Stars to Shine on June 4th

The OYA Pony League All-Star game will have a new look this season.  Unlike in recent years, this year's game will feature the top performers (including Warriors players) in the League--and should be a highly competitive baseball game.  Each Pony League team has been asked to nominate its top 4 players based upon performance (offensive and defensive contributions) so far during this OYA Pony League season.  The only restrictions are that a player must have played in the vast majority of the OYA games to date and that at least one 13 year old player must be nominated from each team.

Nominations are due from each team tonight and will be announced on the OYA website early next week.

The All-Star players will be placed on one of two teams.  The "West" team includes players from Oklahoma, Kansas, Arizona State and Notre Dame (2 players).  The West team is managed by the League's first place manager as of May 27th--who is Pat Carroll.

The "East" team consists of players from Illinois, Michigan, Ohio State and Notre Dame (2 players).  The East team is managed the League's second place manager as of May 27th--and that's me!

Other All-Star events include the Home Run Derby and Baserunning Challenge.  Each team will be nominating representatives to participate in these two events as well.  Players are eligible to be nominated for more than one event.

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: Whether the runner veers left or right is not the determining factor.  The umpire must decide whether the runner made an attempt to advance to second base.  If an attempt to advance was made, then the runner would be called out.  If no attempt was made to advance, regardless of which way he veered, the runner would be called safe on this play.  In any event, runners should veer slightly right of the foul line to remove all doubt!

Team Website Hits New Milestone

The Warriors' team website reached another milestone this week when it recorded its 35,000th visit! As a result of this activity, the site appears more readily in Google searches.

I first created this website as way to cut back on the number of phone calls that I would have to make. I had no idea that the site would generate this much activity!

Tyler Dempsey Off to a Great Start...

Tyler Dempsey is off to a great start to the 2011 season. After nine games of play, Tyler leads the team in numerous offensive categories, including: 

• Batting Average
• On-Base %
• RBI
• Runs Scored (tied)
• Walks
• Doubles

He also leads the pitching staff in Innings Pitched. This morning, Tyler became the first Warrior to hit a ball out of the park since Tim Prendergast homered at Palos last July.  Ryan Knightly was the last Warrior to hit a homerun at Tinley Park.

Warriors Take Down Jets 16-3

The Warriors defeated the Midway Jets by a score of 16-3 in five innings in Chicago on Sunday afternoon.  The afternoon game had many similarities with the win over Tinley Park earlier in the day.

CLICK HERE for team and individual statistics through Game #9.

The Warriors jumped out to the early lead after scoring a run in the top of the first inning when Tyler Dempsey doubled to score Jason Enguita.  Tyler elevated his batting average to a team leading .704.  But, the Midway Jets  struck back with two runs in the bottom of the frame on three walks and a Warriors' error on a pick off attempt at first base.

Cody Rutledge started the second inning off with a single to centerfield, but the Warriors failed to score in the inning.  Midway extended its lead with a run in the bottom of the frame on two hits before the inning ended on a ground out to Tyler Dempsey at second base.

The Warriors scored seven runs in the third inning to take an 8-3 lead.  Matt LeVigne tripled to deep leftfield in the inning.  It was Matt's second triple of the season and he leads all Warriors hitters with six extra base hits for the season.  Matt appeared to be fully recovered from a knee injury that sidelined him for the last ten days or so.

Cody Rutledge pitched his first inning as a Warrior in the bottom of the third inning.  The lead off hitter reached base on a Texas Leaguer down the leftfield line.  But, he was retired moments later attempting to score on a base hit to centerfield.  The shortstop, Zac Zavod, made a perfect relay throw to Jason Enguita at the plate for the out.  Cody struck out the next hitter with a sharp curve ball.  The Jets failed to score in the inning.

The Warriors put the game out of reach with eight runs in the fourth inning.  The Jets made two costly fielding errors in the inning and a total of six errors in the game.  The Warriors drew four walks in the inning as well.

Zac Zavod struck out three Jets in the fourth inning.  Zac leads the pitching staff in WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched).  He has allowed just five baserunners in five innings of work.

Steve Sismelich pitched the fifth inning.  After hitting the first batter, he retired the side in order to end the game.  Steve now leads the pitching staff in ERA (earned runs allowed).

The Warriors have used an astounding 10 different pitchers in the season so far.  This bodes well for tournament play when most other teams will be relying on just two or three pitchers to throw many innings in a single weekend.

One Photo from Friday Night...

I visited the campus of the University of Illinois on Friday and was fortunate to see the Fighting Illini baseball team play the Indiana Hoosiers that night.  The Illini ended up sweeping the series to win the Big Ten Conference championship!

Here's one photo that I captured during the event:

Warriors Dominate the Early Game

The Warriors crushed the Tinley Park Bobcats by a score of 21-0 in five innings of play in Tinley Park on Sunday morning.  The Warriors played a nearly perfect game.  This game marked Cody Rutledge's debut with the Warriors.  This game was the first of two road games to be played on Sunday, May 22nd.

Team and individual statistics will be updated and posted after the second game of today's doubleheader.

The Warriors took the early lead when Matt Carroll bunted down the third base line for a hit and later scored on Tyler Dempsey's sacrifice fly to shallow leftfield.  Tyler was the Warriors' starting pitcher and held the Bobcats scoreless through the first two innings of play.  He struck out three hitters in this outing.

The score remained at 1-0 in favor of the Warriors until the Warriors exploded with nine runs in the top of the fourth inning.  The Warriors had seven hits in the inning, including doubles by Cody Rutledge, Jason Enguita and Trent Sichelski.  The scoring escalated as a result of three Tinley Park fielding errors in the frame.

Connor Bartle pitched the third and fourth innings for the Warriors.  He allowed just one baserunner, while striking out two.

