Jason Waner Wins Ground Ball Challenge

Jason Waner won the Warriors' ground ball challenge on Sunday night in convincing fashion. He was the last player standing at the end of the contest without having made a single fielding or throwing error.

The Warriors have held four infield defense contests so far this season. In the contest, players continue to compete until they have made two fielding or throwing errors. The last player standing wins the game. The winners of this year's contests are as follows:

Challenge #1:
Winner- Ryan Novak
Runner Up- Jack Lebert

Challenge #2:
Winner- Tim Prendergast
Runner Up- Ryan Novak

Challenge #3:
Winner- Tim Carroll
Runner Up- Anthony Lauciello

Challenge #4:
Winner- Jason Waner
Runner Up- CJ Brucki

Winning these contests is not an easy task (and it is getting tougher each practice). It usually takes at least 20 defensive plays (with the difficulty gradually increasing) to win it.

Jackie Robinson

During tonight's practice, we covered the importance of staying alert on the baseball field and always striving to win (or do your best). With rare exceptions (e.g., hit batsman, foul ball, time out, etc.) the ball is live and players must be aware of what is happening on the field.

Jackie Robinson was one of the players in baseball history who accomplished some incredible baserunning feats. In 1954, after reaching base, he stole second base, then third base and finally home plate on three consecutive pitches!

His first steal of home came during his rookie year after he reached base when he was intentionally hit by a pitch by a Pirates' pitcher. He made another "statement" by scoring all the way from first on a sacrifice fly.

Many people (including me) believe that the straight steal of home plate is the most exciting play in all of sports. Jackie accomplished this feat 19 times in his career. To help our players appreciate how difficult this is, we positioned them on a third base bag that was 90 feet from home plate. Amazingly, Ty Cobb is the all-time leader with 50 steals of home plate during his career--a record that will probably never be broken!

Jackie Robinson was respected for being one of the greatest competitors to ever play the game. Duke Snider commented that "He was the greatest competitor I've ever seen. I've seen him beat a team with his bat, his glove, his feet..."

Of course, Jackie Robinson is best known for breaking the color barrier in Major League baseball in 1947. His contributions paved the way for other African-American baseball players to play in the Major Leagues--including some of my favorite players as a kid (i.e., Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Ernie Banks, etc.). His uniform #42 was retired by every team in Major League baseball. Only two active players continue to wear #42 today--Mariano Rivera (who was grandfathered in at the time of the number's retirement) and Sam Marc of the Warriors.

Warriors to Practice Indoors on Saturday

The Warriors will practice on Saturday, March 28th from 5:00 until 6:30 pm at the Homer Megaplex. This practice will be similar to last week's indoor practice and will include the following drills/contests: Quick Release Contest, bunting, hitting foam baseballs, Ground Ball Challenge (Tim Carroll is the reigning champion) and baserunning. If time permits, we will also discuss what our team can learn from the way that Jackie Robinson played the game.

Tomorrow's (Sunday's) practice has been cancelled due to the cold weather and probable snow!

Warriors Announce 2009 Schedule

The Warriors have added 12 Chicagoland Metro League games to its 2009 schedule. 8 of the 12 games will be played on the road.

The Warriors will face some tough opponents, including the Jackie Robinson West team that finished near the top of the nation in the 2008 12U Little League World Series.

Most of the games will be played close to home in towns such as Tinley Park and Hickory Hills. More distant locations include the games played against South Cicero and Jackie Robinson West.

Warriors Thank Tonight's Volunteers

The Warriors would like to thank Ann Bresingham and Tracy Marc for coordinating the distribution of uniforms to the team during Thursday night's practice.

Ann Bresingham also captured some digital photos of the players for future use on the team's website. These photos typically accompany web articles about the team. If anyone has any objection at all regarding having a player's photo appear on the website, please let me (Glenn Nagel) know as I'll ensure that those photos will not be published. Thank you.

Warriors Thank Coach John Ghilardi

The Warriors would like to thank Coach John Ghilardi for providing batting instruction to each of its players during Thursday night's practice. Coach Ghilardi is especially effective at teaching hitters to use their bodies to generate power throughout the swing.

Coach Ghilardi plans on returning to a future Warriors' practice to ensure that our hitters are implementing some of his teachings.

You Make the Call (Part 2)

This is the second question in a series of baseball rule questions that will be posted on this website:

Q #2: A batter hits a ground ball to the shortstop. He beats the throw to first base. After running through the base, the runner veers to his left--rather than running straight down the foul line or moving to the right of the foul line. Seeing that, the first baseman immediately applies the tag on the batter-runner. You are the base umpire. Do you call the batter out?

