Page Search
Editor Remarks
October is over and with that TSSL 2021 regular seasons, leaving players and subs ‘worried’ alike about when the sign-up process will start to secure a spot into the high-demand upcoming Spring 2022 season
About being ‘worried’, but in a good way, is the precise feeling for the remaining 96 players part of the teams that punched their ticket into the 2021 Fall postseason, as their championship journey has just begun. Congratulations, in alphabetical order to avoid any preferences, to the Blue Rocks, Cannon Ballers, Dragons, Padres, Tiburones, Tin Caps, Trash Pandas, and Storm Chasers. Best of luck fellow captains in these 3 weeks ahead!
Speaking of fellow players, throughout the previous editions of “La Cueva del Leon” (Lions Cave) articles I'd shared some of the best moments I’d had the opportunity to experience during this season with multiple teams in the league, but for this the last article from ‘El Capitan’ in the foreseeable future I’ll like to recognize my fellow Leones teammates and the terrific session they put together thru the Fall, so please bear with me as I describe these great guys and gals with whom I’d the pleasure to share the field during this season
Andy Mabry – Generally we use the word ‘5 tools’ to describe the versatility and quality of a player in the field. If we ever needed to use an equivalent term to describe a best-in-class teammate, there is no doubt that the phrase will be ‘he is a Mabry’. Not only Andy is one of the best lead-off hitters in the league, a smart base runner, and a great defensive outfielder, but on top of that, he brings a unique energy and passion in every single game that energizes any squad! Watching him almost bursting into tears after we lost the first game (which automatically eliminated the Leones) speaks by itself the quality of individual you’ll have in your team
Reese Leonard – When you talk about a TSSL round # 1 picks, people have a natural tendency to turn their eyes into the player key power stats (HR, RBI’s, OPS, SLG, etc.) yet in my opinion, the real unhidden value of a first-round player is his leadership ability, as more often than usual captains will rely on this person to push the squad to the next level. Never had the pleasure to play with Reese before, but must say that after 16 great games there is no doubt that he is a true first-rounder, and no wonder why he was a 2011 NSA World Series All-Tournament player. Thanks for all you did for the Leones Reese!
Spencer Manz – Big Ryan Alford always says “once a Piggie always a Piggie” and boy is he right about that. The intangible things that bring playing with the Iron Pigs make elevate a player’s game to the next level in terms of intensity, smartness, and resilience, and Spence carries that out in his DNA. Not only he is one of the best defensive TSSL LCF’s and a real big threat at the plate capable to hit extra bases throughout the field, but he truly acknowledges the principle ‘you are as good as your next opportunity’ focusing to be the best he can be every time he has a chance. Had the pleasure to hit after him the entire season and will never forget our phrase ‘see ball hit ball’ taken from big Alford!
Matt Shwarts – If ever in need to let go of a bad game situation (error, poor at-bat, etc.) think no more and reach big Matty, one of the most relaxed yet game focused players you’ll ever play with, who always seeks to lift the spirit of the one feeling down after a negative game outcome. Have had the opportunity to play with Matt in many weekday leagues (and even in TSSL with the 2018 Eusay Orioles) and can only say that from the non-first rounder players out there, there is no better guy in this league with the ‘hidden’ leadership factor mentioned before than Matt!
Ashley Mort – One of the most common things you hear during the pre-draft conversations is the word ‘underrated’ to assess the value of players on lower rounds. A guy that genuinely defines that without any doubts is Ashley. And not just because the fact of finding a powerful and solid defensive outfielder in the 6th round is very low, but when you add constant clutch hitting, adaptability to play LF/RF interchangeably, and a positive dugout attitude then you realize how good of a steal you got at that round at and why Ashley is one of the best-hidden gems in this league!
Donnie Holtmann – Silent killer is generally a term used in a negative context, but when talking about softball this guy represents exactly the opposite. Donnie, also known as “Donnie Baseball”, is precisely the type of guy that will do all his talk with his skills: from powerful and clutch hitting to smooth fielding at the hot corner, Donnie always leaves his footprint in a game making a positive difference in the game result. There is a natural tendency in TSSL to say championships are won in the later rounds, well let me tell you something, Donnie is exactly the definition of that, as you won’t get much more value in those rounds than the one, he will bring to you!
Michael Barth – Fifty-one over forty-six is the ratio of Hall of Famers over the years in this league, meaning getting exalted to the TSSL immortal temple is not an easy task. And when you have the pleasure to play with one of those 51 guys, you realize no wonder why that number is so low, as combining integrity, brotherhood, sportsmanship, athletic ability, and leadership in a single person is really difficult. As one of those 51 guys, Mike simply has it all (and then some more!). Can spend hours writing about how an incredible person Michael is, but instead just want to say thank you for being such a great teammate and person with me and my family, and can only wish to play with you once again in the near future!
