Champions, Part Deux

Well last Wednesday night we won the finals to be the best of "Associates" C-League. So I guess we were once again the best of the worst. As our reward for winning two years in a row, we will be bumped up to the next league so everyone else can beat up on us.

As for our performance over the year as a team, we did well. We were not far and above the best team in the league. We were second in the standings by one point. And except for the bottom two teams, we usually didn't win (or lose) by a large margin. We did do much better than the three years before last. During those first three seasons we finished in the bottom three (out of six to eight teams).

For myself, my heart wasn't in it as much. I played as well as last year and I tried as hard, but I didn't get the satisfaction like last year. Part of it was a bit of guilt that I should have been home with the kids during the summer. Part of it was due to bad organization by the league president. More than once our game time was switched without notifying anyone on the team. That's a MAJOR pain the ass when you've planned your day, your evening, and made special arrangements for you kids so you can go. And lastly, it was partly because we had won last year and didn't have as much to prove.

As far as how well I did, my batting average was above the team average. I was third in the league for runs scored. That was in large part due to being the leadoff hitter with good hitters behind me. As long as I got on base, I would usually be able to score. I did have one inside-the-park home run. Basically a double with aggressive baserunning and bad fielding. On the field, I was only hit twice, though I only caught two or three balls. My position is closest to the batter so I have more chances of getting hit since I'm only 40 feet away. Last year I caught three line drives coming right at my head. This year I just got hit. This being my third year as pitcher, I have really gotten the hang of it. It is slow pitch underhand pitching so it is really about arc, distance, and aim. I have much better control so I can locate it where I want. It means more strikeouts and less walks. Though I can't say there was a noticable difference in the other teams total runs. Anyhow, it feels good to be able to put it where you want it.

So that means summer is over. Back to having my evenings free to spend time at home or pull some overtime. Maybe I'll even take a French class.