The Fall of 1993

By the time I was 11 in 1992 my love of the Phillies had already begun.  They may have had the ugliest uniforms and one of the worst records in baseball, but they were my team.  My dad would take me to the Vet to see them growing up and sometimes my grandparents would take me to Wrigley to see them play the cubs.  Mike Schmidt was my favorite player growing up, he was the first player that I remember liking.  They also have the best mascot in all of sports the Phillie Phanatic, what kid wouldn't be a fan.  But in 1993 I fell in love with a team.  They got new uniforms that year too.  To this day it's one of only 3 teams I can name all the players from.  The other 2 are the current roster and the 08 Phillies.  

The 93 Phillies are why, even years after leaving the Philly area, I'll never be a fan of another team.  Sure I enjoy going to Nats games, but I still get the urge to boo Werth, even when they are not playing the Phillies.  Plus you can't replace all of those memories.  My favorite player on that team was Kevin Stocker the SS.   After a few years in the league we never heard from him again.  Mitch "Wild Thing" Williams was my favorite pitcher.  He was run out of town after surrender ing the series winning homerun to Joe effing Carter.  He was traded to Houston and last I saw was working at the MLB network.  Just a couple weeks ago I was talking to a guy on my softball team about these guys and their stories.  They were his favorite team too.  Their were bigger names on the team. John Kruk, during spring training he caught a ball in his privates so as most 6th graders would we nicknamed him one nut Kruk.  He is now one of the announcers for the Phillies.  There was Lenny Dykstra,  our All Star.   The called him Nails cause he was tough as nails.  Curt Schilling was on that team, it was with the Phillies that his post season dominance began.  Long before the bloody sock.  He ended up winning the 3 rings after leaving the team.  There were other role players as well, Mickey Morandini, Dave Hollins, Jim Eisenreich, and Pete Incaviglia.  Fun fact about Pete, he is still the only professional baseball players autograph I have ever been able to get.   Lastly there was the leader, the man behind the mask, Darren "Dutch" Daulton.  He was there for every pitch that season.  I was so happy when he finally got his ring with the Marlins in 97.  

These were the men that shaped my manhood of the Phillies.  They were also the first team I watched as the got traded away, left in free agency, or retired.  That summer I fell in love with a team.  That fall was the beginning of what is now a diehard love of the Phillies. 

1993 was the last season before the introduction of the wild card, when the playoffs last two ish weeks.  The Phillies won the NL East and the Braves won the West.  This was before realignment too.  This was the series where I learned to hate the Braves.  This was before they were the team of the 90s, but they did win the NL the year before and would go on to be one of the greatest teams in the history of baseball, even if they only won 1 World Series title.  I remember laying on the bed in our playroom each night watching the games on tv.  But the only real memory was in the final game when Mitch Williams was coming up in the 9th to face the heart of Braves lineup.  After each out I would scream in my pillow until the final out when I couldn't hold it in anymore and probably woke up the house.  It wouldn't have mattered much people were outside beating on pots and pans cheering the improbability of the Phillies being NL Champions ANF going to the World Series.

In the World Series they faced the defending champions Toronto Blue Jays.  In the series Schilling would throw a complete game shutout.  The only pitching outing better than that in a world series game was Don Drysdale's perfect game.  Since then the only better playoff performance was Roy Halladay's No-hitter against the Reds in 2010.  But the series came down to 1 at bat, in the 9th inning of Game 6.  I was on a Boy Scouts camping trip.  I don't remember the name but there were multiple troops from around the area and we spent the day learning to shoot and earning related merit badges.  But that night almost every tent had snuck a battery powered radio on the trip.  Even the leaders were up listening to the game.  But like I said 9th inning 2 outs Joe effing Carter comes to the plate.  If Mitch strikes him out we go to game 7.  But that doesn't happen, Carter hits a homerun and the Blue Jays win the series and an entire camp of Boy Scouts all groan in disappointment.  

After that game it wasn't until 2007 until I saw another Phillies team make the playoffs, so Nats fans I wouldn't complain too much about having a playoff contender year after year.  In 2008 the Phillies finally ascended to the mountain top and won it all.  I had never been so happy.  But I may never had cared if not for this 93 Phillies and that's why they are still my favorite team and many are still my favorite players.  

By the end of the 94 season the Phillies were back at the bottom of the division and I had moves to Virginia.  At the time it was Braves territory.  Luckily Inter-league play was introduced not long after I moved, I'll never forget going to Camden Yards with my buddy Jake to see the Phillies play.  By then Schilling and Dykstra were the only notable guys left.  Kruk had left for the White Sox and Daulton was with the Marlins.  But I remembered being excited to see this new Catcher, Mike Lieberthal play.  In that game he hit a home run.

