For as long as we can remember (which is not very long), the Central Park Track Club holds a softball game on the afternoon of the NYRR Club Team Championships race in Central Park.  In the beginning, to use a highly inappropriate phrase, we 'played with ourselves.'  In recent years, we have played other running teams.  This year, we played the Greater New York Running Team.  The label of  'Club Softball Championship' is a complete misnomer, since the purpose of these games is to improve social interaction among different teams that go beyond exchanging elbows during scoring races.  The only Central Park Track Club person who seemed to care about the outcome of the game appears to be Tony Ruiz, but we suspect that he may be putting up the necessary front as the softball team manager.

As a result, we do not actually cite the final score, although we have used words like 'sizeable' or even 'landslide.'  And we also do not mention the winners, although you can pick it up eventually (such as our coach's speech 11 months later before the next game about the need to break the 'losing streak').

August 17th, 2002 was a hot and muggy Saturday.  In the morning, the temperature was in the high 80's and the humidity was a saturated 100%.  Our photographer was drenched in sweat just from standing in a stationary spot on the race course.  As the day wore on, the continued humidity inevitably led to the formation of quick rain storms.  The first rain storm arrived right before 330pm and so the game was delayed for a few minutes as everyone huddled underneath the trees, as if that helped.  Jerome O'Shaughnessy came up with this unique idea of staying dry (patent pending) while Victor Osayi stuck to the traditional method.  Eventually, the rain went away and the game took place.  Here, the two managers squabbled fiercely over the minutiae of the rules.  Finally Tony Ruiz seems to have gotten one win: "Who's the home team?" "We are in Central Park, aren't we?  Gotcha!"  "Ha ha ha ... that was so unfunny!"

First things first.  Why would you want to play softball?  Just take a look at Sue Pearsall playing toss in the greenery of Central Park.  We wish the rest of you were with us.

For convenience, we will group the photos by team.  We regret that we don't have pictures of everybody.

Central Park Track Club

• Photo 02:  Our head honcho is distance running coach Tony Ruiz

• Photo 03:  To maximize his chances of winning, Tony Ruiz brings in a ringer --- his son Anthony, who is in off-season after his team got eliminated in Little League.

• Photo 04:  The starting pitcher was Josh Feldman, who was selected for this stated reason: "Josh, you look like you are intelligent.  I want an intelligent pitcher.  So you are it!"  Josh was heard to say, "That is a frightening thought!"

• Photo 05:  This is not the American League, so pitchers also bat.  Here, Josh Feldman lands on second base with the expression of "I can't believe that I got on base."

• Photo 07:  James Siegel issued this self-evaluation: "I had an average game --- my one home run made up for the 18 fielding errors."  For your information, James teaches math and is therefore never wrong on numbers.

• Photo 08:  Unfortunately, digital cameras are entirely unsuitable for a game like softball because things happen ever so suddenly.  For the first out in the first inning, Glen Carnes dived into a muddle of mud to catch the ball.  All we could capture is the effect on his pants afterwards.  This will be a true test if Tide really works as claimed.

• Photo 06:  Excellent field performance generates respect for Glen Carnes at the plate, as Steven Paddock hopes to pick up some tips.

• Photo 09:  Steven Paddock wonders how the Yanks would handle the situation when the annual softball game becomes the annual cricket game when the British takeover of the Central Park Track Club is complete

• Photo 10:  Kevan Huston: "What British takeover?  Once again, nobody consults the Canadians!  We'll not be ignored!"

• Photo 11:  Peter Allen shows the importance of the follow-through on a swing.

• Photo 12:  For the softball game, Alan Ruben trots out the baseball shirt given out in a Thanksgiving Turkey Trot years ago.  For the last ten years, this shirt has been worn exactly once each year, obviously for the softball game.

• Photo 14:  Audrey Kingsley laughs at some ragging from her own first base coach

• Photo 13:  Then Audrey Kingsley switches mood as she swings fiercely.

