Larry Wolfe Isn’t it great to live in a place where you can use “winter” and “softball” in the same sentence? While our northern brethren are shoveling snow, here in Sun Lakes, it’s business as usual at the Field of Dreams. At the press deadline, we still had a week to go in the Fall…
Larry Wolfe Remember the Beach Boys’ 1964 classic, number one hit song “I Get Around”? Well, that phrase could also describe Vern Rodgers’ work career. A native of Quincy, Mich., Vern attended Glen Oaks Community College and Western Michigan University before beginning his vocational odyssey. Vern first joined the Kroger Company in Coldwater, Mich., and…
Larry Wolfe Ask any of the guys at the Field of Dreams to describe Thom Stephens, and the most likely responses are, “really good player” and “really nice guy.” Thom’s probably prouder of the latter. A Santa Clara, Calif., native, Thom graduated from Buchser High where he played both varsity baseball and basketball for the…
Larry Wolfe At press time, we’d just finished the first two weeks of the Fall Season. In the Lakes Division, the Core Photography and Wolfe & Associates-sponsored teams were both at 4-2. The A-1 Golf Carts team had a .500 record at 3-3, while the Young Realty Team lagged at 1-5. Steve Schaider got off…
Larry Wolfe We finally heard those two words we’ve been waiting to hear for months: “Play Ball!” After our Spring Season was shut down in mid-March due to COVID-19, and our summer season was canceled in its entirety, it was great to get the competitive juices flowing again! Our fall season opened on Oct. 27…
Larry Wolfe If you’ve ever played the game and been hit by a line drive or errant throw, you might wonder why the ball is called a softball—it’s hard as a rock! Well, to answer that question, we have to go back to the game’s founding in 1887. George Hancock, a reporter for the Chicago…
Larry Wolfe Thirty-five years ago, in September 1985, Jack Lander of Cottonwood put a notice in the Sun Lakes Splash newspaper requesting that anyone interested in participating in a senior softball program should meet up in a Cottonwood meeting room at a time and date lost in the annals of history. About a dozen guys showed up,…
Larry Wolfe The term COVID has, unfortunately, entered the lexicon of our everyday language. It, of course, isn’t a “real word,” but a contraction for COrona VIrus Disease. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could substitute softball terms for C-O-V-I-D? How about this: The batter Crushed a long fly ball, hoping for a home run,…
Larry Wolfe Why do most baseball and softball fans and players love statistics? It’s probably because stats give the game historical context and allow for the comparison of various accomplishments from the past to the present. They also are used to measure the performance of each player versus others on his team and in his…
Larry Wolfe At press time, one week remained in our Winter League sessions. In the Lakes Division, the Young Home Team Realty squad, managed by Tom Erpelding, had a two-game lead over the A-1 Golf Carts and Core Photography teams. In the Sun Division, The Farmers Insurance Team, managed by Ron Carmichael and sponsored by…