Saturday marked my 3rd participation, in the Kickball for Hope tournament. 3 years ago was our best outing, as we finished runner-up, but the last two years haven’t gone nearly as well, with this year having the most obnoxious ending for our team.

We started the day brightly, dispatching the first two teams 6-0 and 7-1 to set up a match-up with last year’s winners to close out our group play. Displaying the same solid defense that helped us win games 1 & 2, combined with our ability to get runs early, helped us send off last year’s winners with a 3-2 loss and a 1-1-1 record, and gave us the 3-0 record needed to reach the quarterfinals.

Unfortunately, all of the fun we were having quickly disappeared in our quarterfinal game. We went up 1-0 in the top of the 1st inning, and kept them from scoring in the bottom of the first…or at we knew we kept them off the score sheet. Somehow, the “official scorekeeper” thought the other team scored. We didn’t find this out until a few innings later, after some fielding blunders gifted them a 3-run inning and a 3-1 lead. Going into the 4th inning, we were told that the score was 4-2, which caused a bit of an argument between the two teams, the scorekeeper, and the umpire. It turns out that the ref didn’t know what happened, the scorekeeper refused to accept her fault, and the other team refused to admit that they hadn’t scored. The fun quickly left the field, and was replaced with a disgruntled vibe.

I’m cool with losing…not a big fan…but I can handle losing just fine – I just hate losing to teams lacking sportsmanship. The team we played wasn’t going to correct the scoring, which didn’t end up mattering, but their lack of class matched their meathead attitude and appearance. This team didn’t care how they won, nor did they care how they acted in winning. They were just complete jackasses, celebrating with “you suck” cheers after getting one of their outs and complaining when I threw a ball at one of their girls to get her out. Sorry…there’s no rule in kickball stating that I can’t throw a ball at a girl as long as I’m not aiming for her head. Then they complained when someone did hit one of their girls in the head when she was sliding into first. That, too, isn’t considered a head shot because she put herself into a vulnerable position, and couldn’t be avoided by the thrower. Whatever…there’s a reason why I choose to avoid the watering hole where these people work…and they kindly confirmed that my judgment wasn’t far off at all. Thank god they didn’t win the whole thing…proving that at least there was some sportsmanship justice left in this world. Ha ha.

Also, while there’s clearly no way to handle inconsistent rulings on the field, it would be nice if the umps actually knew the rules…and the scorekeepers knew how to keep score. We tracked down the mystery run to the bottom of the first, when they had a player on third with two outs. We got the force at first base, but she counted the runner crossing from third. He was the only person on their team to get near my base (third), so it’s the only explanation. Note to scorekeeper: that doesn’t count as a run. Now…I know it’s a charity tournament, but no one really wants to lose, and no one wants to lose because of bad calls or poor scorekeeping. In the end, we didn’t lose because of a bad call or moronic scorekeeping, and it was definitely our fault for letting something like that kill our focus, but throughout the day the confusion shown by the umps really left a lot to be desired. Special rules for certain fields that weren’t communicated to the teams until those particular rules became an argument, confusion over the number of bases you’re allowed if a ball is overthrown, etc. It wouldn’t surprise me if a game or two were actually affected by misunderstandings of the rules. It’s just the unfortunate thing with having only volunteers run the show, so it’s a major obstacle that every team needs to deal with.

Regardless of that nonsense, the tournament has always been a blast. You can’t affect the a-holes who bring teams and act like idiots, and you clearly can’t affect the quality of umpires, but you can enjoy the free food, free beer, and the pure fun of getting out and playing some schoolyard sports for a good cause. Looking forward to next year, and hopefully a better result!

Last night was absolutely brutal…for our opponents. Our kickball team simply dominated like I’ve never seen. Offensively, we played extremely well, but defense was solid for the second consecutive week. We gave up hits, but with our new lineup (moving a guy from short to 2nd), it seems like we’ve got both sides of the infield covered much better. Thus, not allowing too many extra bases. With solid fielding all-around, and Meadows throwing the heat, it was just a matter of putting up runs.

