"People Will Come"

On Memorial Day, the Neshanock finally got to play a game without regularly checking the weather forecast.  In fact, it would have been hard to find a better day to play baseball - pristine blue skies and comfortable temperatures.  In such ideal conditions, it was once again a pleasure to make our annual visit to Newtown, Pennsylvania, to take on the home team, the Newtown Strakes.  The Strakes, like the Enterprise Club of River Edge, play an important part in vintage baseball. One of the many things I've learned from scheduling is how difficult it can be to find opponents.  These two clubs, even though they may play only once or twice a year, play an important part in filling out our schedule.  Thanks to Strakes captain Kevin O'Shea and the rest of the Newtown team.

As always, the Neshanock bench was into the game - all photos by Mark Granieri

Having won the bat toss, the Neshanock took the field and held the Strakes scoreless in the first two innings while tallying three times for an early 3-0 lead.  The game went back and forth for the next two innings, but Newtown took the lead and shut out the Neshanock for the last five innings, earning a 10-6 win.  Danny "Lefty" Gallagher, Thomas "Hawk" Prioli, Tom "Thumbs" Hoepfner and Ernie "Shredder" Albanesius each had two hits for the Neshanock.  Defensively, Bobby "Melky" Ritter made two fine plays on hard-hit bound outs while also pitching the entire game.  Playing in his hometown, Ken "Tumbles" Mandel lived up to his nickname on a diving catch of a foul-bound out.  We were also pleased to welcome back Don "Splinter" Becker, who saw his first action after a season-ending injury a year ago.

Sam "Ewing" Ricco about to put bat on ball

So far, each game this season seems to have two stories - the game itself plus something else at least somewhat unique to that day.  Last week, for example, the story was how our baseball friends helped us honor a commitment.  Monday, at least for me, the story was the crowd, one of the largest I can remember.  I mentioned this to official blog photographer Mark "Gaslight" Granieri, who quickly applied his computer-like mind to the issue and put the attendance at 350.  That may not seem like a large number, but in our world, it's a big deal.  Seldom do we get the opportunity to recreate 1860s baseball for so many people.

Bobby "Melky" Ritter pitches in front of part of the large crowd while Paul "O'Neill" Cincotta awaits expectantly

On reflection, there were actually two recreations going on - the 1864 game, which the spectators witnessed and another in which they were participants.  Every vintage game illustrates in some way the differences between modern baseball and the early game.  Seldom, however, is there such a graphic example as what happened in the top of the first inning.  Newtown had runners on second and third with one out when the batter hit a line drive up the middle.  "Melky" grabbed the hard-hit ball on one bounce for an out and then threw home to "Gaslight," who tagged the runner for an inning-ending double play. And just like that, the Neshanock were out of the inning without giving up a run. Under modern rules, at the very least, the inning would still have been going on.

Ken "Tumbles" Mandel gives the post-game speech - an experience never to be forgotten

Everyone present could see from just that one play that 1864 baseball was a very different game.  Few, if any, of the spectators, however, realized that they were also recreating some baseball history.  Beginning in the 1880s through the 1950s, towns like Flemington and Newtown had their own baseball teams.  Those teams played every weekend on local fields, not infrequently with covered wooden grandstands, before relatively large crowds.  Sadly, that baseball world no longer exists.  But a vintage game, especially in such ideal conditions, facilitates not just witnessing the experience, but being part of it.  At the end of "Field of Dreams," seven-year-old Karen Kinsella tells her father, "People will come to see the baseball game."  And in Newtown on Memorial Day, those words came true once more.