The Warriors scored eleven more runs in the fifth inning.  Four of the runs scored when Tyler Dempsey hammered a grand slam over the leftfield fence.  This was the team's first homerun hit out of the park and its second grand slam of the season---Matt LeVigne hit a grand slam at Homer earlier in the season.

Jason Enguita closed out the game for the Warriors.  He pitched a scoreless fifth inning despite hitting one batter and walking another.  Jason now leads the pitching staff (along with Connor Bartle) with five appearances in the young season.

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.

Frankfort Square Hands Warriors Its First Loss

Frankfort Square snapped the Warriors' six game winning streak with a 7-1 victory in Tinley Park on Wednesday night.  This game was in the seventh inning of play after just 1 hour and 15 minutes before it was called due to lightning strikes in the area.  Neither team made an error in the contest.

CLICK HERE for team and individual statistics through Game #7.

The Warriors were retired quickly through the first three innings.  Just one hitter, Tyler Dempsey, reached base when he legged out an infield hit.

In the meantime, Steve Sismelich was impressive as the Warriors' starting pitcher.  Steve held a hard hitting Frankfort Square team scoreless through three innings.  He scattered just three hits and struck out four hitters.

The Warriors would not reach base again until the sixth inning. It was one of those nights when every well hit ball (and there weren't many) was hit at someone.  Connor Bartle's line drive directly at the rightfielder in the fifth inning was one of those hard hit balls.

Frankfort Square scored four runs in the fourth inning on three hits and three walks.  Hitters shortened their swings against the fastball and placed singles between the Warriors' infielders and outfielders.

Matt Olinski reached base to start the Warriors' sixth inning with a walk.  Matt Carroll then beat out an infield hit before Jason Enguita singled to rightfield to score the only Warriors' run of the night.  The Warriors left the bases loaded when the inning ended on a ground out to the third baseman.

Matt Olinski made his pitching debut for the Warriors in the bottom of the fifth inning.  He retired the side in order.  But, with two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth inning, the batter drove a triple to deep leftfield to clear the bases.  Frankfort Square's 7-1 lead ended up being the final score.

Rick Sisco reached base in the top of the seventh inning on a single to centerfield.  This was only the fourth hit for the Warriors in the game.  But, the game was called with Matt Olinski at the plate when lightning strikes came too close to the field.  Given the minimum 20 minute waiting period and the fact that the field did not have lights, the approaching storm ended the game.

The Warriors suffered its first defeat of the season.  However, this was the team's strongest opponent to date.  There's an adjustment period for our hitters as they face stronger pitchers.  The more we can play better opponents like Frankfort Square, the better.  This will be one of the teams that will be participating in the upcoming Memorial Weekend Tournament.

Cody Rutledge

Some good news for the Warriors...

Cody Rutledge is expected to rejoin the team in the next two weeks and may possibly be activated for the two road games (Tinley Park and Midway) on Sunday, May 22nd.  He has been added to the Memorial Weekend Tournament roster.

Another Warrior Goes Down With Injury

Another Warriors' player, Matt LeVigne, suffered an injury in an OYA Pony League game earlier tonight.  Matt injured his knee while attempting to get a jump out of the batter's box after he hammered a ball to deep leftfield--that reportedly would have certainly been another homerun.  The opposing team, Oklahoma, was able to get the ball over to first base to retire Matt as he was unable to get out of the batter's box.  He was later carted off the field and taken to an ER. We will learn more about the extent of Matt's injury over the next few days, but remain optimistic that he will rejoin the team in a week or two.

This injury occured shortly after Patrick O'Connor's broken thumb in an OYA Pony League game last week!  As devastating as this is for the Warriors, these injuries greatly impact the OYA Arizona State team as both injured players play for that team as well.

Given all of the injuries and scheduling conflicts, the Warriors are only able to field 8 players for tomorrow night's game at Frankfort Square.  Unlike the OYA Pony League, nine players are required to play a Chicagoland Metro game.  So, the Warriors will call Daniel Cachey up from the OYA Pony League (Michigan team) to play with the team for this one game.

Verbal Interference?

The base umpire made an interesting ruling in the bottom of the fifth inning during this afternoon's game versus Bridgeport.  Trent Sichelski hit a foul pop fly towards the third base dugout. Bridgeport's third baseman came over to make a play and dropped the ball.  The umpire ruled that the players on the Warriors' bench hindered the fielder's ability to make the play by yelling that he was going to hit the fence.

Official Baseball Rules (OBR) define OFFENSIVE INTERFERENCE as any act that "obstructs, impedes, hinders or confuses any fielder attempting to make a play." There is nothing in the Official Baseball Rules (200) that says that the act must be physical.

However, the application of the interference rule for "verbal" interference is not consistently applied.  In reality, it is rarely called.

For those who are interested in baseball rules, CLICK HERE to view an interesting article regarding this topic.

Patrick O'Connor Suffers Injury

Pat O'Connor broke his thumb while sliding into a base in an OYA Pony League game. This is most unfortunate as Pat was off to a great start with the Warriors.  He has achieved a spot on the team's leaderboard for both batting average and on-base percentage.  And, his three triples are just two short of an all-time Warriors' season record of five.

It's possible that Pat could be out for up to six weeks.  Hopefully, he'll be able to return to the team much sooner than that.  During his recovery, Pat is encouraged to continue to participate in team events.  In the meantime, the Warriors will consider adding a player to its roster during this upcoming week.  This new player would be an alternate and would only be activated as needed to replace injured or otherwise deactivated players.

Warriors Top Bridgeport 12-2

The Warriors extended its winning streak to six after beating Bridgeport by a score of 12-2 in seven innings at Centennial #5 on Mother's Day.  Outstanding pitching and defensive play led the way in this one.

CLICK HERE to view the team and individual statistics through Game #6.

