Best Trip Ever
The Stealers are a competitive mens fastpitch softball team from Richmond, B.C., Canada. As our team has aged with many of the guys having young families our goals in fastpitch have changed. We no longer play a schedule that eats up every weekend in the summer, now we play for the opportunity to travel to interesting places to play in fastpitch tournaments. A couple of years ago while sitting around after a game having a pop, the team suggested that we take a trip to Boston so Rick McGrath could see his beloved Red Sox, and maybe play a little fastpitch. Well this year the plans were put in motion and the Stealers ventured to the East coast! Our first order of business was to find a tournament to play in. Luckily for us, there is an ASA in Metro Boston, we set about contacting them and inquiring about a tournament that we might participate in. They just so had a tournament in September, the Ray Macone Memorial Fastpitch Tournament held in Cambridge Massachusetts Sept 12th – 13th. A quick check of the Red Sox schedule revealed that they were in town on a home stand and flights and tickets to a couple of games were quickly booked.
Leaving Seattle, Washington on September 11th was a tough call but I assured the guys that it was probably the safest day to travel. As we arrived at the airport we were confronted with a travelers worst nightmare, weather delays. This not only posed an issue with our travel, but also with the heavy rains forecast in the Boston area, our tournament was in jeopardy. After several hours of waiting, we were finally able to leave Seattle for the East coast. After a quick stop in Newark, NJ we arrived in Boston. We were shuttled to our hotel in nearby Woburn, Massachusetts and got settled in. Our first game in the morning was 8:00am so it was time for some sleep. We awoke to heavy rains Saturday morning, this was not how the story was to unfold, but the fields were unplayable. We were informed by the UIC, Rich Silva, that all play on Saturday was canceled. With the weather report for Sunday looking promising it was decided that we would play all games in the schedule, just at a discounted 5 innings. With those details in hand we had to find something to do for the day. Rich had just the plan, they loaded us up and took us into Boston. Little did we know what was in store for us.
Not wanting to let an opportunity go by to explore a new city the Stealers set off to tour the city, see the sights, do a little shopping, and sample some of the night life. The people of Boston were some of the most friendly people that we have come across. The town is deep in history and Architecture, and I am sure that we only scratched the surface of the attractions that can be had in Boston. Oh yeah and the nightlife left a group of Stealers claiming “best night ever!”
Well Sunday came, a little too soon for some, but the sun was shining and it was time to play some ball. Unfortunately “best night ever!” made for a not so great start to our day. We were downed by a scrappy local team Hickory Farms 3-0. This put us in the losers bracket. After our game there was a managers meeting, and it was decided that there was enough time left, and the fact a team dropped out, that we would be able to play regulation 7 inning games to complete the tournament. It was also noted that it was a true double knockout, so we would have to win two finals to take out the tournament. We were now looking square in the face of 5 games to win it. Lucky for us we decided to show up and play, the bats came alive, and coupled with the strong pitching of Dean Webster and Darren Strang we were able to make it back to the final. Sadly that is where the magic and the bodies decided to quit. We battled hard, but the scrappy Hickory Farms team got the better of us in an 8 inning 3-2 loss. Let us tip our hats to Hickory farms as they scored when they needed to, and they went to the final undefeated.
After the final, we were invited back to the Tournament Host bar. Paddy's is a small bar nestled in a residential neighborhood in Cambridge, just down the street from the ball fields. Paddy's is a family pub and had in fact had there own “best night ever” on Saturday night as they celebrated there 75 year Anniversary. With lots of food left over from Saturday night, we were treated to a BBQ and there were plenty of pops to sooth the body after a very long day of ball. There were many old timers in the bar, and soon the war stories started. We found out that back in the day there were some 127 local mens fastpitch teams playing in Cambridge, and the likes of Darren Zack and Paul Algar had spent time playing in Cambridge. As with most areas, fastpitch is a dying sport, and Boston is no exception, however they are making a great effort to revitalize the game, and they were very appreciative of the Stealers traveling to there tournament.
We were met by more great weather Monday and it was time to switch hotels for the remainder of our trip. We shifted to a hotel in Boston which was a 10 minute walk to Fenway Park. One of our guys really wanted to go to the opening Monday Night Football game just down the way at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough. After some investigation with Ticketmaster and the Boston Transportation Authority we were able to get 14 seats in a row in the endzone, and tickets on the train down to Foxborough. What an amazing Stadium, and what an event Monday night football is. We were treated to a very exciting finish as New England stormed back against the Buffalo Bills to score twice in the last two minutes to win 25 – 24. Following the game, the Stealers enjoyed some team bonding at some of the local Boston establishments.
Tuesday, and more great weather, where was this on Saturday? We all split up and toured the city keeping in mind our appointment at 7:05 with the Red Sox. Some of the guys did the tour of Fenway and got to see batting practice, the top of the green monster. The highlight of the day was the short meeting with Jason Bay just prior to first pitch. Jason was very gracious to come over and autograph a few articles as well as shake hands and chat with some of the guys. The Red Sox went on to win that game 4 – 1 over the Angels. Following the game, the Stealers felt that the previous nights work was not complete and more team bonding was in order.
Wednesday, the final day in Boston, again great weather! This was a repeat of Tuesday, with lots of sightseeing, the remainder of the guys went on the tour of Fenway, and the Red Sox won again, this time coming from behind in dramatic fashion to nip the Angels 9 - 8 in the bottom of the 9th inning. Just to make sure that the team had fully bonded, one more night was prescribed to ensure that all the hard work had payed off. This time we were pleasantly surprised to run into the voice of the Anaheim Angels Rex Hudler. He spent a few hours bonding with the guys, and displaying his knowledge on the game.
Before closing I would like to encourage any team that is looking to attend a well run tournament that is first class in every way, and maybe get in a Red Sox game, or see the Patriots to contact Joe Alfonse the Commissioner of the Metro Boston ASA. He will be able to help you with whatever you need to make your trip a successful one. Many thanks to Joe, At Large Palyer Rep Jim Fanning, UIC Rich Silva, and volunteer Peter Mosgofian.
Have a look at our photos of the trip.
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Marshall Shields
Manager / Coach
Richmond Stealers
