Each season, managers pick one their players to receive the Dickie Bauer Coastie award. Since there are few left in the league who actually played with Dickie, John Cogan shared some background about Dickie along with the origin and importance of the award:
Dickie was an engineer by trade and a baseball player by choice. He was a left-handed first baseman who swung a telephone pole of a bat and ran like a man with no shoes walking on a too hot beach. He played collegiately at UMO and you could not throw a ball past him no matter how hard you tried but his throws across the diamond were money. None of this is why we named the award after him.
He was a Baptist who would arrive and read his well-thumbed bible in his minivan before games. His daughter would organize mission trips to Africa, and he would go along. There are pictures of a couple of dozen kids with brown faces and a soccer ball surrounding this gangly old white dude with hair askew and a grin from ear to ear. He could not have been happier.
"That's two for you!". "Take him yourself!" were heard from the right side on defense. And an occasionally heard "Dagnabit!" was heard when things didn't go quite as planned. He had a unique, folksy charm and love of the game and its players that I have not seen surpassed by any other of the hundreds of teammates I have had over the years. He made you feel special.
To be awarded a trophy with the name Dickie Bauer on it is our league's most prestigious honor. It means you are held in the highest esteem by your teammates and the league as a whole and that you exemplify the qualities of good sportsmanship and comradery that Dickie lived every day of his too short life.
Congratulations to all six of the 2024 Dickie Bauer Coastie Award recipients.
Rays - Carlos Dominguez (two-time winner!)
A's - Matt Morris (first year player - how great is that?)
Mariners - Dave Lilly (is there a position he can't play?)
Pirates - Steve Miller (great ballplayer and amazing teammate!)
Dbacks - Craig Annis (founding league member returns and shows the youngsters how it's done!)
Rockies - Jim Burke (quietly goes about his business to help the team!)
Please join me in congratulating these fine gentlemen for winning the 2024 Dickie Bauer Coastie Award! A very deserving group indeed!
Thanks,
Mel
