reached base to start the buffet: Alan Phillips singled, completing a 3-for-3 game, Dale Fugate walked, and Jim McAnelly lined a hit past third base into left field, Alan scoring. Steve Browne grounded into a 3-6 force, Shane Hill to Rick Jensen, Jim’s pinch-runner Ken Brown out at second, Dale (or his runner, I don’t recall) advancing to third. Scott Wright’s fly to Jack McDermott in left-center was deep enough to get the runner in from third, but left Maroon down to its last out. That came on Tony Garcia’s fly to Peter Sundquist in right field.
Final score: Purple 17, Maroon 12
(Sorry, no pictures for this game – it’s already late, I spent a lot of time trying to sort out the end of the 10:30 game.)
12:30 p.m.: Red (5-4) at Orange (3-6):
1 2 3 4 BUFFET FINAL Red 1 2 0 5 7 15 Orange 0 5 2 0 5 12 Pitchers: Red – Trent Peacock; Orange – Rex Horvath. Mercenaries: Red – Jack McDermott and Alan Phillips; Orange – George Brindley, Tony Garcia, Rex Horvath, Jim McAnelly, and Peter Sundquist. Umpires: home – Scott Wright; bases – Steve Browne. Perfect at the plate: Red – Richard Battle (2 for 2 with a walk), Jack McDermott (3 for 3 with a double), Trent Peacock (3 for 3 with a walk – Ohtani Award), and Alan Phillips (3 for 3); Orange – Tony Garcia (3 for 3 with a triple) and Rex Horvath (3 for 3 with a double). Home run: George Brindley (inside the park) (3).
Dave Berra’s weather update: warm but playable.
Tough loss for Orange, as this game felt winnable until it didn’t. Red jumped to an early but not overwhelming lead, scoring a single run in the first (Ralph Villela doubled to start the game and scored on Trent Peacock’s one-out single, but Rex Horvath got Tim Coles to ground into an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play, started by Tony Garcia), then shutting out Orange in the bottom half (Trent Peacock worked around singles by Jack Spellman and Don Solberg).
Red’s lead went to 3-0 with a pair of runs in the top of the second. George Brindley made a good catch in right-center of Johnny Lee’s drive to start the inning. Candy Perez singled, but was forced out at second on Marvin Krabbenhoft’s grounder to third baseman Jeff Grandcolas. Richard Battle walked, and Jack McDermott and Alan Phillips knocked consecutive RBI singles. Rex Horvath minimized the damage by getting Ralph Villela to ground into a 4-6 force out.
Orange then surged ahead with five runs in the bottom of the second. The mercenary half of the lineup was up first, and got Orange on the board: Tony Garcia and Rex Horvath led off with singles, and George Brindley followed with a drive to the fence in right-center for a three-run inside-the-park home run, his third of the season:
R.I.P., Margaret Hamilton,Trent Peacock retired Peter Sundquist (grounder to shortstop Ralph Villela) and Jim McAnelly (fly to Jack McDermott in left-center, using Dave Berra’s mitt to catch everything hit his way), but Orange’s 1-4 batters hit safely to get across the fourth and fifth runs: Jack Spellman and Pat Scott singled, Jeff Grandcolas doubled in Spellman, and Don Solberg singled in Pat.
Rex Horvath then blanked Red in the top of the third. Anthony Galindo squared up on a pitch and lined it down the third-base side, but Jeff Grandcolas snagged it for the first out. Trent Peacock walked and Tim Coles singled, Trent moving the third. But Rex got Johnny Lee to foul off a two-strike pitch past third base, then retired Candy Perez on a fly to Pat Scott, well positioned in left-center field.
The tide began to turn in the bottom of the third – Orange got two more runs, but ran itself out of a bigger inning. Hal Darman and Tony Garcia singled to start the inning. Rex Horvath ripped a double to left-center that gapped the outfielders, Hal and Tony both scoring. In the home dugout, we thought we were on our way to a five-run inning. George Brindley hit a short pop down the first-base side that Johnny Lee came in on and caught in (barely) foul territory. Thinking he might catch Johnny Lee unawares, and, frankly, not respecting Johnny Lee’s arm, Rex tagged up at second and tried for third. But Johnny saw him do so and threw over, his toss to Tim Coles arriving at the same as Rex – Tim made the catch and simultaneous tag to complete the FF-3, 3-5 double play, short-circuiting Orange’s rally. Peter Sundquist singled, but Trent Peacock got Jim McAnelly to pop up in front of the mound, Trent making a basket catch for the third out.
