Category: 2023 Season Updates

HUNGRY HIPPOS ARE CHAMPIONS

HUMBER RIVER DEFEATS ROUGE RIVER IN BATTLE OF TITANS

How could we know back in 2018 that the matchup between the Humber River Humdingers and Rouge River Blush would be the start of a steamy Field of Dreamers rivalry? When the Humdingers won their first ever Discus Cup and had their name etched into the mantel, it began an era of Rouge and Humber staking claim to the championship – eclipsed only last year when Garrison Creek broke through the Red/Yellow ceiling. In 2019, the Rouge River Raccoons fleeced victory from the Humber River Haze. And last night, with beautiful weather, a boisterous crowd, and charismatic commentators, the Humber River Hungry Hippos won their team’s second championship thanks to elite fielding and potent hitting!

FIELD OF DREAMER CHAMPIONSHIP RING TREE UPDATED

Twenty players from Humber River teams have one 1 championship (2018, 2023). Twenty players from Rouge River teams have one 1 championship (2017, 2019, 2021). Six players from Garrison Creek teams (2022) have one 1 championship. These are represented by the gold, red, and green rings in the first graphic below and the names of those players are written below.

Kirsten Dick, Chris Yates, Victoria Barnett, and Terrance Luscombe joined a prestigious group of Field of Dreamers players who have won 2 championships in the league. The other players on this list include: Andy Smith (2017, 2022); Jo Jefferson (2018, 2022); Kate Uffelman (2017, 2019); Lainie Basman (2017, 2022); LJ Robinson (2019, 2022); Ness Dixon (2017, 2019); Rachel Small (2018, 2022); Ryan Hayes (2018, 2021); Sena Hussein (2019, 2021); Shelagh Pizey-Allen (2017, 2019); Stuart Schussler (2017, 2019).

Only one player in Field of Dreamers history has won more than 2 championships, and their streak finally came to an end this season. Nat Saavedra won championships with the Humber River Humdingers (2018), Rouge River Raccoons (2019), Rouge River Rainbow Rebellion (2021), and Garrison Creek Gamma Rays (2022).

Will Credit River or Don River break through for their first championships in 2024? Will Humber River defend its title? Will Garrison Creek return to form? Will Rouge River continue to expand its early dynasty? Will your name finally make it onto the hallowed RINGS page? Only time will tell.

Don River Celine D’On (5th Place)

Do not grieve the last place finish for the Celine D’Ons. For if you’ve been a longtime follower of the Field of Dreamers you’ll know that the purple of Don has proved to be a cursed colour. But if you look beyond the record, a season of magic happened for Don. It’s all coming back to me now. There were nights when the wind was so cold, but Rachele Clemente, RT Titus and Dao Le were causing havoc on the base paths. And if I just listened to it just outside my window, I could hear the voices of Seb Higgins and Rob Jackson calmly steering their team to victory. There were days when the sun was so cruel, and yet Nat Saavedra and Janice Lee would not simply withstand the heat but turn it up with clutch hits! And I just knew my eyes were drying up forever when I witnessed the beautiful split seasons of new parents Annelies Cooper & Devin Clancy and Rachel Small & Jo Jefferson. Don: I finished crying in the instant that you left, because I knew that rookies Kai Somerville and Paul Pritchard were now core players. And I can’t remember when or where or how Finn MacLeod became one of the breakout hitters in the league. I banished every memory of the game Garrison Creek lost 23-4 against Don River. Because….when you touched the league like you did, Don River Celine D’ons, when you held us like that, we just had to admit that it’s all coming back, it’s all coming back to us noooooowwwwwwwwwwwww.

Garrison Creek Good Griefers (4th Place)

For a team that seemed to be created out of Phoebe Bridgers’ Saddest Factory, the Garrison Creek squad brought a lot of joy to each game they played. The team rallied around their Garden Song. And someday their gonna live in your house up on a hill, that’s where you’ll find Darren Puscas tracking down fly balls that don’t appear catchable or where you’ll find Lainie Basman pulling the team together with so many positive vibes. Meanwhile Stu Schussler, Mercedes Lee, Travis Silverman, and Ness Dixon are planting gardens in the yard as they created a solid core of hitters in the middle of the Garrison lineup. Gluing roses on a flatbed in the thousands, Jenny Chan, Krysta Williams, and Kira Kastner provided both the style and substance needed for the GGs of GC to excel. And despite it going all up in flames, Syd Gilchrist turned in an elite rookie season, Laura Windhorst returned from a mid-season injury to give the team a needed boost. Michelle Kidd, Robyn Letson, and Craig Fortier saw their reflection in the water of a team that played wacky shifts, communicated well, and played with the most joyful sadness, the most bittersweet success, that is a 4th place finish.

