LibGuides: Bibliotechs: 2013 Bibliotechs: Serious Slow Pitch

Bibliotechs 2013 Schedule

Serious Slow Pitch League, Mountain Division (SS4)

(All games on Wednesdays at 5:30)

The 2013 Bibliotech season had its ups and downs (the whole story below) but concluded with the Bibs once again attaining the playoffs and advancing to the semi-final round, which is as far as they got. This is a familiar result for the Library avatars, and seems like history repeating itself, but perhaps the Bibliotechs exist outside of history (and, for that matter, in a zone somewhat adjacent to reality.) At any rate, it was as always an amiable and often thrilling experience, and these people made it that way: Wes Austin, Patsy Baudoin, Dan Belich, Ronnie Broadfoot, Moses Carr, John Delancey, Debbie Douglas, Darcy Duke, Melissa Feiden, Carol Frederick, Steve Gass, Diane Geraci, Roshni Gohil, Jeremiah Graves, Rachel Grubb, Kathy Hamilton, Dana Hamlin, Katie Harris, Stephanie Hartman, Julia Lanigan, Amy Magee, Greg Martin, Howard Martin, Joe Martinez, Grace Mlady, Christine Moulen, Peter Norman, Greg Padilla, Pat Page, Walter Powers, Dan Pribble, Carol Robinson, Drew Swayze, Nick Szydlowski, Sean Thomas, Theresa Tobin, Bev White, and Mat Willmott. (At the awards convocation following the season, the following worthies were honored: both Captains Jeremiah Graves and Pat Page, to whom the team owes a debt for their leadership and exemplary play, were named co-Most Valuable Players; Grace Mlady was Rookie of the Year; Gold Gloves went to Steve Gass and Nick Szydlowski; Walter Powers received the Spirit award; Comeback Players of the Year were Powers, Mat Willmott, and John Delancey; Ronnie Broadfoot was named Muddy MVP; Most Improved Player, for the second year in a row, was Howard Martin; Best Infield Beard, Sean Thomas; Best Outfield Beard, Dan Pribble; (Ice Cream) Man of the Year Wes Austin, and Courage Under Fire award to Drew Swayze: he left it all on the field.

May 22 Organomets at Bibliotechs L, 20-25
June 5 Bibliotechs at Sans Blocage L, 13-14
June 12 Aero Astros at Bibliotechs RAINED OUT
June 19 Bibliotechs at DAWGS W, 25-5
June 26 Compact Objects at Bibliotechs GAME SUSPENDED AT 3-5 DUE TO RAIN
July 3 Bibliotechs at CSAIL Exponential Run Time L, 15-20
July 10 Two Balls and A Strike at Bibliotechs W, 21-10
July 17 Bibliotechs at InfoSlammers (5 innings) W, 3-2
July 24 Clippers at Bibliotechs (5 innings?) W, 12-6
July 24 Compact Objects at Bibliotechs (3.5 innings to complete June 26 suspended game) W, 10-9
July 31 Bibliotechs at Organomets L, 4-26
August 2 Aero Astros at Bibliotechs (Friday! make-up game for June 12 rain-out) L, 6-16

*** PLAYOFFS ***

Monday, Aug.5 Clippers at Bibliotechs W, 35-19
Thursday, Aug.8 Bibliotechs at Biohazards L, 1-22
Friday, Aug. 9 Biohazards defeat ATG Dynamo, 25-8, to win Section III championship

Here is the field map.

Contact co-captains Jeremiah Graves (jgraves@mit.edu) or Pat Page (pagep@mit.edu) for softball enlightenment and fulfillment. Namaste!

