Road Trip!

During our March meeting, we generated a lot of interest for an early-season trip to the see the Nationals. That trip is now a reality.

Put on your travelin’ shoes and board the bus for Citi Field on Sunday, May 3rd. The Harrisburg Senators Fan Club invites you to join us to see the Nationals play the Mets in New York.

We’ll depart the Radisson/Perkins parking lot in Camp Hill at 8:30 AM. That will give us plenty of time to be part of the first 15,000 fans to receive a free MLB Network/Mets tote bag.

We’ll be seated in Section 125, which is just behind the outfield corner of the Nats’ dugout on the lower level. From here, we’ll enjoy the 1:10 start as the Nats and Mets complete their three-game series.

Following the game, we’ll head back to town with more baseball memories. (Another no-hitter, perhaps?)

We have limited space, so please call Jeanne Jacobs at 717-774-2730 as soon as you can commit to the $110 per person reservation. ($115 for non-members includes your 2015 Fan Club membership.) That includes your Wolf's Bus transportation and ticket to the game. We’ll also provide refreshments for the ride.


Brian Williams
President

Renewed Energy

There was something special about last evening's Harrisburg Senators Fan Club meeting. Beyond our green attire and the sold-out corned beef and cabbage dinner special (must have really been tasty!), I sensed a renewed energy throughout the room.

Random reasons for this unknown force have been passing through my mind on this day after:

First and foremost, I believe our loyal and always cheerful friend, Nancy Tacchi, was watching over us. I noticed that Mary, Ida, the Bobs and their entire table honored Nancy’s memory with one empty chair and a St. Patrick’s Day hat. We celebrated Nancy’s time with us with a moment of silence and a unanimous decision to donate to the cause of preventing and curing diabetes in her name.

I believe the Fan Club is excited over local ownership taking majority control of the Harrisburg Senators and the leadership of Mark Butler.

I believe the continued dedication of Past-President Barry Fealtman moves our organization forward on many fronts.

I believe Jon Boles’ Senators’ promotional season preview spoke to each of us as fans eager to hurry through this final blustery stretch toward Opening Night. The Director of Ticket Sales had us almost tasting the new baseball season that lies before us.

I believe our ability to talk about actual baseball events, like former Senator Tyler Moore’s torrid spring at the plate, added to the energy.

I believe the overwhelming interest in an early-season bus trip to see the Nationals contributed. (More on this in a separate message to follow.)

I believe that even the silly, over-sized green hat that Carl Fritz bestowed on me at the start of the meeting added to our celebration of baseball’s return. (All photos of this crowning have been destroyed.)

If you were unable to attend our fun evening, you’re welcome to attend our next gathering. Make reservations for our annual Welcome Back Senators Night on Tuesday, April 7th. Please call Fan Club Vice-President Jeanne Jacobs (717-774-2730) for details. Everyone has dinner with a Senators player or coach at the same table and gets to welcome the entire team to our area as Manager Brian Daubach formally introduces each one.

Also, mark your calendar for our next business meeting Tuesday, May 5th at the New Cumberland American Legion Post #143 on Market Street. Our guest speaker will be baseball historian, Ted Knorr. Ted will make a case for Pennsylvania’s best ever year of baseball.

The energy is quite evident to me. Can you feel it?

Brian Williams, President

From Deep Short

Love for Baseball

Well, it's snowing again in Central PA. This isn't the usual March way of signaling spring. That's the quick, fluffy dusting some of us refer to as "onion snow". It disappears quickly, ushering in a new season of rebirth.

No, this is the real thing, which seemingly hasn't stopped since Thanksgiving week. The insult added to this latest injury is yet another temperature dive tonight, perhaps into single digits.

Meanwhile, professional baseball has migrated to sun-soaked Arizona and Florida. Seeing games on TV this week has a dual effect on me: for one, baseball is returning; but secondly, looking out the window reminds me that it isn't returning nearly soon enough.

I've been fortunate to join the escape to Spring Training only once. Within 48 hours, that trip will have been 27 years ago.

It's easy for me to recall details of that migration, because 27 years ago today Mindy and I said "I do" at a church altar in Middletown. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and the temperature soared to near 70.

It was a perfect day to share with our Creator, family and friends. What followed was a perfect week on the eastern shore of the Gulf of Mexico.

Not only could we walk on the beach every morning, but we could enjoy our love for baseball each afternoon. I remember wooden bleachers in Dunedin, where friendly Canadians (who also migrated for obvious reasons) shared conversation and snacks. In Clearwater, Harry Kalas, Rich Ashburn and several players were not only accessible, but cordial.

Plant City offered a terrific strawberry festival and a Rose. Pete was getting out of his car right in front of us as we were walking toward the gate.

At St. Pete, we spoke with Steve Lake in the parking lot. In my haste to take a picture of Mindy and Steve without delaying him, I covered the lens with my thumb. So we have a great snapshot of a smiling Mindy with my thumbprint! (For those born more recently, film cameras were highly unforgiving.)

We've grown a lot since that amazing adventure. We've promised ourselves that we need to return.

We understand that access isn't quite the same as in 1988. But at least the weather will be a lot closer to the sunny blessing we received on our wedding day than to the snow piling up on our driveway today.


Brian Williams
From Deep Short