Red took control of the game, scoring five times in the top of the fourth inning without making an out, on six singles and Ralph Villela’s double, then blanking Orange in the home half. Jack Spellman singled to open the inning, but was forced out at second on Pat Scott’s hard grounder to shortstop Ralph Villela. Jeff Grandcolas doubled Pat to third, but Trent Peacock stranded them, first getting Don Solberg to hit a two-strike foul, then retiring Hal Darman on a well-struck fly to Jack McDermott in left-center.
Red came up in the buffet leading by one run. Trent Peacock singled and Tim Coles doubled him to third to start the inning, but Rex Horvath retired the next two batters, getting Johnny Lee to again foul off a two-strike pitch, and Candy Perez to pop out to shortstop. But Orange could not get that third out. Marvin Krabbenhoft and Richard Battle both knocked RBI singles, Trent and Tim scoring. Jack McDermott doubled, driving in Marvin’s pinch-runner. Alan Phillips singled, and Richard scored. Ralph Villela singled, and Jack scored. Anthony Galindo singled, and Alan scored. And Trent came up again and knocked his second single of the inning, driving in Ralph with the seventh run of the frame. (Also, just to say: Trent reached base in all four plate appearances this game, and has been an increasingly tough out of late, consistently squaring up on the ball.) That put Red up by eight, and the flip-flop was called.
Orange actually made a game of it, as its first five batters – its mercenaries – hit safely to start the bottom of the buffet, Tony Garcia hitting a lead-off triple, and the next four knocking singles, two runs scoring. That brought up the top of the lineup. Jack Spellman had a truly terrible at bat, fouling off Trent Peacock’s first pitch, then swinging late on a pitch that was almost certainly outside the strike zone, fouling it off for the first out. Pat Scott’s fly to right-center was caught by Anthony Galindo, George Brindley tagging up and scoring, but Orange now down to its last out. Jeff Grandcolas hammered a triple to deep left field, his third straight extra-base hit, scoring Peter Sundquist and Jim McAnelly’s pinch-runner. But the game ended with Don Solberg popping out to third baseman Tim Coles.
Final score: Red 15, Orange 12
Trent Peacock earned his third Ohtani Award of the season, going 3 for 3 with a walk, a run scored, and two RBI while pitching Red to victory.
Rex Horvath was 3 for 3 with a double, two runs scored, and three RBI at the plate, but had to settle for a No-Tahni Award.
Session 4 standings:
| Session 4 standings: | Games | Runs | Runs | Run dif- | W/L | |||
| Wins | Losses | Win %: | behind: | for: | allowed: | ferential: | streak: | |
| Maroon | 7 | 3 | .700 | 0 | 141 | 109 | 32 | L1 |
| Gray | 6 | 3 | .667 | 0.5 | 139 | 124 | 15 | W1 |
| Red | 6 | 4 | .600 | 1 | 142 | 137 | 5 | W3 |
| Blue | 4 | 5 | .444 | 2.5 | 107 | 96 | 11 | L1 |
| Purple | 4 | 6 | .400 | 3 | 131 | 144 | -13 | W1 |
| Green | 3 | 5 | .375 | 3 | 104 | 102 | 2 | W1 |
| Orange | 3 | 7 | .300 | 4 | 79 | 131 | -52 | L3 |
| Home | Visitor | Walk-off | Extra-inning | Flip-flop | 1-run games | Last 5 | ||
| W-L: | W-L: | wins | W-L: | W-L: | W-L: | games: | ||
| Maroon | 4-3 | 3-0 | 0 | 0-0 | 2-3 | 0-0 | LWLWL | |
| Gray | 3-1 | 3-2 | 1 | 1-0 | 1-0 | 3-1 | LWWLW | |
| Red | 2-1 | 4-3 | 1 | 0-0 | 3-1 | 1-2 | LLWWW | |
| Blue | 4-2 | 0-3 | 2 | 0-1 | 2-0 | 2-2 | LWLWL | |