May 22 - The 2013 season began with "enormous changes at the last minute," to quote Grace Paley, with the Bibs being shifted from one division to another, with the Opening Day field being changed 30 minutes before game time, and with the ceiling for a pitch's arc reduced to 10 feet, by ASA fiat. Did the Bibs flinch? I make the hawhaw! Playing with a short line-up, and suffering some prodigious offense from the youthful Organomet men, the Bibs hung on for dear life, and hits began to fall from up and down the lineup. Still, the Bibs were down by 8 runs in their last at-bat. And they tied it up to send the game into overtime! Unfortunately, in the tied extra inning the mad chemists continued to crush the ball, but the Bibs had run out of crush. Still...we can take this game as a hopeful sign for the rest of the season, and look forward to adding luster to the legend known as...Bibliotechs!

June 5 - The hard-bitten Bibliotechs returned to the velvety greensward after a bye week, hoping to even the season record against the Momenta Pharmaceuticals' Sans Blocage (Fr. for "unchecked" or "unhindered" or "peristaltic motility") team, a worthy opponent from last year's debacular schedule. Alas. ALAS! The Bibs were oh so close, ahead by a single run going into the final inning, only to see it slip away as the winning Sans Blocage run crossed the plate. Game over. Bibs are in the cellar (which is not to say "in debasement") but there are still 8 games to play. The Bibs will find a way.

June 19 - After a rain-out the previous week, the restless Library legion was hankering for that special experience, the unbearable lightness of Bibbing! Their foes this pleasant evening were ancient rivals the Dawgs, from around the time the Earth began to cool. It was clear from the 1st inning on that the Bibliotech attack was in full gear, with the sluggers slugging (Capt. Graves hitting for the cycle, long balls from Capt. Page, Gass, Pribble, Szydlowski, Austin, G. Martin, and in a surprise appearance, Mat Wilmott visiting from the Beehive State,) sparkling at-bats from Grace Mlady and Debbie Douglas, and PGP (pretty good pitching) from the trio of hurlers. It seems that perhaps an invisible corner has been turned, and the Bibs are back to their winning ways. Sweet!

July 3 - On the eve of Independence Day, the bonny Bibliotechs appeared in fine fettle and ready to show their mettle on the new crumb-rubber turf of Jack Barry field. And things started out very well! with some serious slamming (circuit clouts from Pribble, Page, and Padilla) versus the CSAIL Expos. The Bibs leapt out to a significant lead, but one nightmarish inning later, they found themselves trailing, and were not able to make up the difference in the late frames. How long must the Bibliotechs wander in the wilderness before attaining their ultimate destiny, in the year of Jubilee?

July 10 - This day began with an urgent bulletin on the Bibliotech drum from Capt. Page: there had been mailed to his office an anonymous pair of pants recovered from Field 2 of the previous week's game. Softball pants! He was trolling the Bibs list for a claimant, and failing to get one, he declared he would bring the mystery trou to the game that night. The Bibs needed a win badly over the Draper Lab's new team entry, Two Balls and A Strike, a very young and vigorous, and refreshingly coed, ballclub, to get back on track for the season. And they came out thundering! scoring 8 runs in just the first 2 innings, and this was even before Libraries' alumnus Nick Szydlowski showed up and hit 2 home runs. The hitting thrilled, the defense sparkled, and the aggressive base-running, inspired as always by Capt. Graves' example, was the 3rd element in this intoxicating symphony of a game. But what ultimately brought about this sudden aspirational and perhaps season-changing turn of events? "It was the pants," divined Grace Mlady. And all present nodded assent. Yes, it was the empty pants.

July 17 - On probably the hottest game day so far this season, the Bibs faced off against the veteran IS&T InfoSlammers. A lead-off double by Capt. Graves, followed by a run-scoring single from Ice Cream Man Wes Austin, seemed to indicate a likely Bibs walkover in the making, but the game tightened into a pitcher's duel, with outstanding defensive plays being made by the likes of Nick Syzdlowski and Sean Thomas. The excitement was heightened by the appearance on the sidelines of former Libraries superstar Peter "TPN" Norman, in town for a very special occasion! The 'Slammers huffed and puffed, but in the end they could not quite outplay the Bibs, who prevailed by one run. A game to remember!