The Warriors jumped out to a three run lead in the first inning when Matt LeVigne doubled to deep leftfield with the bases loaded to extend his team leading RBI total to 17 for the season.

Zac Zavod pitched the first three innings for the Warriors.  Zac, and the infield play behind him, was flawless through three innings.  The Warriors turned a 6-4-3 double play to end Bridgeport's hopes in the third inning.

The game was tight (4-2) until Bridgeport changed pitchers in the fourth inning of play.  The Warriors scored four runs on three hits in the fourth inning.  Connor Bartle drove in two runs in the fourth and another two runs in the fifth inning with consecutive base hits.  Connor placed himself on the leaderboard in both batting average and on-base percentage.

Jason Enguita struck out the first two hitters in Bridgeport's fourth inning.  Bridgeport scored a run in the inning on a double down the rightfield line.  The inning then ended when Trent Sichelski made a big league play to field a slowly hit ball to his shortstop position.

Jason singled to center for the second consecutive time to drive Rick Sisco home in the fifth inning.  Rick continues to swing a hot bat--reaching base three times in this game.

Jim Robley was impressive in his two innings of work.  Jim struck out two and held Bridgeport scoreless in the fifth and sixth innings of play.  Connor Bartle pitched the seventh, and final, inning of the game.  He allowed two hits, but both runners were retired attempting to steal.

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all the Warriors' Mothers!

Warriors Set Offensive Records

The Warriors set several offensive records in a one-sided contest against the Fire in Homer on Sunday afternoon.  The Warriors had 27 hits in four innings--including several infield hits.  The Fire finally scored runs in the fourth, and final, inning of play.

CLICK HERE for team and individual statistics through Game #5.

The game opened with Steve Sismelich drawing a walk.  He later scored on Jason Enguita's single.  Soon after, Matt LeVigne homered with the bases loaded (a grand slam) to give the Warriors a quick 5-0 lead.  This was Matt's second homerun in two games.  He now leads the squad with 14 RBI for the season.  The Warriors went on to score 12 runs before making the first out of the game!

Connor Bartle retired the Fire in order in the bottom of the frame.  The Warriors have won three games this season with Connor as its starting pitcher.

The Warriors scored another 16 runs in the second inning on 12 hits.  The inning was extended as a result of three Homer errors.  Also, the Warriors had several infield hits in the inning.

The scoring settled down after that with the Warriors posting a run in the third and four more runs in the fourth inning.  Trent Sichelski pitched the final three innings for the Warriors.  He did not allow a run until the fourth inning when the Fire had four hits, including a triple to deep centerfield.

Jim Robley made the defensive play of the game when he dove to his left to field a low line drive.  After making the catch, he tagged the runner advancing from second base for the unassisted double play.

Although we certainly can't fault our players, games like this aren't very productive for either team.  Mercifully, the two hour limit was imposed on this game before it proceeded any further.

18 is the Magic Number

The Warriors scored 18 runs for the third time in four games to beat the Homer Fire by a score of 18 to 6 in five innings of play at Homer on Saturday night.  Even after two weeks of rain, the Warriors' bats remained hot as the Warriors pounded out another 17 hits in this one.

CLICK HERE to view team and individual statistics through Game #4.

After several game cancellations due to the rainiest April in 50 years, the Warriors finally played again in Homer on Saturday night.

The Warriors jumped out to an early lead when Matt Carroll walked and later scored in the first inning.  But, Homer tied the game in the bottom of the frame when the lead-off hitter drew a walk and scored on a ground out to the first baseman.

Connor Bartle lined a single into centerfield to start the second inning and scored on Pat O'Connor's triple to deep rightfield.  Pat tripled again in the third inning.  Pat's three triples for the young season already threaten the all-time Warriors record for triples in a season held by Matthias Dietz (5 in 2008) and C.J. Brucki (5 in 2010)!  In the ultimate sign of respect, Pat was intentionally walked in the fourth inning.  Zac Zavod also tripled in the third inning of this game.

The Fire scored five times in the bottom of the second inning to take a one run lead--on just one hit.  Four walks (including three hitters at the bottom of the order) combined with an infield error led to the big inning.

The Warriors' bats came alive in the third inning with four hits, including a double by Tyler Dempsey.  Tyler also came in to pitch in relief with the bases loaded and one out--and held Homer to just one run in nearly three innings of work.  Connor Bartle also singled in the third inning for one of his three consecutive hits in the game.

The Warriors scored four more times in the fourth inning after Rick Sisco started the inning with a double to leftfield.  Steve Sismelich also singled before Jason Enguita lined a base hit into rightfield to score two runs.

The Warriors did some major damage in the fifth, and final, inning of play by hammering out six consecutive hits.  The final hit in the series was a home run to deep leftfield by Matt LeVigne.

Steve Sismelich held the Fire scoreless in the bottom of the fifth inning before the game was called due to the 12 run mercy rule.

Pony League's Opening Day

Oklahoma topped Notre Dame by a score of 9-1 in the opening OYA Pony League game on Monday, April 25th. 

The Warriors were well represented in this game.  Zac Zavod threw three innings as Oklahoma's starting pitcher.  Steve Sismelich tossed the final two innings for Oklahoma and Trent Sichelski pitched two innings for Notre Dame.  Rick Sisco went 3-3 at the plate for Oklahoma.  Notre Dame is anxiously awaiting the return of Cody Rutledge once the Sandburg baseball season ends.

Warriors Win Big Over Blue Demons

The Warriors dominated play in an 18-1 win over the Blue Demons on Sunday night under the lights.

CLICK HERE to view the Team & Individual Statistics through Game #3.

The Warriors could do no wrong in this one.  Offensively, the team pounded out 20 hits to score 18 runs in five innings of play.  Defensively, the Warriors did not commit a single error.  The pitching staff allowed just one hit for the evening.