Which is exactly what we did.

We won our first game 7-3. While my 3 homeruns accounted for all seven runs, our team was able to get runners on base all game. To have two 3-run homers shows a solid team effort through the batting order. It also reminds me why Armstrong is my favorite field ever, and exemplifies how important it was to get home field at that particular diamond. I finished game one with 3 runs and 4 RBIs on 3 homeruns. After the second homerun, the following was told to the pitcher: “Just walk him next time”.

The pitcher didn’t listen.

With game one ending very quickly, we hung around awaiting the winners from the other playoff game to arrive. During this time, Ryan decided to lace up and join us for the final. Had work obligations not kept him from making it to game one, I imagine we would¹ve seen some more homeruns in game 1, as his practice swings between the games were heading over the fence consistently…while kicking left-footed!

We were hardly surprised to see the light blue team arrive as our opponents - as they were the number 2 seed – and we expected a true battle. What was surprising, though, was the fact that the game was called on the mercy rule in the bottom of the 5th inning after we drove in our 14th run for a 14-4 victory. The final runs came on a two-run homer by Matt which happened when the center fielder misjudged the line drive, and in the process of trying to quickly stop and backpedal, fell to the ground. Matt never had to cross the plate since the first run ended the game, but it was a hell of a moment for our team.

I had a second 3-for-3 game, but failed to match my success from game one, by only hitting for a single, double, and one homerun (3 rbis, 2 runs). The real hero of the final, was Ryan, who’s fresh LEFT leg was able to crank out two homeruns, one being a grand slam.

While I’m highlighting only the most obvious highlights, I have to say that the entire team pulled it out. We don’t win either game if our entire team doesn’t find a way to get on base, our fielding gives up too many mistakes, or we don’t have good pitching. Speaking of pitching, Meadows – who pitched the final 3 games of the season (3 complete games with a 2.33 ERA!), was on-point, leaving most of the other teams big legs frustrated. The whole season was awesome, and the ending results have a lot of us pumped for this weekend’s Kickball for Hope tournament. While we’re losing some people for this weekend, our team’s going to be in good shape going into our Fall league.

I hope to keep track of everyone’s stats in the fall…mainly because I’m OCD like that, but since I didn’t I can only offer up my own stats – which are about 500x better than last season.

We clinched the number one seed going into the playoffs with a 8-0 victory last night!

With Brett making some fielding changes, we were able to watch Meadows’ first pitching performance – a shutout that also consisted of Meadows being told to slow his pitches down. Ryan also moved to second, which helped balance out the infield and allowed us to control the game a lot better from the outset.

Again, I was involved in an interesting situation. Interesting for kickball, at least. It helps to outline the scenario, though. I had struggled to make quality contact off of the other team’s pitcher in my first at-bat (pop-fly for an out), but I still wanted to swing for the fence – a habit created by my success at the Armstrong field this year. Unfortunately, her pitches were fast, bouncy, and had a lot of top spin. Add her technique to the fact that the kicking area was chopped up from mud, and it made for a pretty difficult time. The only way to really get a decent kick was to take the ball off of the bounce, which isn’t too easy if you’re going for more than a simple single to third.

The other factor in this situation was that in warm-ups we tried both balls that the ump had brought. Usually, we play with a red Heinz ball, but for whatever reason, we were left with the choice of a Dora the Explorer ball, or a Spiderman ball. We tried both before the game, and it was obvious that we couldn’t use the Spidey ball. It was over-inflated for a kickball, making it entirely too bouncy to field, and too stiff to hold for pitching or throwing. To keep the game less frustrating, we played the game with Dora, but on my first attempt during my second at-bat, I hit Dora off of the side of my foot causing it to go foul over the fence to the right of the field. With no one chasing the ball quick enough, the ump asked if we just wanted to continue with the other ball. I knew this was going to be interesting. Even with the opposing pitcher’s difficult pitches, I knew I could crank one if I just got decent contact – and that’s exactly what happened. On the first pitch with Spidey, I smacked a ball deep over the center fielder’s head. The over-inflation gave the center fielder difficulty in grabbing the ball off of the bounce, and it ended up in the far opposite corner of the field. Knowing that I had all day to run the bases, I started walking from third to home, but decided not to be too mean and jogged the last 15 feet.