I started writing this because I heard on the news this morning that Darren Daulton passed away. He had been battling brain cancer for a few years.  Unlike many of the other Phillies I've kept tabs on since 93, Dutch had stayed pretty quiet.  He won the World Series and rode off in the sunset.  Today o. Twitter former teammates wrote about his leadership and his infectious smile.   As I thought about the images in my head I remembered of him he was always smiling, he looked like he truly loved the game he was so fortunate to play.  As I thought more, I think that is why fans connected with that 93 team so much, they were always smiling.  They were having fun, just like my friends and I were when we played.  Daulton was there leader.  Rest In Peace and thank you for the memories.

What Do You Mean My Scale is Broken?

A few years ago I had a somewhat eye opening experience.  You see, I’ve struggled with my weight most of my life, but I always did enough for it not to be a real issue.  Then I graduate from college and eventually get a desk job and all of a sudden finding time to do anything physical between an 8 hour workday and a 1.5-2 hour commute is almost impossible.  In high school I weighed 220, in college I was anywhere between 240 and 280, but usually around 250.  After college when I was swinging a hammer for a living I was right around 260.  But within a year of moving off the construction site and into a desk chair I was 290.  Even at 290 it didn’t keep me from doing physical activities.  I played kickball and rode my bike.  But at some point 290 became 315.  I stayed around 315 for the next few years and continued to stay there, or so I thought.  You see one day about 4 or 5 years ago I went to the doctor because I was sick, they put me on the scale and it read 342.  In my head I said, wait that can’t be right, I weighed myself just a few days ago and I only weighed 318.  Well even I realized the problem, my scale was broken. 

After realizing I was over 340 I decided I needed to start doing more to lose weight.  I would work out off and on for the next few years losing 5-10 pounds each time.  It was always easy to lose that first few pounds.  Although I was never able to get below 325.  Then I would get sick or something else would happen and I would stop working out and put it right back on.  About 2 years ago I found out I had diabetes, again I said I need to do more, but again I didn’t really take it serious enough or would get frustrated that I wasn’t losing weight like I thought I should and lose interest. 

Then something happened.  In April 2016 during our company’s spring walking competition I started to lose weight and I was losing it fairly fast.  I have always pushed myself usually past what my body would allow to compete in this thing with my team.  I never wanted to be the weak link.  In past competitions I would lose some weight but my knees would usually slow me down by the end and I’d have to rest my legs after the competition in order not to anything worse to my body.  Plus I wanted a break, the competition is serious there is no rest for the month we compete.  But last year I lost 5 lbs. the first week.  Then I didn’t want to lose my progress so I decided that even though I would get my steps during my golf trip that I would walk each morning for 30 minutes to pad my daily totals.  I didn’t lose any weight that week, but it was mostly due to the drinking during and after the rounds.  I came back and continued the final two weeks of the tournament and lost another 7 lbs.  Over the summer I slowly started to do less but lost a few more pounds before the fall walking competition.  The good news is I didn’t put any of the weight back on. 

During the fall competition my goal changed from getting the most steps to using the motivation of getting steps to launch my workout program and getting the most out of each step I took.  So I would still walk each day but I also started doing the Couch to 5k program.  The running beat up my body more than just walking would, but I continued through the competition.  I didn’t make it far in the couch to 5k process though and then got sick right after the competition so I stopped.  Add in the cold of winter and I just didn’t make time.  But one thing did happen during the competition, I dropped below 325, which had been that barrier I couldn’t get past for the past few years.  So one day this past January or February I started challenging my wife and sister to the Work Week Hustle in the Fitbit app and had mini walking competitions.  I figured it would motivate me to get up and move and get me ready for this spring’s walking competition.  Then out of nowhere my wife decided to start running again and kicked our butts that week.  So the next week I decided I was going to start the couch to 5k again.  I decided I wasn’t going to let work be my excuse for not working out or the fact that I am not able to access the showers in the basement unless I pay for a gym membership that is overpriced keep me from working out.  So far my coworkers have not complained about any post workout body odor.