Credit River Riot (3rd Place)

A riotous season came to an end for the Credit River Riot with a thrilling victory against the Garrison Creek Good Griefers in the Consolation Game. And for a moment, I was brought back to April 29 1992, while you were sitting home watching your tv, the Credit River team was participating in some “small a” anarchy! The final game saw Claire Heese-Boutin, Yosnai Mena Mora, and Colin Hastings all do their best Phill Morgan impressions with extra base hits galore. On defence Jill Aoki, Sam Ponting, and Manjeet Bedi played solid throughout the game. Shannon Dunham and Claudia Calabro paired up to buttress the team core and Brianna Greaves and Peter Demakos sped around the bases for old time’s sake. Camie Koo and Paula John continued to play like the heart and soul of the team. While the team missed Carianne Leung and Nate Kulasinghe in the final game, the team as a whole found their stride mis-season and were a fierce challenger for every team that they faced.

Continue reading “HUNGRY HIPPOS ARE CHAMPIONS” →

Red Moon in Bougee

Field of Dreamers News

On August 16th 1933, close to 10,000 people took to the streets of Toronto in what is known as the Christie Pits riot. The riot was a response to the violence of the Nazi-supporting fascist ‘Pit Gang,’ who showed up at Christie Pits to terrorize a group of mostly working class Jewish and Italian baseball players. The players and their supporters defended themselves against the far-right attacks for 6 hours that night. The police did not stop the violence and in some accounts, actively supported the fascists.

This year marks the 90th anniversary of these riots. Please join the Field of Dreamers Cooperative Softball Association for a discussion on the intersections of sport, politics, anti-Blackness, xenophobia, anti-queer/trans* hate, and anti-Semitism today.

Free Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/the-christie-pits-riots-looking-back-looking-forward-no-ticket-required-tickets-696135659497

Credit River Riot (1-1-0)

If the “Riot is the Language of the Unheard,” Credit River has been “calm like a bomb” over the past three weeks. A convincing win against Garrison Creek in Week 11 was followed by a hard fought loss to Rouge River in Week 12. With the week off during Week 13, Credit will be re-energized for their final game of the regular season, before looking to takeover the airwaves with their guerilla radio in the playoffs.

Humber River Hungry Hippos (2-1-0)

Some teams might take a pause to rest for the playoffs when they have been so successful during the regular season, but the Hungry Hungry Hippos are chomping at the bit to maintain that high energy! The Hippos have been playing so many nail-biter games edging Rouge in Week 11, narrowly defeating Don in Week 12, and then coming up one run short of Garrison in Week 13. With an average weight of two tons, it’s going to take significant effort to move the Hippos from the Championship Game.

Rouge River Bad N Rougee (2-1-0)

Spurred by the return of some of their key stars, the Bad and Rougee have been on fire over the last three weeks. A narrow loss to Humber in Week 11 was followed by solid wins against Credit River and Don River in Weeks 12 and 13 respectively. The Rougee can finish no lower than the third seed for the playoffs and will prepare during their off week for the first round of the playoffs – where a win will send them straight into the Championship game!

Continue reading “Red Moon in Bougee” →

A New Don is on the Horizon

Field of Dreamers News

Field of Dreamers has been invited to give a talk to mark the 90th Anniversary of the Christie Pits Riots at the Gladstone Library. The talk will feature Don River’s Rachel Small, Credit River’s Phill Morgan, and Garrison Creek’s Craig Fortier! Keep up to date by checking the Field of Dreamers socials.

Credit River Riot (0-2-0)

In her famous graphic, Rebecca Solnit explains that social movements can be compared to mushrooms. While we might marvel at the fruiting bodies as they emerge in all their glorious colours and shapes and forms above ground, the real work happens below. Despite two losses in the last three weeks, the Credit River Riot are starting to put together some cohesion and chemistry. Drawing on the speed of Brianna Greaves, the thump of Manjeet Bedi and Claire Heese-Boutin, the steady play of Paula John, the sweet swing of Camie Koo, the plucky pluckiness of Peter Demakos, the soulful style of Jill Aoki, the wonderous woo of Carianne Leung, the daunting presence of Phill Morgan, the sleek fielding of Sam Ponting, el correr fantastico de Yosnai Mena Mora, the circle A effort of Claudia Calabro, the talltop hits of Shannon Dunham, and the chip-ins from Nate Kulasinghe, the Riot is poised to be sprouting revolution come late summer.