The other team immediately switched back to Dora.

The only other notable moment was when Joel ran over the girl at first. His infield grounder gave the pitcher a chance to throw him out, but in the madness of avoiding the ball thrown at him, and the girl at first – who was about 6′ 2″ and bigger than Joel – standing completely on the bag in the base path, disaster was unavoidable. He essentially tackled her, and after a minute of gathering herself, she decided to leave the game. I think she was fine, but that should be a lessen to people who stand in the base runner’s path.

Again, this was a solid team effort, and the victory left us tied at 7-1 for the season with the light blue team, who we defeated last week. With the head-to-head victory, we’re now the number one seed, and we go into next week facing the white team, which is the team we almost lost to when we gave up 5 runs in one inning thanks to fielding errors. With us seemingly finding the ideal positions for everyone in the field, the errors should be limited now, and we should give them a more honest game. AND, if Meadows gets a shot at the mound again, I imagine the other team will find it difficult to make quality contact. Fingers crossed…

I went 2-for-3, with a homerun and a double. It was an RBI-less week, but I did account for two runs…and no errors! Now where’s my cookie?

Last night’s kickball game was crucial. Okay, not really in the scope of anything important, but with first place on the line, against the undefeated team, anything less than a victory over the light blue team would’ve been devastating. Yes, sky-falling devastating.

Going into the game at 5-1 against the first-place team sitting at 6-0, we knew a victory would send us into the final week as the number one seed because we had a better run differential (+24 to +15) and a victory would increase that as well as give us the head-to-head tiebreaker.

We started the game short one girl, which means we could only field 8, taking one of our outfielders and a catcher out of the starting team. A few mistakes and well-placed kicks put our team in the hole 4-0 after the first inning, and seriously had us all thinking blowout.

In the top of the 2nd, when we were about to kick, Raina showed up, allowing us to field a full team. While we took the field down 4-0 at the bottom of the 2nd, it was pretty obvious that our confidence was back, and after an easy 3 up, 3 down bottom of the 2nd, we went to work driving in 6 runs and never looked back. During the big 3rd inning, Meadows – the self-proclaimed bad kickball player – kicked in inside-the-park homerun that was as funny as it was awesome. As he rounded third, the pitcher got the ball and tried to hit Joe with the ball, only for Joe to avoid the throw with a well-timed leap that would cause him to miss home plate completely. In the mad rush to turn around and tag, Joe slipped and ended up crawling to get the touch before the other team could retrieve the overthrown ball behind home plate. That 3-run homer put our team on top.

Some excellent awareness and base running combined with conservative, get-on-base-focused offense allowed us to continue to drive in runs through the final innings. While the other team was able to get one run in the 5th and 6th inning, our defense picked up their play and we were able to close out the game with ease, with the final out coming on a strikeout from Megan, our pitcher. Yes, it really is possible to strikeout in kickball, and last night was the second time this season that we’ve ended the game that way.

One funny note is that the other team, having the last at-bat, switched their batting order to allow their best kickers to kick. We noticed immediately, but we’re not exactly “that” team – you know, the team that constantly whines about everything – so we let it slide. Fortunately, their little unethical move didn’t work, and the game still ended 13-6.

With the victory, we’re now tied with the light blue team at 6-1, but we now have the head-to-head tie breaker as well as an improved run differential (+31 to +8) that’s 23 runs more than theirs. While we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves, next week’s game is against the green team that’s currently sitting at 1-6. We need to make sure we have a full team, and we play with the same mentality as this week. A win would make our first playoff game at Armstrong, which as mentioned in my previous kickball post, is the field with the friendly right field wall. Fingers crossed.

