2012 Tri-State Preseason Writeup

The Tri-State Baseball League opens its 79^th season of play on Sunday May 20^th with all eighteen teams in action. Each team will play a 20 game regular season with the ‘Top Twelve’ teams qualifying for post-season play in August to determine a league champion. In addition, five teams will qualify for the AABC Stan Musial ‘State’ tournament to be held the last week of July to determine a state champion. One Tri-State team will also qualify for the AABC ‘Regional’ tournament in Wallingford, CT beginning on Thursday August 2nd with a chance to qualify for the AABC World Series to be held in Port St. Lucie, Florida beginning August 9th.

Tri-State has also joined the National Amateur Baseball Federation for the 2012 season and will send one team to the NABF Regional tournament held in West Haven, CT beginning Thursday August 9^th with a chance to advance to the NABF World Series in Buffalo, NY beginning on August 16^th. There is no state tournament for the NABF.

Parity is the name of the game in the Tri-State Baseball League as there have been five different league champions in the past five seasons. The Litchfield Cowboys (2011) are the defending league champions while the Bethlehem Plowboys (2010), Brass City Brew (2009), Winsted Whalers (2008), and Torrington Rebels (2007) will all be gunning for another championship. Equally impressive are the Tri-Town Trojans whom have advanced to the Tri-State World Series each of the last two years and the 2011 AABC state tournament champion Naugatuck Dogs. The Wolcott Scrappers and Watertown Blaze, who finished in the top 5 rankings in each of the last two seasons are also in the hunt for their first league title as well as the Waterbury Wild whom qualified for last year’s AABC Regional tournament.

The Ansonia Valley Vikings will be playing their inaugural season in 2012 as the eighteenth member of the league and will be coached by Mark Georgia. Rounding out the league will be the Bristol Greeners, Terryville Black Sox, Amenia Monarchs, Thomaston Threshers, Prospect Chargers, Burlington Hunters, and Lakeville Outlaws.

For the second year in a row, the Tri-State all-stars will take on the Torrington Titans in a ‘Fourth of July’ game at Fuessenich Park – game time is 7pm. The mid-summer classic will be filled with festivities including a pre-game skydiver carrying the American Flag and a Home Run Derby. A Public Home Run Derby will begin at 3pm sharp with the winner joining the Tri-State stars and Titans players in the Main Home Run Derby beginning at 4:15pm. More announcements will be forthcoming on the day-long events.

Tri-State will host a Campership Fundraiser on Saturday July 14^th with three games being played at Fuessenich Park – game times will be 10am, 1pm, and 4pm. Admission will be FREE at the door but donations will be accepted all day long to benefit the Glen E. Winn Campership Fund. The Torrington Rebels will host the Sandy Hooks Vintage Baseball team on Saturday July 28^th at Fuessenich Park. Game time is 1pm. The baseball game will be played under 1867 rules. The Easton Banjo Society Band will provide old fashioned entertainment during the game featuring music from the 1860-1880’s era. Admission will be FREE but donations will be accepted at the door for the Campership Fund.

The 2012 Old Timers Day game and Hall-Of-Fame ceremony will be held on Sunday June 3^rd at Community Field in Litchfield. Batting practice will begin for the Old-Timers at 11am sharp followed by the Hall-Of-Fame ceremony at 12noon and the start of the Old Timers game at 12:30pm. The Litchfield Cowboys will host the Amenia Monarchs in a Tri-State regular season game at 3:00pm to round out the day’s events. This year’s Hall-Of-Fame class includes Rich Blazek, Fred Bunnell, Jeff Merchant, Mark Murphy, Bob Clinch, Don Rhynhart, sportswriter Rick Wilson, and umpire Jim Shove.

Tri-State will also participate in the first annual CT Classic Showdown which will showcase 2011 league champion teams from (Tri-State, Wallingford, Housatonic, and Bridgeport) in a ‘friendship’ fundraiser for charity on Saturday June 16^th to be held in Danbury. A Breast Cancer Awareness fundraiser is also being planned in Mid-August in Wallingford, CT which would feature ‘all-star’ teams from the ‘four’ regions as well.

