This made my day! I'm a Hall of Famer!

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

I got a letter in the mail today. Just wanted to share and brag and stuff…

My school is going to celebrate its 30th anniversary this year and is starting a little sports Hall of Fame area in their new gymnasium (one HoF for boys’ sports and one for girls’). They’ve chosen 5 people from each sport - baseball, football, soccer, basketball, swimming, and track & field. I’ve been asked to attend because…

I’m going to be one of the inaugurial 30 for the boys’ sports! Joe Thommason (who played 1st base) is the only other person from my graduating class to be chosen. During a 30 game season, he set the school record for homeruns (16) the same year I set the school record for stolen bases (26).

They had a list of the people chosen and their stats. It seems I was better than I gave myself credit for. I always thought I batted below .300 my senior year, but they have me as batting .319 (43 hits in 135 AB). I checked my yearbooks and this is what’s listed there too. As a junior I apparently hit .322 (28 hits in 87 at bats - that’s the year I took a line drive to the chest and cracked a couple ribs, missing the last 10 games of the season. Stupid really, my own fault for not keeping an eye on the ball.) I wonder why I always thought I had a bad time at the plate while I was varsity. I was right about my homerun totals though - a whopping total of 3. That’s right, I was obviously a fearsome power force at the plate to be reckoned with. :rolleyes:

And it seems my stolen base record still stands, but was tied 3 years ago. Kids today, no respect for their elders.

From the letter:
The 30 inaugural sportspeople to be chosen, and the reasons for their selection, are as follows:

<snipping about 20 unimportant names until we get to…>
Ronald Jones, class of '91. Varsity baseball junior and senior years. 2nd baseman, number 12.
Junior year offensive stats: .322 average, 1 homerun, 8 runs batted in, 28 hits, 87 at bats, 9 doubles, 2 triples, 7 walks, .425 on base percentage, 17 stolen bases, and 12 runs scored in 21 games (season shortened by injury - broken rib). [Froggy’s note: the broken rib story is also kinda fun, but long, I’ll tell it some other time.]
Defensive stats: 38 put outs, 57 assists, 1 error, 17 double plays, .993 fielding percentage. Made an unassisted triple play vs. McCluer Northstars by catching a line drive, tagging second before the runner returned, then tagging the runner coming from first. [Froggy’s note again: I like that bit because they make it sound like I knew what I was doing. I dove for the line drive and as I caught it (first out), the glove landed on second base before the runner got back (second out), the runner from first didn’t know it’d been caught, and when I stood, he nearly ran right into me (third out). It was more luck and bad baserunning then any great heads-up defense of mine. I was just trying to knock the ball down so it didn’t go into the outfield with a runner in scoring position].

Senior year offensive stats: .319 batting average, 2 homeruns, 13 runs batted in, 43 hits, 135 at bats, 14 doubles, 2 triples, 10 walks, .407 on base percentage, 26 stolen bases (school record), and 21 runs scored in 30 games.
Defensive stats: 55 put outs, 84 assists, 2 errors, 27 double plays (school record), .990 fielding percentage.

So that’s all I wanted to share. 30 years isn’t a whole lot of history, but I still think it’s pretty cool.

2

That’s awesome, Crunchy. Hell, all that I can claim is playing in the football game where we got beat 75-7 by our big rival. That was my junior year, I couldn’t make it back for my senior.

At the very least, you can use this as a pick-up line: “Hey baby, wanna go out with a hall of famer?” Maybe you should give the minor league ball thing a shot.

3

Too old, beat up, and fat now. I’m 28, just had surgery on my right knee, and weigh about 70 lbs more now than I did then. My base stealing days are O-V-E-R. I’m content to play baseball on the PS2 now as opposed to IRL.

4

You’re certain, now, that this isn’t all some elaborate hoax to get you back into the principal’s office?

Do tell. Why weren’t you keeping your eye on the ball? :wink:

5

You know those baseball players - always beaver-shooting! :slight_smile:

6

Pretty close, RT. I was standing at second, runner was on first. The pitcher was taking his damn sweet time: checking the runner, going into the set position, throwing to first, getting set, checking the runner again, etc.

I got bored, looked into the stands and saw my GF there. She waved and I gave a little wave back when I heard the crack of bat meeting ball. I turned just in time to see the line drive hit me in the chest. I lobbed the ball to the shortstop covering 2nd, who turned the double play.

I was gasping for air and trying to hustle (coach hated when you walked on or off the field - always hustle) on my way back to the dugout. Back in the dugout, Coach was so proud of me and he kept exclaiming, “That’s why Jones plays everyday! He’s not afraid to get in front of the ball! He’ll take one for the team!” I didn’t have the heart to tell him I didn’t see the ball and I would’ve likely moved if I had.

Joe Thommason was playing 1st base that day and AFAIK, is the only other person besides me who knows why I got drilled that day. If Coach Henderson is there and remembers the play, I might tell him. I figure 10 years is long enough for him not to be mad about me not keeping my head in the game.