2012 Results
May 19 at Home
Still gentlemen, Apple Jacks take 2 devastating losses
While our country was at war with itself, our venerable president Abraham Lincoln said that “force is all-conquering, but its victories are short-lived.” His words, if applied to this flourishing game of base ball, illustrate the paradox of a commanding win. Nowhere was that more apparent than at Abnet Field on May 19 when the Mankato Baltics handed two painful losses to a combined team of the La Crescent Apple Jacks and the Minneapolis Quicksteps.
Below: They are not praying; it's the coin toss
Warm temperatures and a brisk wind made the conditions nearly ideal for the first season outing for both clubs. A long first and second inning saw the Baltics jump off to a 10 to 0 lead. The wind whipping up sand in the infield foreshadowed the tempest to come as the Baltics tallied five aces (runs) or more in each of three innings. Stunned, the Apple Jacks wondered how these men could knock the stuffing out of the ball; after all, the Jacks had been victorious over the Baltics last year. Even though the first game was turning into a rout, the Jacks/Quicksteps did not relinquish, playing but played through nine full innings. The final score was 41 to 9, followed by another loss, this time 30 to 7 in seven innings.
“We have never played this well,” remarked Hugh Light Hitter Belgard of the Baltics [Baltics players pictured at right], “let alone score so many aces.” High scores are not uncommon; in 1858, in fact, Massachusetts teams had to reach 100 tallies to win. Playing by the rules of 1860, neither the Baltics nor the Jacks had witnessed such a cockeyed affair, but used the occasion to exchange good-natured hoots.
In spite of the final scores, Jacks captain Bill Ho-hum Ohm saw promise. Dan Skunk Deetz scored two aces in the first game, while newcomer Keith Kaufmann, referred to as No Name, jumped the fence and zipped around the bases like a jack rabbit. Joel Hefty Affeldt joined the Jacks for the second game, showing prowess with the bat and a steady bearing. Both players took notice of hitting and fielding of veteran players Eric Doc Kiesau, Benjamin George Deetz, and Erik Stretch Deetz. Also noteworthy was the infield play of Thomas Lefty Kiesau and catcher Jim Preacher Cumming, who nabbed several foul tips to send the Baltics to the benches [Preacher pictured below].
Six members of the Minneapolis Quicksteps, a premier Minnesota club, joined the Jacks for the day. The combined team took a few innings to get into a rhythm, but the experienced Quicksteps finessed infield plays and struck the ball soundly. Lady Joan Ohm, the tallykeeper, reported that the hits and aces were distributed evenly among players.
Prince Peter Petersilie, the Jacks’ umpire, encountered no dust-ups, but did mediate a few rule discussions and issue a warning to the Baltics about throwing bats. In total, Petersilie levied $6.75 in fines, thanks to an overzealous assemblage of rooters led by Gale Bruessel and Leo Chaput.
Below: The Combined Apple Jacks & Quicksteps (after the second game)
