baseball

This past weekend we told you about the visit Hall of Famer Johnny Bench paid to Batavia Downs, and we mentioned that Bench expressed an interest in seeing a Batavia Muckdog's baseball cap.

The person with Bench at the time was season ticket holder Ross Fanara. Fanara called his wife and confirmed that they in fact had a brand new Muckdog's hat at home, so she brought it to Batavia Downs and they presented it to Bench.

Fanara sent over this picture of him with Bench wearing the Batavia Muckdogs hat.

Ross said, "Johnny Bench is a class act."

Johnny Bench was just a 19-year-old kid from a town of 600 people in Oklahoma when he arrived in Buffalo 47 years ago.

"I didn't venture much beyond the Kenmore District and North Tonawanda," Bench said during an interview Saturday at Batavia Downs when asked if this was his first visit to Batavia. "I was still trying to figure out who I was and who I was supposed to be."

His 98 games as a Buffalo Bison in 1967 helped answer some of those questions.

"I matured (in Buffalo)," Bench said. "I had older players I played with. They gave me a lot of guidance, worked with me, helped me along. It was a great stepping stone, more importantly for the Dom Zannis, the Jim Duffalos, the Steve Boroses, the Duke Carmels, the Frank Obregons and the Gordy Colemans, and there was Dick Stigman, a pitcher, too, and Rollie Sheldon. It was a maturation process. These guys had pitched before. I kept calling games and learning stuff and doing stuff and you had to get the most out them. I felt like I could paint the picture, but I had to pull it all out of them. That was the secret and the thing I learned the most and enjoyed the most here."

That list of former Bisons -- who, unless you were a Bisons' fan in 1967, you probably never heard of -- were all 30 years old or older. Bench was the youngest player on the team, and one of only six players who hadn't yet turned 23.

But through the years, Buffalo stayed with Johnny Bench. All those names, easily recalled. He turned a question about his legacy into remembrance of a time before he became rookie of the year, an MVP, won two home run crowns, 10 gold gloves and played on two world championship teams.

"We played at the old War Memorial Stadium, but then they had the riots," Bench said. "We had to go over to Niagara Falls and play on the old football field with the temporary snow fence. The yardage lines were still there on the infield."

Arguably -- and some of us would say it's beyond dispute -- Johnny Bench was the greatest catcher in baseball history.

We can talk about his 389 career home runs, his 1,376 RBI, his 3,644 total bases, as well as two home run titles and three RBI titles, but suggest he's best remembered as an offensive catcher and he's quick to rebuff the audacity of dwelling on how he swung a bat.

"The 10 gold gloves didn't hurt," says the man whom base runners feared and pitchers counted on to do a very basic thing time after time: catch the ball.

"That was my main job, getting a win for the pitcher," Bench said. "I took great pride in the fact that I wanted to get that pitcher a win and if we got a win for him, we got a win for the team. Individually, I could throw runners out, I could block the plate, I could get hits, I could call a great game, but calling a great game was the most important."

And it was guys in Buffalo, like Zanni, Duffalo, Obregon, Stigman and Sheldon, who taught him to call a great game.

Bench was in town for a memorabilia show at the Downs. So were Pete Rose, Tony Perez and George Foster, along with other sports stars.

It's worth noting, perhaps, that Bench, Rose, Perez, Foster, and the other stars were signing autographs for a fee. Bench and Rose commanded the highest price, especially on a jersey or bat, but they all got paid.

On the other side of the proverbial coin, of course, is that fact that as players, none of them were enriched the way today's stars are lavished with cash. Bench never earned as much as $500,000 in a season and Rose never made it to the million-dollar mark until his final year as a player-manager with the Reds.

So it's not surprising, perhaps, that these heros of so many youths so many years ago would travel to America's small towns, sit under bright lights on folding chairs at plastic tables and sign their names for fans and speculators for a fee.

While Bench was affable and at times chatty with patrons who came through his line about an hour after Rose had finished, Rose seemed detached from the parade of people pushing baseballs, bats, jerseys, baseball cards and 8x10s onto the table in front of him.

An assistant sternly rebuffed a fan who asked if Rose would pose for a picture. No, she said, but he could kneel in front of the table while somebody snapped a keepsake.

Rose didn't even look at the camera.  

Rather than a smile, Rose wore the look of a man who seems beaten down by a decades-long wrestling match with the Lords of Baseball over his legacy.

In contrast, there sat a youthful, smiling Johnny Bench, with his Hall of Fame ring secure on his left hand, scanning the field and letting nothing go unnoticed.

