Spring League Softball: Mobtown Beatdown versus Sir Lord Baltimores
Author Michael Kimball has been called a lot of things, from “a hero of contemporaryfiction” [Sam Lipsyte] to “one of the authentic innovators in contemporary fiction” [Letras Libres]. I donʼt know that Iʼve seen him be as pleased, however, as when I told him he was called “that tall redhead guy that can hit home runs” [Rob Goldberg, Mobtown Beatdown]. This was at the end of the 2011 fall softball season, when the Sir LordBaltimores, Kimballʼs team, came from a 0-4 start to make an eventual playoff run, best documented in founder of the Sirs, poet and Publishing Genius underkind Adam Robinsonʼs blog The Post Colonial Times.
The Sirs are a team best known for being composed entirely of writers, artists, and musicians. A young group of softball upstarts, they began in the Baltimore Sports and Social Club League in Spring 2011 as the Poets Athletic Club. Finding the BSSC somewhat restrictive on wardrobe requirements, they soon defected for the more congenial competitive atmosphere of Baltimore City Rec And Parks Softball League where a change of name and team identity began their climb.
The Mobtown Beatdown, themselves chock full of artists and musicians and even a poet of their own, are 8 year veterans of the softball scene and a true force to be reckoned with. Operating as a well oiled machine, they dominated the Fall 2011 season, taking every game and ending the season as undefeated champions. Despite their well known prowess on the field, they are such a genuinely fun bunch of people to hang around that most teams I spoke to say theyʼre the favorite team to lose to, hands down.
Welcome to Baltimore City Recreation and Parks Softball League, where competition is fierce, many beers are had, and the true love of the game is evident. I myself began following BCRP League and the two above teams during the fall 2011 season. I can state without hesitation that not only is BCRP softball way more fun and satisfying to watch than the Orioles, this league highlights Baltimore City parks and their athletic fields every bit as well as Fluid Movement highlights the City pools. One player told me that softball night is the highlight of his week. Even as a spectator, itʼs becoming the highlight of my week too.
April 5th began Spring League 2012, a short season and time to test the mettle of the Sirs and the Beatdown. Would the Sirs come together in the off season enough to continue their rise as a legitimate contender? Can the Beatdown ever themselves be beaten? On April 12 these two teams took the field to turn softball into its own art form.
I caught up with members of both teams prior to the big game to hear their thoughts on the challenge ahead. From the Sir Lord Baltimores, interviewed were Michael “Three Man Army” Kimball [coach, pitcher], Adam “Hell Hound” Robinson [shortstop], Joanie “Lady Of Fire” Sullivan [first base], Barbara “Caesar LXXI” Decesare [right field], and Emily “Bubble Puppy” Rudnick [catcher]. From the Mobtown Beatdown, interviewed were Pete Meredith [shortstop, field general, pitcher], Chris Toland [third base aka “the hot corner”], Chris Olthoff [left field and wise cracks], and Holly Horst [right field, grace and beauty].
BW: For starters, letʼs talk about this Spring League. At only 5 weeks, it seems more like spring training than the regular summer or fall seasons. So if major league baseball has the Grapefruit League in Florida and Cactus League in Arizona for spring training, what would you call this league?
Adam R [SLB]: I think we could call it the Natty Boh League. Itʼs our grapefruit.
Chris T [MB]: It can also be our cactus from time to time. Especially in the morning.
BW: Natty Boh League it is. What are your goals for the team or for yourself during this Natty Boh season?
Michael K [SLB]: Weʼre still a young team, experience-wise, so Iʼm pretty happy when I see different players improve in different ways. Iʼm even happier when I see the team playing well together- hitting cut-offs, completing a double play, etc. Also, Iʼd like to play a whole game without somebody on the team getting hurt, which is usually me.
Pete M [MB]: The ultimate goal is to have fun, while winning of course. My personal goals would be to not make a complete ass of myself, at which I have only been sporadically successful, not sustain a season ending injury (it happened twice before, broken arm one year and pulled groin another), and improve my hitting. I would also like to continue our teamʼs winning streak which dates back to the fall league undefeated season.
Holly H [MB]: I try to give everything I have every time I play, and thatʼs the best I can do- or better said, I try to be as good as Amy [Longcrier, first base] and that makes me a better player, sheʼs a great baller and has offered me tips and suggestions (the guys do as well) to help me fine tune my game.
Adam R [SLB]: You know I just get out there and I like to play my own game but I see the team out there, and everybodyʼs doing great, everybodyʼs playing their positions, and they make it easy, they really do, I just see a gap and I give a little direction, but thereʼs not many gaps, weʼre a good team.
Barbara D [SLB]: I would like to describe Adamʼs batting stance as “Captain Caveman.”
Adam R [SLB]: You know, I get that, I get that, and thatʼs cool. Iʼm just grateful to the fans, really.
BW: What are your team strengths, and do you see any team needs so far this season?
Pete M [MB]: Team strengths are our familiarity with each other and knowing everyoneʼs capabilities, strengths and weaknesses. We have pretty good team speed, good hitting and reliable defense. We have “field generals” in the infield and outfield that keep things tight on “D” and keep everybodyʼs head in the game. Team needs? None.