| Purple | 0-5 | 4-1 | 0 | 0-0 | 2-2 | 0-1 | WLWLW | |
| Green | 2-1 | 1-4 | 0 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 1-2 | WWLLW | |
| Orange | 2-3 | 1-4 | 1 | 0-0 | 0-4 | 1-0 | WWLLL | |
2026 total victories (read across) and losses (read down):
| Blue | Gray | Green | Maroon | Orange | Purple | Red | TOTAL | |
| Blue | 4 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 29 | |
| Gray | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 20 | |
| Green | 1 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 24 | |
| Maroon | 3 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 31 | |
| Orange | 4 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 21 | |
| Purple | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 18 | |
| Red | 3 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 22 | |
| TOTAL: | 18 | 26 | 23 | 16 | 26 | 31 | 25 | 165 |
2026 season home run leaders:
Terry O’Brien – 10
Ralph Villela – 9
Steve Browne – 6
Mike Garrison – 5
Trent Peacock – 5
Tony Garcia – 4
George Brindley – 3
David Brown – 3
Tim Coles – 3
Jack McDermott – 3
Alan Phillips – 3
Pat Scott – 3
Jack Spellman – 3
Scott Wright – 3
Richard Battle – 2
Larry Fiorentino – 2
Tommy Gillis – 2
Rick Kahn – 2
Bobby Miller – 2
Scott Rokita – 2
Paul Rubin – 2
Jimmy Sneed – 2
Peter Atkins – 1
Tom Bellavia – 1
Joe Bernal – 1
Ivan Budiselic – 1
Mark Dolan – 1
Jim Foelker – 1
Anthony Galindo – 1
Doc Hobar – 1
Mike Malay – 1
David Pittard – 1
George Romo – 1
Luis Sanchez – 1
Steve Sandall – 1
Patrick Schmidt – 1
Hit for the cycle:
Ralph Villela – May 26
Ohtani Awards (winning pitcher + perfect at the plate):
Joe Bernal: 8 (March 2, March 19, March 30, April 16, June 22, June 25, June 29, July 9)
Ray Pilgrim: 8 (March 5, March 23, March 26, June 1, July 2, July 9, August 17, August 27)
Spike Davidson: 7 (May 4, July 2, July 20, August 6, August 20, September 17, October 5)
Tommy Deleon: 6 (April 6, April 30, June 11, July 6, July 30, September 24)
Trent Peacock: 3 (March 9, August 3, October 8)
Luis Sanchez: 3 (September 8, September 28, October 8)
Jeff Stone: 3 (March 2, July 9, September 8)
Rex Horvath: 1 (March 30)
Jack Kelly: 1 (August 3)
Lawrence Page: 1 (March 26)
Schedule for Monday October 12:
10:30 a.m.: Orange (3-7) at Gray (6-3), Green umpiring
11:30 a.m.: Green (3-5) at Red (6-4), Gray umpiring
12:30 p.m.: Blue (4-5) at Purple (4-6), Red umpiring
Maroon has the bye, with priority for its players out of the bucket.
Preview: Only ten dates remain in the 2026 regular season, and Session 4 is totally up for grabs, three teams within a game of first place. Maroon, currently in first, has the bye. Gray, a half-game back, can tie for the session lead with a win over Orange at 10:30. Orange is looking to end its three-game losing streak, and leads the season series 5-3. At 11:30, Red, in third place, one game behind Maroon, and riding a three-game winning streak, faces Green, coming off a bye today and with a one-game winning streak. Green leads the season series 5-3. Blue and Purple, in fourth and fifth place for the session, square off at 12:30. Blue leads the season series 4-3 and is 4-5 for Session 4; Purple is 4-6 and won today. Most of the nation will be celebrating Columbus Day and/or Indigenous People’s Day, but will any B Leaguers be joining me in celebrating World Arthritis Day by gimping around on a bum ankle? One thing is certain: Only time will tell.
