Solidarity with the North Field Softball Community in Montreal

Dear Madam Mayor,

We are writing on behalf of the Field of Dreamers Cooperative Softball Association in Toronto, Ontario. The Field of Dreamers is an organized softball league that grew out of a pick-up style league such as the one being deposed of their playing field at Jeanne-Mance Park known as the North Field. A field that was recently torn down by your administration. We are an association of gender non-conforming peoples, migrants, educators, trade unionists, workers, and queer and trans* folks who have developed a space of play organized around a collective effort to correct for the barriers that too often keep people from playing and enjoying sports.

Continue reading “Solidarity with the North Field Softball Community in Montreal”

June 24th 2018

 ?️‍? THE JUNE 24tH INAUGURAL PRIDE GAME

On a night where the Field of Dreamers out sparkled the glamour of the 24/7 frisbee rave, a rainy and gloomy day soon turned into a hearts-a-fire flame fest!  Dressed to impress, the Dreamers strutted their stuff along the baselines in sequins, glam, short-short-short shorts, glitter, and all other sorts of fine haberdashery.  And, as though the Fab Five themselves decided to elevate the field of play, the Dreamers matched their new looks with fierce defence, fabulous hits, and futuristic finesse.  As the Queer Eye TV screen was tuned to the game, all were anticipating whether Karamo would unearth the loving child that lives inside the unflappable Comrades? Or would Jonathan give the Valley Cats the grooming they always knew they deserved?  Would Bobby remake the Humber defence into something elegant but hip? Or would Antoni & Tan help the Blush bring out their delectable charm?

You’ll have to keep reading to find out whether this Queer Eye’d makeover took form…

Continue reading “June 24th 2018”

June 17th 2018

THE JUNE 17th SWEATY HOT MESS…

Under a hot night sky where the humidity felt like a giant leaning on the shoulders of each and every player on the diamond, the Dreamers played a couple spirited affairs with each team short-handed! The Rouge River Blush squared off against the Don River Valley Cats for a rematch of the early season blowout.  Maybe the Blush were born with it and provided the kiss of the death once again to the urban felines! Or maybe the Valley Cats went on the prowl and broke the Blush’s heart! Meanwhile, the Credit River Comrades delegated a set of players to perform their duties against the Humber River Humdingers….Would the Humdingers be the first to name that tune against the Comrades or would the Credit River squad perform the radical solidarity necessary to block out the earworms thrown their way by Humber?

Well friends, you’ll have to read further to find out!

DON RIVER VALLEY CATS vs. ROUGE RIVER BLUSH

With the sun blazing in the sky, the Blush came to the field ready to strut their stuff, and the Valley Cats set out to prove they had nine lives. Both demonstrated their commitment to abolishing borders, taking on half a dozen subs between them, all of whom helped keep the dream alive. The Valley Cats came out hissing, and an acrobatic catch by feline Phillip Morgan and purrfect base hits by Katie German and Amina Mohamed, the super sub, gave the Cats an early lead. The Blush didn’t let themselves get red in the face though, with Terrence Luscombe landing Sephora big hits and Merle Davis Revloning in defense at second base. Despite some MAC-nificient plays by the Blush, the Valley Cats’ early lead held out. As the sun went down, the Cats showed their claws, (scratching) posting a resounding 17-3 victory (Andrew Stokes, Don River Valley Cats).

CREDIT RIVER COMRADES vs. HUMBER RIVER HUMDINGERS

This recap begins with a brief journey into the deep world of etymonline.com as we search for words to describe the flawless start to the Credit River season:

comrade (n.)
1590s, “one who shares the same room,” hence “a close companion,” from Middle French camarade (16c.), from Spanish camarada “chamber mate,” or Italian camerata “a partner,” from Latin camera “vaulted room,

chamber” (see camera). In Spanish, a collective noun referring to one’s company. In 17c., sometimes jocularly misspelled comrogue. Used from 1884 by socialists and communists as a prefix to a surname to avoid “Mister” and  “Missus” other such titles. Related: Comradely; comradeship.

And thus, on a sweltering Sunday where sharing a room with one’s close companion feels extra sweaty, the Comrades jumped out to an early lead on the sing-song lovelies known as the Humdingers. Though the Humdingers fell behind early they refused to lose the rhythm and kept humming all night long. Despite the tempo set by the Chamber Mates, the Humdingers buzzed up and down pulling even with a beautiful 7 run inning and playing defence like they were stepping on the piano keys from the movie Big,with solid play up the middle by Annelies and Rachel, and textbook relays from the chorus line in the outfield.  The game stayed close until the close companions opened the door in the west end battle and strengthened their bonds through the amazing hitting feats of Peter Demakos who led the game with a home run, 4 runs scored, and six runs batted in.  The Credit River buddy-movie continues as they take a 21-16 win to the vaulted room (with field notes from Colin Hastings, Humber River Humdingers).