I finished 3-4, with 3 singles, 1 RBI, and 3 runs. Last night will definitely go down as the night that Joe Meadows had more homeruns and more RBIs than me…and he’s been letting me know all day. Ha ha. I hope that happens every week.

Our kickball team barely won last night in a game highlighted by errors more than anything else. Going into the bottom of the 6th, our team was up 8-2, and rolling pretty comfortable until to our inability to catch and throw allowed the other team to score 5 runs and force a tight 7th inning.

Fortunately, we were able to get one more run in the 7th, and get out of the final inning without allowing another run (although they had the game-tying runs on base). I didn’t have to do too much in the field since the other team continuously kicked towards right field (I play third), so I didn’t have to add to the error total, but I also didn’t do much with my foot, either. I’m going to blame it on the ridiculously oblong ball we were playing with as we only had one big kick the entire game courtesy of Gary – who was filling in. People on both teams struggled with kicking and fielding grounders thanks to the unpredictable roll of “the egg”, as I kept calling it.

I went 3-3, with 2 singles, a double, and a sacrifice fly. I also scored two runs. It wasn’t a great game, but we managed to get the “W”. We have two more regular season games before the playoffs, and we need to win both to land the top seed and the first playoff game at Armstrong field – the field where I’m actually able to clear the fence on a consistent basis. Hopefully we’re able to stop making so many damn errors and allowing teams to win or fight back in games. Yesterday was simply ridiculous. Big thanks to Eric for buying the rounds after the game.

Our AE kickball team got back to its winning ways yesterday with a 6-1 victory over the indigo team. We played relatively solid unlike a week ago, and our team took control early and held on with 4 or 5 3-up-3-down innings. We were playing at Armstrong field again, which is the field with the short fence, so I couldn’t resist kicking for the fences. I ended up with two homeruns, with the second homer hitting the fountain in the park and almost taking about some lady and her kids who were playing in the water…sorry.

A funny exchange occurred before my third time at bat. After my second homerun over the fence, my teammates overheard the other team plotting to intentionally walk me if I got up again. With a new pitcher in, he tried to throw 3 bad pitches, but I almost connected on one to send it out, sending it foul. With the pitcher’s team telling him to intentionally walk me, the ump said, “if you want to intentionally walk him, I can just let him go to first”. I wasn’t into that at all. I mean, whether I hit a grounder, get thrown out at first, or hit a lazy pop fly, I want the opportunity to kick, so I told the ump that I wanted him to pitch.

The pitcher was like, “Nah, you can go”, and my retort: “Nah. Come on”. He did, and even though it was bouncing and fast, I connected. Unfortunately, it went out to center field on a line instead of right field. Had it gone to right, I would’ve been gone, but instead it went over the center fielder’s head and I was left – with my team telling me to round for home – racing for an inside-the-park homerun. The pitcher, who I egged on to pitch to me, managed to throw me out at home with a ball that hit me so slightly that the two teams were debating whether or not I was out. I knew I had been hit, though, so my dreams of a three-homer night went out the door. I was still able to get the person at first home before I got thrown out, which allowed me to finish 3-for-3, with two two-run homeruns, a triple (2 runs, 3 RBIs). I was also proud of myself for not making any errors this week despite not wearing a finger splint.

Even with all of the fun and excitement of the game, my favorite part of the day occurred during our pre-game warm-up. In the outfield there’s a whole in the fence where people can walk through to the playground, but there was a bench blocking the opening. These two guys were chilling on the bench during our warm-up kicks, with the one guy laying down on his back with his legs up on the fence and hands behind his head looking up, and the other guy just sitting up. The one time I kicked the ball, it went high and towards the fence with the potential to clear it, but it starting dipping early and ended up hitting the guy laying down right in his belly. The sound of ball on gut, his surprised reaction, and the odds of the ball hitting squarely in the stomach and him not knowing it was coming, was classic. It definitely defined a fun night.