Michael K [SLB]: We have a ton of heart and play with a lot of enthusiasm. Itʼs kind of amazing to see a team of writers, artists, and musicians working so well together. We could use a little more power in the lineup and maybe some more beer. Also, a couple of players donʼt have nicknames. We need nicknames for everybody.
Adam R [SLB]: Well I feel like we picked up some new hitters in the off season, we picked up a new guy named Nick Speech [outfield] who can really just crank the ball. I saw Kimballʼs bat come alive at our opening day game, and I feel like thatʼs gonna pay off. I feel like if we can just keep exploiting aggressive base running then weʼre gonna do pretty well so Iʼm feeling pretty optimistic for the game and I just want to get out there and play my heart out.
BW: You had a chance to watch each othersʼ games on April 5, Opening Day. Whatʼs your assessment of your opponent? Making any adjustments to be ready?
Michael K [SLB]: We recognize that weʼre underdogs against a team like the Mobtown Beatdown, a really strong team with a lot of experience, good athletes and good ballplayers. Iʼm planning on making a defensive adjustment just for this one game, something that Iʼve never seen in these co-ed softball leagues. Also, thereʼs a rumor that Iʼm working on a new pitch.
Pete M [MB]: I did not see a great deal of the Sirsʼ game but from what I did see they may be slightly improved. They have pretty good offense but way too many holes on defense. I believe the Sirs scored 10 or 12 runs in their last game which is respectable but they gave up more runs than they scored which equals a big “L”. I really like their team and the effort they put into it. It just takes time for a group of people to play really well as a team. That being said, they have enough talent to beat anybody in the Natty Boh League on any given Thursday if everything breaks the right way for them.
BW: What leadership skills do you need to coach in the Natty Boh League? How does one get this treasured position?
Pete M [MB]: Iʼm not officially coaching this season. Mike Bowen [center field] seems to have taken the reigns of the team at this point, which is fine with me so I can just relax and play ball. Last year when Rob Goldberg [pitcher] and I were kind of like co-coaches it was quite the laissez-faire affair, people subbing in and out of the game at will and goofy batting orders and such. Mike Bowen takes things a bit more seriously, trying to assemble the best batting lineup possible and putting our most competitive team on the field. He doesnʼt enjoy losing. And whether they admit it or not, neither does anybody else on the Beatdown.
Michael K [SLB]: I didnʼt want to be the coach, but it fell to me through a kind of default. Also, Iʼm taller than anybody on the team. Plus, I have experience talking to groups of drunk people. And it makes me laugh when anybody calls me “Coach”.
BW: Duly noted, Coach. Now, speaking to the women. Female players in this co-ed league seem to be at a premium. Both the Sirs and the Beatdown have notable strong consistent women players. How long have you been with the team, and had you ever played softball before?
Joanie C [SLB]: I did, I played in high school. I lettered in it, wasnʼt any JV shit. Adam and I were the ones that started the first team, Poets Athletic Club, with the BSSC, and that became Sir Lord Baltimores at my suggestion, because I felt like we needed to have a more aggressive name, something that was a little more intimidating
Michael K: “It was a losing name”]. And you know it was a band in the ʻ70s so we all took nicknames based on band songs. We tuned up, we got a few people at the end of the BSSC league, and then some other people left.
Emily R [SLB]: Our first game in BSSC, when we were Poets Athletic Club, it was a slightly different team, Adam and Joanie sort of rounded us all up, a lot of us didnʼt even know each other, showed up, I hadnʼt played, couldnʼt catch hit or throw, and we got creamed, the team we were playing, they were wearing these sexy hot pink socks and short shorts, and the dudes were all chugging, it was like going back to those days in high school that just make you want to throw up. I think we could take them now.
Holly H [MB]: Having enough girls playing any given week is sometimes a challenge for the team. I filled in for the first time last spring and had such a good time. My skills were pretty poor because I hadnʼt really ever seriously played on a team and even this season Iʼm still trying to learn the fundamentals!
BW: I do notice the Beatdown is always seeking strong women to complete the team, which is a testament to the caliber of the ones you have retained, but every week this seems to be the only challenge facing the team. So, Mobtown Beatdown, why canʼt you hold on to a good woman?
Chris O [MB]: Weʼre too handsy. [laughter all around]
And so, the Sir Lord Baltimores and the Mobtown Beatdown took the field. On a dry and dusty night, the Beatdown demolished the Sirs in a friendly rout by an agreed upon final score of 16-6 [The Beatdown may have actually scored quite a bit more than 16].
No injuries were sustained, and many beers were drunk, and Avery remains hands down the funniest umpire around. Next up, the Mobtown Beatdown will try to continue their undefeated streak, and the Sir Lord Baltimores will seek that first win of the season, both teams taking on the Here We Gos in a double header that team must surely be dreading, on April 19 at 8pm in Druid Hill Park, baseball field number 5. Iʼll be there, enjoying the spectacle of good sport that both these venerable teams bring. The Baltimore City Rec and Parks League #4, AKA the Natty Boh League, will have regular games every Thursday starting at 7pm at Druid Hill Park [weather permitting] through May 3, with playoffs to follow. You owe it to yourself to come be entertained by this great bunch of folks. Amateur sports in Baltimore city are an art form unto themselves.
I look forward to finding more of these feats of strength for your viewing pleasure.
