On Saturday, the sun set, the curtain came down and the journey ended. There are doubtless even more metaphors for the end of the baseball season, but these are sufficient to record that another year of Flemington Neshanock baseball has come to a close. The sunset, curtain and journey's end all took place simultaneously at the historic Dey Farm in Monroe Township. The opposition for the last game was to be provided by the Hoboken Nine, but on this day, they were the Hoboken Four. In order to honor our commitment, players from the Elizabeth Resolutes, the Enterprise Club of River Edge and Cooper Albanesius, a member of the Neshanock community filled in. Thanks to all those who helped, especially to Cooper for playing and we hope he will do so again, but for the Neshanock alongside his Dad.
Surprisingly, for the second time in three weeks, Flemington won the coin toss and sent Hoboken and friends to the striker's line. After Hoboken failed to score, the Neshanock tallied twice on a triple by Thomas "Hawk" Prioli, a single by brother Nick and a single by Rene "Mango" Marrero. Hoboken rallied, however, scoring twice in the second and once in the third to lead 3-2 after 2 1/2 innings. Flemington matched Hoboken's two in the Neshanock's half of the third and then added three more in the fourth for a 7-3 lead. From that point, the Neshanock took control of the match by keeping Hoboken off the scoreboard for the next three innings while scoring 11 times. The result was a 21-6 victory to close out the 2024 campaign (another metaphor) on a positive note.
"Hawk" led the Neshanock attack with a four-hit clear score, only a home run short of the cycle. Close behind were three Flemington strikers with three hits apiece including Jeff "Duke" Schneider who wanted/hoped for credit for a home run on one of his hits. Even the most generous scorekeeper, however, couldn't justify more than a triple. "Duke" spent part of this season on the injured list and his manly return to the lineup is much appreciated. Also getting three hits were wily veteran Mark "Gaslight" Granieri, Ernie "Shredder" Albanesius and Ken "Tumbles" Mandel. Like "Hawk," "Tumbles" earned a clear score for the day. Contributing two hits each were "Mango" and Sam "Ewing" Ricco.
Season's end is a time for thank-yous, beginning with Carol Zinn for supporting me in my seventeenth year of vintage baseball. Seventeen years is a long time, but it pales in comparison to her support for me in so many ways in almost 50 years of marriage. Next year's schedule isn't set yet, but if I miss a game on April 19, 2025, I hope everyone will understand. Thanks, also to all of the wives, girlfriends and significant others which also extends to all family members who enable us to play the game we love.
Next, of course, are the players - regardless of how many games they played, it helped and is much appreciated. Saturday's game illustrated a point, I've frequently made - the importance of opponents. It was great the way players from two other clubs helped make today's game possible. As always, we are also extremely grateful to our host organizations like Dey Farm, which provide the one thing we can't - fans. And they also gave us free ice cream! Lastly, not in importance, but because he has the final word is Sam Bernstein, our regular umpire. As I've said many times, umpiring is easy - until it isn't.
Chris "Sideshow" Nunn and Sam Bernstein follow the hit which is presumably headed foul
One of the deepest positions on the Neshanock roster is our photographers beginning with the official blog photographer, Mark "Gaslight" Granieri. "Gaslight" submits the bulk of the game-related pictures featured in the blog while Lauren Marchese Nunn provides the material for photo essays as well as the individual pictures for our website. When needed Kelly Prioli steps in to pinch hit as a photographer, but her special project is our Instagram page which features a number of her creative videos. Also contributing photos this year was Catherine Prioli. The Neshanock has a Facebook page maintained by Scott "Snuffy" Hengst and our website which is under the care of Jack "Doc" Kitson. Thanks to all of them for their hard work.
Flemington finished 2024 with a 14-15 record, the first "losing" season in some time. No one likes to lose, but I think there's another statistic that is more important - commitments honored. On that basis, the Neshanock once again had a perfect season. Events like Saturday at Dey Farm are important to our host organizations because of the visitors they attract. The numbers are never going to be high, but I was reminded once again how much people enjoy and appreciate baseball when it is played outdoors, on grass and in daylight. That may be the most important reason we do this and I hope the Flemington Neshanock continues to do so for a very long time.
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