We lost our first kickball game of the season on Wednesday, 8-4. Thanks to the lovely weather here in Pittsburgh, the baseball diamond was a mudfest, so the field was moved to the outfield kicking back towards the regular infield. It was awful, and the other team used the muddy infield to their advantage getting a two-run homerun by kicking deep, and our guys struggling to get through the mud to get the ball. Too bad our team didn’t do the same.

The grass also slowed our team’s pitches down so much, that the other team had a field day with us. I made 3 errors…all trying to throw people out, but only one error produced a run for the other team. The rest of the other team’s offense was also on our mistakes, but oh well.

Again, I went 3-for-3, with two singles and a double. I also had two RBIs and two runs. The what-could’ve-been highlight for me was nearly clearing the far fence for a homerun only for it to hit the very top (and I mean, very top) at such an angle and speed that it nearly bounced back to the infield – stranding me at second. The only positive I can take from that kick is the knowledge that I am capable of kicking a homerun on that field (the one with the longer outfield). That, and Ryan was able to drive me in on the next kick. All in all it was a pretty typical day for our team…well, our team from last season, at least.

Our kickball team won again, this time by the 10-run rule in the 6th inning. I’m not sure what’s different this year, but our team is much better, and having a plus-21 run differential after 3 games is making me wonder if we should’ve moved up this year to the competitive league. Of course, we would most likely get spanked like we did in the championship game at Kickball for Hope last summer if we moved up. Oh well. I’m sure we’ll get beat down at some point in our league, but it’s fun being on top for now.

I was also pretty bummed that I couldn’t kick one over the fence this week, but I had 2 RBIs and a run, and went 3-for-3 (2 singles and a double). I still can’t believe how much fun this old playground game is…

The best part was $.99 Coronas after the game at 1311. Nothing like buying rounds and drinking for a few hours and only paying $15. Last week the same bar had some $2 microbrew deal. I hope this doesn’t turn into a tradition.

With the Yankees in town last night, a lot of our kickball team wasn’t able to make it to our game because they were at PNC Park, so we lacked Meadows’ heckling of the other team and our usual pitcher. It didn’t matter, though, as we rolled to a 11-1 victory over the yellow team.

I’m not sure if it’s the fact that I’ve been playing a lot of soccer this year, or if I’ve channeled my inner youth a little more successfully, but I’ve been connecting much better this season. I cracked two homers over the fence last night, which I only achieved once the entire season last year. I imagine Ryan – another big foot on our team – would’ve cracked a few over the fence as well if he had shown up. It was one of those kind of nights. The other team’s only run came from a first-inning homer over the fence by one of their players who wanted to take part in the homerun derby taking place at Armstrong field.

I finished 3-for-4, with two homeruns and a single (2 RBIs, and 3 runs). I also had one error (thanks, left pinky). I’d like to give a big “thanks” to the yellow team for the generous pitching and for allowing our team to look like the Yankees pounding the Pirates last night. Hopefully the next time we play them, it’ll be a tighter game.

Is it just me, or is kickball making serious waves these days in city-based adult sports leagues? It seems like each year, I find out that more and more of the people I know are playing in their respective locales. All I know is that it’s actually a lot of fun to play, and not solely in that nostalgic sense. It really is fun.

Our league started on Wednesday, with our AE team winning 5-4 in the bottom of the 7th. I had an RBI and 3 runs, and almost hit, well, kicked for the cycle in going three-for-three (home run, triple, single). I also made 3 errors thanks to my severely sprained or dislocated left pinky giving me hell while trying to gather up grounders. The highlight of my day was definitely throwing a guy out at first from third by hitting him in the legs. I doubt I’ll be able to do that often. We were pretty rusty, but I think we’ll be good-to-go in the coming weeks.

Anyway, after our second-place finish last year in the Kickball for Hope tournament, I’m hoping that our team makes a run at the PSL championship. There’s been a lot of advertising and publicity here in Pittsburgh around the league, so I imagine the level of play is going to be much higher with the increased popularity. I’m looking forward to another fun season!

If you have absolutely no life, you can follow our progression/regression here. We’re team 6 – the team rocking purple!