A #2: The batter-runner may turn left or right, provided that if he turns left he does not make an attempt to advance. An attempt is a judgment made by the umpire. The requirement is that the runner must immediately return to first after overrunning or oversliding it. Rule: 7.08(c and j)

With that being said, we teach our runners to turn right after overrunning first base to remove all doubt about whether the runner made an attempt to advance or not.

You Make the Call (Part I)

Q #1: An inside pitch hits the batter on his hand while it is still resting on the bat. Is this a foul ball or a hit by pitch?

A #1: It is a common myth that the "hands are part of the bat." The reality is that the hands are not part of the bat--they are part of the body. So if a pitch hits a batter's hands, the ball is dead and the hitter is awarded first base--as long as he didn't swing and was avoiding the pitch.

Team Sponsors

The Warriors would like to thank the Lebert family and the Maxfield family for sponsoring the team this season. Their very generous contributions will enable the team to secure additional field time for games and practices among other things.

These donations go a long way towards easing the team's budgetary pressures. The team is facing increased costs in all areas (i.e., umpires, field time, tournament fees) while attempting to replace last year's sponsorship fees as well.

Thanks again to both families for this generous gesture.

Reminder: Registration Fees Due TODAY

As a reminder, the final installment of the registration fee is due by Saturday, March 21st. Registration fees are due from 6 of our 14 players.

Bat bag orders will also be finalized by that date. So far, 4 players have submitted an order for the equipment bag. 6 players already have bags from last season. We may be subject to a minimum order on this item. If so, and we don't have a large enough quantity to order, I will return those checks to those of you who have already submitted your order next week.

CLICK HERE for more information regarding these administrative items.

Please contact me with any questions or comments.

Glenn Nagel
708-846-1466 (cell)

OYA Pony League Conflicts

The OYA Pony League draft was held last night. Players will soon learn which teams they will play with this season. Once the Pony League teams start practicing, scheduling conflicts will arise with the Warriors' practices. Game conflicts will be minimal as I attempt to schedule all Warriors' games during times when the Pony League is idle.

The purpose of the Warriors is to supplement a player's recreational Pony baseball experience. It is intended to offer players an opportunity to play more baseball at a higher level of competition. However, the Warriors do not wish to interfere in any way with the recreational baseball experience for any of our players.

Please follow these guidelines to resolve scheduling conflicts:

• If a player has two practices scheduled for the same time (one with the recreational team and one with the Warriors), the recreational Pony practice takes priority. Players are expected to tell a coach that they won't be participating in a team event, but the absence is excused.
• If a player has two games scheduled for the same time (one with the recreational team and one with the Warriors), the recreational Pony practice takes priority. Players are expected to tell a coach that they won't be participating in a team event, but the absence is excused.
• If a player has a practice with the recreational team at the same time that the Warriors have a game, the player should ask his recreational coach for permission to participate in the Warriors' game as the game experience will most likely be more valuable to the player's development than a practice. The player's recreational Pony coach will make the final call in this situation.

The Pony league players were drafted randomly. In other words, coaches did not select players. Rather, they were drawn out of a hat. I am pleased that two of our Warriors' players were placed on my Yankees' team: Lance Cardinal and Jim Robley.

Please call me with any questions or comments.

Deactivation

The Warriors carry a roster of 14 players. For any given event, between 11 and 12 players will be activated (eligible to play). Therefore, two or three players will be deactivated for each Sunday Metro League and/or tournament game. As in prior seasons, the deactivation process is as follows:

1. A player will be deactivated if he misses a team event without notifying a coach (unexcused absence).
2. Players who do not hustle may be deactivated.
3. Part-time players will be deactivated for certain games (by definition of a part-time roster spot).
4. Players sometimes voluntarily deactivate themselves due to scheduling conflicts.
5. If the team is not experiencing unexcused absences or a lack of hustle, players will be deactivated on a rotating basis. This means that a player may be deactivated once every 8 games or so. With this rotating method, each full-time player may be asked to miss a game or two during the season.

Deactivated players are welcome to attend the game if they wish. Please contact me with any questions or comments.

Catcher's Stances

Click here to view and read more about the two types of catcher's stances--the "relaxed" and the "ready" positions. We'll talk more about this during the upcoming pitchers & catchers practices on Sunday and Tuesday.

