Memories of Elkland - Tenth Anniversary Edition

As per tradition, this is the annual Memories of Elkland post - the tenth one, as I have attended the Labour Day tournament in Pennsylvania every year since 2007.

This year turned out to be the best ever result for West Carleton Electric. We finished with three wins and two losses and played on Monday for the first time ever. This was also a year in which I had 7 confirmed players a week beforehand until I figured things out to finalize the roster.

Our squad this year was composed of six guys from our league team, three others from the GOFL, one Harbour Baller that came along for the ride and our first ever US American local pickup (who played great and fit in well).

There were thirteen teams this year, with the usual mix of ISC teams and pitchers, intermediate level squads and local clubs. The weather was fantastic, with beautiful sunny days and cool nights. 

All the statistics were kept and reported on via Al's Fastball. The stats were great, but I still contend that when I "reached on an error" in our fourth game, it actually was an infield hit.

The "shenanigans factor" was reduced this year for WC due to the absence of a few key individuals. When you don't have the guys that invented beer can midget wrestling, the Terminator eye, firewood shoes and pickup truck extension cord water skiing, it turns out that the craziness at base camp gets toned down a little. It also turns out that on field performance improves - who knew?

We did however enjoy the weekend camping at the park - the only way to go - and the comraderie that comes with spending three days together at the best fastpitch park I've ever been to. Several of us also made it all three nights (Friday, Saturday, Sunday) to experience the night life at The Moose where many ballplayers and locals congregated to chug cheap beer and tell stories.

The chicken was once again top notch, the pints were two US bucks each and the pump cheese hotdogs were tasty. The Elkland Softball Association (ESA) knows how to do concessions right! 

The fields were in great shape, and in the spirit of continuous improvement that we have come to expect in Elkland, they have installed a new scoreboard on Field Two (which used to be Field Three).

It was great to see all the familiar faces back at the event. Ugo never left his perch the whole weekend in the scorer's / announcer's box above the first base dugout on Field One. The Lip was there with his friendly demeanour and do-rag. Jesse the Bat Boy returned again (nine of ten years he has been there and supported West Carleton). The Chicken Lady made sure we were well fed. The "Get Your Pants Dirty" guy was screaming his head off , blathering on with a steady stream of nonsense. The bartending duo at the Moose was the same. 

Now that we have been there for ten years, West Carleton Electric has a bit of following. We aren't quite up to the level that Greenbush Generals are at (the only other Eastern Ontario team this year) who have been going for 30+ years, but there were Elkland locals cheering us on by name at our games, with their favourite appearing to be Mad Dog Murphy.

One definite memory from this year's event comes from our first game. This year's team had two sets of brothers. One set of brothers had a family event on Friday night. They decided they would leave Saturday morning - after an open bar wedding - and drive down to PA for our game at noon. The other set of brothers came down on Friday night and brought along their dad. When the unsurprising call came from the one set of brothers that they were going to be late, I realized I had only eight players for our first game. I did the only reasonable thing I could do - tried to recruit the guys' dad (who we will call Mr B) to play. The conversation went something like this.

Me: "Hey Mr B, we only have eight guys for the first couple of innings."

Mr B: "Uh.....ok. So?"

Me: "So, I need you to play."

Mr B: "Uh...well I only have sandals."

Me: "I have size 9 running shoes - they will fit you right?"

Mr B:"Uh...well I guess. But I don't have ball pants."

Me: "Well first of all we are in Elkland, you can play in your shorts. But I have an extra pair so you can wear those."

Mr B: "Uh...well I don't have a glove."

Me: "Jeez, are you kidding me? We will find you a glove,"

Mr B: "Ok, I guess I am in!"

So, out of excuses, Mr. B got put in the starting line up and played with his two boys. While playing right field, he chased down a double to corner, and had a good hack at the plate (pop out to second) before the reinforcements arrived. Secretly, despite his 'reluctance', I think he was pretty pumped to play. His comment afterwards: "Not bad for going twenty-one years between starts!"

I will summarize as I do every year - Bill Sherman and the ESA guys put on an excellent event, with great fastball at a fantastic venue. If you haven't been and you love fastball, you need to go at least once. And if you need a team to play on, call me because I probably have a roster spot for you!