|
|
 |
Opening Day 2002
Opening day 2002 was a success. Nine players and four spectators combined to form the
largest opening day crowd in MLW history. Yes, it was an attendance record for a
league most likely in its final season.
The games were unlike any others played before at The Sac. The wind was gusting for
nearly the entire game day, easily adding 20 minutes to each game, but did let up some
in about the 4th inning of Game Two of the doubleheader.
Game One started off as a pitcher's duel. There was no score going into the top half
of the third. That's when the hitters took over. With two outs,
Quentin Jensen
blasted the first home run of the year, a 3-run shot off
Matt Ceccucci. Four batters
later, Matt allowed another 3-run homer to newcomer
Chris "The Rock" Sirtori. It was a
tough day on the mound for Matt, but he did go 2-for-3 with 3 walks at the plate.
The league may have seen the beginning of a new rivalry. This dates back to the "Flag
Football Challenge" which took place on December 30, 2001. Several of Commissioner
Shaun Breen's
co-workers challenged him and his friends to a game of flag football.
Shaun's team won 4-3 (1 point touchdowns) with all 4 of their touchdowns scored by
Quentin Jensen. Early in that game, which turned from flag to touch football after
the first play,
Mike Breen went for a "tackle" on
James Francescone. Mike touched
James a little too hard, sending him to the ground and injuring his right shoulder. James
spent several weeks going to physical therapy to strengthen his shoulder, which he says
is still sore, and not close to 100%.
In the offseason, James claimed that he would bean Mike in the head the first time he
faced him, but Mike, the 2000 Sportsman of the Year, was very apologetic and luckily
that incident never ocurred.
However, in the third inning of Game One, the first time Shaun Breen faced James, Shaun
took a 2-2 pitch right in the face. Shaun commented after the game, "It was probably
an accident, but to me it doesn't matter. If you hit me in the face with a ball, a
plastic ball, expect me to be aiming at your head the next time up."
That's exactly what Shaun did, but James ducked and the ball missed. So in order to even the count, Shaun
threw James an off-speed pitch a bit outside and James lined it the opposite way right
toward fielder Mike Breen. Mike, whose outstanding fielding is often overlooked,
knocked the ball backward over the fence, resulting in a 2-run homer. The incident
was very similar to
Jim Breen's fielding mistake on a Mike Breen pop-up-homer in Game
Six of the
2001 Wiffleball World Series. Shaun Breen was also the pitcher
on that play, a game that he and his team lost 1-0.
After the game day, Shaun Breen told reporters that he believed the ball Mike missed
was tipped over the fence on purpose. "I think Mike did it
to show that he really is sorry for injuring James. But I'm very upset that this is the
second time somethng like this has happened to me. It ruins my pitching stats." The
visiting team went on to win Game One 9-4.
For
Marc Ceccucci, Game Two was a game to remember.
Brian Glasser wants to forget
all about it. Glasser went in to pitch in the bottom of the fifth to try to become
only the second player in MLW history to earn a win and a save in the same game.
Shaun Breen became the first player to accomplish this feat last year.
Glasser had a 7-5 lead, but couldn't hold it. The bases were loaded with 2-outs when
Glasser walked "The Rock" to make it 7-6. Then Shaun Breen singled to right to tie
the game at seven. Marc Ceccucci came up next and singled to right-center to drive
home the game-winning run. Marc continued running down the first-base line, into the
outfield where he was congratulated by his girlfriend Erin, one of the spectators
who stayed for the entire game day.
Overall, it was an exciting game day.
Eric Coons, who is lost for the season with a
torn ACL, commented on the microphone and sang along to many songs, including
Captain and Tenille's "Love Will Keep Us Together".
The next game day is scheduled for June 9th, and
is the annual "Diamond Ball Game". Attendance is expected to be down, but everyone
knows the power numbers will be up. Last year, Shaun Breen belted 5 home runs in the
Diamond Ball game, a single game record, however, most players will remember the
contraversy between Mike Breen and Quentin Jensen over the "foul home run". To this
day, no one knows for sure if it was a home run or not, but it was ruled foul and
Jensen ended up striking out Mike Breen. It would have been the first home run allowed
by Jensen in his career, but Shaun Breen took him deep later in the next game, where
he added two more home runs finishing the day with seven, nearly half of his season
total of fifteen. Breen will be going for another record on this Diamond Ball game day.
He is on pace to pass Eric Coons in the number of consecutive innings played. Breen
hasn't missed an inning since Game 5 of the 2000 season. If Breen plays two complete games,
he will be just 4 1/2 innings away from breaking Coons' record.
|
|