The Warriors started the game with three consecutive hits.  Steve Sismelich scored the first run on Jason Enguita's infield hit down the third base line.  The Warriors would never trail in this one.

Steve Sismelich had four hits in four plate appearances as the Warriors' lead off hitter.  Trent Sichelski also reached base in every plate appearance.  Trent now leads the squad in both on-base percentage and batting average.  Steve is a close second in these two important hitting categories.

Other notable offensive achievements included Matt Carroll's second bunt single of the season, Jim Robley's consecutive doubles, Pat O'Connor's triple to deep left field and Zac Zavod's consecutive hits.

Connor Bartle tossed two impressive innings as the Warriors' starting pitcher.  Connor picked up his second win of the young season.  Jim Robley and Zac Zavod made their first appearances in the regular season.  Both pitched well--and were the recipient of double plays executed by the defense behind them.  In the fourth inning, Tyler Dempsey caught a fly ball in rightfield and then threw the runner out attempting to score on the play.

If past seasons are any indicator, the Warriors should not become overconfident after these early season victories.  The statistics are inflated now and tend to come back down to Earth as the season progresses.

The Pat Pieper Story

Baseball is rich with history and traditions.  One of the amazing stories is that of Frank "Pat" Pieper.  Pat was the public address announcer for the Chicago Cubs for an incredible 59 consecutive years.  He started announcing the lineups during the year that Wrigley Field opened and continued through 1974.

He made the following announcement before each game in that span of 59 years (only missing 16 games and not missing any games since 1924):

"Attention!  Attention, please!  Have your pencils and scorecards ready, and I will give you the correct lineups for today's game."

You can see Pat Pieper with a megaphone in the background of this image.  He announced the lineups before the historic game when Babe Ruth pointed to the bleachers before hitting a homerun in a World Series game agains the Cubs at Wrigley Field.

War of the Warriors

This afternoon's scrimmage against the 15U Warriors was cancelled due to the rain.  However, the event has tentatively been rescheduled for Saturday, June 25th as a game with a starting time of 9:30 am at Schussler South.

Similar to last season, the game between these two teams will be called the "War of the Warriors" and will develop into a larger event in which the two teams gather for a cookout lunch after the game.  It was a fun event last year and we expect everyone to enjoy the day again this season.

As the date draws nearer, we'll be looking for some volunteers from both teams to coordinate the cookout activity for early that afternoon.

Cody Rutledge Homers for Sandburg!

Cody Rutledge, one of our 14U Warriors' players, appears to be doing quite well on the Sandburg High School baseball team.  He recently hit a ball out of the park for a homerun in a clutch plate appearance for the Eagles.  CLICK HERE to view the Eagles' Update on the high school's website.

The Warriors look forward to Cody's return to the team in late May.

Warriors Improve to 2-0

The Warriors beat Oak Lawn by a score of 10-4 in seven innings on a cold and windy Thursday night at Centennial #4.

CLICK HERE to view the team and individual statistics through Game #2.

Oak Lawn scored first with a run in the top of the first inning after the lead off hitter doubled to leftfield and later scored on a base hit to centerfield.  The Warriors came back with two runs in the bottom of the frame.  Steve Sismelich started the inning with an infield hit which was followed by a bunt single down the third base line by Matt Carroll.  Two walks and a hit batsman resulted in two runs for the Warriors.

Tyler Dempsey faced just three hitters to retire Oak Lawn in the second inning.  When an Oak Lawn batter reached first on a throwing error by the Warriors' third baseman, Rick Sisco hustled in from rightfield to back up the throw and fired the ball into Steve Sismelich at second base to retire the advancing runner.  This was Rick's second impact play in two nights as a result of extra hustle.

The Warriors failed to score in the second, but scored twice in the third inning on three hits.  Matt LeVigne doubled in the inning.  Matt drove in four runs in this ballgame!  The Warriors wasted an opportunity on a failed steal attempt at home to end the inning after loading the bases.

Oak Lawn scored three runs in the third inning after its lead off hitter reached base on a dropped third strike.  The game was tied moving into the fourth inning of play.

Matt Carroll was unhittable during his three innings of work.  In a legendary performance, the lefty tossed less than 35 pitches to retire nine consecutive hitters.  He struck out four and did not allow a ball to leave the infield.

In the meantime, the Warriors scored three runs in the fourth inning and another three runs in the fifth inning.  Extra base hits by Pat O'Connor, Steve Sismelich and Tyler Dempsey helped put the game away.

Other notable achievements included Jim Robley's perfect night at the plate.  Jim reached base in all four plate appearances.  He had three hits, including a double down the leftfield line, and two runs batted in.

Jason Enguita pitched the seventh inning of the contest and held Oak Lawn scoreless to end the game.

Warriors Win Opener 18-6

In one of the longest games in Chicagoland League history, the Warriors opened its season with an 18-6 win over Oak Lawn at Pacetti field on Wednesday night.

CLICK HERE to view the team and individual statistics through Game #1.

The Warriors struck first with a run in the top of the 1st inning when Trent Sichelski singled to center and later scored on a base hit to leftfield by Tyler Dempsey.  With the bases loaded, the Oak Lawn rightfielder made a nice catch on a line drive off the bat of Connor Bartle.  The Warriors left three stranded in the inning.

Connor Bartle was sharp as the Warriors' starting pitcher.  He allowed just one baserunner in his first two innings of work.

The Warriors' bats came alive in the second inning.  After Matt LeVigne hammered a triple to deep leftfield, the Warriors rallied with five more hits in the inning to take a commanding 8-0 lead in the game.

Oak Lawn closed the gap by scoring five runs in the third inning on five hits.  Steve Sismelich was effective in relief to close out the third inning, but ran into some trouble in the fourth inning.  Tyler Dempsey entered the game with the bases loaded in the fourth inning and promptly got the first hitter he faced to line into a double play.  Tyler retired the side in order in the fifth inning to record his first save.

