Yes boys, we finally did it!!!

In the Spring of 2010, the Beat made it to the City Championship game for only the second time in 24 years but were soon overmatched. By the 7th inning, the boys in gray were looking at a 9-run deficit vs. three outs. But as the story has been for much of this year, the team refused to give up. They fought and clawed their way back into the game only to go home the bridesmaid again as the tying run was gunned down at the plate to end the game.

That game was a wake up call to this team. It showed resiliency and determination and also forged the personality of this team as one that does not give up, even under the most daunting conditions, and to which two outs in an inning are meaningless. And somehow, this team knew that we would be back in the summer, and we knew the third time would be the charm.

The Beat had two bad games in the summer that left the team with a loss and a tie, but otherwise, the Beat was a steam train winning the other six games by a combined total of 95-21; that's an average of almost 16 runs per game while allowing only 3.5!

Following a first round playoff bye, the Beat took on More Cowbell, the C-2 champs and again showed a flair for the dramatic winning 18-14 but scoring 17 of those runs with 2 outs. That win vaulted the team to the City League Final-Four tourney to be played at Moscone Park on October 20th; 10/20/10, a day that will live in the minds of Beat players and proud alumni for the rest of our lives.

After the tough loss in the Spring final, the guys were hungry. We took a quick round of BP before the game and could tell the ball was flying out of the park so we knew we were in for a high scoring game; especially after seeing Olympic Club crush the ball last week in a 25-13 trouncing of the Onsters.

With manager Pete Wenner out of the country, Denny "OB" O'Brien played the role of bench coach and honorary manager exchanging lineup cards while interim manager Brett Goldstein led the huddle before the game.

The Beat lost the toss and were visitors in the opener but pushed a few runs across in the first. When the team took the field, the boys were pumped. The outfield played the way you have to in the playoffs, about 300 feet back all the way around. There was a football field of room between the infield and outfield but OC couldn’t hit the gaps. The shots to the infield were gobbled up. Rob Villegas made three outstanding plays at third including a snare of a shoestring liner and a quick grab and throw of a dribbler up the line that looked like a bunt single all the way. Most of the outs were pop-ups to the outfield and particularly Harper Alexander in left. With Jacque Wilson injured all season, the call to put Harper in left was key to both wins…and he was outstanding. Andrew Nelson played left-center so that we could keep Brian Greenblatt and Jacq Wilson in their traditional spots in RC and Right respectively. Andrew let one ball get over his head early but was otherwise flawless and made one incredible diving catch. OC drove another moonshot over Brian’s head in right center and suddenly he was Willie Mays in the ’54 series. I don’t know how he got to it and I certainly don’t know how he caught it, but he did. I've never seen Brian so fired up and we started to feel destiny shine on us.

For whatever reason, OCs outfield was playing us rather shallow. We put a couple balls over their heads but they never adjusted and so the homer parade began. At one point we had three in a row and we may have had more homers Wednesday night than we had all season, maybe all year. Q hit a classic liner and somehow booked all the way around on his bum leg to score. Drew Baumberger hit his first of the year. Andrew was on fire blasting the ball and running the bases. He almost passed Harper on the bases one time and the two of them got caught between second and third; Harper ended up getting tagged out at third. But what looked like a major Beat breakdown turned just as quickly as OC then threw the ball away and Andrew came all the way around to score. Another sign of fate; and I don't think Andrew went into a base all night without going in face first.

Meanwhile, the Olympic Club, who had plated 42 runs in their first two playoff games, had managed only four hits through the first four innings against pitcher Kevin Austin as he mixed in a handful of curves and knucklers to compliment the snappy backspin. OC strung a few more hits together in the 5th and scored a couple runs but there was no way they would catch the Beat who waltzed to a 27-4 mercy-rule victory in five.

The championship game would put the Beat against Bloom's Brothers who were 10-0 on the summer and had mercy-ruled their semi-final opponent The Savage Gardeners. The Beat had faced Bloom's once before in the playoffs a few years back and Bloom's had knocked us out, so there was revenge at stake as well as a championship.

In this game we got the hammer, but Bloom’s jumped out to a quick 5-run lead. Their top 5 just smoked the ball; hard grounders ate up the infield and singles to the outfield were kicked into doubles and Bloom's was taking every extra base given them. This was suddenly not the same, sharp defense that played the first game.

When we finally got off the field, OB mentioned that Kev was pitching a little flat. Mixing high and low pitches worked well in the first game against OC; but Bloom was crushing the ball. Sometimes that little voice in the ear from an alert coach is all it takes to right the ship.

We came back with one in the bottom so we were down 5-1 and Bloom's was blasting the Giants game in the dugout while they were batting. OB went to the ump and asked to have them turn it down; OB and Blooms manager got into a shouting match about how they could listen if they wanted to and in classic OB style he quoted a rule stating that yes you can listen to whatever you want ‘as long as it does not distract the pitcher.’ The ump sided with us and made them turn it down and OB had gotten into their heads, while at the same time clearing Kev's who went to a longer stride and painted the ceiling the rest of the night. We kept them scoreless in the second and started clawing back.

Bloom's did not make the mistake of playing too shallow in the outfield but they had a huge hole on the left side of the infield to make up for their pitcher’s lack of range and we hammered that hole all night. They tried switching pitchers at one point but neither had good stuff and the Beat hit at will. The game went back and forth for a few innings and Blooms went up 10-8 but that would be it for the undefeated C-5 champs.

After Bloom's #2 hitter smoked a floating knuckler about 300 feet on a rope but two feet foul, Kev pocketed the pitch and went after Bloom's with a steady diet of high, snappy backspins. Bloom's stopped driving the ball through the infield and started launching long fly balls to the outfield. There must have been a dozen balls hit 300-350 feet, and we caught every one of them.

When we got to the bottom of the 6th we were up 20-10 needing only two runs for a mercy rule. Andrew rounded the bases again on another overthrow and Jacq stepped us as the winning run. He reached and then Q as well so with runners at first and second and still no outs, up walks Brass Beat winner Matt Attaway, the Babe incarnate. You just knew at that point the game was over. Matt had been driving the ball through the right side all night and all we needed was a sharp single to score Jacq from second. Well Matty got a hold of one and you could feel everyone on the bench stand up. As soon as we saw the right fielder turn his back we knew it was over. Jumps and screams and a mob scene at the plate as Jacq came in. It was outstanding, and so long coming.

Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE chipped in on this one. I don’t know of one guy that didn’t step up. Mark St. Georges didn’t make an out in either game. Drew hit his first homer. Andrew was a monster on both sides of the ball. The outfield was an impenetrable wall. Harper made huge ranging plays in left sometimes going 20 feet into foul territory to bring down a moon shot and he also tripled (his first of the year). When they talk about firing on all cylinders, well that describes it perfectly.

After the game the old groundskeeper from Silver Streak called out the manager. OB strolled out to the plate and was presented with the championship trophy. How fitting is that in the absence of manager Pete Wenner that the Beat's elder statesman, founder, shaman and philosopher should be the first to hold it?

It was sad not having Pete there. Twelve years at the reigns, he's kept this team fluid and moving forward by recruiting talented young players to complement a veteran core. And finally all that hard work has paid off. After 24 years in the league, The Beat are City Champions. And now we can finally change our focus from winning our first championship... to defending it.

Go BEAT!!!!!!

The 2010 'C' League Champion Beat

 

Bopper Matt Attaway celebrates his game winning drive

Special K, OB and MSG show off the spoils

On The BEAT News Archive

---

Please send your comments to: TheBeat@Sonic.net