After Dougie Walsh pitched (perhaps) the worst game of his young baseball career, he hopped in his mom’s car with a giant scowl on his face. His mom asked him what happened out there today. Dougie shrugged and said, “I … Continue reading The Boy Who Threw Strikes – A New Grip On Reality
Dougie Walsh was becoming a local folk hero of sorts. His recent heroics in nabbing or striking down a potential purse snatcher had garnered him a “Local Hero” medal from the Mayor. Friends and even strangers wanted to see how good Dougie’s aim was in other arenas, so they set out to discover just that. In the summer of 2010, Dougie Walsh was in high demand and did not disappoint. At the Little League’s end of the year picnic, Dougie was invited to “dunk” Coach Wilson, a hardass to many in the league (including parents) into the dunk tank. Strike … Continue reading The Boy Who Threw Strikes – Making Friends and Winning Prizes
At the tail end of March, I traveled to Fort Smith, Arkansas for another week of management training. Four days of meetings, guest speakers on topics like health initiatives, conflict resolution, critical thinking and more related to my position as a supervisor in a busy trucking company – ABF Freight. Prior to my arrival in Fort Smith, I hadn’t had much time off vacation wise so I asked the travel department at my company to re-route me to Greensboro, North Carolina on the way back to Providence after my training week was finished. They obliged and Rachel met me in … Continue reading The Billboard Says It All – Thank You, North Carolina
Dougie Walsh had a knack for throwing strikes. As a youth baseball player, Dougie would spend countless hours during the cold New England Winters in his garage throwing baseballs at targets like empty milk cartons. Once the weather improved enough to go outside, Dougie drew a strike zone on his parent’s shed and pelted it daily with pitches. One day, Dougie saw a ratty old sock net and stand in the woods behind a Little League field and retrieved it for his pitching workouts. He placed it at home plate and threw baseball after baseball into the netting. Dougie’s friends … Continue reading The Boy Who Threw Strikes – An 8Unassisted Baseball Cartoon
Cougar and the Big Ole Truck left Maine’s Grocery store lot to cheers Cougar, in his mind, knew they were cheers of joy, not derision He hopped on I-77 and rolled his windows down The highway was a great place … Continue reading The Big Ole Adventures of Cougar Maine – An Afternoon At The Ballpark
Finding statues, memorial plaques, and historical landmarks has always been a priority when I travel. And I am talking about traveling to the next town over, a completely different state, or out of the country altogether. Statues and plaques help … Continue reading More Than Just A Statue – An 8Unassisted Photo Gallery of Statues
Ever heard a baseball announcer or a fan standing next to you at a game or a fellow coach in the dugout utter the phrase, “Good morning, good afternoon, and good night?” Me too and it is just one of hundreds of baseball slangs, slogans, and sayings that make the game of baseball so timeless and precious to me. The phrase is uttered when a pitcher throws three consecutive strikes (most often without the batter moving a muscle at the plate) freezing him/her at the plate and recording a very impressive strikeout. Coincidentally, it is also the phrase I often … Continue reading The Rhode Island Baseball Experience Final Swing – Good Morning, Good Afternoon, and Good Luck
Prior to attending North Kingstown High School in the school calendar year of 1986-87, I played 100% of my baseball outdoors. I waited patiently, like many of my baseball peers, for the snow to melt on our local fields and … Continue reading The Rhode Island Baseball Experience Final Swings – You Can Play Baseball In RI In The Winter!
Twas the 7th inning, when all through baseball land Not a player was stirring, not even the jittery third baseman The dugouts were filled with excitement and glee In the hopes that their team could claim victory. The pitcher had … Continue reading Twas the 7th Inning And All Through Baseball Land…
As I wind down covering baseball here in Rhode Island this month, I can’t help posting and sharing exciting news from the Rhode Island Baseball Community. After all the posts, photos, videos, and shares – that has been the driving … Continue reading Big Announcement From Chariho Little League Regarding Joe Charette Memorial Tournament
The Baseball Storyteller 