"That's my jersey," he says to a woman with a camera standing off to the side waiting to snap a picture of a friend who will get an autograph.

As a man tries to get a picture of his friend with Bench as Bench signs a picture, Bench tells him to wait. "I'm not looking up," he says.

When the same photographer seems to move the camera before the shutter snaps, Bench says, "that one's not going to turn out," but the quick-release snapper has moved on without noticing.

Without being asked, he poses for another photographer with a bat at the ready.

When he meets a Batavia Muckdogs season ticket holder, he says as he signs, "I don't even know what a Muckdog's baseball hat looks like. I'd like to see one."

The 66-year-old Johnny Bench smiled and signed and kept chatting even in the face of a line dozens of people long. His massive hands -- hands that make grizzly bears stand up and take notice -- etched a beautiful cursive on whatever he was asked to sign.

Johnny Bench is always the team player.

"Winning an MVP award or rookie of the year, it's a fantastic honor, but there is nothing like the feeling though when I walked into the clubhouse after game seven of the '75 World Series and we were World Champions," Bench said. "That's when I knew what it was all about, because every player was a world champion. Every player, every owner, every sponsor, every equipment manager, and all the fans were world champions. That's when you can really share and realize the importance of what team sport is about."

Bench isn't without some pride over his individual accomplishments. When asked to sign a 1972 San Diego Padres game program with Nate Colbert on the cover, Bench smiled, "Old Nate," he said. "I hit five homers in the last week of the season to beat him for a home run title."

In 1972, Colbert had 38 dingers. Bench had 40.

To enjoy a career like Johnny Bench, that's one in a billion, but just getting the chance to go pro for today's young athlete is nearly impossible.

Bench, who went straight from high school to the Reds instructional league team at age 17 in 1965, said today's young athlete should take advantage of the wealth of college scholarship opportunities.

"When I played, only one in every 500,000 kids who played Little League baseball ever signed a contract," Bench said. "I don't know if they want to go up against the numbers, but the fact that there's so many scholarships out there available, I'll still push education every chance I get. Be a good student, study various things, find something you love and be prepared in case athletics doesn't work out."

If you do want to be an athlete, Bench said, work hard, practice, study the sport, prepare, understand the game. Watch the great ones to figure out what they do and how they do it.

"I think Ozzie Smith is a guy who taught kids how to play shortstop," Bench said. "I taught kids how to catch better."

Which brings us to Johnny Bench's final word of advice: Catch every ball.

"My theory in life is, 'catch every ball.' Somebody says, 'my kid wants to be a catcher, what do I tell him?' and I say, 'catch every ball.' If you learn to catch everything that comes your way, then people say, 'wow, you're a great catcher,' or 'you're a great shortstop,' or 'you're a great first baseman,' or 'you're a great businessman.' If they throw stuff at you and you have the answers, they're going to say, 'this guy really knows what he's doing.' People are going to rely on you and they're going to trust you and more things will come your way."

Pete Rose

Tony Perez

Lou Piniella

After the show, Pete Rose stopped at Larry's Steakhouse for dinner. Pictured with Sandy Mullen and Brenden Mullen. Photo submitted by Steve Mullen.

Silent Muckdogs bats Friday night meant strong performances by Muckdogs pitchers went to waste and Batavia dropped the contest against Mahoning Valley, 2-1.

Starter Ben Holmes and reliever Jacob Smigelski carried a 1-0 shutout into the 7th inning, but Smigelski let the lead slip away and Josh Hodges gave up the deciding run in the ninth.

It was a disappointing loss on a night when 1,532 fans turned out on a night billed as an attempt to break the all-time Batavia attendance record by drawing 3,001 patrons.

Obviously, that didn't happen.

Those who did show up got to see a hard-throwing Holmes, a ninth-round draft choice out of the University of Oregon, strike out seven and scatter three hits over four frames.

Hodges took the loss and his record moves to 1-5 (with six saves) despite a respectable 3.06 ERA.

Catcher Brad Haynal, who returned to the team last night after a 13-game stint with Class A Greensboro, had two hits. Center Fielder Josh Norwood also had two hits.

The same two teams go at it again tonight at Dwyer. Game time, 7:05.

Information provided by Batavia Muckdogs Booster Club:

Tonight baseball fans should flock to Dwyer Stadium to be part of a milestone in the history of pro baseball in Genesee County. The goal is to break the ball park's 75-year-old attendance record.

The Muckdogs face the Mahoning Valley Scrappers at 7:05, and one lucky fan could win $3,001!

