A season that began with temperatures in the 40s and stalled for an entire month due to rainouts ended with the Blue Jays and Cardinals playing in searing heat on Father's Day, June 17, at Ritchie Park Elementary School.
Some fans elected to soak up the ample rays.
Others found premium real estate in the shade. They were still hot.
The players were very hot!
The coaches were hot, too!
To their credit, the Blue Jays and Cardinals gave it all they had and played a fun and compelling game.
June 17 Game Report
After finding the pitching machine to his liking at Friday's practice, Josh Porter recommenced ripping big hits in Sunday's game with the Cardinals. Above, Josh loads up prior to putting a charge in one in the top of the first inning. He finished his day with a particularly impressive blast up the middle in the top of the third.
Josh's improved awareness and quickness to the ball in late-season practices earned him an opportunity to play at 2nd base in the season's final game. Josh has really focused on catching and throwing in recent weeks. A solid natural athlete, he has the material to become a big-time defensive player as he continues to hone his craft.
Milen Hukmani arrived early and claimed the second spot in the Blue Jays' batting order. Above, he prepares to take off from 2nd base after belting a solid base hit to the left side in the top of the second inning. A reliable hitter for three consecutive seasons, Milen is primed to become a power guy at the machine-pitch level.
With consistent awareness and solid glovework, Milen is a good defensive option at any base. In Sunday's game, he performed admirably at 3rd base in the first inning and at 2nd base in the third inning. The head coach will use the fall season to challenge Milen to develop his throwing technique. There are few unassisted force-out opportunities in machine-pitch; most outs will require good throws.
Jacob Carle was determined to hit the ball hard in each trip to the plate in the season finale. We are happy to report that he succeeded! Jacob knocked a fly ball base hit to right field and a stand-up double to left center in the game with the Cardinals. His skills and speed give him the look of a top-of-the-order guy at the machine-pitch level.
Jacob will benefit from playing with baseballs that don't bounce over his head! Interestingly, he has already started to work on basic pitching technique at Home Run Camp in Northwest DC. Believe it or not, pitching "from the stretch" consists of simple throwing with a "balance point." It's a great way to practice throwing with a "pull" technique rather than the dreaded "push" that afflicts about 90 percent of young players. Kid-pitch will get here faster than you think. Jacob will be ready!
Brody Gottfried really improved his swing with some instruction and tee work at Friday's practice. The head coach noticed that Brody swung considerably harder in Sunday's season finale. The next step: hitting the ball anywhere in the strike zone. The pitching machine does not cater to the individual preferences of each batter. It simply tosses the ball somewhere over the plate. We will work in practice this fall to adjust to pitches from the machine.
Brody threw harder and more accurately than ever and got his mitt to thrown balls at practice and during pregame warm-up. Those are huge steps forward for this young man! Being the youngest player on a team can be challenging. The upside is that individual development tends to be expedited out of necessity. Brody can hang with guys who are older - and he's beginning to believe it!
Dominic Delgado has learned to let bad pitches go and swing only at the balls he can hit. Given the limitations of the Blue Jays' pitcher, that's a tall order. Above, Dominic finally gets a decent pitch and promptly squares it up for a blast to center field! Exhibiting excellent form in his lower half, Dominic will work to keep his top hand on top and his bottom hand on the bottom as we make the transition to machine-pitch.
A few weeks ago, an opposing assistant coach referred to Dominic as a "ringer." The comment, made in passing to the Blue Jays' head coach, did not seem to be intended to be a compliment. But that's exactly how the coach chose to take it! Indeed, Dominic is an excellent six year old baseball player. He contributed another put-out in Sunday's game, increasing his season total to somewhere around 20 or so. More important than numbers is the way he plays - with commitment, passion, intelligence, and fearlessness!
Henry Goldstein figured out early in the season that it's fun to work hard and improve. Above, Henry eyes a pitch prior to ripping a hard ground ball to left field in the top of the second inning. Henry's swing mechanics and vision came a long way from the beginning to the end of his rookie season with the Blue Jays.