Offensive highlights included Tyler Dempsey reaching base five times; Rick Sisco scoring four runs; Matt LeVigne reaching base four times, including a triple; and Trent Sichelski reaching base safely during his first four plate appearances in the lead off spot.  Connor Bartle hit into some tough luck with two line drives caught by the rightfielder before he tripled and singled during his last two plate appearances.

WARRIORS: 18 runs, 17 hits, 0 errors, 12 left on base
OAK LAWN: 6 runs, 8 hits, 3 errors, 5 left on base

Catcher's Interference

During tonight's scrimmage, one of our hitters reached base on catcher's interference.  Interference was called because the catcher's glove hit the bat during the swing.  As a result, the hitter was awarded first base.

If the batter would have reached base on a hit and all other runners had safely advanced, the play would have stood and the interference would have been ignored.  But, since the ball was caught on a fly, the interference applied and was a benefit to the offense.

For scoring purposes, the catcher is charged with an error.  The interference is ignored entirely for purposes of the hitting statistics.  In other words, the batter is not charged with a plate appearance and is not credited with reaching base.

We tend to see catcher's interference four or five times during a season.  Sometimes, we see it twice in the same inning!

Pick Off Moves

During today's practice, we talked about some pick off moves that our pitchers can practice.  Following are a couple of videos on the topic that are well worth watching:

Move to 1B...


Move to 2B...

Warrior Improve in Second Outing

After making more than its share of mistakes in the first scrimmage, the Warriors showed significant improvement in its second scrimmage on Thursday night. For starters, players arrived on time and proceeded through a 30 minute pregame warm-up.

Our positioning on defense, particularly in the outfield, was much better which allowed our fielders to make plays on some deep fly balls. Our bats were alive with several hard hit line drives. In our fifth bunt attempt of the season, we finally were able to lay one down in fair territory. We used six pitchers in the scrimmage and all looked promising, although a couple had trouble finding the strike zone.

A freezing rain began to fall during the late innings. Players battled through the conditions without complaint or excuses. Before too much longer, the game was called due to the weather and time.

Overall, Thursday night was a step in the right direction for the Warriors.

Warriors Announce 2011 Schedule

The Warriors have announced its 2011 schedule. So far, the team's schedule includes 35 events: 6 scrimmage, 14 Chicagoland games and at least 15 tournament games. Each of the five tournaments guarantee at least 3 pool play games. Hopefully, the number of tournament games will increase as the team may play up to 6 games in a given tournament if it advances through pool play.

We are still working with a few teams to schedule some additional games--particularly during the week of June 27th to prepare us for the Lombard tournament.

When you factor in the 22 regular season OYA Pony games plus playoffs, players will be given an opportunity to play a lot of baseball in the next 3 months!

Pictures of Pitchers

I watched the Sandburg Eagles play the Oak Lawn Spartans in a sophomore baseball game in Oak Lawn yesterday. While I was there, I captured photos of the pitchers from behind the backstop. Sports photographers refer to this position as TTF ("through the fence"). If you are interested in viewing the photos, you may CLICK HERE.

I experimented with some processing techniques to give a few of the photos a vintage look. Here's an example of one of those. You may click on the photo for an enlarged view:

Staying Alert

Some of the most serious baseball injuries take place outside of the playing field. While players in the game are usually alert, that's not always the case with spectators, coaches or players in the on-deck circle or dugout. Recently, a coach was seriously injured when a foul ball struck him in the eye. Unfortunately, Luis Salazar lost his left eye because of this accident.

In all the years that I've coached, the most serious injuries that I've witnessed have occurred in the stands at Major League stadiums. Twice I saw line drives strike people directly in the face while they were not paying attention to the action on the field. One lost several teeth and the other had to be removed on a stretcher after his nose was shattered.

The vast majority of serious injuries that I've witnessed while coaching baseball involved players who were not playing in the game or practice. A few times players have been struck with overthrown balls while not paying attention while standing behind first base. Years ago, a player was hit by a bat as he walked by the on-deck hitter who was taking practice swings.

Most experienced umpires and base coaches have learned over time not to take their eye off the ball when they are standing near the coach's box during infield warm-ups between innings. The bottom line is that it's important to stay alert when you are around a baseball field.

Steve Sismelich Becomes a Repeat Winner

Steve Sismelich became the team's first player to become a repeat winner of the Ground Ball Competition. Steve prevailed over Jim Robley in the finals. Both players had won the competition in an earlier practice.

Both players, Steve and Jim, do an exceptional job of consistently getting into a "baseball ready" position just before the ball is hit. They also approach the baseball in an aggressive manner. By not letting the ball play them, they give themselves the best possible chance of making the play.

Jim has played with the Warriors for the past two season. During both of those years, he was one of the leading defensive players on the team. Jim has been a solid shortstop for quite some time. Steve is a first time Warriors and we expect him to have a strong season in 2011.

Uniforms Are In

I picked up our uniforms from Santo Sports on Wednesday. During Wednesday's batting cage session, we distributed uniforms to the 8 players who were present. I would like to thank Lisa Enguita for helping wih the distribution process. We plan to distribute the remaining uniforms at Saturday's indoor workout session.

The uniform components include:

• Red jersey (with number and name)
• White jersey (with number and name)
• Hat (with number)
• Pants
• Belt
• Socks
• Helmet (with number)
• Practice T-shirt (distributed at Kick Off meeting)
• Practice Hat (distributed at Kick Off meeting)

Optional items include:

• Equipment bag
• Hooded sweatshirt

OYA Pony Draft

The OYA Pony League draft is scheduled for Tuesday, March 15th. Shortly after the draft, players will be notified which recreational team they will play for during the 2011 season. All Warriors events will be integrated with the Pony League events so that players will not have to worry about scheduling conflicts.