Fans must register for the drawing at the ballpark but no purchase is necessary. All Muckdogs’ season ticket holders are automatically eligible to win. Tonight will also feature the last post-game fireworks show of the 2014 season.

The first season consisted of six teams in the Pennsylvania/Ontario/New York League (The Pony League): Batavia Clippers, Bradford Bees, Hamilton Red Wings, Jamestown Jaguars, Niagara Falls Rainbows, and the Olean Oilers.

When baseball came to Batavia in 1939, a crowd of 3,000 gathered on May 10 at what was known at the time as State Street Park. They sat in borrowed folding chairs from a funeral home in an outfield behind a snow fence (the actual wood fence hadn't been built yet).

They watched our Clippers lose to the Jaguars, 9-4.

Just before the start of tonight's game, at about 6:45, the Muckdogs Booster Club will be handing out awards to the team's four All Stars. Each one will receive $25 cash; the Booster Club's most popular player will receive $100 cash and a trophy.

There will be one extra award this year. With this being the Diamond Anniversary of professional baseball in Batavia, a special fan will be lauded for decades of attendance and going the extra mile to help keep baseball here.

Snapple is tonight's sponsor and free Snapple beverage samples will on hand and there will be a T-shirt toss!

The Launch-a-Ball game will be presented by the Hillside Family of Agencies.

Game tickets can be purchased at the Dwyer Stadium Box Office or over the phone by calling (585) 343-5454. Normal box office hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday -- Friday.

Press release:

The 2014 New York-Penn League All-Star roster will include four players from Batavia. They will send infielder Mason Davis, catcher Rodrigo Vigil and pitchers Michael Mader and Alex Carreras to the game to be held Tuesday, August 19th at MCU Park, home of the Brooklyn Cyclones.

Davis, a 19th-round pick in the 2014 draft, has played in 41 games for the Muckdogs this year and has been among the league leaders in hitting all season. Davis currently ranks fourth in the league in hitting, with a .329 batting average, fourth in on-base percentage at .407 and third in OPS at .891.

Rodrigo Vigil was an undrafted free agent signing in 2009 and has started 20 games behind the plate for the Muckdogs this season. He is currently batting .254 with eight runs scored, four doubles and seven RBI’s. Vigil has been solid behind the plate this year for the Muckdogs, throwing out 46 percent of the runners who have attempted to steal on him.

A supplemental 3rd-round pick out of Chipola College in the 2014 draft, Mader has started nine games for Muckdogs in his first professional season. The left-hander has compiled an ERA of just 1.80 and has racked up 20 strikeouts in 30 innings pitched. Opposing batters are hitting just .192 against Mader so far this season.

Alex Carreras is in his third year of professional baseball and was a Minor League free agent signing in 2014. The left-hander has appeared in 15 games this year and is 5-2 with an ERA of 1.85. He has also recorded 27 strikeouts in his 34 innings of work and opposing batters are hitting just .220 versus Carreras this year.

Batavia currently holds the fourth-place spot in the Pinckney Division with a record of 24-30 and sit only five games out of the Wild Card. The Muckdogs sent five players to the 2010 All-Star game, six in 2011, five in 2012, and four players in 2013.

The Yankees are in town, and that helps. So does post-game fireworks. Either way, 1,500 baseball fans came out to Dwyer Stadium on Friday.

Alas, the Muckdogs lost, 4-2.

Sadly, that's been the trend for the hometown team recently. Batavia has lost seven of its last eight games. All low-scoring affairs.

At 24-30, the Miami Marlins affiliate is fourth in the Pinckney Division, trailing first place State College (now the Cardinals affiliate) by nine games.

Last night's game completed a three-game series with Staten Island, which gave local New York fans a chance to see some of the Yankees prospects, including 18-year-old catcher Luis Torrens. The Venezuelan was signed as a free agent by the Yankees at age 16, when he was considered one of the top two international prospects.

He's hitting .304 on the season, but Batavia pitching kept his bat silent in this series. His only hit came last night.

For the Muckdogs, second baseman Mason Davis continues to impress. He's hitting .329, fourth best in the league, and had two more hits Friday. 

John Norwood also had a two-hit game. Norwood is riding high after signing with the Marlins six days ago as a free agent. Norwood hit one of the few home runs in this year's College World Series, and the dinger propelled Vanderbilt to its first national championship in baseball. Norwood, who decided to forego his senior season to turn pro, is off to a hot start in three games, with four hits in 10 at bats.