Torrington Titans Announce Special Celebrity Host for the 2011 All-Star Game

So when I heard there was going to be a "Special Guest Celebrity" hosting our big 4th of July All-Star spectacular I pretty much assumed that we got a a former big leaguer or even a local well known celebrity. I rejected the celebrity idea after only coming up with this guy as being from the local area...

Good Ol' Rip Torn

It came as a total shock to me when I received the press release saying our host for the festivities would be this man....

Are we really this desperate?

Here's the press release by the Torrington Titans printed by the Register Citizen on April 17, 2011:

In an interesting twist to the American tradition of baseball on the Fourth of July, the Torrington Titans are bringing in a special guest.

Former American Idol star, William Hung, will host the 4^th of July Bonanza at Fuessenich Park on July 4^th, 2011. Mr. Hung will perform his signature song that propelled him to stardom, “She Bangs” originally sung by Ricky Martin, as well as two to three other hits throughout the night. Once Mr. Hung has completed his performances for the evening, he will sign autographs and take pictures with his fans.

Hung, who you might remember for his “unique” performance on Fox’s American Idol reality show, which gives contestants a chance to be America’s next star, will be celebrating the 4^th of July with Titan fans in Torrington. Hung made a gallant effort at the American Idol crown but was eventually eliminated in the first round.

“We got the guy we want. His talent is remarkable, the energy that he brings is phenomenal and the Titans couldn’t be more honored that Mr. Hung is going to celebrate America’s birthday with us,” Mike O’Malley, GM of the Titans quoted.

After Mr. Hung’s run on American Idol, he has toured the country performing in many different venues and states. Hung recently performed “Take Me Out To The Ballgame” for the Toronto Blue Jays. This will be the first time that Mr. Hung will be performing in Torrington.

The Titans will play against a team of Tri-State League all-stars in an exhibition contest beginning at 6pm. A Home Run Derby is scheduled before the game beginning at 4pm with the teams comprised of sluggers from the Titans and Tri-State. Tri-State will also be bringing in a former star of its own.

Tri-State commissioner Ed Gadomski has announced that former New York Yankee Jim Bouton will pitch for the Tri-State side. A member of the 1962 World Series Champion team as well as a member of the 1963 All-Star team, Bouton has mastered the art of the knuckleball and still regularly pitches competitively. Bouton also wrote the popular baseball memoir ‘Ball Four’ “I feel very fortunate to have Jim at the ballpark on the 4^th. He is a great competitor and I’m excited that he is going to be on our side,” Gadomski stated.

“Jim Bouton played in the Tri-State League” said long-time Tri-Stater Gregg Hunt, who manages the Titans. “That’s certainly going to be interesting.” Hunt said it will be different for the college kids on the Titans to see the knuckleball in action. “I think it’s going to be a good night for both the Titans and the Tri-State League,” Hunt said.

A block party during the day will feature a performance by the ‘All in Band’ and there are discussions of a “patriotic pyrotechnics/light show” in the works following the game. The concessions will be open throughout the afternoon and evening.

General Admission for the day will be $5 for adults and $3 for kids 12 and under with children 5 and under entering for free. Part of the proceeds will go to the United Way Campership Fund, which has partnered with the Titans and Tri-State for the day. Contact GM of the Titans Mike O’Malley at michaelkomalley@gmail.com for more information.

 I love how they hype up William Hung's "phenomenal energy" and that he will be signing autographs and taking pictures with his fans (all 2 of them). This should lead to an interesting day, one that I'm sure will not help with my alcohol addiction.


A special thanks does go out to the United Way for being part of this event where parts of our proceeds for the day's activities will go. Proceeds will help the United Way Campership Fund. This program gives out scholarships to 500 local youth so they can attend one session of summer camp this year.


I end you all on this note.....