Humber River Hungry Hippos (2-0-0)

The hypothalamus is a structure deep within your brain. It’s the main link between your endocrine system and your nervous system. Your hypothalamus keeps your body balanced in a stable state called homeostasis. Well, friends, the “hippo”thalamus of Field of Dreamers is the steady and stable state of winning produced by the balanced roster of the Hungry Humber team. Led by the early favourites for captains of the year, Victoria Barnett and Terrance Luscombe, the Hippos have been chomping up wins like it’s a mild day in a fertile marsh. Where the sweet swings of Lucky Visvanathan and Oskar Eliashevsky meet the power pop of Marisa Tran and Fianna Dirks meet the bubbly belts of Marty Fink and Matías Contreras meet the silly slashes of Chris Yates and Kirsten Dick meet the sporty style of Claudia Vergara and Kaela Sanborn-Hum meet the cute couture of Carly Boyce and Amanda Hollingworth meet the hard nose grind of Jasper Walton and Beth Austerberry – is that deep part of the brain called the hippothalamus.

Rouge River Bad N Rougee (0-2-0)

Where were you when the beat dropped on Rouge River’s new chant? Because it’s fire! The two losses recorded here don’t tell the story of the Bad N Rougee’s fierce play. Down 17-3 in their final at-bat against the Good Griefers of Garrison, the trap queens dropped banger after banger for 12 runs and almost completed the most miraculous of come-from-behind victories in Dreamers history! Revved to elation by Huan Nguyen’s new chant, we saw Sarah Peek poke one through the whole, Jenni Klonteig blast a line drive, Nell Khayutin explode for their 4th hit, Kat Kleine speed around the bases, Emma Cuddy lace a sweet hit, Sabrina Benoit put a charge into a ball, Qui Alexander stay back and belt a base hit, LJ Robinson plate a couple with a sweet stroke, Rhiannon Cobb chop one up the baseline, Yazi Peer plunk a perfect pop up, and Johann Juarez slice a centre field cut against his arch nemesis….we wish sweet Andy Smith and Soren D’Alimonte could have been there to witness such perfect rhythm. <3

Continue reading “A New Don is on the Horizon” →

Credit River & the Coming Insurrection

Field of Dreamers in the News

Field of Dreamers was featured in Toronto’s best IRL news source The Grind s/o to Credit River co-captain + coordinating committee member Phill Morgan who is a member of the Editorial Board. You can read the article “Baseball is for Everybody: Field of Dreamers Shows Torontonians a Better Way of Doing Sports” on Page 22. Click Here: The Grind, Summer 2023, Issue 5 Vol 1

Credit River Riot (2-0-1)

After a slow start to the season, the Credit River Riot are starting to explode! Paula John and Phill Morgan have coaxed the best out of their squad over the past few weeks and have produced a 2-0-1 record during that time! It all began with a stunning “Merle Davis Matthews Win” (aka a tie) against the mighty Hippos of Humber where Credit evened the game 15-15. A rainout in Week 5 against Don gave Credit time to rest and re-group before a thrilling come-from-behind 17-16 win against the Griefers of Good Garrison in Week 6. In Week 7, down to only 7 players by 6pm on game day, Credit recruited subs to fill their roster and super-sub Victoria Barnett slugged a GRAND SLAM to help secure a 13-11 win!

Humber River Hungry Hippos (1-1-1)

In Ancient Egypt there is a story about a war that was caused by the loud noise made by Hippos. The Egyptian ruler Sequenenre Tao began to feud with the Hyksos pharoah Apophis. The nature of the feud was that Apophis claimed that the Hippos living in Sequenenre’s territories were sooooo loud that it was causing chaos in his community. The story is an allegory about the difference between being allowed to roam free and being controlled in your behaviours and in the end Sequenenre wins the war and unifies Egypt oriented towards freedom. Just like Sequenenre, the Humber captains Terrance Luscombe, Oskar Eliashevsky, and Victoria Barnett have allowed their team to roam free and they’ve been one of the most exiting to watch! In Week 4 the team tied the aforementioned Riot 15-15 – their Hyksos! In Week 5 they had an off week to regroup. Week 6 saw the Hippos take their first loss of the season to an inspired Bad N’ Rougee. And in Week 7, the Hippos went back to their winning ways with a big win against Don River!

Rouge River Bad N Rougee (1-2-0)

The Bad N Rougee continued to bring that muggy Atlanta feel to the diamond and dropped a few bangers over the last few weeks. Production and mixing by co-captains Andy Smith, LJ Robinson, and Emma Cuddy have resulted in some Top 10 chart toppers! In Week 4 the Bad N Rougee had their first break in a draining touring schedule, but came back in Week 5 to battle the Garrison Creek Good Griefers in a defensive gem, finally losing by a score of 9-8. In Week 6 the Bad N Rougee broke streaming records and finally supplanted the Hippos at the top of the charts with a 15-12 win. But in Week 7 despite coming out the gate with strong first week numbers, the Rougee couldn’t hold on against the Riot and dropped that match 13-11. Rouge River has proved themselves to be a formidable team and we can see them mounting a charge at the Championship again this season!

Continue reading “Credit River & the Coming Insurrection” →