RemissionMan

Baseball season always does this to me …

I have so many amazing and positive memories of my youth, and in particular memories of sports and how they impacted my youth and the person that I became. Sports are still impacting my life and probably always will. I wrote a piece a little while ago called Three Wise Men that talked about some of the educators that had a positive influence on me through sports.

Here is another era of my life that I treasure and hold very near and dear; Ardmore Manor Baseball. Everyone who grew up in Ardmore Pennsylvania could identify with Ardmore Manor Baseball. It was the next prestigious jump on the baseball ladder after Haverford Twp Little League…a.k.a.“Karakung”.

I played my American Legion baseball on a few of those Manor teams. I was a Manor Boy in the mid to late 1970s. Youth baseball seemed different back then. I think there was a greater sense of pride in how the players represented their communities. Perhaps I’m wrong because I am so far removed from it, but it seems that way to me today.

There was also a greater sense of pride to even be playing, because back then you fought hard for your roster slot. Our Manor teams were a mix of the local Catholic and public school system athletes who banned together in the summer to don the blue “AM” uniform and represent the community. Our home was Elwell Field.  And we were good. No, we were GREAT. And we were the team to beat.

I was even luckier because I was actually playing American Legion ball at the tender age of 15 when, technically, the minimum age was 16. So, at 15, I was the little kid playing (or sitting) in the shadows of greatness. And man, did I play with and against a couple of legendary athletes. I also played in the shadows of some true characters that added such a great element of fun and camaraderie to the game. We were not just playing baseball. We were having the times of our lives every summer.

One teammate who I looked up to and admired the most was John DelMonte… or “J.D.” as he was known to all. You see, J.D. was two years older than I and we played all of the same sports – soccer, basketball, and baseball at Haverford High School. John was a pitcher and centerfielder in baseball. AND J.D. was a goalkeeper in soccer, as was I. In fact I practiced with the varsity soccer team as a sophomore and was John’s back up in goal. So I literally played in his shadow for a couple of seasons. Many a long practices were spent with our legendary soccer coach Ted Keyser perfecting our goalkeeping prowess. But that’s another story for another time.

I played in that shadow with a lot of pride and learned so much from him on so many levels.  J.D. went on to have a very successful college career at nearby St. Joseph’s and was then drafted by the NY Mets and played for a number of years in the Mets and Cardinals farm systems. An injury forced an early retirement from the game.

One of our cross town Legion rivals was in Springfield. Springfield boasted another great athlete, and a name you might know. Springfield’s catcher was a guy named Mike Scioscia. And we all know that Mike went on to have an amazing professional career. Well, it was obvious back in the Legion days that Mike was destined for greatness. The annual match-ups between Springfield and Ardmore Manor were intense and drew a flurry of media coverage as both teams touted such superstars. When John DelMonte took the mound against Mike Scioscia you knew you were witnessing something special. Scouts, radar guns, photographers, and reporters came out in droves.

I saw very limited playing time that first year of Legion baseball, but for a skinny kid riding the pines; it was an amazing thing to be a part of. The memories and the impressions that the game and so many of my teammates had on my will forever be part of me.

As a funny little side note, J.D. and I developed a unique friendship because of the sports that we had in common. (It was probably more the goalkeeper bond than anything else). Whenever J.D. pitched, he had one little good luck charm that always worked for him. He would only throw his initial warm up pitches to one person – me.

I still smile when I replay that little sound byte in my head, “Brownie, can you warm me up”? While I looked up to John, I was his peer at the same time and felt a mutual respect from him.

Over the next couple of years the torch was passed and the 15 and 16 year olds grew into the older players on subsequent teams. We were still great, and those memories are still special, but there was something about that first year for me. And there was something special about the mix of players who all united together every time we took the field.

We were Manor Boys, and we were proud.