Catcher Christopher Hoo, a 27th round draft pick out of Cal-Poly, also had two hits.

The losing pitcher was Scott Squier, a 16th-round draft pick in his first professional season. He gave up three earned runs in four innings. This was his second start. He's 1-2 in nine appearances with a 3.00 ERA.

New York Mets fans can come out to Dwyer Stadium the next three days to check out Mets prospects while the Brooklyn Cyclones are in town. Tonight's game will include post-game fireworks. Game time is 7 p.m. On the mound for the Mets tonight is Marcos Molina, a top-10 prospect who is 5-1 with a 1.27 ERA.

Press release:

Tonight’s game between the Batavia Muckdogs and Connecticut Tigers has been postponed due to rain. This game will be made up as part of a double header on Sunday, July 20th. We will play two seven-inning games, with the first game starting at 1:05 p.m. Gates will open at noon. Any person with tickets to tonight’s game can exchange their tickets for any other regular season game, subject to availability.

Jane Johnson shared this picture of the Batavia Clippers 8-and-under baseball team, sponsored by Graham Manufacturing, who she said are off to a good start in the team's first year.

A portion of her e-mail:

The Batavia Clippers 8U Travel Baseball team took 2nd place in their division and 3rd place overall last weekend in the Honeoye Falls Mendon Youth Baseball Midsummer tournament. The team played teams from Canandaigua, Fairport, Mendon, Pittsford and Rochester.

This weekend the team plays in the Clarence Youth Baseball Travel Team Tournament at the Clarence Meadowlakes Park. The team matches up against teams from Clarence, Amherst, Williamsville, Orchard Park, Lancaster, Akron, Buffalo, Evans, North Tonawanda, and Grand Island.

The Clippers team is led by Coach Ben Buchholz, Coach Sam Antinore, and Coach Jeff Grazioplene. The Clippers players are all members of the Batavia Minor League.

Team members are: Jay Antinore, Bronx Buchholz, Joe DiRisio, Dane Dombrowski, Cole Grazioplene, Jake Hutchins, Alex Johnson, Cal Koukides, Jameson Motyka, Carter Mullen, Sheldon Siverling, Malcom Wormley.

Vincent Di Risio hit his first grand slam home run Saturday in a 10-and-under Little League All-Star game against Le Roy. Batavia won 12-1.

I saw this on Facebook and asked Leanna Di Risio for a copy so we could post it on The Batavian as well.

It was a take-me-out-to-the-ball-game kind of night at Dwyer Stadium. A nice night for a ball game and fireworks.

The hometown team, alas, didn't win. It's a shame.

As 1,782 fans watched, Batavia let first place in the Pinckney Division slip from its grasp, the mood in the stands was barely even dampened, even by a short rain delay in the eighth inning. There would be, after all, win or lose, an Independence Day fireworks show after the game.

Families were there with their children -- some seeing their first professional game -- and fans had the peanuts and Cracker Jacks (not to mention beer and sausage) to fall back on.

The evening started poorly for the home crew, and never really got better. The final, 7-1. The Muckdogs drop to 12-8 on the season. The Spikes are now 13-7.

In the first, starter Jorgan Cavanerio (1-1) sandwiched a walk between a pair of singles, giving up a run, and setting the tone for his fourth outing of the season.

Two singles and a walk in the second led to another run -- a run that scored an inning-ending double play, something you don't see often. The Spikes' Chase Raffield scored on a sacrafice fly to center, then a base running blunder led to Danny Diekroeger getting doubled up at second.

Cavanerio held the line in the third, but the Spikes blew the game open with four runs in the fourth. All four runs came with two outs. 

Jake Stone started the scoring procession with a home run, which could have been worse, if a lead-off walk hadn't been erased by a double play.

During Stone's at bat, there was a lot of griping on the home side about the inconsistant ball and strike calls of home plate umpire Anthony Perez. To partisan minds, Stone should have been out on strikes, and the inning over, on the pitch prior to the gopher ball.

After a team conference on the mound in which manager Angel Espada appeared to try and console his struggling hurler, Espada stood in front of home plate and jawed in the face of Perez for a good two minutes. Perez, stone-faced, just listened. Ejected, Espada walked to the dugout, handed his line-up card to his assistant, and trekked the 300 feet to the clubhouse cheered by fans along the third base line.

Cavanerio gave up 10 hits in four inning of work, walking four. The six earned runs raised his ERA through four starts to 7.71.