About a month ago a coworker and I started running during our lunch break on the National Mall.  I get up and go into the men’s room and change into my running gear.  I get looks from all the people in suits who can’t figure out why I’m dressing in shorts, sneakers and a t-shirt in the office.  I run, come back, and change into my work clothes in the men’s room.  I imagine it feels a lot like when Superman changes in a phone booth, only slower.  I “shower” with baby wipes and re-apply deodorant.  If only I could get access to that shower.  Anyways we are on week 4 last week, Mother Nature mucked things up by deciding to take away our spring like temps and give us winter finally, and it put a halt to the runs.  However this week I have started back with week 4, the runs are longer and more challenging but this week I felt better during the runs and had more energy.  However I did need to let my body recover some yesterday, but will be back out today.  300+ pounds is a lot for your joints to take but every week that number gets smaller.

The reason I decided to write about this today is last week I got on the scale and it read 314.9.  I finally made it back down to the weight I thought I weighed when I stepped on that doctor’s scale 4 or 5 years ago.  My goal is to break 300 by the end of this spring’s walking competition.  I plan to attack the walking competition with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind.  Using the mantra that Jim Harbaugh uses with his football team, “Today will be better than yesterday and tomorrow will be better than today.”  My overall goal for now is to get down to 250, but getting to 315 was a big deal because I have now lost 30 pounds in the last year, hopefully I can say 45 in the next month.  As of yesterday I am down to 313.

I should also mention that working out was not the only reason the weight has dropped.  About 6 months ago I started to cut back drastically on the amount of beer I drank during the week.  That was the main reason I dropped weight prior to beginning my workouts.  It also helped that while I was sick back in December I cut my portions down because I didn’t feel like eating.  Since then I have been able to keep my portion sizes down so I eat less.

On top of the weight loss I just have a lot more energy.  I want to be active and I want to go outside and do stuff.  Plus if there is ever a Zombie outbreak like in The Walking Dead, I'll be able to run a little farther and a little harder to get away.

I also hope someone reads this and says hey that is what I’m struggling with, I hope that person realizes that it’s not too late to start and finds their motivation to lose the weight.  Once I get the next 15-25 pounds off I have a couple boxes full of clothes that will fit again, it will be like going on a shopping spree for clothes without spending a dime.  I also will be dressing in clothes my 24 year old self thought was cool so maybe I will buy new stuff.  If you are working to lose weight I wish you the best of luck.

Bouncer



The other day a friend posted a movie trailer for a movie called A Dog’s Purpose.  I saw the post the morning I was taking Bouncer to the vet and knew nothing good would come from watching it and have yet to watch it as of this writing.  But the title stood out too me.  A Dog’s Purpose.  Dogs have many purposes more than I will take time to list.  But Bouncer’s purpose was to love and be loved.

I remember the day I went to the SPCA in Newport News during my senior year of college.  I went over there with my buddy Casey.  I’d always wanted my own dog and while I can say I didn’t intend to get a dog that week, I also didn’t intend not to get a dog that week.  We found this cool looking dog that was part coonhound and part Rottweiler.  He had the coat of a rotty, but everything else about him was hound.  I went back the next day and paid my $35 to bring the dog home.  I told the kennel my home was my parents’ house and not a dorm room at CNU.  I also told my parents my fraternity brothers got it for me as an early graduation gift.  What are two “little” lies for the greatest dog ever?  For the next month or so Bouncer lived with me on campus.  Since dogs were not allowed on campus I would have to sneak him out for walks.  I eventually talked my parents in to taking him home so I could focus on finishing my senior year.  My parents were thrilled, in the sense that they were absolutely not thrilled.

During the days I would take Bouncer to the fraternity house and tie him up in the back yard.  One because I didn’t want him barking while I was at class and two he got to be outside.   I don’t think Spencer ever told me this story until after I graduated, but he was at my apartment on campus studying with my roommate.  Apparently after they finished their assignment Bouncer got ahold of his homework and did what he would do to many a pieces of paper after that and chewed it up.  The next day Spencer went to his professor and told him his fraternity brother’s dog ate his homework.  Yes he used the old dog ate my homework excuse.  The professor figured either the story is true or you have got guts using that excuse that he gave Spencer an extension.  Spencer still brings this story up to me even today.

Bouncer was one of the few dogs I knew that was terribly afraid of water.  I don’t know if this is something he was always afraid of or something that happened later.  In college my girlfriend Nicole and I were traveling and we took Bouncer to my parents so they could watch him.  We stopped at her mom’s house and Bouncer was running around the yard, we were chasing him around the deck.  We had him cornered and he had no place to go, or so we thought.  He chose option C which was to jump in their pool.  It was late March/early April so the pool was not warm.  Nicole was yelling at me to jump in and I told her he will either learn to swim or he won’t.  He got to the side of the pool and I pulled him out.  Needless to say, he never went near water after that.

