Transitioning

Unless otherwise noted all photos are by Mark Granieri

2019 has been a year of transition for the Flemington Neshanock as Brad "Brooklyn" Shaw, team founder and club president has been taking a less active role.  One characteristic of transitions is the realization of how much work was done, but never spoken about, something I've become very well aware of this season.  It's also a time for to reflect on and honor the past something which began last weekend in Gettysburg when Tom "Schoolboy" Duffy of the Eclipse spoke about how much "Brooklyn's" help had meant in founding their club, something most of us were not aware of.  The tributes continued today in Rahway River Park when Paul Solomone, team captain of the Elizabeth Resolutes talked about Brooklyn's contributions in a heartfelt and moving manner.  Paul is the founder of nineteenth-century base ball in New Jersey and both his words and thoughtfulness were much appreciated.  He also suggested that we must be missing the weekly recitation of "Casey at the Bat," but some Neshanock are not ready to go that far, or at least not yet.

It was great to see longtime Neshanock fan, Blake Zimmer along with his parents and cousins, left to right, Aiden Jasul, Jasmin Jasul, the humble author, and Blake.  Photo by Ben Zimmer 

The two teams then began a game played by 1870 rules which are somewhat different from the 1864 version which Flemington typically uses.  The major and most obvious difference is that fair balls must be caught on a fly, but there are others including the rule that base runners advance on a walk only when forced, something the Neshanock learned or re-learned to its cost.  Having lost the toss, Flemington went to the striker's line first and tallied twice before keeping Elizabeth off the scoreboard in the bottom of the first.  The Neshanock then had a big inning in their half of the second when hits by Matt "Fly" Nunn, Jeff "Duke" Schneider, Joe "Mick" Murray, and Tom "Thumbs" Hoepfner along with a walk by Chris "Low Ball" Lowry led to four Flemington tallies.  Elizabeth got one back in their half of the inning, but after a scoreless third, the Neshanock had another big inning in the fourth tallying five times.  The Resolutes, however, had no intention of going quietly and combined a single and a double to score twice in their half of the inning.

In keeping with recent history, Flemington's offense then basically shut down for the game other than scoring three times in the top of the sixth with the key blow a double by Dan Mahony, the Neshanock's only extra-base hit of the day.  Elizabeth battled back in their half of the inning combining two hits and some Neshanock muffs to tally three times.  The Resolutes staged one more rally in the bottom of the eighth, scoring two times, but it wasn't enough against a relatively solid Neshanock defensive effort and Flemington held on for a 15-8 victory.  While Flemington has won this year's games between the two clubs, the rebuilding Resolutes are rapidly improving and it is only a question of time before Elizabeth will win more than their share of matches in this longstanding, friendly rivalry. 

Photo by Lawrence Major 

Flemington's offense was led by "Mick" and "Thumbs" both of whom had four hits, each of them missing a clear score by only one time at the striker's line.  Three other Neshanock had multiple-hit games, Dan with three and "Fly" and "Duke" with two apiece.  Flemington's defense was led by its pitching tandem of Bobby "Melky" Ritter and Scott "Snuffy" Hengst.  Also noteworthy was "Jersey" Jim Nunn's almost flawless performance at first base - an unfamiliar position for him.  Once Mark "Gaslight" Granieri found the field, he turned in another strong performance at catcher, not only "gunning" down two would-be base stealers, but also making a diving catch of a bound foul to help seal the victory for Flemington.  With the win, the Neshanock are now 14-5 on the season, having played nine of the last ten weekends.  Unfortunately, Flemington doesn't play again until September 14th leaving plenty of time to catch up on yard work and other assorted chores, none of which are remotely enjoyable as playing base ball in any form.