It's pretty certain that many of us have been in other leagues and we know that teams, managers and even leagues come and go. Life gets in the way; marriages, babies, school, etc. It's quite an amazing thing when you realize that a quarter of the membership has been with the league all 25 years and half of the membership has been in the league for over 20 years. The league has expanded several times from it's original 4 teams and we've lost very managers over that time. It's quite an accomplishment!
One of the biggest events of the year is our annual free agent draft and we gathered for the silver anniversary of the MVTGA draft at the Westford Regency Hotel on February 20. There was a collective nodding of the heads when the Rock Lobsters made the first draft pick of the day by selecting Bryce Harper in the developmental draft. That may have been one of the poorest kept secrets of the day. Equally as predictable was when the Rock Lobsters made the first pick of the free agent portion of the draft by snagging Adrian Beltre. Unlike recent years only 7 pitchers of which very few were starters were take in the first round. looks like we all went into the draft feeling good about our pitching staffs. Also surprising was the fact that the prospects seemed to go earlier than usual with names like Storen, Drabek and Kimbrel all going in round 2. We'll know in a few years how that worked out! The draft lasted nearly 6 hours and by the time we packed up 149 players were chosen. We'll see what happens next year!
Sherman, let's turn the way back machine back to 1991. The MVTGA had just finished up it's 5th season making one wonder if we had any thoughts that we'd still be doing this 20 years later. 1991 was somewhat unique in MVTGA history in that it was the year of the senior citizen with names like Fisk, Ryan and Hough playing key roles at the age of 45. As the season finished and the preparations for 1992 began we also spent the off season preparing for "more expansion, improved game products, an increased number of games played, improved league rules all and of the other events of past seasons". The MVTGA Yearbook opined that "Maybe Bo knows big comeback in 1992". I guess we have that answer! 1991 was the year we made it to 10 teams as Tony D'Amico joined the league after the failure of Jeff Robinson to get the "Brash Bombers" off of the ground. 1991 was also the first time that we only played one game. The league convinced the Purple Eagles and Fat Boys to abandon their beloved APBA games. APBA cards would never be seen again and the cry of "66!, 66!" at the roll of the die would be forever silenced. We were now exclusively a Pursue the Pennant league. No names will be mentioned but the Yearbook also refers to memorable events such as "managers falling over in their chairs" and "cards thrown across the room". The league hasn't been the same since. Who can also forget creating computer input sheets after each series and having to get your opponent to sign off after the series on your limited player usage?
Statistically, the 66ers would take first place in the East finishing 4 games up on the Truckers and Beer Chasers. The Jedi MidKnights took the West, finishing the season with a league best 30 wins. The Space Monkeys finished two games back and the Wanderers took third, finishing two and a half back. Ah yes, remember the disappointment of rolling the dice to get the weather and finding that your game was rained out? Looks like that may have kept the Wanderers from tying for second place! The Purple Eagles would take the coveted Zimmer award with just 21 wins on the season. In the Eastern semi-final playoffs the Truckers and Beer Chasers squared off with the Truckers taking that series 3-1. In that series Roger Clemens would face David Cone twice with Clemens tossing two shutouts with Cone being the victim both times. Going over to the West, the Space Monkeys faced the Wanderers and it was another three out of four series as the Wanderers put the Space Monkeys down. Griffey Jr. dominated the series going 10-14 (.714) with a double, triple, 2 homers and 7 RBI. There's no word on whether the Wanderers used their other 8 players. Back to the East for the Finals and we see the Truckers and 66ers getting after it. The Truckers would end up taking this series in 6 and in an almost mirror image the MidKnights would send the Wanderers home in the 6th. It would be a Trucker-MidKnight world series. Wow, I wonder what the TV ratings were for that series? In the end, the MidKnights would take the series in 7 games. Ramon Martinez would win 3 games while Matt Williams would hit 3 homers and Canseco had 2. In just four years the MidKnights went from last place first year expansion team to MVTGA World Champions. Not bad!