OYA Pony League practices will not start until April 5th.

Congratulations to Cody Rutledge

The Warriors would like to congratulate Cody Rutledge for being selected to play on Carl Sandburg High School's freshman baseball team! He is certainly deserving of this recognition.

Unfortunately for the Warriors, High School baseball players are not eligible to play with other organizations during the High School season. So, our team will be without Cody until late May. However, the good news is that he will rejoin the Warriors in late May--in time to play in all of our tournaments and the majority of our regular season games. Additionally, this will give our team an opportunity to further develop our other pitchers during Cody's absence.

We wish Cody the best of luck in his High School baseball career and look forward to his return to the Warriors.

Jim Robley Wins Ground Ball Competition

Jim Robley was this week's winner of the Ground Ball Competition. Jim topped Matt LeVigne in the championship round of the competition. Patrick O'Connor and Steve Sismelich were the previous champions.

Pete Rose

Our team goals include respecting the game. Hustling is a way to show respect for the game. Playing hard (giving it your best effort) regardless of the score (whether winning or losing) is something our team strives to accomplish.

Putting aside his gambling issues (which took place after his playing years), Pete Rose was respected by many for always giving it his best effort on the field. Even when he drew a walk, Rose would sprint to first base. His extraordinary effort earned him the nickname "Charlie Hustle".

During the course of his long career, Pete Rose set many career records which still stand today. He is the all-time hit leader with 4,256. Pete Rose played in 17 All-Star games--in which many of those selections were based upon votes from his peers (other Major League players).

Pete Rose only knew how to play the game one way...and that was all out. It didn't matter to him whether the game was a Spring Training scrimmage or the seventh game of the World Series.

In an All-Star game (which is mostly considered to be just a showcase today), the National League trailed the American League by a score of 4-1 in the ninth inning. But, the National League scored three runs to take the game into extra innings.

In the bottom of the 12th inning, Pete Rose stood on second base as the Cubs' Jim Hickman stepped to the plate with two outs. Jim Hickman singled to centerfield. Pete Rose sprinted around third base on his way to score the winning run, but catcher Ray Fosse was about to receive the throw and positioned himself up the third base line.

Rose knew that his only chance to score was to collide with Fosse--and hopefully dislodge the ball. Although this is not a legal play at the Pony level, it is legal at the professional level of play. Rose drove into Fosse and separated him from the ball just before it arrived in his glove. Fosse fell backward and Rose fell over the catcher onto home plate to score the winning run.

Pete Rose missed a few games due to an injured knee, but unfortunately Ray Fosse was never the same after the collision.

Today, many people consider the All-Star game to be an exhibition of sorts. Yet, Pete Rose only knew how to play baseball one way--and that was with maximum effort.

Dropped Third Strike

In the Sunday League (Official Baseball Rules apply), hitters may attempt to advance to first base on a dropped third strike in the following situations:

• Whenever there are two outs
• When there are less than two outs with first base unoccupied (at the time of the pitch)

Pitches that hit the dirt and are then caught by the catcher are still considered to be "dropped" third strikes. In the event of a dropped third strike, the hitter should run hard towards first base while staying on the right side of the foul line. If the batter is on the foul line (or anywhere to the left of it in fair territory), he places himself at risk of an interference (out) call should he get hit by a throw down the line.

This rule is designed to protect the offense against easy double plays. If it were not for the rule (and batters were always eligible to advance on dropped third strikes), catchers would intentionally drop the third strike and then fire the ball down to second for the force out---which could then result in a double play on a subsequent throw to first base.

So, anytime the easy double play scenario exists (less than two outs with a runner on first), the hitter is out immediately on the third strike, whether it was dropped or not.

Bat Restrictions

For the 2011 season, the Chicagoland Metro League has announced the following bat restrictions:

1. The diameter of the bat cannot exceed 2 5/8". 2 3/4" bats are no longer allowed.
2. Bats are limited to a -3 length to weight drop differential.
3. Composite bats are discouraged, but allowed, for the 2011 season.

Warriors Receive First Sponsorship

The Warriors would like to thank the Papoose Children's Center, courtesy of the Sismelich family, for its generous sponsorship of the team for the 2011 season. This contribution makes it possible for the team to play some additional games or perhaps register for another tournament this summer.

Steve Sismelich Wins Fielding Competition

In this afternoon's Ground Ball Competition, Steve Sismelich edged out Matt LeVigne to win the Warriors' second fielding contest. A notable mention goes to Rick Sisco who remained alive for a long time with some outstanding defensive plays. Patrick O'Connor was not present to defend his title.

Hit By Pitch: The Ron Hunt Story

When any part of a batter's body (including the hands while placed on the bat) is hit with a pitched ball, he is awarded first base. There are some exceptions. It is not considered a hit batsman if the pitch hits the batter inside of the strikezone (that is a strike), or if the hitter makes no attempt to avoid the pitch (that pitch is called either a ball or a strike depending upon the location of the pitch). Also, if the batter swings at the pitch, it is considered a strike even if the hitter is hit by the pitch.

Note that it is still considered a hit by pitch if the pitch bounces from the ground into a player. If a pitch hits a batter's clothing, that is also considered a hit by pitch.

A hitter is not credited with an at bat or a hit. But, he is credited with a time on base and a plate appearance. So, a HBP improves a player's on-base % without lowering his batting average.

The hit by pitch can be a painful way to reach base. In the modern era, no player was hit by more pitches than Ron Hunt of the Montreal Expos. Hunt's motto was, "Some people give their bodies to science; I give mine to baseball." Hunt led the National League in getting hit by pitch in each of his final 7 seasons. Most years, he was hit about 25 times. But, in 1971 Ron Hunt set the modern day record by getting hit 50 times in one season!