CT Tri-State Roundup: Jim Bouton

Former New York Yankee Jim Bouton has committed to playing at the 4th of July All-Star game pitting the Tri-State All Stars vs. The Torrington Titans. Jim was a member of the World Series champion 1962 New York Yankees ball club and pitched in the 1963 major league baseball all-star game. Bouton started his career with the New York Yankees in 1962. Bouton appeared in 36 games during the 1962 season, including 16 starts, and had a win-loss record of 7-7. By 1965, arm injuries unfortunately started to slow him down. In 1968, Bouton left the Yankees and played for the Seattle Pilots in 1969 and then moved on to play for the Houston Astros from 1969-1970.

Bouton retired midway through the 1970 season after the Astros sent him to the minor leagues. He moved on to local sports anchor jobs, as well as acting in a few movies and television shows. Bouton returned to baseball in 1975 with the Portland Mavericks, skipped the 1976 season, and returned in 1977 when Bill Veeck signed him to a contract with the Chicago White Sox. Bouton then went on to play for the Atlanta Braves in 1978.

Bouton is the author of Ball Four,  a controversial baseball book that is a memoir of his 1969 season, along with his years with the Yankees, Pilots, and Astros. His national bestseller revealed habits and exploits of ballplayers and exposed a side of baseball that was previously unseen.

Jim still throws 3 times a week and has mastered the knuckleball. He will use that knuckler for one inning against the Titans.

The Jamie Moyer of the Tri-State League

Probably throwing a 50mph Curveball

I for one don't believe that I'm a great pitcher. If anything I could be labeled as a crafty lefty righty. The only time I thought that I could even pitch at a higher level say college was during my sophomore year in high school. Back then I could actually throw the ball with decent velocity and felt somewhat dominant over high school batters. My junior year on the varsity squad left me with limited innings due to having a bunch of seniors on the team that our coach felt deserved more playing time than I thought they needed. Whenever I was given the chance I tried to make the most of it and ended up pitching in some memorable moments that I will surely never forget. I hurt my back during my senior year and pitched the last inning of our last game of the season, hurling a 1-2-3, 9-pitch inning consisting of only fastballs because my body hurt to much to attempt anything else. I was never the same pitcher after that initial back injury and many more serious medical problems arose in my life including Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma which made me a shell of my former self. Because of these issues I had to learn how to adapt if I were to continue competing on a level with past, present, and future college players and pros.

I lost the ability to throw a "Fast"ball with any credible velocity and because of this I had to come up with a repertoire of pitches to complement this pitch. After several seasons of tinkering I finally came up with two main pitches that worked well with my fastball. The first one is my bread and butter pitch, the curveball. After listening to Bert Blyleven talk about Sandy Koufax's "drop ball," I began to do my research and discovered how both held theirs and tried it out for myself. It has now been labeled by my teammates as the "Gravity Ball" since it probably comes at you at 50mph but breaks from your head to your toes. Most guys either swing and miss at this or pop it out to the infield. The other pitch I use is a slider. I hold it just like a normal curveball but release it like I was turning a doorknob instead of coming straight over the top. The beauty of this pitch is that it looks just like a straight ball coming in and breaks at the last second usually missing the fat part of the bat and sending batters into a fit of expletives. 

For the past six seasons I have been using these pitches to frustrate batters in our league. One team in particular that I know hates me is the Winsted Whalers. I have beat them every time I have faced them and on many occasions beat them while facing off against their ace, Donny Crossman, who in my opinion is one of the top pitchers in our league and has plenty of accolades to show. Crossman has even said it himself that they just can't figure out how to hit me. It just goes to show sometimes that guts and determination can triumph over brute and strength. 

I find it funny at times when catchers ask me what pitches I am going to throw before a game. A chuckle and wry smile creeps up on my face and I say, "1, 2, 3...Changeup, Curveball, Slider." They get the joke and chuckle as well.

Later I'll post pictures of the pitches I throw along with a side story for each....check back later.

Tri-State Winter League Bonus Stop

Courtesy of Team Connecticut Baseball

This afternoon at 2:00pm my winter league team will be facing off against CCSU's Co-Rec baseball at Central's beautiful artificial turf field in New Britain. I have never played there myself but have been told by teams that played there last week that it is truly a great place to play. Can't Wait. I'll be sure to post updates if anything exciting pops up during the game. Stay tuned...