The Blazers had a successful debut in the 53 and older Legends Division at the Hobbs World Series in 2018. After so many years in the 45’s, it was tough moving up, and leaving some old friends behind (for now), but it seemed like time, so here we were.

It turned out to be one of the best group of guys, and best group of ballplayers that the Hobbs had ever put together. The team got to the semi-finals of AAA division, and lost that game to Nova Scotia b an eyelash, but that game could have gone either way, and we would have had the opportunity to play for another championship. But I think all agreed that this would not be the last team this team got this far, and I expect some championship hats in the closet sooner than later.

But in what has become an annual tradition that is a true honor to put together, here are this years’ honorees and accolades. At the end of the last heartbreaking loss, I had to name a team MVP in order to get the reward engraved. I honestly hadn’t given it much thought, as I fully expected to be moving on to the final, and never truly grasped that it was over until the last out was made.

There could have been three or four MVP’s and even that might have been short. As is often the case, the stats were gaudy in some cases. But my rationale was who could we least afford to have played without. Frankly I was still stumped. George Kerst was absolutely fabulous, isn’t he always? I had the thought once during the tournament that I would be far more surprised if George didn’t come through in some situation, than if he hadn’t. Of course, he did. He led the team in hitting for the week at .586, in hits with 17,  slugging at .862, played an unbelievable shortstop, fielding .950, and even threw a couple of innings. Just a total team player and the best of dudes. He’s not the MVP? I should be ashamed.

Ric Moots told me he could catch, truthfully I’d never seen the guy behind the dish, plus he’d been down the entire week before, he had to be tired. I figured he was just going to be around for the slick Southern accent. Well all Ric managed to do was catch three solid games, plus a big chunk of the 20+ runs given up game against the Texas guys. He pitched 4 innings, in fact played just about position on the field defensively, and all very well I might add. Cat hit .500, was on base .567, didn’t strike out the whole tournament, and in terms of indispensability, it would be tough to argue against Mr. Moots as our MVP. Yet he was not.

Rick Sanders hit .474, drove in 5 clutch runs, fielded .958, threw 9 innings to a 2.00 ERA and deserved a better fate in the semi-final game, those guys really could swing it, and he held them at bay. Plus he started that whole gangster talk thing, which took me the better part of three weeks to get over, see? Well deserving of MVP status. Winner? No.

Then of course there was the guy who any sane manager would have awarded the hardware to hands down, end of discussion. Carlos Ruperto found this young man on a scouting trip to Venezuela. Willie Castro. All he did was throw three complete games, 25 innings, with a 1.44 ERA, 19 K’s and a 0.88 WHIP. Most importantly, he will forever live in Blazer lore as having thrown a doubleheader, back to back complete games in some decent November heat. We quite simply would not have gone as far as we did without Willie, not even close. He was remarkable, and could not possibly have been a better teammate. We didn’t get him any AB’s to speak of, but I can tell you having thrown BP to him, he can mash. MVP? Couldn’t quite go there this year.

I had two dark-horse candidates this year. My oldest baseball pal, who started playing with my Reds in 1996, near as I can recall., Jeff Albertson finally joined, or rejoined the Blazers this year. If the guy couldn’t play a lick, he would be a blast to have around, just love Jeff, and Wendy and Katrina and her hubby. Just happens he can play, and play he did. A cool .500 for the wily vet, tied for the team lead in RBI with 8, the only pitcher on the team who didn’t give up an earned run (OK it was over 2 innings..:), and he made all the plays sharing 3^rd with Joe. Some years he would have been a shoe-in for MVP, but not this year.

Joe Hamilla hit .458 with 11 hits, pitched great, taking a tough luck loss in that deciding game, with a bunch of seeing eye hits, and plays that could have gone either way, and manned a tight third base defensive duo with Jeff the rest of the time. On some teams, sometimes, not this time, however for MVP.

Dean Hill is one of those guys who is just a gamer. Quiet, intense, focused and plays the game the right way. He hit .407, took the ball when he clearly indicated he would have preferred not to I the infamous Johnny Wholestaff game, and was second on the team to George with 4 extra base hits.