Henry is the rare five year old who will stop a ball with his face and shrug it off as if nothing happened. That is not an exaggeration! Playing without fear, Henry continues to work on groundball technique and catching thrown balls in the air. He's also focusing on throwing at different positions, a difficult proposition for a young lefty. Continued improvement will lead to more opportunities.
Peter Herdman demonstrated proper batting technique, as usual. Look at that swing on a low pitch that is out of the zone! This guy will benefit from the accuracy and consistency of the pitching machine. Peter has proven to be adept at hitting mostly bad pitches this season. Fortunately, the matter will be irrelevant after six more coach-pitch games!
Peter's fundamental catching and throwing techniques are so sound that they're actually somewhat confounding for a coach who likes to provide instruction. In this case, the head coach is choosing to use the "don't screw it up" approach. The next steps for Peter are footwork and quickness to the ball, particularly if he wants to play middle infield going forward. We'll focus on footwork with Peter at the (real) shortstop position during practices this fall.
Noah Solovey sharpened his skills at the beach last week and showed up ready to play a baseball game on Sunday afternoon. Above, he prepares to run home from 3rd base after blasting a base hit through the left side of the infield in the top of the second inning. Noah's contact rate improved substantially this season; he even added some pop at the plate! The next challenge will be to handle the increased velocity from the machine. We have every reason to think that he will do exactly that during practices throughout the fall season.
Noah did not hesitate to go to the ball at right shortstop and in right field. The head coach was encouraged to witness the significant increase in confidence and assertiveness. We also noticed that Noah caught some thrown balls during pregame warm-up. We said some time ago that Noah needs to learn to love his mitt. At the very least, it appears that he now likes it a little. We look forward to watching this budding relationship develop next season.
A minor in-game mechanical adjustment helped Evan Phillips hit the ball hard in the second and third innings. At his best when he begins with his hands back toward the catcher, Evan listened, made the correction, and commenced to pounding solid base hits up the middle in the second and third innings, respectively. Always receptive to coaching, Evan just needs more reps in order to crush the ball with consistency.
Evan played RPH, a position that is becoming more difficult now that our opponents are getting bigger and stronger. The ball gets to the position - and beyond - in an instant! Constant readiness and quick reflexes are essential. The pitcher's helper spots will only become more difficult in our final coach-pitch season this fall. Like the Blue Jays, the opposition isn't getting smaller!
More than a week away from baseball appeared to affect Niara Gupta's mechanics but not her brain - she made one of the better baserunning decisions of the day in the top of the second inning. A high fly ball was hit well to right field; remembering that she would need to tag up if the ball were to have been caught, Niara split the difference between 1st and 2nd and waited to see what would happen. When the fielder did not catch the ball, Niara took off for 2nd. That was heads-up baserunning!
Niara was ready at left shortstop in the bottom of the second inning, but the ball didn't find her. This fall, the coaches will work with Niara on stepping toward the target when throwing and give her as many catching reps as possible at practices.
Channeling his inner Bryce Harper, Clark Roggie sprung with his back foot and pulled a line drive double that landed 30 feet beyond the lip in the outfield grass! Truth be told, no coach would teach a kid to hit the ball with his back foot in the air. It was, however, powerful and effective. As Clark practices more often on his own, he's beginning to figure out what he is capable of doing - a lot!
Clark seems to have a special ability to cleanly field grounders that take ridiculous bounces. He made another excellent stop on his only groundball opportunity at 3rd base in the bottom of the third inning. He also had the awareness to complete an unassisted force-out. Clark's skills and his ability to process information improved geometrically this season. We look forward to seeing more in fall!
With determination and a can-do attitude, Adam Farber completed the top half of each inning with a run-producing hit. Like many of his teammates, Adam will benefit from additional work with the tee and the pitching machine at practices throughout the fall season.
