Diplomat Nation:
This is a special mid week edition of the weekly update of the Fighting Diplomats. As you know, the first game this week was scheduled to be up at GGettysburg , a .500 team. Coach Walkenbach feared the Bullets might be ready to shock the surging Fighting Diplomats who might be looking past the Bullets to Saturdays' big matchup with the Blue Jays of Johns Hopkins. As Coach W mulled this over on the bus, he decided he needed to arm his team with some emotional inspiration with a short speech. Your faithful correspondent was nearby and managed to hear his words as he addressed his team at Gettsyburg:
"Four weeks and seventeen games ago, our pitchers brought forth on this season a new approach: change speeds and throw strikes, and dedicated themselves to shutting down all opposition and demonstrating to Hopkins we are their equal. Now we are engaged in a great week of baseball. . .testing whether our hitting , defense and pitching, or any team so conceived and so dedicated. . . can long thrive. We are scheduled Saturday to meet Hopkins on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to Gettysburg to play a home and away set as a final preparation, for those players here to give their best efforts that Diplomat Nation might thrive. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But, in a larger sense, we cannot procrastinate. . .we cannot eliminate. . . we cannot afford to look pass this round with Gettysburg. The defensive team, both pitchers and fielders, who struggled early, have vastly progressed, and our offensive hammers have provided fear to opposing teams who earlier disdained our lack of power or our use of speed to add to the game. The Blue Jays may not even note, let alone remember, what we do here, but they won't ever forget if we beat them down there. It is for us, the Fighting Diplomats, rather, to be here dedicated to the unfinished work for which we have progressed and thus far so nobly advanced. It is crucial for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us. . .that from these lessons learned from vaunted opponents we take increased devotion to our cause for Diplomat Nation has given us the last full measure of devotion. . . that we here highly resolve that these pitchers will get our best support. . . that Diplomat Nation, on Saturday, shall have a surge of offense. . . and that this team of great kids. . .by the team. . .for the team. . . shall sweep the rest of the games."
Thus inspired ,your Fighting Diplomats went out and beat Gettysburg 18-4 after ripping 25 hits.
Gettysburg however, offers a specific connection to baseball in that the reputed founder of baseball Abner Doubleday had a pivotal role in the early fighting at the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863. While playing for the Union side on July 1, 1863 Abner found himself the starting pitcher after scheduled starter Maj Gen John Reynolds had to drop out of the rotation because he was killed. Abner threw well but the Confederates had a deep roster the first day and knocked Abner out of the box. Union Manager Abe Lincoln, who developed a reputation as a manger with a quick hook explained it : " Abner wanted to stay in there and explained the Confederates had a much deeper team , but if he wanted to play games where both sides had the same weapons he should have played chess. " Continuing ,Lincoln said "I had to bring in John Newton out of the bullpen and stay close and wait to get to my closer US Grant. Once we could get to Grant I knew we would win the game and series."
There was an investigation in 1905 commissioned by the National League about the origin of baseball. This study somehow concluded ""the first scheme for playing baseball, according to the best evidence obtainable to date, was devised by Abner Doubleday at Cooperstown, New York, in 1839." The primary testimony to the commission that connected baseball to Doubleday was that of Abner Graves, whose credibility is questionable; a few years later, he shot his wife to death, apparently because of mental illness, and he was committed to an institution for the criminally insane for the rest of his life. Which goes to show , there is considerable downside to identifying the inventor of baseball from a line up of guys with mustaches.
This is a special mid week edition of the weekly update of the Fighting Diplomats. As you know, the first game this week was scheduled to be up at GGettysburg , a .500 team. Coach Walkenbach feared the Bullets might be ready to shock the surging Fighting Diplomats who might be looking past the Bullets to Saturdays' big matchup with the Blue Jays of Johns Hopkins. As Coach W mulled this over on the bus, he decided he needed to arm his team with some emotional inspiration with a short speech. Your faithful correspondent was nearby and managed to hear his words as he addressed his team at Gettsyburg:
"Four weeks and seventeen games ago, our pitchers brought forth on this season a new approach: change speeds and throw strikes, and dedicated themselves to shutting down all opposition and demonstrating to Hopkins we are their equal. Now we are engaged in a great week of baseball. . .testing whether our hitting , defense and pitching, or any team so conceived and so dedicated. . . can long thrive. We are scheduled Saturday to meet Hopkins on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to Gettysburg to play a home and away set as a final preparation, for those players here to give their best efforts that Diplomat Nation might thrive. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But, in a larger sense, we cannot procrastinate. . .we cannot eliminate. . . we cannot afford to look pass this round with Gettysburg. The defensive team, both pitchers and fielders, who struggled early, have vastly progressed, and our offensive hammers have provided fear to opposing teams who earlier disdained our lack of power or our use of speed to add to the game. The Blue Jays may not even note, let alone remember, what we do here, but they won't ever forget if we beat them down there. It is for us, the Fighting Diplomats, rather, to be here dedicated to the unfinished work for which we have progressed and thus far so nobly advanced. It is crucial for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us. . .that from these lessons learned from vaunted opponents we take increased devotion to our cause for Diplomat Nation has given us the last full measure of devotion. . . that we here highly resolve that these pitchers will get our best support. . . that Diplomat Nation, on Saturday, shall have a surge of offense. . . and that this team of great kids. . .by the team. . .for the team. . . shall sweep the rest of the games."
Thus inspired ,your Fighting Diplomats went out and beat Gettysburg 18-4 after ripping 25 hits.
Gettysburg however, offers a specific connection to baseball in that the reputed founder of baseball Abner Doubleday had a pivotal role in the early fighting at the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863. While playing for the Union side on July 1, 1863 Abner found himself the starting pitcher after scheduled starter Maj Gen John Reynolds had to drop out of the rotation because he was killed. Abner threw well but the Confederates had a deep roster the first day and knocked Abner out of the box. Union Manager Abe Lincoln, who developed a reputation as a manger with a quick hook explained it : " Abner wanted to stay in there and explained the Confederates had a much deeper team , but if he wanted to play games where both sides had the same weapons he should have played chess. " Continuing ,Lincoln said "I had to bring in John Newton out of the bullpen and stay close and wait to get to my closer US Grant. Once we could get to Grant I knew we would win the game and series."
There was an investigation in 1905 commissioned by the National League about the origin of baseball. This study somehow concluded ""the first scheme for playing baseball, according to the best evidence obtainable to date, was devised by Abner Doubleday at Cooperstown, New York, in 1839." The primary testimony to the commission that connected baseball to Doubleday was that of Abner Graves, whose credibility is questionable; a few years later, he shot his wife to death, apparently because of mental illness, and he was committed to an institution for the criminally insane for the rest of his life. Which goes to show , there is considerable downside to identifying the inventor of baseball from a line up of guys with mustaches.
No comments:
Post a Comment