After college I moved in with my good friend Chuck.  Chuck got a dog not long after we moved in named Max.  Bouncer and Max loved to go on adventures.  Bouncer, like his name loved to jump.  Chuck and I would find Bouncer outside the fence and we always thought he had jumped the fence to get out.  Well one day we realized he had really just learned out to lift the latch with his nose.  Well one day Bouncer and Max got loose and ran all over Falmouth.  They were seen down by the river, running across route 3, and eventually in an office park.  The dentist that found him got them in his car and took them to his office where we met them to take them home.  After that Chuck bought a chain and a lock, he ran the chain through the fence and the gate making it impossible to get out.



Bouncer in the backyard at my brother and sister's house in Morgantown.

Bouncer used to get to go everywhere with me.  Back when we were apartment living he would go to Morgantown with me to visit my brother and sister.  They had a fenced in yard so he could run around with my parent’s dog and have some fun there.  On game days we would do our tailgating in the backyard since we could walk to the stadium.  One Saturday my mom ordered chicken wings.  I still haven’t found the thing that Bouncer wouldn’t eat.  We joked that he was a garbage hound because he would just pull things from the trash and eat it.  Well a group of my sister’s friends were sitting around the table outside.  One girl was holding a wing up and waving it around as she told a story.  Bouncer was watching it and his head was swaying back and forth with her hand.  Then out of nowhere he snatched the whole wing right out of her hand and took off running.  I know he swallowed it whole because by the time I got to him there was no bone or chicken meat to be found.  A few years later we were having a steak and cigar night at my place.  A friend finished grilling his steak and placed it on the table outside (with the dogs) then went inside.  When he went back outside the steak was gone and Bouncer was licking a juicy spot on the patio.



Bouncer laying on my while we watch TV.  It may be hard to see me behind him

Bouncer in his younger days weighed about 75 lbs., as he got older and ran less he was closer to 90+.  His size was great for a guard dog, but not so much for a lap dog.  Bouncer believed he was a lap dog.  Every night after work he would climb up in the chair with me and lay across my lap and I would just sit there watching TV and pet him.  If you weren’t petting him and he wanted you to he would nudge his nose under you hand and flip it up letting you know that it was time to pet him.  But Bouncer was a good guard dog too.  Nobody could come near the house without him letting them know he was there.  But he wasn’t the dog that would run towards the supposed danger, he would stay near you and make sure you were safe.  My mom was telling me about their walks the other day and said there was never a person that could walk up on her without getting by him first.  At some point Bouncer had become afraid of Thunderstorms.  With that he was also afraid of fireworks.  He would never leave my side during a storm or on holidays with fireworks.  Once our girls were born he would go to the landing outside their doors and lay there making sure nothing happened to them.  If their doors were open he would go in and lay at their crib standing guard.



There are better pictures but this is the only one on my phone.  Savannah was maybe 4 or 5 months in this photo.  I always loved watching her play with him.

The day I picked Bouncer up from the kennel his cage had a card on it.  The card had his name, age, weight, and information provided by the previous owner.  Bouncer was 35 lbs. and 16 weeks old.  The note said, “Do not get this dog if you have small children.”  Funny story, when I got Rollins the owner said I wouldn’t get this dog if you were planning to have children or have small children at home.  You see both dogs at 4 months of age loved to jump up on you when you walked in.  That is something you have to train a dog not to do.  It’s not that the dogs were or have ever been bad with children, it’s that their previous owners didn’t take the time to train the dogs to not jump.  Bouncer has done nothing but love our two girls.  He would walk over sniff them and then lick their face and walk away.  Even the last week he was around when I started to notice his decline he still let Savannah climb and play with him.  He just loved the attention.  You see he just wanted to be loved and because of that he loved us unconditionally.    That was his purpose.



This was a weekend at Grandma's house while Ashley and I were away.  Bouncer is in the front, Rollins is the brown dog behind him.  Sammy is the Beagle on the right in the front and Tabby is the black dog in the back.  In the last 2 years we have had to say goodbye to 3 of the 4 pictured. 

Bouncer was my dog for 13 years.  The last half he saw me marry my wife and have two little girls.  The first half he was the reason I was never alone.  He made me smile on days when nobody else was around and kept me getting up and moving forward even if it was only to get up to feed him and walk him.  There were days when I never thought I would meet someone, but I always had him.  He hasn’t been able to climb on the couch for a while or even into the bed, but I will miss having him lay on my lap and keep my feet warm at night.  Like I told Savannah the other night, Bouncer may not be here anymore but he is watching over us every night.  He will keep you safe whether he is here physically or not.  From Guard dog to Guardian Angel.  We’ll miss you Bobo.