May 15, 1998
Boys,
I know many of you have been anxiously awaiting word on the 1998 Patrick's softball season. Hopefully this letter will help get everyone caught up on what has been happening since the fund-raiser party.
First of all, the fund-raiser was a huge success. We set a new attendance record with the final count showing that 76 people attended the fund-raiser party! One disturbing note . . . I am not aware of anyone who got sick as a result of alcohol, slept with anyone that they shouldn't have, or for that matter, did anything exceptionally stupid all night (T.J. is exempt only because he once again doesn't remember what he did). Has our worst nightmare come true . . . Are we maturing? . . .or was it just coincidence? Ponder this.
Following the party, Homey and I went down to Mr. Monogram that next week to place our jacket order. I set the box of jackets up on the counter and upon opening it, the store owner (a very religious person) and I found the following surprises lurking inside the box:
One zip lock bag containing
large stogie,
One pack, Marlboro lights,
Two CD's,
One beer bottle top,
Four jackets that reeked of beer and smoke
At the rate we were pulling contraband out of that box, I was surprised
she didn't find one of ScoTay's handguns in there. The biggest surprise
was that the trim on the jackets wasn't grey or white like I thought it
was at Patrick's. It was brown. As far as I know, T.J. is the only one
on the team who thinks that brown is one of our jersey colors. I was less
than pleased with this. In addition, the owner informed me that the price
of the jackets had gone up another $10 a jacket. I told her I wasn't happy
with the color but unfortunately, she was unable to find any other black
wind-jackets that came in a 3X. I told her I would have to think about
it and get back to her. That weekend, Homey and I checked out some Easton,
softball rain jackets at Scheels. We both agreed that something like that
would be a real possibility. Then, that Sunday night (March 31), everything
changed.
To start with, I will answer the question that I know weighs most heavily on all of your minds . . . Patrick's is OK!!!!!! Unfortunately, the tornado entered town via the ball fields. The fences were mangled and torn out of the ground, the lights were destroyed and the concessions stand and shelter are completely, 100% gone. Perhaps even worse is that the fields were also covered with debris which included large amounts of broken glass.
The good news is that everyone is OK and that we will have a softball season this year! The Captain's meeting was held May 13 and our first game will be next Wednesday, May 20 at 6:15 against Anthony & Sons Construction. Schedules will be handed out at the first game. Our division II league has been split into a division two and a division III league. We are in division II so we will no longer be playing the likes of More 4, National Guard, and Pinky's. This should make for a very competitive league this year (there will be no easy wins).
With this in mind, I suggest that we have a practice this Sunday since I am guessing that many of you have not been to the batting cage or even touched a softball since last year. Please meet at my place (411 Walnut) at 4:00 and we will decide which fields we want to practice on when people get here (I will leave a message for those of you who are late, . . .Steve).
The Rec. Department has asked that we stay out of the infields at Jefferson fields this Sunday since they are still working on them. FYI: New fences have been put up, the ag-lime has been replaced on all four fields, field one has been tiled, the bases will be held down by break-away magnets, new concession stand buildings will be built and by this fall we will have lights on two fields. Right now, none of the fields have lights and thus, we will have all early games this year.
Another big change from last year will be the way in which we qualify for districts. There will be a mid-season tournament on July 25th for district rankings. As in the past, the number of teams qualifying for districts will depend on the number of births that St. Peter applies for and receives from the Minnesota Sports Federation. However, the take-home message here is, WE NEED TO PLACE in this tournament if we want to go to districts this year. Mark July 25th in your calendar right away.
Now, back to the jackets. I spoke to Mr. Monogram several weeks after the tornado. After some explaining, I was able to return the four jackets that we ordered to try on without having to pay for them. I did this because I wasn't happy with them and at that point, was uncertain if we were even going to have a season. At this point, we have several options as to what we can do with the money we made from the Patrick's party:
1.) Order black, mock turtlenecks from Mr. Monogram. They would have Patrick's embroidered on the neck. Cheap and high quality (same brand as our gray jerseys) and look cool. Would probably only end up costing each of us a couple of bucks. On the other hand, we probably wouldn't get any use out of them this year.
2.) Order a slightly different style of jacket from a supplier that does all of the clothes for Seneca. Cheaper than Mr. Monogram. Would have the same logo as our black jerseys across the front. Rocket has done the groundwork on this and he can tell you the details.
3.) Put the money toward paying for our individual league fees ($10 if a St. Peterite or if you live in a town without a sanctioned league, $20 if not).
4.) Buy a decent equipment bag and a bunch of team balls so that we are not always using old, lumpy balls with the cover coming off for batting practice. Any interest in a Team Bat?
5.) Save the money to go toward jackets next year.
6.) Use the money as seed money for Districts or other tournaments we want to play in.
Again, let me know how you feel. At this point, I am pretty indifferent. We can talk about it on Sunday and/or next Wednesday. As always, I will try to please the greatest number of people so speak up if you have a preference.
Concessions will be done out of a rented Pepsi trailer. Otherwise, it will be handled in much the same way as last year. We have apparently drawn concessions duty this first week. Please contact me if you are interested in helping. Otherwise, I will be calling to find people.
A couple of side notes:
We mourn the loss of Kareoke Jeff as he has given up kareoke to pursue his recording business full-time. However, we will still have kareoke on Wednesday nights.
We finally have a new picture up on the wall at Pat's. Kevin donated the cost of having it matted and framed. Thanks Kevin, it looks sharp. Contact him if you want a small reprint. I believe he has some available.
Beth Berquam has once again declared herself "#1 fan."
Home runs will be considered a foul ball so try to contain that rage Sullivan. Darin, you may have to take half-swings this year.
The St. Peter Rec. Department has set up a hotline to call for game cancellations. It is 931-0070.
Any other questions, call or email. Hope to see many of you on Sunday.
Mike