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The Gators' quest for a ring
You know that saying about how if a bear if chasing your group, you don’t have to be the fastest to survive, but just faster than the slowest person?
Well, take that theory and apply it to the Haymarket Senators and the wooden-bat Valley Baseball League playoff race.
The Senators (18-26) did not have to be the best in the 11-team league or even finish with a .500 record in order to make the playoffs.
They just had to be better than the ninth-, 10th- and 11th-place teams, and that’s exactly what happened.
Despite Fauquier turning Haymarket into Gator bait with a 10-0 win during the Senators’ regular season finale Sunday, the home team was still on its way to the post-season, having clinched a berth as either a seventh or eighth seed Saturday night by beating Front Royal 6-4.
“It’s actually been great,” said manager Ray Fecteau. “The only problem we’ve had is all the injuries.”
Calculating the degree of understatement made by Fecteau practically takes knowledge of scientific notation.
The Senators have lost almost an entire starting lineup due to injuries this season, the most recent of which came Thursday when hometown hero David Herbek fractured his fibula near one of his ankle sliding safely into home plate during a 5-3 win against the Royals.
That ended the all-star shortstop’s season while he led the team in batting average (.301).
Without question though, the nastiest injury of the season came in July, outfielders Ben Wendell and Jonathan collided while tracking down a fly ball. They were both carted off the field in an ambulance and were treated for injuries ranging from internal bleeding to broken bones and loose teeth.
To add insult to, well, injury, Bill Shields stepped down from his position as manager two weeks ago, allowing then-pitching coach Fecteau to take over the post full-time.
When asked if he will return as manager next season, the St. Lawrence University graduate simply replied, “Yeah.”
With the health of his players being such a precious commodity, Fecteau sat several of his starters against Fauquier on Sunday.
“That’s why tonight happened,” he said after the drubbing. “We played a bunch of pitchers to try to save the position guys, to give them a night off because they’ve been playing every night for the past two weeks...See the Wednesday print edition of the Fauquier Times-Democrat for the complete story.
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