Fantasy Camp 2014 reunion

Well the reunion has also come and gone. I played in the 8:00 am game at PNC Park, and managed to make a nice running catch in the outfield. At the plate, I only got to bat once, but made the most of it by driving in our team's first run of the game, and later that inning coming around to score.

And then in the nightcap, the Pirates came back from behind and beat the Nationals in a tight game. Raise that Jolly Roger!

While I have had a great time these past 4 years at the Pirates Fantasy Camp, for some personal reasons I am afraid that I must step back from it for a while. Thanks to Joe B. and all the Bradenton staff, pro staff, and other campers, it has been fun. Maybe I will see you all again somewhere down the road.

Take care everyone.

Pictures on the Pirates web site

I just noticed that there are some pictures of me on the Pirates web site in the Photo Galleries section. If you go to the Pirates web site, hover over News, and select Photo Galleries under the Related Links section, you will see the Fantasy Camp galleries for January and February of 2014.

There is a picture of me with Jim Rooker in the Day 4 gallery:

Me & Rook

And in the Day 6 gallery, there were 3 pictures that I managed to get into:

Victory dance (???)

Number 1

Team photo

Fantasy Camp 2014 recap

What an amazing week. Team Traynor played super solid baseball all week (excepting for the McKechnie game of course), let by great pitching and infield defense. In terms of my personal contributions defensively, there was not much to do in the outfield, as I only got a chance to catch one fly ball the whole week. However, top to bottom, everyone chipped in and helped out in one way or another, whether it was George making some nice catches in the outfield for us before he got hurt, or Bill swinging a hot bat. And I was happy that I got a couple of timely hits to help our teams out of a couple of tight spots.

Unfortunately due to the rain, we played the requisite number of games, but in terms of innings, we were shorted by about the length of a whole game, but there is nothing you can do about that. Joe B. and the whole Pirate City staff did an outstanding job in that regard, so they have my admiration and thanks.

Here were my final batting statistics for the week:
8 games played
.500 batting average
10 hits in 20 at-bats
6 runs scored
2 triples
4 runs batted in
0 walks
3 strikeouts (still higher than I would like...)
1 hit by pitch

And some additional statistics:
21 plate appearances
.700 slugging percentage (14 total bases in 20 at-bats)
.524 on base percentage (11 times on base in 21 plate appearances)
1.224 OPS

While the week was fun, it is nice to be back home. I hope to see all the campers at PNC Park for the reunion in May. Let's Go Bucs!!!!

Championship Game Day

The 2014 Pirates Fantasy Camp has finally come to a close, and I am happy to report that my team, Team Traynor, came out victorious in a rain shortened 5 inning game here on field 3 at Pirate City. The final margin of victory was 5 to 2. At the dish, I struck out swinging in my first at bat, and in my second at bat, I hit an opposite field triple with 1 RBI, and then I later scored the final run of the game. In the field, I had no chances.

Team Traynor played fantastically all week, with all facets of the game clicking on all cylinders. Special thanks to our pro staff coaches Bruce Kison and Lee Lacy, our assistant coach Robbie Kison, our Bradenton Booster Dick Davis, and a special shout out to my fellow teammates Dan, Jamie, Eddie, Rick, Paul S., George, Keith, Bill, Roger, Paul T., and Jimmer, I had an awesomely fun week of baseball. And of course the whole thing wouldn't be the same without Joe Billetdeaux in charge. Thanks Joe!

I will post a recap of the camp after I get back to Ohio. See all you campers at the reunion in May.