Rotary Log: July 11, 2013 (Play Ball!)

Let’s Play Ball!  Today we witnessed President Dave’s first at bat as a rookie Rotary president.  I am pleased to report no errors were made on the field and President Dave hit for his minor league average—well done!  After a hearty rendition of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” to start the game with Justin Finn as umpire, Ben Wheeler pinch hit for Reverend Allen and gave the blessing as the designated vicar.

            Visiting players were introduced to the crowd including members of our own Rotary-sponsored Little League team along with their coaching staff.  Remarkably, the team achieved a 17-1 record including a state championship and won 21 straight over the course of the last two seasons.   An outstanding performance! Congratulations!

            Rotarian birthdays were next announced followed by a full rendition of “Happy Birthday.”  Happy birthday to the many Rotarians (names withheld to protect the innocent) celebrating a birthday in July!

Butch Ricci, fine master and vice president of player discipline, handed out fines appropriate for today’s meeting.  John Pappas was Butch’s first penalty target for wearing a New York Yankees shirt.  In this neck of the woods, that violation is about as egregious as any performance-enhancing drug violation in MLB, but Butch gave him a fighting chance to appeal the penalty by answering a trivia question.  The question was—who is the only pitcher in major league history to pitch a perfect game in a World Series and in what year.  His answer—Don Larson in 1956—Correct!  Violation overturned!  Down, but not out, Fine Master Butch tallied a windfall by penalizing all Rotarians lacking a baseball cap $3.00.  Next up was Trish Cummings for wearing New York styled stripes, albeit horizontal and not vertical.  Her position as vice president did not lead to any penalty waiver--$1.00.  Batting third on his list was Jon Flagg, graciously given the same appeal option as John Pappas.  His question—which major league pitcher struck out the most batters?  Answer—Nolan Ryan—Correct again!  Penalty revoked, but once again, not to be undone, all attorneys in the audience were fined $1.00.  Thanks Jon!

With her fine immunity removed, Past-President Nancy was given a tentative fine for her photo in the local newspapers.  But, once again, a trivia appeal was optioned by Fine Master Butch.  Nancy was charged with the task to finish the iconic commercial jingle, “Baseball, apple pie aaaaaaaaaaannnndddddddd---Hilltop Chevrolet?

General announcements followed prior to the first pitch.  Trish Cummings reminded us that a Christmas tree sales meeting would take place after the game.  Leonard Seagren informed us about the upcoming arrival of the tall ship Eagle and the need for boats for the parade.  Anyone with a boat is welcome and should gather at the mouth of Portsmouth Harbor on August 2.  Rick Page announced the upcoming Thunder Chicken Road Race and the need for volunteers to help with registration, race monitoring, etc.  Who’s on first anyone?  What’s on second.  I don’t know—third base.  Lastly, we were reminded about a Youth Exchange from Japan starting in August.  Jon Flagg has signed up as a host family. 

General Announcer, Yankee wannabe and Red Sox turncoat John Pappas introduced our guests from the local Mavericks baseball team.  He began with heartfelt thanks for the Troy Pappas Celebration Baseball Day game held in memory of Troy on June 30.  2000 people attended and the event was enjoyed by all.

John next introduced Mike Daboul, President of the Seacoast Mavericks and former Director of Baseball Operations.  Among his many responsibilities and job titles, Mike is a scout for the Minnesota Twins, head coach of the Winnacunnet High School Warriors and Assistant Principal at Winnacunnet High.  As a major league scout, Mike has covered the Northeast since 2002 and had a player he identified make it to the major leagues in May of this year.  In his youth, he played baseball for Winnacunnet and pitched for Merrimack College in North Andover Massachusetts where he led the college team to multiple Northeast 10 titles.  As head coach of Winnacunnet the last 15 years, Mike coached the team to two state championships, the last in 2002.  Mike has worked with over 100 players over the years including a Gatorade Player of the Year, Louisville Slugger 1^st Team All American, Big East Player of the Year and Big East Rookie of the Year.  Three of his players have been named Collegiate All Americans.  He resides in Portsmouth with his wife Zoe and daughter Charlotte.

Mike gave us the history of the Mavericks that have existed for three years.  The team is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that recruits players from colleges all over the country.  Leary field is their home field in the nine-team league.  The team and league are designed to promote community and charitable activities.  Beneficiaries include the Big Brother/Big Sister program, the Susan B. Komen Foundation and the Community Child Care Center among others.  Home games are used to highlight what local companies do for the communities.

The team is regularly scouted by major league affiliates as the team members aspire to play in the majors.  Thousands of players have passed through this collegiate summer baseball program, many of whom have made it to the majors.

As a fledgling organization, the team is in need of funds as the operation is quite expensive to run.  As an example, the new dugouts cost $24,000 to construct.  The team continually looks for partnerships to promote causes.  The Seacoast Media Group and Jennifer Philbrick each sponsored a night out at a game.  Mike welcomed Rotary to come down for a Rotary night to much applause.

The seventh inning stretch was used as a question and answer period.  First up, “what is the tryout procedure?”  Answer—no tryouts, all recruits who stay with host families during the season.  Second up, “how many games does the team play?”  Answer—54 games per season played over two months, six days a week.  Third up, “how far does the team travel?”  Answer—Lynn, MA., Martha’s Vineyard, Brockton, CT, etc.  You get the picture, it’s “Major League,” “Bull Durham” and “For the Love of the Game” all rolled into one.

Next up was James Navant, one of the Mavericks current outfielders that hails from Ashville, North Carolina and attends Notre Dame.  James is the third Notre Dame player to play with the Mavericks and just finished his freshman year.  He mentioned how nice it was to play in all 54 games when he only got to play in 27 games with his college team.  He was quick to inform us he is a good batter, a regular Casey at bat.  A business finance major and an admitted non-fan of the BoSox, he mentioned his friendship with his host family as being the best part of the whole experience.  James also gave us some further background about the summer league system and how there are hundreds across the United States.  The Cape Cod League is considered the best of the bunch and an astounding 92% of players in that league end up in the majors.  He absolutely loves the Portsmouth area and the whole minor league atmosphere.

After this most enjoyable presentation, Bill Hurley took home the 50/50 raffle of $70, but missed out on the $575 bonus.  To be continued . . . .