In 1969, Ron Hunt tied a record by getting hit three times in a single game! When he retired, his 243 HBP's were a career record. Hunt insisted that he never deliberately got hit by a pitch, but many opposing pitchers disagreed with his claim. Since then, Craig Biggio topped that career record by getting hit an astounding 285 times.

"Stay in the Game" Clinic

The University of Chicago Physicians is hosting a free "Stay in the Game" clinic led by Tony Garofola, former head Athletic Trainer for the Chicago Cubs. The session will provide information regarding how to prevent shoulder and elbow injuiries.

The event will be held on March 2nd in Tinley Park. Click here for more information.

How Baseballs Are Made

CLICK HERE to view an interesting video which shows how baseballs are manufactured.

Warriors Take a Break...and Other Ramblings

Not too long ago, baseball began in the Spring. As a kid, I always looked forward to hearing the crack of the bat as it was a sure sign that Spring had arrived.

Now, youth baseball travel teams practice nearly all year. This helps players develop their skills. However, baseball will always be a Summer game. Much of the appeal of the game comes from being able to play in nice weather outdoors.

Since I will be vacationing for the next two weeks, our Warriors team will take a break until mid-February. Our next practice is an 8:00 pm batting cage session at Junior Diggins on February 18th.

After that, we'll continue our individual development, batting cage sessions and indoor workouts until mid-March. Hopefully, the weather will improve by mid-March and we can finally move outdoors for some practices. Weather permitting, we will begin scrimmaging against other teams in late March. Things will pick up more in April as we begin to play games.

Our team will begin Chicagoland Metro play in mid-April. The OYA season begins in late April. And, our first tournament is scheduled for the Memorial Day Weekend.

As soon as our team enters a tournament (and we are striving for four), I will post the information on our team's website. Our team is made up mostly 8th graders--and many events arise surrounding graduation. The OYA Pony League and our Warriors team will be idle on June 5th as most graduations in the area are scheduled for that day.

As tournament scheduling information is provided to you, PLEASE PLAN ACCORDINGLY. If you are planning a graduation party, sometimes adjusting the start time by just a few hours can make the difference between the player participating or being absent for a team event. When players miss games, the team is at greater risk of losing (or even forfeiting) games--which means a higher risk of elimination from the tournament and fewer games played for everyone.

In an effort to promote greater participation, I am investigating the possibility of having those players on our team who make their High School team eligible for play with the Warriors. This is a new approach (most likely in accordance with all OYA, Chicagoland Metro and ISHA rules) which will allow us to retain all of the players on our current roster. More on this later.

The Importance of the Count

In a recent posting, I wrote about how Ted Williams refused to swing at pitches outside of the strike zone. At the Pony level, it is critical for hitters to be selective at the plate and only swing at strikes. Once a hitter is ahead in the count (e.g., 2-0, 3-1), the pitcher is forced to throw a very hittable pitch--or he may start aiming the pitches and walk several consecutive batters.

The statistics support the fact that a hitter's count benefits the offense. In a recent study of college baseball statistics, the batting average for hitters with a 2-1 count was 150 points higher than for hitters with a 1-2 count! This benefit becomes even greater with more favorable counts such as 3-1.

Letting pitchers off the hook by swinging at pitches outside of the strikezone has just the opposite effect. Pitchers get an immediate sense of relief when a bad pitch turns into a strike. They can then ride that momentum to get back into a groove. We often tell our hitters to "make the pitcher work" or to "make the pitcher earn it."

Although it is more difficult than it looks, one of the goals for this team is to be more selective at the plate. We want our hitters to be aggressive, but we also want them to be aware of the count and when it is appropriate to be aggressive.

Positions by Number

Typically, baseball position numbers are used for scoring purposes. However, our team will use these numbers as part of calling certain plays--particularly when a runner is on third base. We'll talk more about how these plays will be called during an upcoming practice. All of our players should be familiar with these numbers.

Following is an illustration of how baseball positions are numbered:

Warriors Enter First Tournament

The Warriors registered for its first tournament of the season. The Chicagoland Memorial Weekend Tournament is scheduled from Friday, May 27th through Monday, May 30th. Most likely, the opening round games will be played in Frankfort or Palos.

For this tournament, the team will play three "pool play" games. Only the top teams from each pool will proceed into the next round.

The Warriors will enter three more tournaments in June/July. I'll publish those dates as soon as they become available--most likely in late February. Please be sure to plan accordingly.

Pat O'Connor Wins Ground Ball Challenge

Patrick O'Connor won the team's first Ground Ball Challenge on Saturday morning. Pat edged out Jim Robley in the final round of the competition.

Winning these challenges requires outlasting 12 opponents and usually means successfully fielding at least 35 to 40 ground balls.

Ted Williams

During tonight's practice at Future Stars, we talked a little about the Hall of Fame hitter, Ted Williams. In my view, there are at least three important lessons our players can learn from him.

#1

As a hitter, Ted Williams always kept his eyes on the ball. Many thought that he could pick up the rotation of the baseball by viewing the seams just upon the release from the pitcher's hand. Later in life, he denied having any kind of superhuman vision and admitted that he really couldn't read the label on a phonograph record while it was spinning on the turntable. But, he made every effort to see the baseball as soon as possible and to follow the ball all the way in.

#2

Early on, Ted Williams learned not to swing at balls that were out of the strike zone. Try as they might, pitchers could not get him to chase bad pitches. "Getting on base is how you score runs," Williams explained. "Runs win ball games. I walked a lot in high school, and in the minors I walked 100 times...You start swinging at pitches a half-inch outside, the next one's an inch out and pretty soon you're getting nothing but bad balls to swing at."

At the Pony level, it's critical to let bad pitches go by. This places the pitcher under more pressure--forcing him to give the hitter a good pitch to hit. Many pitchers at this level simply start aiming the ball and then walk several more hitters.