Omar Ovalle – A good number of words can be used to describe Omar’s performance in the field, but personally during this, my first season with him as a teammate, the two that stand the most were commitment and passion. If you saw a Leones game, then automatically you witnessed his passion in every at-bat, every play, and every time the team attempted a comeback (which were many by the way), to the extent that the league now recognizes his voice as a truly inspiring one. He is exactly the type of new talent we seek in TSSL from the rookie’s farm
Steve Johnson – Fast forward to 2045, and God permitting, I’m still playing TSSL ball, then can only wish I play half as good as Steve does! Don’t where to begin honestly, highlight his defensive qualities turning out double plays smoothly like 20 years old? Or should I mention how smart a hitter he is making sure to get on base in any way possible? Perhaps better to say the great teammate he is by proactively keeping the book (with not a single error!) making sure his captain focuses on the game? But none of those will be most remarkable than to recognize the gentleman he is. A true class act of a player!
Dorian Moore – In 2020 I learned from big Ryno the 2 things that all players control in the game: “Attitude and Effort” and let me tell you as a captain that is exactly what you expect the most from the players you draft for your team. If someone defined that for the Leones during this 2021 Fall season it was Dorian. Never had the pleasure to play with him before and I was greatly surprised by the effort he puts in every single time he was playing giving his best whether it was an at-bat, fielding, or even running (we witnessed that yesterday indeed after his injury!). Dorian definitely controlled that from day one of the season!
Alicia Shwarts – Perceived value is a somewhat subjective approach, but strongly believe a few can argue there is a player that brings more value-added to a team in this league than Alicia! Dugout attitude, playing effort, collaboration, league branding, community support, and one-of-a-kind teammate are just a few of the things that Alicia brings to any team she joins in this league. As well as with Matt I’d have the pleasure to play with Alicia during weekdays before and can only say if you haven’t played with her, you don’t what you are missing!
From the bottom of my heart, thank you, Andy, Reese, Spencer, Matt, Ashley, Donnie, Michael, Omar, Steve, Dorian, and Alicia for giving everything you had in every single game representing my childhood team the Leones!
At the diamond
If you have read previous ‘Cueva del Leon’ articles you’ll notice that epic battles have their fair share on the write-ups when describing the Leones games, but dear reader today this sentence was lifted to the next level during the 1st affair of the Leones – Tin Caps doubleheader. Please allow me to reconstruct what happened in the season-ending games for the feline squad
Field 4 around 1030am witnessed the best overall game of the season for the Leones when they hosted the Tin Caps in an elimination game for the home team. It all started with a scoreless 1st inning on both sides, giving the Tin Caps the opportunity to strike first with 2-runs in the 2nd inning which were counter from the Leones thanks to Cova’s leadoff double, Shwarts.M single and Mort’s sac fly to put the game 2-1 after 2.
The 3rd inning saw Tin Caps largest attack to the feline squad by scoring 3 runs which the Leones couldn’t answer back in the bottom part of the frame. But after holding scoreless the Tin Caps in the 4th, Leones started their comeback by scoring 3 runs in the bottom part thanks to rbi-singles from Barth and Johnson who brought home Shwarts.M and Mort to then capped to Moore sac fly to shorten the Caps lead to 6-4.
A 1-run 5th inning for the Tin Caps gave the Leones the opportunity to grab their first lead of the game by scoring 4 runs thanks to 4 rbi singles from Cova (1), Shwarts.M (2), Barth (1), and Ovalle (1) driving home Mabry and Leonard.
Tin Caps facing their last regular game at-bat of the game were able to tie the affairs to 8 in the 6th, and Leones were unable to answer back pushing to the 3rd extras of the season for the feline squad, the only thing this will last a little more than the other 2
Caps took the lead in the first extra frame by scoring 1-run, putting the pressure on the Leones to score if they wanted to stay alive, and so they did thanks to Cova’s lead-off triple brought home Mort’s sac fly tying the affairs at 9 apiece after 7th.
A scoreless second extra frame (8th), gave the Tin Caps the opportunity to grab once again the lead in the 9th by scoring 2-runs after 2 outs, putting once again all the pressure to the Leones to comeback in the bottom frame who couldn’t materialize any runs although they had the tying run on-base, which it ultimately eliminated the Leones from this Fall 2021 edition
After taking a well-deserved break from such an exhausting affair, Tin Caps and Leones faced each other again, having two completely opposite realities, one squad extremely happy as they just clinched a postseason ticket and another team demoralized after losing an extremely competitive game. And that was showing no doubt about it throughout the 2nd game, as both teams scored a total of 5 runs, yes you read that right, five runs!
On the Leones side, the only run was scored during the first frame thanks to Leonard double and Cova’s rbi-single. After that, Leones will not score a single run in the remaining 6th innings that were played, whereas the Tin Caps materialized 1 run in the 2nd inning, 2 runs in the 3rd, and 1 more run in the 6th, to wrap up the regular season of both squads. Congrats to the Tin Caps for a well-played double header!
Outstanding Leones
Fun Fact
Did you know that the Leones del Caracas have 12 retired numbers including big leaguers Luis Aparicio (11), Chico Carrasquel (17), Tony Armas (20), Omar Vizquel (23), Andres Galarraga (41), Henry Blanco (24), Bo Diaz (25) and Vic Davalillo (2)?
TSSL Leones are flexible with that and allowed Steve Johnson (2) and Leo Cova (41) to wear those retired numbers!