Keggy’s Korner:
George Brindley has this mitt, which was left behind today.This is very cool:
Heroes Athletic Association Founder Jimmy Sneed Selected for the Fairfax Adult Softball Hall of Fame
Six-time county champion to be enshrined March 13, 2027, at the Burke, Va., firehouse
FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. — Jimmy Sneed, one of the founders of Heroes Athletic Association (HAA), the 501(c)(3) nonprofit that connects Service Members, Veterans, law enforcement professionals, firefighters and their families to local communities through adult recreational sports, has been selected for induction into the Fairfax Adult Softball (FAS) Hall of Fame in the Player category. He will be enshrined at the Hall of Fame ceremony on March 13, 2027, at the Burke, Va., firehouse (Time is TBD).
For more than 15 years, Sneed anchored the left side of the infield in COED, Open, Masters and tournament play. He founded the Virginia Vipers Softball Club for Veterans — the team that grew into Heroes Athletic Association — and played more games than anyone in the club’s history. Teammates say he missed just one FAS game in his career: the night Stephen Strasburg made his major-league debut for the Washington Nationals.
“Jimmy was a pure softball player. He was the steady shortstop and third baseman on nearly every team he played on,” said Christopher Benoit, an Army veteran and HAA board member. “No player on the Vipers or with Heroes Athletic Association had a greater impact on our teams than Jimmy Sneed.”
Sneed’s production at the plate was elite. He hit above .600 for his Vipers career and led the club in RBIs, and in Spring 2012 he led the Growlers with 37 RBIs and a .682 average. He was the starting shortstop on the Vipers’ first FAS Division 1 COED county championship team and remained a fixture for every county title that followed, finishing his FAS career with six county championships, 13 division championships and 17 division runner-up finishes.
“Jimmy Sneed’s combination of skill, durability, championship success, and exemplary conduct make him a clear and worthy candidate for the Fairfax Adult Softball Hall of Fame,” wrote William Sikes, a member of the FAS Hall of Fame, in his letter supporting the nomination.
Off the field, Sneed served on the FAS Board of Directors and volunteered countless hours for the league. His league administrative experience enabled The Vipers, later renamed the Heroes, to be enshrined in the FAS Hall of Fame in the team category.
“Jimmy was a true ambassador for Fairfax Adult Softball,” said Dennis Kisielewski, a U.S. Marine veteran, FAS board member and longtime Growlers teammate. “His impact on the Northern Virginia softball community was truly profound.”
Sneed now lives in Texas, where he still plays third base and manages an HAA team on the national senior softball tournament circuit.
“Jimmy helped build this organization from a single team of Veterans into a community of Heroes that now spans three states,” said Carl S. Ey, Executive Director of Heroes Athletic Association. “All of us at HAA are proud to see him take his place among the best players in Fairfax Adult Softball history.”
HeroesAthleticAssociation.org Tax ID 27-4254543
PRESS RELEASE
Since fielding its first team in 1997 and incorporating as a 501(c)(3) in 2011, HAA has grown to more than 4,000 members across chapters in Fairfax County, Va., St. Johns County, Fla., and Williamson County, Texas. All HAA players wear #22 on their jerseys — the number tied to daily Hero suicides — to raise suicide prevention awareness.
Heroes Athletic Association exists because of their fabulous sponsors: Veterans United, WB Engineering & Consultants, Lindsay Cadillac, Mission 22, Mammoth Global Partners, Baird Automotive, Wreaths Across America, Anheuser Busch, Shirts and Logos, American Endowment Foundation and American Roll Off Roll On Carrier.
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ABOUT HEROES’ ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION: HAA funds adult recreational athletic teams for the Hero and his or her family to participate in their local adult recreational sports leagues. Providing a venue to engage in the Hero’s community off of the base, away from the precinct or firehouse, facilitates the successful transition for that Hero in a comfortable recreational activity. HAA has had zero suicides among its 4,000-plus members since beginning its mission.
No (defunct) podcast review – it’s already past 10:00, got to get this thing put to bed. Have a great weekend, see you Monday.