Administrative Update

Please note that the final installment of the registration fees (which includes both the Warriors and OYA Pony league play) is due by March 21st. Full time players should provide me with a $385 check made payable to the "Orland Youth Association." The amount due from part-time players (Dennis Bresingham, Jim Robley and Tim Prendergast) is $285.

I am coordinating an optional purchase of an equipment/bat bag as well. The six returning players from last year's team already have a bat bag. These red bags have the Warriors logo, the player's last name and uniform number stitched into the bag. The estimated cost of a bag is $32. If you are interested in purchasing a bag, please bring a check for $32 made payable to me (Glenn Nagel) along with your registration check. Equipment bags will be ordered after the March 21st practice for anyone who has submitted their payment by then.

Also, I am missing birth certificate copies for the following player: Carroll. Please bring a copy of the birth certificates to the next practice.

College Baseball's Opening Day

I watched the Minnesota Gophers play the Seton Hall Pirates in the Big East-Big Ten Baseball Challenge in Clearwater, Florida. I captured these photographs from that game.

I just returned home from my Florida vacation and I'm looking forward to the beginning of our baseball season.

Yankees' Spring Training Photos

This morning, I visited the New York Yankees' Spring Training camp in Tampa, Florida. CLICK HERE to view the photos from that session.

Bat Bags

Last year, each of our players received a bat bag. The red bat bag had the Warriors' logo along with the last name and number of the player stitched into it. Last season, the bags were funded by a sponsor (and the expenditure amounted to nearly $500 ($30 per bag for 16 players).

Upon request, I have investigated the possibility of ordering bags for the players who are new to the Warriors in 2009. As we do not have a sponsor for this expense, the bags will be optional. If a player/parent elects to order a bag, the same vendor from last season will make the bags available fora approximately $32.

More information about the bags will be available on this website in March. At that time, I will communicate a date in which the $32 will be due in order to be included in the order.

Please contact me with any questions or comments.

Spring Training Workouts

While vacationing in Florida, I've had an opportunity to visit a few of the Spring Training camps (Phillies, Yankees and Blue Jays). As always, the early workouts focus on the fundamentals. Here are a few photographs that I was able to capture of the events. Click on photos to enlarge:

1- A coach works with a young shortstop on proper footwork
2- Many more fans attended the Tampa Rays' Fan Fest at Tropicana Field this year (after the Rays' American League championship last season) as compared to last year.
3- A first baseman finds the corner of the bag with both the heals of both feet.

4- A Yankees' shortstop begins to move his pivot (right) foot into a position to square his body for an accurate throw to first base.

5- Blue Jays' pitchers practice fielding ground balls and making the underhand toss to first base.

6- Pitchers practice fielding balls from the mound and making a good throw to first base.

7- Blue Jays' pitchers practice footwork off the mound and making a good underhand toss to the first baseman.

8- Batting practice pitchers throw from a distance of about 40 feet. They show the batter the ball and toss strikes 95% of the time. The idea is for hitters to work on hitting fundamentals...not to challenge hitters by trying to get them out!

9- Pitchers and catchers do a lot of running.

Team Goals

As in past season, this year's team has three main goals:

One goal is for our players to learn more about the game and to further develop their skills. We would like all of our players to gain an appreciation for the great game of baseball.

Next, we want everyone to have fun this season. It's fun to be part of a team. Every player should enjoy making a positive contribution to the team, regardless of his talent level.

Most importantly, we hope to take advantage of this experience to help our players develop a positive attitude. Players and coaches are expected to give it their very best effort every time they step on a baseball field. Players and coaches must also respect the game, the opponent, the umpires and each other.

The following four quotes capture a large part of what this experience is all about:

"I can accept failure, but I can't accept not trying." - Michael Jordan

"My greatest concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with your failure." - Abraham Lincoln

"If a man does his best, what else is there?" - General George S. Patton

"Excellence is the gradual result of always striving to do better." - Pat Riley

Off to a Good Start!

I would like thank everyone for coming to the OYA Office tonight for registration and uniform fittings.

We are way ahead of last year in terms of team administrative issues. All of the team's upfront registration costs have now been collected and turned into OYA. Our team's uniform order was placed earlier tonight. And, we've collected copies of 10 birth certificates--with only 4 left to collect during the upcoming workout sessions.

Last year, our uniform order was placed in March and the uniforms arrived just days before our first game. I had the burden of following up on registration fees for several weeks.

Thanks for making things a lot easier this time around!

During March, we'll collect the final registration fee ($385 for full-time and $285 for part-time players). These registration fees cover the OYA recreational league, the Chicagoland Sunday Metro league and any tournament play.

Glenn Nagel