Offensively, the Muckdogs never really got anything going. Brian Anderson, Ryan Cranmer, Kevin Grove and Miles Williams each picked up singles for Batavia's only four hits on the night.

Anderson, a third-round draft choice out of Arkansas, has played 10 games at second and is hitting .317. 

Batavia's lone run came in the second, after first baseman Eric Fisher reached on a strikeout, eventually advancing to third and scoring on a double play. There were no hits in the inning.

The National Anthem and "God Bless America" during the seventh inning stretch were sung beautifully by Emily Helenbrook.

The Muckdogs are on the road tonight, traveling to Mahoning Valley. They return home Monday for a 7:05 p.m. game against the Jamestown Jammers.

Batavia and State College, who are battling for supremacy in the Pinckney Division, clash at Dwyer Stadium tonight.

The 7 p.m. game is followed by an Independence Day fireworks celebration.

The starters are Dan Poncedeleon (1-0, 2,25 ERA) for the Spikes and Jorgan Cavanerio (1-0, 6.65) for the Muckdogs.

The Batavia offense will be led by Mason Davis, who is among the league leaders with a .344 batting average.

The Muckdogs travel to Mahoning Valley tomorrow night.

The Pine Tar Incident. It's the most famous "illegal bat" issue in the history of baseball. A home run in 1983 by George Brett was wiped out by an umpire, but at least the league didn't strip the Kansas City Royals of all their wins that season.

Unfortunately for the 11- to 12-year-old Tri-Town Dodgers of the Seven Towns League, league officials are forcing them to enter the playoffs as a last place team, essentially erasing their eight regular season wins because a player used an illegal bat.

League rules state that if a player uses a bat not approved for Little League use, the hitter is ruled out and any runners on base cannot advance. There is no other punishment stipulated in the written rules.  

For the Tri-Town Dodgers, based in Alexander, the punishment has gone beyond the written rules. The team was dropped to last place, despite its 8-4 record, which at the time was third best in their division. The standings are important because they effect seedings for tournament play.

There's no other rule violation that carries a penalty of team losing its standing in its division. That sort of punishment isn't contemplated in the written rules at all. The harshest written penalty for a player rule infraction is a three-game suspension for fighting.

Commissioner Brian Krawczyk has not responded to a pair of phone calls requesting comment.

In an e-mail discussion the league officials ruling sent to team manager Christopher Hausfelder, Krawczyk said the ruling was a safety issue "that would make everybody safer for years to come" and that Hausfelder should advise his players should buck up and to learn to accept that bad things happen life.

"I fully understand that it has really effected your team," Krawczyk said. "However, if handled properly, we can all learn something from this situation. Life brings adversity and how you handle that adversity can define who you are. If I was you, I would communicate to your players that they are still the same team that worked very hard and had a great season. Yes, the road to the final destination will be a little tougher. But, we have achieved great things as a team and as a team we will continue to work hard right up to the final out."

The illegal bat was used in the team's 10th game, June 12. Hausfelder said it was bought by the player and no coach noticed it until it was too late. It's the only illegal bat incident on Tri-Town's 11-12 team, though there was a prior, unrelated incident, with the 9-10 team.

For some third-party perspective, The Batavian called James "Beef" Soggs, well known in Batavia for his commitment to youth sports. Soggs serves on the Batavia Little League Board of Directors and is a Little League coach.

"I've got to say, it's ridiculous," Soggs said.

If this was more than a one-time issue with the same team, perhaps a harsh punishment would be an order, but for a one-time incident, he couldn't understand why the team would be knocked down to last place.

"That's really strict punishment for the whole team for something one player did," Soggs said. "That's pretty drastic to move a team from third place to last place."

For George Brett, the umpire was eventually overruled and he got his home run back. For the Tri-Town Dodgers, there is likely no reprieve. It's already the second round of playoff games tonight, with the Dodgers doing the best they can as the bottom seed.

Spend a little time with Bill Dougherty, you're likely to hear a baseball story. He's full of them.

After years of telling friends these stories, one friend with a bit of experience in writing books suggested he collect his stories about Batavia baseball into a single soft cover collection.

"Bill Kauffman kept saying, 'you've got a book, oh this is a book'," Dougherty said. "He kept after me to put a book together. So I did."

This month, Dougherty's book, "A View from the Bleachers: Batavia Baseball," hit a few local store shelves.

