Category: Dreamers Tribune

The Dreamer’s Tribune: On hitting 100 or: How I learned to stop worrying and love the game

By Navjeet Sidhu

Joe DiMaggio. Jackie Robinson. David Hasselhoff. Oprah. Nav. 

What do these people all have in common? 

Greatness.

Webster’s Dictionary defines greatness as: “the quality or state of being great (as in size, skill, achievement, or power)”. 

It also defines “gratness” (which is what I initially typed in) as: “The word you’ve entered isn’t in the dictionary. Click on a spelling suggestion below or try again using the search bar above.”

Coincidence?

Many people said reaching 100 hits could not be done and that I should just quit. I will call these people “my mom”. Nevertheless, I persevered, remembering the wise words of Aristotle: “Never say never”….or was that Justin Bieber? I always mix up the two….

Even now, the skeptics and naysayers will accuse me of using “performance enhancing substances” to reach this milestone. Well if team spirit and camaraderie mixed with tetrahydrogestrinone is considered “performance enhancing” then I guess I am guilty! 

All this to say I’ve been truly honored and grateful to play with some amazing and supportive teammates over the years, both in the FOD and the many iterations (ABL!) that came before it. And of course a shout out to Craig as well for sharing his infectious love and spirit for the game! See you on the slopes!

The Dreamer’s Tribune: Devin Clancy reflects on reaching 200 ABs

The sun has gone down, the lights are on, the pitcher releases the ball and SMACK!!! 200 at-bats.

Wow, what a time. 200 at-bats means *at least* 200 pitches from amazing players, and nearly 200 catches and outs ; )

I couldn’t have made this milestone without all you dreamers. So, as the great sex-rock icons Aerosmith say:

Sing with me, sing for the years
Sing for the laughter, sing for the tears
Sing with me, just for today
Maybe tomorrow, the good Lord will take you away

Dream on
Dream on
Dream on
Dream until your dreams come true
Dream on
Dream on
Dream on
Dream on
Dream on
Dream on
Dream on

The Dreamer’s Tribune: Karl’s 200 & 100 Milestones

Karl Gardner of the Credit River Care Bears reflects on 200 at-bats and 100 runs.

When Craig asked to me to sub for the Uncertainty a few years ago, I probably agreed less because I wanted to play softball and more because I wanted to see some friendly faces out in the sun on the occasional afternoon. However, after experiencing the deep community and ethic of care that the Uncertainty was organized around–and after finding that softball was actually super fun–I knew I’d be coming back! 

I’m so glad that we took these principles community, care, and friendly competition and built a league of our own upon them. I’ve played a handful of different organized sports over the years, and none have been as nourishing as the Field of Dreamers. Now, I’m always blabbing on to my friends about our league and how unique what we’ve built really is. And the walk-up songs? A+.

Reaching 200 at-bats under the lights at the Skydome has been so much fun. And to reach 100 runs (shouldn’t it be getting easier to run around those bases?!) is a testament to all the great teammates I’ve had who’ve batted me in on the Rouge River Ballsheviks, the Credit River Comrades, and this year the Credit River Care Bears. Looking forward to an amazing third season on the field with all you dreamers!