Kev's Comments
It was truly a special occasion; more so than I ever imagined. Thanks to
Jim for keeping some secrets from all of us. I was shocked to be greeted
first by the beardless Dave Hamner who truly made me double-take and rub my
eyes. Todd and Kathy Sattler von Bloom were another wonderful surprise. I
got to play the middle infield again with Denny Harvey (the man that taught
me the DP pivot) for the first time since '87. But what truly sent shivers
up my spine was taking the field and seeing OB on the mound, Pepe behind the
plate, Jim at third, myself at short, MSG at second, Pete at first, and Wax
in left center. Talk about déjà vu. That was 70% of our starting line-up for
most of the latter '80s. (JP...where were you???)
With all the folks that turned out (for those of you not in attendance, the
grays had a lineup of 16 so everyone could hit) it is hard to imagine that
as many more ex-Beat players were not able to make it. Can you believe that
in 18 years the Beat has had nearly 80 players (and half of them started as
Larry Avery).
I think I can safely speak for Jim and OB as well as myself, that we had no
idea the impact this team would have 18 years ago. It's truly become a
family affair and it was wonderful seeing all the next-generation Beatsters
(ages 0 to 6) in attendance. That should be enough to keep this team going
for another 40 years.
Thanks to all the grays that came from far and wide and gave their all on
the field. You showed everyone that the fire never dies and that you can
still play some D and string some hits together, even against the best
talent the city has to offer. Thanks to the young guys for humoring us with
our 16-person lineup and making an exciting game of it...but taking it easy
as well (Jacque...if we ever draw Parkside for league play and you hit the
bathroom on one hop, you'd better not be stopping at third!)
Thanks to everyone that contributed to the Beat shrine...Pete and Jim for
the trophies, Jacq for the Brass Beat (and Wilf for finding and sending it),
TC for the photo montage (and whoever brought the other one...Jim?), and OB
for the "Beat Rules" banner which just blew my mind (Readers Digest version
of the story...the night before a Beat/Monsters clash in '88, Jim, Wax and I
made this banner, drove out to Daly City around midnight all dressed in
black with a roll of duct tape and the grand scheme that we would tape this
banner up to Denny Harvey's garage door for him to see as he left for the
game...what we didn't know was that tape doesn't stick to ANYTHING in Daly
City at night...so we draped the banner over his car and managed to get home
without being turned into the cops by suspicious neighbors...I hadn't
thought about that story in years.)
Thanks to Big Daddy and Mark Melin for manning the grill and everyone else
that helped out. And a very special thanks to everyone for making the effort
to be there for this special occasion (particularly, Jim "Leather" Harvey
and Marc DalBiaco from Minneapolis, Todd and Kathy Sattler von Bloom from
Bismarck N. Dakota, Eric "Wax" Meyer and daughter Anita from Toronto, and
Frank "Pepe" Green from St. Louis...clearly, these folks still bleed gray!)
This was one of the best times I've ever had in a Beat uniform. It was great
seeing old friends and I hope some of the newer players got a chance to
share stories and make friends with our grizzled vets.
Thanks also to all the wives, girlfriends, and kidwatchers who have dealt
with this madness over the years and have helped the Beat boys be boys.
THANK YOU!!!
I know with all the travel that was required, there's little chance this
could ever happen again, but let's try, shall we?
#6
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