It’s Been A Million Years… But Here I am!

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September 24th, 2024

It may seem as if it’s been a million years since I’ve gotten on here to write an update. Maybe it has been that long, but my in-depth research and analysis says more like five months, I think. And SO MUCH has happened.

Where to start? Well, in April I received one of the greatest honors any athlete in any sport can earn, at any level. I was inducted into the St. Louis Amateur Baseball Hall of Fame, during their 50th anniversary year. I was fortunate to go in with not only a lot of guys I played against over the years, as a member of the Sauget Wizards semi-pro team, but even more fortunate to be inducted with two former Wizards teammates and best friends. John Parke (who played for Vanderbilt and then for the Wizards) and Pete Delkus (former roomie who and great friend who also went to SIUE and then signed with the Twins, becoming their minor league player of the year) were there with me and the other guys on the dais, and that meant the world to me. We made up the 8th, 9th, and 10th Wizards to be inducted. I was the 10th (because the order was alphabetical.) In my speech I said “I’m the 10th Wizard, and that speaks volumes about the level of talent we had. I don’t care if I’m the 10th or the 100th. It’s just a huge honor to be standing here.”

In late May, I flew back down to St. Louis to attend a different induction, but also went there to support one of my favorite teammates ever. Bill Lee played first base for us at Southern Illinois Univ. – Edwardsville, and like me he then went on to a stellar sports marketing career, but unlike me he got back into baseball and rose through the ranks until he became commissioner of the Frontier League, an independent league that Bill guided to great success. A great guy, and an honor more than well deserved.

Right after that, it was time for my SIUE buddies Lance McCord, James “Oscar” Noffke, and me to head out on our annual “Roomies Reunion” trip. This year it was San Diego and we loved it. Had a fabulous Vrbo rental house just a block off the water, comfortable rooms and beds, and a fine kitchen to make our culinary magic. A trip well taken. We’re currently addressing our 2025 plans and Detroit seems to be the leader in the clubhouse. We’ll see. There are still many towns and ballparks we haven’t been to, but Detroit is pretty easy for all of us and not that expensive to get to. We’ll rent a house again, but it will likely be out in the suburbs, just like we’ve in most of the towns we’ve visited. Once the ’25 MLB schedule comes out, we can start to get serious about it.

Then, for much of the month of July and the early part of August, I did my duty once again and flew over to Kauai to condo-sit and cat-sit for my sister Mary and her husband Lonnie while they headed to the Mainland to visit their kids and grandkids.

Yeah, it was sublime once again and now I’ve been promoted to be in charge of three indoor cats (Maxie, Biscuit, and Lil’ Bit) plus two outdoor cats who adopted Mary and Lonnie by hanging out on their lanai until Mary decided to start putting food out. I’m sure that decision took about 5 seconds.

Now, we’re putting some plans in place for other adventures. Including the fact that October 4th and 5th will be the 50th reunion with my classmates from 1974. 50 years? How can that be? We’re all still about 25 or 30, right?

And finally, my news is that I am indeed writing that fourth book. No real working title yet, but there’s been one rolling around in my head for quite a while. I’m just a little shy of it because it’s a cliche and I hate cliches. We’ll see.

Yes, book number four will be baseball related and I’m almost done with chapter two now. A long way yet to go….

I hope you like this episode from the blog you thought was dead and gone.

Adios. I’ll be back right after my high school reunion.

 

Having family at my Hall of Fame inducrtion was an honor and a thrill
A pretty nice piece of hardware, for the effort
When NHRA Drag Racing and baseball intersect. My dear friends, Krista & Tim Wilkerson and Elon Werner
Dan O’Connor and I played in the minors for two seasons in the Detroit organization, and we roomed together too. I hadn’t seem him since June of 1979.He and his wife Richele made the trip from Columbus, Ohio. Talk about an honor for me. This was fantastic.
Honoring our great friend and teammate, Bill Lee. Left to right: Jim Greenwald (SIUE and the Minnesota Twins) Stan Osterbur (SIUE and Paintsville Hilanders) Bob Matzenbacher (SIUE), Bill Lee himself, me, and Dennis Werth (SIUE and New York Yankees)
Honored to be in the company of these guys, and all the other inductees
It’s a tough assignment but I haven’t failed at it yet! Kauai…