• Photo 15:  The next batter up is Sid Howard.  Unfortunately, he is hiding in the bushes doing business and cannot be disturbed.

• Photo 16:  Lauren Eckhart shows that Canadians can hit too.

• Photo 17:  The softball game is a social event to meet team members who are not often around.  Here is Neeraj Engineer

• Photo 19:  Here is Armando Oliveira, a track runner who finished sixth on the team this morning.

• Photo 18:  Here is Joseph Kozusko, committing the major leaguer's biggest offense --- admiring his own home run which can become the longest single ...

• Photo 20:  David Howard at second base

• Photo 21:  Anthony Ruiz at first base

• Photo 22:  When Sid Howard finally got to bat, he was challenged to prove his age.

• Photo 23:  Jeff Wilson

• Photo 24:  Jesse Lansner

• Photo 25:  The ninth and final inning is here, and the coach gives the final instruction.  We are glad that everyone is paying attention.

• Photo 26:  And we are glad that the first base coach is paying attention too.  Yes, and they say kids have short attention span these days ...

• Photo 27:  The loneliness of the centerfielder Joseph Kozusko

• Photo 28:  Audrey Kingsley takes a last cut

• Photo 29:  After the game, the two teams cross paths with high fives.  The next time these two teams meet, it will be back to swinging elbows at each other ...

• Photo 30:  Steve Paddock: "In my final act as the Central Park Track Club photographer, I took some good photos."

• Photo 31:  Laura Lee Carter: "So is it really time to go?"

• Photo 33:  Lauren Eckhart and David Smith: "It's been a hard day ..."

• Photo 32:  Yes, but not before a final group portrait in front of the home plate.  The lovely thing about portraits of our team is that organizational chaos is guaranteed.  Everybody is doing something different except look at the camera.
   
  Finally, we decided to let the people speak for themselves.  This is a 5 second mpeg in which they voiced their opinions.  Very articulate, indeed.

Greater New York Running Team (notes supplied by Bob Glover)

• Photo 51  Coach Bob loosens up

• Photo 53  The batting form still remains, if not the results

• Photo 52  Robin Worley was our star hitter and fielder of the day

• Photo 54  Robin ready to smash one. Beware, her two young girls are stars in our youth track program so we will be tough on the roads in another 20 years or so.

• Photo 55  Mike "The Psycho Fixer" Leiman. At age 50+ he ran the race, then hustled to the field to play a 9-inning game before our game, then pitched 9 innings of our game.

• Photo 56  Matt Febles at bat---his brother George is webmaster at armorytrack.com

• Photo 57  Sonia Olinto swings a bat for the first time in her life.

• Photo 58  Alex Bruskin, a team scorer in the road race which also happened the same day

• Photo 59  The former all-star shortstop, now over the hill shortstop

• Photo 60  The double play combination. The defensive gem of the day came when El Sid ordered the batter to hit the ball to the second basemen. He hit a hard liner that Robin Worley backhanded. Thanks Sid.

• Photo 61  Greg Gleason hits

• Photo 62  Scott Frampton catches the heat from Coach Bob's arm before it went dead by the third inning. The centerfielder playing umpire is Chris Glover (who is playing with his band at the Bowery Poetry Club next Sat night at 9PM. Q-Tip will be there)

• Photo 63  Our token Brit, James Miln, in Elvis shirt. Not knowing how to hit helped as he outhit Coach Bob

• Photo 64  Sonia

• Photo 65  Coach Bob unleashes a 55-year old swing that looks as good as his 25-year old swing but results in weak fly to the outfield rather than the youthful version. Found out the hard way that aging sucks as much in softball as in running. The game should have been age-adjusted. Maybe then Sid would have spent less time on the phone.

• Photo 66  The Psycho Fixer plays and manages two softball teams. He is a great pitcher. Did a great job of throwing home run pitches.