#3

In my opinion, the following story displays what strong respect Ted Williams had for the game of baseball:

In 1941, only his third season in the majors, Williams captivated the nation by chasing a .400 season batting average. On the last day of the season, Williams was hitting exactly .400, and Red Sox manager Joe Cronin offered him the chance to sit out a doubleheader. "I told Cronin I didn't want that," Williams recalled. "If I couldn't hit .400 all the way I didn't deserve it." He got six hits and finished at .406, a mark many experts believe will never be equaled.

Pitching Grips

Pitchers have three weapons at their disposal: speed, location and movement (spin). At the 14U level, pitchers will work most on speed (and how to vary it) as well as location (and how to vary it).

Using a few different pitching grips will help a pitcher develop the ability to throw pitches at different speeds accurately.

CLICK HERE to view some grips--paying particular attention to the 2 and 4 seam fast ball grips as well as a couple of the change-up grips (circle and three finger grips).

Baseball Bats

The Chicagoland Metro League enforces High School bat limitations during the season for the 14U level. Those limitations are as follows:

1. cannot be more than 2 5/8" in diameter
2. its drop cannot be more than 3

A bat's drop is calculated by taking its weight in ounces less its length in inches. For example, a 34 inch bat must weigh at least 31 ounces for it to be permitted. A bat's drop contributes to swing speed. Clearly, a greater drop (lighter weight to length ratio) adds to swing speed. Apparently, this creates a greater risk of injury (particularly to pitchers) as the players get older.

CLICK HERE for a table of a sample of approved bats for the 14U level.

As we proceed through our Winter batting cage sessions, hitters will benefit by swinging a regulation bat. I also highly recommend that batters use the same regulation bat throughout the OYA Pony League recreational season--even though OYA imposes much more liberal bat requirements. It's important that the players build strength and become accustomed to the heavier bats before entering into a new season.

Coach Michael Heathcott

I'm pleased to announce that Coach Michael Heathcott will also be providing pitching instruction for our team. This instruction will supplement the development sessions already scheduled with Coach Al Hasan at Junior Diggins.

Coach Heathcott will be working with our pitchers on the evenings of Friday, January 14th and Friday, February 25th at the On-Deck Baseball Academy of Orland Park. As with our other development sessions, pitchers will be assigned a time during the evening for more individualized instruction. Please note that these events have been added to our team's schedule.

Coach Heathcott is a retired Major League Baseball pitcher, with experience with both the White Sox & Cubs organizations. Playing during one season at the major league level for the Chicago White Sox, Coach Heathcott is a Chicago-native who now resides in Scottsdale, Arizona. He was drafted by the White Sox in the 13th round of the 1991 amateur draft. Coach Heathcott played his first professional season with their Class-A (Short Season) Utica Blue Sox in 1991, and his last with the Triple-A affiliates of the Chicago Cubs (Iowa Cubs) and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (Edmonton Trappers) in 2000.

Uniform Fittings

The uniform fittings for our team are scheduled for Monday, November 29th from 8:00 pm until 9:00 pm at the OYA Office. The fitting session is necessary as almost all of the uniform components are fitted for size--even the hats. Players will also select uniform numbers at this time--on a first come, first served basis.

Players may arrive anytime between 8:00 pm and 9:00 pm for the fitting. The process should take less than 10 minutes.

As always, please be sure to contact me if you are unable to attend any team event.

Warriors Kick Off Meeting

Following is a message that I just received from Brian Gaspardo, the OYA President:

"We will have our annual Kick Off meeting for all the Warrior teams on Tuesday, November 23 at 7 PM at the Orland Park Civic Center. Like last year, we will be getting the entire Warrior organization together to talk about our program, hand out some Warrior gear, order some spirit wear for Christmas presents, and generally get fired up for next season! General meeting should take about 20 minutes, and then you will have some time set aside to talk to your teams. Every player should attend with at least one parent (the whole family is welcome). I am using the opportunity to collect a second installment from my parents, and you might want to do the same.

SportStation will be there with a display of spirit wear with guaranteed delivery before Christmas."

Warriors 2011 Schedule

Following is a list of currently scheduled events. All dates are preliminary, so be sure to check this website to monitor any revisions to the schedule. Players are expected to contact me if they are unable to participate in a team event.

• Oak Lawn Tournament: Saturday, July 23rd and Sunday, July 24th (CLICK HERE for scheduling details)

Warriors Schedule 3rd Fall Workout

The Warriors have scheduled its third Fall workout. Weather permitting, the practice will be held from 4:45 pm until 6:00 pm on Monday, October 25th at the Cachey Park soccer fields. The fields are located about two blocks west of 82nd Avenue on 157th Street.

The team has published a preliminary Winter practice schedule. The Winter practice schedule consists of three types of events:

Batting cages
Batting cages are scheduled for one hour on selected weeknights. These sessions are optional. Players may also decide to come for just a portion of the hour if they wish.

Megaplex workouts
Megaplex workouts are scheduled for 90 minutes--generally on weekends. These workouts are used to work through drills involving multiple players (i.e., infield drills, rundowns, pickoffs, etc.). Player participation is highly encouraged, but not mandatory if a player has other obligations.

Individual player development sessions
These sessions are targeted to provide individual feedback to our players to improve their hitting and throwing (pitching) skills. Although these sessions will run through the night (from 6:30 pm until 9:00 pm), players will register for a 45 minute time slot within that time frame. So far, six of these sessions (3 hitting and 3 throwing) have been scheduled. Players are highly encouraged to participate in all of these sessions. However, attendance of at least 4 sessions is expected.

We will invite an expert consultant to assist with the development. These consultants will be people who have played at a professional level and have the ability to diagnose issues and teach the skills. I plan to add a few more sessions which will be targeted for those players who wish to further develop pitching skills.

Please call me with any questions or comments.