Adam completed a tough unassisted force out at 3rd base in the bottom of the second inning. More importantly, he knew what to do every time the ball was hit his way. The head coach is confident that Adam will enjoy the move to machine-pitch; the baseballs are harder and less likely to take crazy bounces. Fundamentally sound groundball defenders like Adam will benefit.
Rishi Gupta returned from vacation just in time to man the 1st base coaching box.
Navin Hukmani again coached at 3rd base. We'll use fall practices to work on following the base coaches' instructions while continuing to run hard, a skill that will be very important at the machine-pitch level.
The Awesome Coach Eric Delgado helped the players get lined up and ready in the field and at the plate. He also provided catching services, shagged baseballs, and loaded and carried equipment.
We would be nowhere without Coach Delgado!
For some reason, we played the Cardinals three times this season - a good thing, in our opinion. The Cardinals show up, have fun, play hard, and demonstrate good sportsmanship. We hope to see them again in fall.
Dads!
Here's the most impressive statistic of the game. The Blue Jays were 12-for-12 in DIA - Dads In Attendance! Behind most good baseball players, you'll find a great dad. Jacob would surely agree that Eric Carle is an excellent example!
Somebody taught Peter Herdman how to do things the right way. The coach can't take credit - Peter was fundamentally sound and mentally sharp when he joined the team. We suspect the guy on the right, Sean Herdman, had more than a little to do with that!
Rishi Gupta is the coach and manager of a BCC machine-pitch team. It is our good fortune that he makes time to help Niara and the Blue Jays whenever he can.
Ryan Porter made sure that Josh did not miss a practice all season. Given the schedules that most of us keep, that is impressive!
Henry Goldstein joined the team as a five year old with zero baseball experience. His dad, Brett, went to work to help Henry expedite his development. The result is an arrow that is unquestionably pointing upward!
Another five year old, Brody Gottfried improved by leaps and bounds this season due primarily to the efforts of his dad, Evan. In addition to working with Brody and helping out at practices, Evan turned out to be an outstanding Team Photographer. Most of the photos in this Game Report and in our upcoming Photo Upload were shot by Evan. Thank you!
Navin Hukmani has stepped up and helped the team wherever needed for three consecutive seasons. An original member of Blue Jays 2.0, Milen knows that he can count on his dad for extra guidance, instruction, and encouragement, week-in and week-out.
Sam Solovey has really stepped up and helped Noah with his catching and throwing. The head coach received progress reports from the Solovey Beach Compound last week. Noah and Sam are also regular attendees at optional practices. When you have three boys so close in age, that is no small feat!
Alec Phillips has four kids. We simply can't imagine! Somehow, this very busy man made some time to work with Evan on baseball skills. The results are starting to come!
Darren Farber is a constant presence behind the backstop when Adam is at the plate. He always chimes in with encouragement and congratulations for jobs well done.
Coach Eric Delgado, AKA Dominic's Dad, hits all the right notes during practices and games. Dominic wants to be good - sometimes, it takes an adult to correct mistakes and explain the actions that will make a young player better. That's called being a dad and a coach. Eric is both.
Incidentally, Dominic doesn't just want to be good. He is good.
Baseball brings the Roggies together. They work on it together, talk about it together, have fun with it together, and experience triumphs and disappointments together.
This was the head coach's first Father's Day without his dad. Thanks to these guys, it was a joyous occasion. Somewhere, Big Steve was sporting his patented Cheshire cat grin.
Beginnings
The Blue Jays can reflect on the Spring 2018 season and be proud of their accomplishments. They had fun, learned a lot, played hard, and demonstrated improved teamwork and great sportsmanship.
They can also look forward to new challenges in Fall 2018. We'll play coach-pitch games and have machine-pitch practices. In the head coach's opinion, machine-pitch is much more fun and interesting. We will use the fall season to learn and prepare.
Thanks for a great season, Blue Jays!
Coach Steve
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