Now that the book is out, Kauffman, an Elba resident and himself the author of 10 books and a screenplay, is eager to promote the new book. He sent over this endorsement:

Irish names festoon the history of baseball in Batavia: Dwyer, Callahan, Doody, Gerrety, Ryan. Add to that illustrious list Bill Dougherty, whose Batavia Baseball: A View from the Bleachers is a deeply researched, often surprising, and thoroughly entertaining account of baseball as it has been played, watched, and argued over in Genesee County from the 19th Century until today. Every baseball fan in the Mother of Counties should own a copy!

A worthy endorsement for a worthy book.

It's more than a collection of stories, or a mere recitation of baseball glories past in Batavia. It's also a history of Batavia and Genesee County as well as a personal remembrance of a man who made baseball his life's passion.

Dougherty spent countless hours going through historical archives, particularly the dusty, printed pages of 120-year-old editions of the Batavia Daily News.

He also draws on his own recollections from a his youngest days playing sandlot ball and in the park leagues of Batavia.

There was baseball in Batavia in the 19th Century, with a short-lived professional team setting up camp in town in 1897, but it would be in the following decade that the game began to flourish locally.

Every town had a team and rivalries were fierce, especially between Batavia and Le Roy. Dougherty covers some of the scraps between these teams.

In 1939, the Pennsylvania-Ontario-New York (PONY) League was founded in Batavia, with one of the original franchises set up in a new ballpark at MacArthur Park (the present site of Dwyer Stadium). 

Even with the arrival of a professional team affiliated with a major league club, and into the 1960s, semi-pro teams flourished throughout Genesee County.

Dougherty talks about more than just the teams and the games. He gets into the personalities and biographies of some the players who were from here or just passed through.

Among them, Joe Dailey, whom Dougherty admits becoming obsessed with.

"As you start picking out stuff, you can't wait to see where they lived, who they knew, where they died," Dougherty said, but Dailey was a particularly perplexing subject.

He died at age 37, and even though he came from a prominent local family, the Daily News gave his death notice a scant four lines. Dougherty had a heck of a time finding out more about him.

"It seemed like somebody was out there hiding everything," Dougherty said. "Then when I find something, I'm like, 'wow.' He led a short life, but it certainly was interesting."

Dailey was born in Batavia in 1876. He played on the 1897 professional team and when the team relocated mid-season to Geneva, he initially went with the team, but then didn't finish the season and returned home. He went to work in the family's furniture store and funeral parlor until his death from acute nephritis in 1914.

Dougherty covers quite a bit of the family's history, which is also a part of Batavia's history. An example of how this is more than a baseball book.

We also learn about Maud Nelson, who wasn't from Batavia, but played a bit of ball here. Billed as "champion lady pitcher of the world" at the turn of the century, Nelson barnstormed around the country, playing whatever semi-pro teams were up for the challenge.

In those early days, a bit of important baseball history had a Batavia angle. In 1912, after Ty Cobb was suspended for fighting with a fan, the rest of the Detroit team decided to go on strike.  Replacement players were brought in for one game. Among them was a kid from Batavia who played shortstop, Vincent Maney.

For decades, box scores credited Pat Meany as the shortstop that day, but Dougherty -- who is a member of the Society of American Baseball Research -- was able to gather enough convincing evidence that Maney is now correctly credited as the shortstop in that game.

A resident of Stafford, Dougherty made a career in heating and air conditioning (retiring in 2000), but he's made a lifetime of baseball. He's been secretary/director of the Genesee County Baseball Club (owners of the Muckdogs), is a member of the Rochester Baseball Historical Society and SABR.

Assisting in production of the book were Dougherty's son, Brian, (the publisher), his grandson Christopher (graphic design), Kathy Frank, typesetting, and Kauffman, editor.

The book also covers every big name baseball player who ever came through town, from Warran Spann, who pitched three times against Batavia when he was first starting his career, to Wade Boggs and Robin Young, who each played a few games at MacArthur Park.

In the book you can learn about Gene Baker (the first black manager with a major league-affiliated club) along with local sensations Walter Loos, Dick Kokos, Eddie Howard, Dick Raymond and Jackie Kelley.

In the late 1940s, when Dougherty was a teen, he became part of a serious sandlot ball team, the A.C. Shafters. The team played other sandlot clubs throughout the region and Dougherty devotes a chapter to the team.

There was a time locally when every park had a ball field and every field had a team and fields rarely were without a game.

Kibbe Park once had a ballpark with stands and dugouts. Today, there's just a softball field with a couple of benches. When Dougherty was out at the field Monday, mounds of dirt were piled on the infield. Dougherty just shook his head. "There was a time when that would never happen," he said. "There would be kids out here playing games all day."

Are there ever any games at Kibbe now?

