Once again, Opening Day has come and gone, accompanied by the customary nostalgia for the past, joy of the present and excitement for the future. Some major league teams and their fans are still waiting for their home openers, but baseball is back and thank God it is. Opening Day really refers to the major leagues and perhaps local minor league teams. For those of us, however, who still, in some way, participate directly in the game, there is another milestone, probably thought more of as the first game than as an opening day. Perhaps that's because these first games lack tickets, scorecards, hot dogs, hot/cold drinks and everything else we associate with the opening game at a major league ball park. Thinking back, I remember the beginning of youth league seasons, high school and even one year of college freshman baseball, none of which were considered opening day. Instead they were the first game of the season, in most cases a short season. It's been the same with vintage baseball, but even if the first game doesn't have the magic of opening day, that doesn't mean it lacks for excitement.
Exactly when the vintage baseball teams begin the season is largely driven by the weather. Up in Massachusetts, my friends at the Essex Base Ball Organization wisely don't begin until early June which still may be early given the region's uncertain weather. I'm guessing the good folks at Genesee Country Village near Rochester follow a similar practice, but here in the Middle Atlantic states we tend to favor the first weekend in April. Based on past experience, this year the Neshanock waited for the second weekend and, of course, the first weekend's weather was fine. In any event, Flemington got the season underway yesterday against the Monmouth Furnace Club at the Longstreet Farm in Holmdel, New Jersey. The conditions were decidedly cool, but even so Longstreet Farm is a nice venue and we are very grateful to Russ McIver and his team for hosting the match. Monmouth Furnace tallied once in the top of the first and then Flemington scored its first run of 2022 when Dan "Sledge" Hammer's productive bound out to center field drove in Chris "Sideshow" Nunn. Monmouth didn't score in either of its next two times at the striker's line and the score remained 1-1 going to the bottom of the third.
Dan "Sledge" Hammer strikes while the Neshanock bench looks on
Thanks to some productive striking from the lower part of the order, the Neshanock tallied four times in the bottom of the third and added two more in the fourth for a 7-2 lead. After again blanking Monmouth in the fifth and sixth, Flemington added two runs in the sixth for a 9-2 lead. While it was nice to be up by seven, no one on the Neshanock bench was feeling over confident. Monmouth had three hits in the fifth and loaded the bases in the seventh, but fortunately Flemington was able to limit the home team to only one tally. Finally in the bottom of the eighth, the Neshanock offense broke through thanks to some clutch hitting by Jeff "Duke" Schneider and Ken "Tumbles" Mandel, scoring nine times for a 18-3 final score. The Flemington attack was led by "Sledge" "Thumbs" and "Mick" with three hits apiece. In the process, "Thumbs" earned the season's first clear score. Not far behind were "Sideshow," Tom "Hawk" Prioli, "Duke," "Gaslight," "Tumbles," Chris "Lowball" Lowry and Joe Prioli with two each. Sunday's game also marked the Neshanock debuts of Joe Prioli and Kyle Refalvy. It was great to have them with us and we hope they will return on a regular basis.
And with that, the Neshanock's 2022 season is underway. Once again, the schedule includes the Gettysburg Festival and the National Silver Ball Tournament at Genesee Country Village. Also on tap is a new event in Bovina, New York (about 1 hour south of Cooperstown). The rest of the schedule also combines new and traditional events. Of special note is Randolph, New Jersey's Freedom Fest on Friday, July 1 at 7:00 p.m.. Yes, a night game, which isn't, of course, historically accurate. But just arranging and publishing the schedule also lacks historical accuracy. In the early days of organized baseball, games or matches were scheduled more or less on an ad hoc basis. In fact, it wasn't until March of 1877, after the National League had played its first season, that the owners set the full schedule ahead of time rather than leaving it up to the individual clubs. Unsurprisingly, that led to publishing said schedules as a means of promoting ticket sales. Some like the above Pittsburgh Pirates 1894 schedule were quite artistic. What's important, however, is not when the games are scheduled, the format, or the length of the season, but that baseball at all levels is back once more.
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