Mudville Takes Manhattan
East Side, West Side, all around the town, the Mudville Base Ball Club hit the ball fields and sidewalks of New York this past weekend, and when they returned home on Sunday, it could truly be said that Mudville had taken Manhattan.
The New York adventure was the team’s second road trip of the year. The team, which has been referred to as a traveling social club that just happens to play base ball, travelled to Nashville in May for two games at the Hermitage, home of President Andrew Jackson. That was the “wives” trip. New York was the “guys” trip, and with a pair of games scheduled on Saturday at Governors Island, a thirty acre park wedged between the Hudson and East Rivers. The team maintained a strict 3 AM curfew and showed up ready to play.
The opposition? Two vintage base ball clubs with histories that reach to the sport’s earliest years. Game one would be against the New York Gothams, a team first organized in 1837, that lay the groundwork for the New York, now San Francisco Giants. Game two would be against the New York Mutuals, a team that traces its origin to 1858, and participated in baseball’s first professional league, The National Association, and later the National League.
Playing by 1864 rules, Mudville fell behind 5-1 in the first game, before rallying for six runs in the fifth inning to take the lead. The Gothams followed with four runs of their own to regain the lead, only to lose it again when the Mudvillians pushed five across in the sixth inning. The final was a 12-10 Mudville victory.
Game two saw Mudville grab an early 10-2 lead over the Mutuals, who rallied for six runs in the seventh inning, and one more in the eighth, allowing our local heroes to escape with a scary 10-9 win.
Mudville was led by Peter “Citizen” Barbieri and Jimmy “Pipes” Cormier who shared the pitching duties on that warm afternoon. Jay “The Legend” Wyman led the hitting heroics with three hits and a walk for the day, which also featured the return of Mark “Candyman” Sweetser who, despite a year long absence, turned in an impressive day at the plate and was quite nifty in the field.
The play of the day occurred in the first game when a Mike “The Ripper” DeFazio to David “Hops” Robinson throw to the plate cut down a sliding Gotham attempting to score. Craig “Party-Boy” Penguin made the quick tag, ending a potential Gotham rally. Subsequent video review of the play indicated the runner was actually safe, but by the time that was discovered, the team was safely back at their hotel, and I won’t tell the Gothams if you won’t.
The team attended the exciting 2-1 victory of the Red Sox over the Yankees that night to complete a wonderful day.
The season is hardly over yet for these Mighty Men of Mudville. Next up is a game in Sandwich on July 19th. On August 16th, the team will be hosting the Colorado All-Stars and the Dirigo Maine Vintage Base Ball Club for games to be played at Goodwill Park. Stay tuned for additional information.