Things started to change in the 1950s. The sandlot teams began to die off. The semi-pro teams started to disappear, too. From the early 1900s until the 1950s, nearly every city or village of any size in Western New York had a minor league baseball team, and as leagues folded, so did the teams.

Dougherty thinks kids today miss something with fewer teams around.

"I made lifelong friends from every step I played," Dougherty said. "Not every kid on every team. Not all nine or 12 or 15, but some guys I played with are still good friends."

The book is available in the front office of the Batavia Muckdogs, the Holland Land Office Museum and at Dougherty Heating on School Street, Batavia.

The 2014 edition of the Batavia Muckdogs, at least so far, isn't a team with a lot of pop, but they've shown they can put runs on the board.

In nine games this season, the Muckdogs have scored at least five runs six times. At 7-2, they have the best record in the Pinckney Division and are tied with Brooklyn for the best record in the NYPL.

In nine games, only reserve shortstop Brian Anderson has any home runs, with two in eight at bats, but five starters are hitting over .300.

The Muckdogs lead the league in hitting with a .245 team batting average.

The hitting has made up for a subpar contribution from the hurlers so far. The staff ERA is near the bottom of the league at 3.22.

Saturday night, Batavia had its biggest offensive game yet, scoring 10 runs on 14 hits for a 10-6 victory over the Mahoning Valley Scrappers (3-6). Jorgan Cavanerio tossed six innings, giving up four runs, to notch his first win of the season.

The offensive was led by catcher Brad Haynal, a San Diego State product making his professional debut. Taken by the Miami Marlins in the 18th round of the 2014 draft, Haynal was 2-4 with a double and three RBI.

With three hits apiece were DH Carlos Duran and 2B Mason Davis. Duran, a Dominican in his fourth professional season who is hitting .320, had two RBI. Davis, the leadoff hitter, from Georgia, had a triple and his hitting .321 on the season. 

Outfielder Kevin Grove, who went to high school in Los Angeles and college in New York City (St. John's), also had two hits, with a double and RBI. An undrafted free agent, Grove is hitting .324 in his first professional season through eight starts. 

Ryan Aper, a centerfielder from Lincoln, Ill., taken in the sixth round by the Marlins in 2013, had two hits and scored two runs. Aaron Blanton, from Texas, a ninth-round pick in 2013, also had two hits. Blanton is the starting shortstop.

The Muckdogs are home again this evening against State College. Game time is 5:05 p.m. It's Irish Night, sponsored by O'Lacys. Also, the first 100 seniors 60 and over will receive a voucher for a free hot dog, soda/coffee and snack item. The Muckdogs and State College meet again at 7:05 p.m., Monday.

A seven-run eighth inning propelled the Batavia Muckdogs to victory in the team's 2014 home opener in front of 1,400 fans.

A three-run double by Miles Williams broke the eighth wide open after the Muckdogs trailed Auburn throughout the game 2-0.

Alexander Carreras got the win, tossing three scoreless innings. Starter Jose Adames went five innings, giving up the two runs on two walks and five hits. He fanned five.

The Muckdogs were held to only six hits on the evening, with second baseman Rony Cabrera collecting two hits.

Batavia is 1-1 on the season and meet up with Auburn again today at 2:05 p.m. at Dwyer Stadium. Next home game is Monday at 7:05 p.m.

Photos by Mike Janes.

Top photo: Shortstop Aaron Blanton slides home safely during the team's seven-run eighth inning.

Manager Angel Espada is introduced before the season opener.

Shortstop Aaron Blanton poses for a photo with Ann Gavenda after she threw out the ceremonial first pitch; Gavenda was in attendance during the 1939 opener.

First baseman Scott Carcaise tags Jose Marmalejos-Diaz on a pickoff attempt, however Diaz was called safe.

Catcher Rodrigo Vigil at bat.

Two young fans participating in the three-legged race in between innings.

Young fan gets to hit Muckdogs General Manager Travis Sick in the face with a pie after answering a trivia question correctly.

Relief pitcher Alexander Carreras, the game's winning pitcher.

 Outfielder Ryan Aper leads the celebration after the Muckdogs defeated Auburn 7-2.

Things really didn't go Notre Dame's way in what turned out to be the baseball team's final game of the season.

Nobody wanted it to end this way, with a 7-1 loss to Smithtown Christian in the Class D semi-final game for the state championship, but Coach Mike Rapone said he told his players to hold their heads high.

"I tried to joke with them that if I told you the first day of practice that, 'you know what, we're going to lose in the state semi's,' I think you might have signed up for it," Rapone said.