July 24 - Ya gotta Biblieve! Maybe it's the anonymous unfilled pants, maybe it's the ice cream sandwiches, maybe it's the songs on Greg Padilla's boombox or the clouds in the sky, but the Bibliotechs' idiopathic late-season surge has pushed them into the thick of the fight for playoff berths! The first game of this night's quasi-double-header, against venerable foes The Clippers from the MIT News Office, was heralded by a leadoff home run from Capt. Graves, and the Bibs stayed in the lead and pretty much in control against the strong Clippers. (One Clippers' batter, angry at himself for fouling out to far-ranging shortstop Szydlowski, threw his bat down and it actually stuck in the ground, like a sword! Or a lawn dart!) The nightcap was a resumption of a June 26 game that was suspended on account of rain, against the astrophysical Compact Objects. The game was resumed with the at-home Bibs down, 3-5, with 3.5 innings to play. The lead seesawed back and forth, with dramatic and close plays going both for and against the Dewey Decimal Darlings. Finally, down by 1 (I think) in their final at-bat, they put together hits to tie it up, and then, with 2 outs and the potential winning run on 2nd, John DeLancey, who worked in the Libraries 35 years ago and is now a successful screenwriter, but who has played for the Bibliotechs throughout the interim, hit a perfect single to the right side, Greg Martin flew around third and just beat the tag at home to give the Bibs a walk-off win! For a moment, the secret gates of Heaven had opened and the light shone all about them. (Special mention should be made of 2 more old-timers, besides DeLancey: Steve Gass pitched every inning, and had several key hits, and Greg Padilla, in addition to providing inspirational music, was outstanding in the field and at the plate.). Two more games to play, against 2 strong teams, but the Bibs have momentum! And the magic pants!

July 31 - In the penultimate game of the season, facing the league-leading, full-throttle Organomets, the exhilarating roll that the Bibs had been experiencing was, for this game anyway, downgraded to Charmin. Apparently the O-Mets had been embarrassed that the Bibs had come very close to catching them in the season-opener, and were intent upon payback. The loss hurt, but not so much when it became apparent that the Library Luvvies were going to the playoffs regardless! with the final game of the season still to come having no bearing on the final standings. We backed in! That's one way to do it. Play on!

August 2 - It had been a long season, and the playoffs were a lock, but the Bibs were hoping nevertheless to carry the day against the powerful Aero Astros, and build momentum for their quarter-final test versus the Clippers. They held even well into the game, but then, as has often happened during the season, they had a catastrophic inning and could not catch up. Despite the loss, the bookdogs have high hopes for the playoffs. It's do or die tonight! Give me Biberty or give me death!

August 5 - It was do or die, and the Bibliotechs did! Facing off against old friends the Clippers, playing unfortunately with a short line-up, the bookums were determined to move past their season-concluding losses and regain their mojo for the playoffs, the mojo of mash and bash! The hits were here, there and everywhere, flying off to right, to left, to center and beyond! No Bib was left behind! The win propels the team into the semi-final round of the playoffs, to battle it out with long-time nemeses the Biohazards, who always field a strong team when they are not messing with the yeast genome. (Some things should never leave the lab.) Let's go Biblio-techs! (clap clap clapclapclap!)

August 8 - It is my sad duty to inform you that the Bibliotechs' singular season, which started poorly, picked up strongly in the middle, then took a downturn, but nevertheless furnished a good enough record to back them into the playoffs, where they won their first-round game, came to an abrupt end, as they got creamed, crunched and thumped by the virulent and slappy Biohazards in the semifinal showdown. A solo home run and spectacular fielding by Nick Szydlowski were not enough to stem the plague of hit after hit visited upon the deBiblitated library team. When you experience a total goat-farm like that, you just have to walk away! Bibliotechs, we will always have yesterday, and tomorrow! Until then...

Updated on 130814