Men's Senior Baseball League World Series
*****See MSBL WS Update 10/22/2020 6 p.m. at the bottom of this post*****
It's mid afternoon and the "baseball gods" have not been in the corner of the San Antonio Texans the past 24 hours. The Texans -- including the fearsome foursome from the Tucson Old Timers (Bob Daliege, Mike Steele, Bill Mishler and Pete Peters) went to bed last night, pulled up the covers and rested comfortably after collected their first win on Tuesday at the MSBL World Series -- a 16-1 win over the Cal Vets.
Not so fast. The MSBL World Series magazine, fresh off the press this morning, reported a forfeit involving the Texans. Teams in the 70-and-over Central Division are supposed to bat a minimum of 14 players. Bottom line: Only 13 players batted for the Texans during their lopsided win over the Cal Vets.
Who are these "baseball gods" anyway?
Well, there isn't any. Instead, it is one of many unwritten rules, an invisible text in the sport of baseball that explains on how the ball bounces in a baseball game for a team, its manager and all the players involved. Baseball is a game of skill with the outcome of the game in the hands of the participants on the field of play. Sometimes, as luck would have it, the final result of a baseball game may leave the players and the fans in the stands looking toward the heavens for an answer to as why one team loses and the other team wins.
Sometimes, it's simply a rule book infraction and the scorebook is brought out to clarify a situation. So, it turns out the Texans lost by a mental error. There are a lot of errors in baseball -- mental and physical. It's just part of the game and the invisible "baseball gods" can Rest In Peace. THEY have nothing to do with the outcome.
As for the Texans, they were hoping for a little intervention today at the Salt River Complex, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Up against the unbeaten Colorado Cardinals -- a team that arrived on the scene this week with everything in their bat bags but snow, but enough lumber and a few Paul Bunyan types to walk away with a 19-0 thrashing of the Texans.
On a side note, Pistol Pete Peters (photo below), despite his back injury, made sure his team followed the rules today. It was a gutsy move as Peters, the 14th batter in the game for the Texans, swung at a couple of pitches and lined out to shortstop.
"At least I didn't have to run," Peters said, after the game.
So, there you have it, a lopsided shutout win for the Paul Bunyan fellas as they move to a commanding 4-0 record, while the San Antonio Texans slip to 0-4 with little help from the baseball gods.
Oh, that's right. There isn't such a thing.
The Texans close out their round-robin at the MSBL World Series with a game against the Mudville 9 at Red Mountain Park Thursday at 2 p.m.
Mudville 9! Sounds heavenly.
Photo: Pete Peters, despite his bag spasms, gets a plate appearance at 2020 MSBL World Series today.
Note: MSBL World Series Update (10/22/2020) 6 p.m. -- The San Antonio Texans will head home this evening after ended up in a 6-6 tie with the Mudville 9. The Texans finish the round-robin and fail to qualify for the playoff. Good try Texans. As for Bob Daliege, Bill Mishler, Pete Peters and Mike Steele, way to battle this week. See you back at Udall Park with the TOTS.
No comments:
Post a Comment