Starting pitcher Alec Covel agreed. Clearly pained by the loss, he said he still recognized the Fighting Irish accomplished a lot this year, more than they might have thought possible at the start of the season.

"It's been fun," Covel said, not at all sounding like it has been fun. "I'm going to tell my kids about it someday. It's something to look back to."

Covel clearly had a reason to be disappointed. The ace of the staff, and a big reason Notre Dame made it this far, Covel struggled with his control all afternoon.

He walked the first two batters he faced. Both would score, because of throwing errors, even as Covel recorded all three outs in the inning on Ks.

"I was battling the whole time, pitching from behind and it showed," Covel said.

After the top of the first, Covel went with a coach into the bullpen to throw more.

"I was working on a drill to get over my front side," Covel said. "The mound was flatter than usual and I couldn't get over my front side and I was leaving pitches up."

Catcher Andrew Mullen said he thought Smithtown's hitters did a good job of not letting Covel establish a rhythm.

"The took their time in there, like any good team would," Mullen said. "I think that shook him up and then after that, things really didn't go our way, so he couldn't get comfortable."

Mullen thought Smithtown's starter, Jack Palma, who threw a complete game, threw harder than pitchers Notre Dame has faced recently, but he wasn't unhittable.

In fact, Notre Dame put a lot of balls into play, just not too many of them were hit hard or turned into hits.

"Anything in the infield they would chew up and it was an out for them," Mullen said. "That definitely helped them."

Rapone said Palma wasn't at all overpowering.

"All he threw was a fastball and a change up, but he was keeping us off balance," Rapone said. "We only hit the ball hard but a few times, so you've got to give him credit. Whatever he was doing was working."

Even though Covel walked four, he struck out six and Rapone said he pitched well enough that Smithtown should not have been able to put seven runs on the board.

"If we made some plays behind him, it's a lot closer game," Rapone said. "But they're a good baseball team. They didn't make too many mistakes. They were patient at the plate. They didn't help us out with anything, and we threw the ball around a little bit, misplayed a ball in the outfield we probably should have caught, and that's what happens. When you get to this level, the team that executes better wins. They executed better, so they won."

A team that has been relaxed all year may have found it a little harder to get loose for such a big game, Rapone said.

"I was surprised that, as loose a group as this has been all year, they were a little tight before the game, and then they started playing that way," Rapone said. "I think if we could have gotten out of the first inning, as we probably should have, without giving up anything, maybe we would have relaxed a little bit."

Mullen agreed with Rapone's assessment.

"We were a little nervous coming into this," Mullen said. "It was a lot of pressure on us. We had been really relaxed to this point, but I think being in the final four finally caught up to us. I think a little bit of nerves got to us, and he (Palma) was a good pitcher."

In the final, Smithtown beat Hancock 7-3 to take the state's Class D title.

We'll have a slideshow of more photos available in the morning.

Notre Dame supporters, reminder, it would be a big help with the expense of this coverage if you joined The Batavian Club.

Smithtown Christian celebrated a first-round victory over the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame this afternoon at Broome Community College in Binghamton. Smithtown won 7-1, eliminating Notre Dame from the state championship series.

We'll have a game story and photos later (long drive back to Batavia before I can work on it).

Notre Dame High School held a rally this morning in support of its baseball team before the team left for Binghamton and a shot at a state championship.

Tomorrow, in a final four match, the Fighting Irish play Smithtown Christian High School. The winner will play either Hancock or Heuvelton Central. The Batavian will bring you full coverage or ND's run at the title. This is only the second time in the school's history that the baseball team has played for a state championship.

Photos submitted by Joseph Scanlan.

New Muckdogs -- and some returning -- have been arriving in Batavia this week and starting workouts with their new teammates.

The first home game of the season is at 7 p.m., Saturday, at Dwyer.

Manager Angel Espada, in his second season in Batavia, said the staff will have some good young arms and pitching should be a team strength during the 2014 campaign.

"At this level the most important thing is you help them develop," Espada said. "Pitching and defense (are) going to dictate, at any level, but especially at this level.

"I think our pitching should be solid," he added.

Leading the staff, at least out of the gate, will be Gabriel Castellanos, Jorgan Cavanerio, Jose Adames.

Position players to watch include Aaron Blanton, Kevin Grove and Ryan Aper.

The Muckdogs are an affiliate of the Miami Marlins.

Yesterday's workout was cut short by a cloudburst.

For the full season schedule, click here.