Cougars: 05/2016

What’s my favorite field, you ask?

That’s easy. Sally has always been the Field of my dreams.

What, wait, you meant sports field? Oh! Sorry about that.

You see, back when I was a kid and saw Smokey and the Bandit, Sally Field got my engine revving. She was the ultimate to me. Her beauty was amplified by her chemistry with the studly Burt Reynolds.

And all of that was wrapped in a black Trans Am.

That was 1977.

It was also the year my love affair began with baseball and the White Sox.

In 1977, the Chicago White Sox couldn’t catch, run, throw, or really pitch. They just hit the ball hard and demoralized opponents. They didn’t win the World Series or even a division title. They were not champions, but they lived up to another label.

They were the South Side Hitmen.

As Richard Roeper says in his book Sox and the City, “Part of this had to do with the nature of the team: the South Side Hit Men…were more like a bunch of homer happy 16” softball players than a typical White Sox team.”

In fact, it was such a memorable summer, there was an entire book of images capturing the magic of that summer.

And it all happened at 35^th and Shields. The grand and glorious Comiskey Park.

In 1977, when the White Sox would hit the ball over the wall, it would send the crowd into a frenzy. The crowds were large and loud. The adrenaline and excitement would engulf you.

Man, I loved that park. My parents took me to several games that season. They were in their mid-20’s and were in the thick of the celebration, especially in left field. I do not remember any specific game or results - just the sights, sounds, and smells.

I can vividly recall the smells. The smell of the popcorn, of the cigarette and cigar smoke, of the shoe polish at the shoe shine stand on the third base tunnel just outside the men’s bathroom and of the Falstaff beer.

I remember the Picnic Area, the gold box seats, the Sox-o-Gram,the Elgin official time clock in centerfield, the Andy Frain ushers, the exploding scoreboard,

the original shower in center field,

Andy the Clown,

Nancy Faust,

Jimmy Piersall, and Harry Caray.

I distinctly recall organist Nancy Faust playing “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye,” as the Sox home run hitter came out of the dugout to tip his hat. She also played it to serenade opposing pitchers when they were yanked from the game.

Of course, the most famous song she played was “Take Me Out To The Ballgame” during the seventh inning stretch. It was the renowned owner of the White Sox, Bill Veeck, who opened the door to Harry Caray’s trademark seventh inning stretch rendition of the song. It all started at Comiskey Park.

While the memories are etched into my mind, Comiskey Park has now been gone for 25 years.

My new favorite field is, of course, Howard Park, which brings me to Tuesday night’s contests. (You knew I’d get there eventually, didn’t you?)

The Cougars hit like the South Side Hitmen on Tuesday night. And because it was a doubleheader, we had our own seventh inning stretch between games.

We finished our first seven innings with an 8 – 3 victory over Valley Lodge and then continued our charge with a 10 – 0 winner over SlaughterHouse 9.

In the opener, we came out with three quick runs against Valley Lodge. Hits by Boom, Rads, Martini and Bobi started the rally. Our opponent pushed a lone run across the dish to make it 3-1. In the second, Lipinski crushed a single but no other damage. Valley Lodge chipped away at our lead with another solo score. Cougars 3-2. Both team scoreless in the third inning. Hits by Boom, Joker and Rads tallied two more runs in the fourth inning. Cougars 5-2. Both teams were scoreless again in the fifth inning, although Pastor Ted did have a sweet poke to the outfield. In the sixth, Coffey and Kale had back-to- back doubles, then Flandog laced a single followed by a Joker rope to left field for three total runs. Our foe scored one in the bottom of the sixth to make it 8-3 Cougars. JD led us off with a hit in the top of the, but we did not score. We put them down 1-2-3 in the final frame to walk off with a victory.

In the nightcap, we played SlaugherHouse 9. Both teams went down 1-2-3 in the first inning. In the second we had a score of four with sweet swings by Martini, JD, Bobi, Philthy, Lipinski and Coffey. We continued moving the line in the third inning with Flandog, Diamond Dave, Boom and Joker crushing the Clincher for three more runs. Cougars 7-0. In the fourth, Li’l Rads led us off by belting the ball with Philthy, Pastor Ted moving him to home plate. Cougars 8-0. After being scoreless in the fifth inning, the Cougars needed two to end the game early. Boom and Joker each had a rip and Rads singled to make it ten zip. Cougars win 10-0.

The combined 18-3 night was underscored by dazzling defense, phenomenal pitching, and a terrific Lipsey family postgame party.

While our play on offense and defense was impressive, the true highlight of the night was when Li’l Rads sunk a single in the gap and took a wide and hard turn around first base. His feet came out from under him and by the time he hit the ground, his drawstringless shorts were at his knees. He managed to pull up his pants and made it to second on an errant throw. The enthusiastic crowd loved it and laughed through every second if it.

Sadly, we did not get a picture of Marc in his underpants but maybe this shot from around 1977 will suffice.

While fields and teams evolve and change, this photo proves that some things have remained the same. I continue to love baseball and Marc still loves being in his underpants!

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Game Videos

Coming soon!

With so many high school kids exploring or choosing universities this time of year, it makes me think of my own experience.

Kids today seem so much more focused on academics and achievements than the teens of my generation, and not just here on the competitive North Shore. It seems high school has become all about getting into the best college possible for scholarship opportunities and career advancement. Sure, I knew some high achievers in high school (ahem, Julie), but not many.

Is the pressure to achieve in high school really worth the stress? The teenage years should be academically challenging but not at the cost of spending time with their friends and creating memories.

My main two goals as a teenager were to play on the ballfield as much as possible and hang out with friends all the time. (Oh, I forgot hair. My hair was a big deal too.) As a priority, hard work in school was a distant third for me and my grades suffered.

Most of you are old and need to squint to see such small print from 30 years ago. Let me help with some large print. That’s a 1.949 cumulative high school GPA.

To recap, lots of fun and a D average.

Fast forward three decades and my top three priorities have not changed, but rather, just rearranged.

Play on the ballfield as much as possible and hang out with friends all the time are certainly right up there but hard work now tops the list. (Oh, I forgot hair. My hair is still a big deal too.)

As adults, we trade our GPA and ACT results for W-2 and 1099 results.

Is the pressure to achieve at work really worth the stress? The adult years should be vocationally challenging but not at the cost of spending time with our friends and creating memories.

On Tuesday, we spent the night with our friends playing ball but our defense suffered and we lost 13-11.

To recap, lots of fun and an average D.

We were the visiting team and jumped out to a quick 4-0 first inning lead with hits by Pastor Ted, Joker, Rads JD, and Lipinski. Gulliver’s tallied one to make the score 4-1. In the second inning we dropped three more on our opponent with hits by Joker, Rads, JD, Bobi and Philthy. We held them scoreless in the bottom of the second inning. Cougars up 7-1. We were scoreless in the third, fourth and fifth innings while our rival, with help from our defensive lapses, scored eight over that three inning span. Gulliver’s winning 9-7. In the top of the sixth, we rallied and scored four runs starting with a Flandog/Diamond Dave combo opening the scoring floodgate followed by hits by Pastor Ted, Joker, Rads, JD, Bobi, Philthy and Coffey moving them across the plate. We scored four runs to make it 11-9. Our copycat challenger scored four in the bottom of the sixth inning, which put them ahead by two, 13-11. We could not push any runs across the plate in our last at-bat in the seventh inning. Game over. We could not pull out a victory in Diamond Dave’s first fantastic pitching outing of the year.

Whether you have a D average or an average D, the key to becoming a success is ambition, persistence, and competitiveness.

In the end, the only A I will ever attain is Type A.