My pal Tony Caruso is just one helluva ballplayer. I’ve been writing these things up long enough now that it gets tough to say something new about a guy, but this giant of the Central Florida baseball community just does so much to help a team win. Once again, he was left as an arrow in the quiver, if we could have advanced that championship game, a rested Tony would have given those Mass Chiefs all they handle. Additionally TC started and pitched a good game at Terry Park, hit a tidy .308 and made some sensational grabs in the OF, as well as some throws home to nab runners that we’ll talk about for a while.

Alfredo “Fettucini” Jimenez was a wonderful addition to the team, hitting .286, but collecting 8 walks for an OBP of .545. He also made a mound appearance during the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and made several nice grabs in right, and I thought played strong out there all week. He always had a smile on his face, and I hope he comes back. Plus he’s the only guy I’ve seen that bivouacked in a camper in the stadium parking lot all week.

The baseball Gods are a fickle bunch and unfortunately they don’t always smile on everybody every year. This year they cast their evil eyes on Dennis Smith and Danny Acevedo, but let me tell you something, they may not have had the statistics that they would have liked, but I thought each was a critical piece of our club. With a couple of our flychasers backing out in the last minute, Dennis had to play a lot of innings out there, and he made some great grabs, covered a ton of ground and hit the cut off every time. That’s the kind of ballplayer I love, and we would have been in a world of hurt without him. He’s a good hitter too, just hit in some tough luck. It’s always somebody every year, so chin up, you snoring bastard. (Yeah, I know, but hey, I’m the one writing this…J) Danny has a gorgeous swing, and even though he didn’t get untracked to his liking, he played a solid first base, and I think his swing was coming around as the week went on. Plus he was having some eye issues. But he never let it get him down, just a super guy to have around, I really enjoy his company.

Our part-timers were Mark Maznicki, Carlos Ruperto and Joe “North” Greene, three  “Hall of Fame” players and “Hall of Fame” dudes. Mark hit a cool. 385 before he took off for Montreal or someplace. There is literally no nicer human to play ball with, and he finds a lot of holes. Carlos had to go racing with his son after Wednesday, but my other long term pal was heating it up just as he took off, and I think it made a measurable difference in him. This game can wear you down, but it can also lift you up, and Carlos lining a couple of knocks seemed to lift his spirits, after all he has been through health wise in the last few years. People sometimes forget that this fellow could really swing it not so long ago, hope he’s back! Great tournament “Pancho”! And Joe Greene was set to take us to the promised land along with Tony Saturday afternoon on the mound, if fortune had smiled upon us that morning. Joe is one tough ballplayer, and threw a great game in the stadium on Wednesday, when the opportunity presented itself to go ahead and win that game. He drove all the way down that afternoon and threw a beauty that night. One of these years we’re going to get him for the week, he just gets a ton of outs, and can play baseball, without a doubt.

Have I teased it long enough? Somebody had to be MVP, as I’ve said, it could have been any one of a bunch of you guys. But this year’s Hobbs Blazers MVP is the manager of the A’s, Adam Bransfield. I have been begging this guy to come down to Hobbs for the better part of two decades. I knew when he finally relented last year that I had him for the long term, because Adam, above all else, loves to play.” Not catching? Where do you want me? Infield full? Benn catching fly balls my whole life. Sure I’ve caught doubleheaders, lets go for 3!” My guy loves to play, and boy, can he. Played the toughest position on the field, and shut down any semblance of a running game by our opponents (as did Ric and Joe, honesty compels me to add.) He hit .571, 16 hits, 4 doubles, stole a couple bags, 1.327 OPS, the guy just played in that rarified Kerstian air, and I just thought, you couldn’t shine a light between them, lets give to AB, since George already had a couple.

Anyway, thanks to everybody, this was one of my favorite years, and not just because we played well and had some success, but because you guys were truly a pleasure to hang with. I love every little thing about it, from picking up the BP balls, to trekking back to the car after the final loss, to the old guy asking you to buy a 50/50 ticket every time you walk by. Cussing too much, eating too much, hurting too much, and generally playing this great game with a bunch of like-minded individuals is one of the great privileges I’ve had and hope to have for years to come.  See you on the diamond somewhere soon, and as always, wait until next year!