See the game box scores here

See player stats here

See league standings here


ocean.parkway-1.5.half_.milestone

MILESTONES

Credit River
Gita Madan becomes the 31st player in league history to reach 50 career hits (up 1 spot!)
Peter Demakos becomes 15th player in league history to reach 5 career home runs (up 3 spots!)
Robyn Letson ranks 14th all time with 64 career singles (up 1 spot!)
Ness Dixon becomes 34th player in league history to reach 5 career doubles (up 8 spots!)
Johann Juarez becomes 3rd player in league history to reach 130 runs scored!
Darren Puscas becomes 7th player in league history to reach 80 career RBIs (81)!
Karl Gardner currently tied for 4th all time with 127 hits (up 2 spots!)

Don River

Katie German becomes 38th player in league history to reach 75 career at-bats (up 1 spot!)
Andrew Stokes becomes 28th player in league history to reach 90 career at-bats (up 1 spot!)
Stuart Schussler currently ranks 17th all time with 13 career doubles (up 2 spots!)
Phill Morgan – first official extra base hits with 2 doubles
Andrew Norton – becomes 29th player in league history to reach 50 career hits (52)!

Humber River
Robin Smilie – becomes 31st player in league history to reach 40 career singles (41)!
Alex Brant – ranks 32nd all time with 78 career at-bats (up 6 spots!)
Ryan Hayes becomes 1st player in league history to reach 140 career singles!
Jo Jefferson becomes 16th player in league history to reach 80 career hits!
Annelies Cooper currently ranks 7th all-time with 83 career singles!
Devin Clancy currently ranks 14th all-time with 17 career doubles!
Rachel Small becomes 4th player in league history to reach 11 career hits!
Colin Hastings becomes 7th player in league history to reach 120 career hits!

Rouge River
Sarah Weinberger currently tied for 78th all time with 14 career at-bats!
Noah Adams currently ranks 28th all time with 31 career runs batted in!
Merle Davis becomes 20th player all time to reach 70 career hits (71)!
TH Vega ranks 67th all time with 16 career hits!
Terrance Luscombe becomes 13th player in league history to reach 140 career at-bats!

SUBS

Joseph Bautista becomes one of only a handful of players to take an at-bat with the Insurgency, the Autonomous Baseball League, and the Field of Dreamers!
Luke Fox becomes the 95th player in league history to record 8 at-bats!
Viva Rae Davis Matthews becomes 87th player in league history to record 10 at-bats!
Amina Mohamed becomes the 65th player in league history to record at least 2 career doubles!

 

Baseball-near-Second-Base

ODDITIES

AN ALMOST CYCLE 

Phillip Morgan’s (DON RIVER) first game started with a single, double, triple, and then another single and despite this feat Phill’s first game did not get recorded in the books and so the rookie is still in search of a first extra base hit!

Strange But True

Through their first 77 at-bats Janine Caster (DON RIVER) and Karen Campbell (HUMBER RIVER) have been mirror images:

Janine Caster 77AB 46HITS  44SINGLES  2DOUBLES
Karen Campbell 77AB 46HITS  44SINGLES  2DOUBLES

At this point in their career, Alex Brant (HUMBER RIVER) and Robin Smillie (HUMBER RIVER) have posted nearly the exact same batting line:

Alex Brant 74AB  40HITS  39SINGLES 1DOUBLES
Robin Smillie 73AB 40HITS  38SINGLES 2DOUBLES

June 10th 2018

SEASON RECAP SO FAR…

As our second season has eclipsed the three game mark, the Field of Dreamers emerge from one of the longest winters groggy, strike-weary, and sombre…but ready for the summer season to bring us the joy of making baseball. Trinity Bellwoods remains a place where dogs chase their leashes in the outfield, where frisbees fly in the night’s sky, where house music from the 90s thumps like a soundtrack to an underground rave – but also where a small piece of our hearts are laid down each week as we build community.

As teams still get used to their new formations, the Humber River Humdingers and Rouge River Blush have provided us with some clear moves towards pun-worthy mashups, while the league awaits the final names for the great Credit and Don River franchises.

But let’s not forget that there have been games played!

CREDIT RIVER

In the first three weeks Credit River looks to be a potential top dog winning all three of their games and playing some spirited ball!  Yogi Acharya currently leads the league with 15 ABs and has been the sparkplug for the Credit squad that features such oldtimey vets as LJ Robinson and Johann Juarez and some friendly rookies like Jill Aoki-Barrett and Tanis Franco.  Can they hold on to this advantage or will they have to incur some debt with all their Credit?  Credit River starts the season 3-0-0 (3 wins, 0 losses, 0 ties)

DON RIVER

Don River’s season so far has been a roller coaster ride! In the first game against the Humdingers, down by 7 in the final inning, the Don squad played a game of pass the baton tallying 13 runs to win in Week 1.  In week 2, the team was hushed by the potent Rouge River lineup, and in week 3, Don River dropped a nail biter to the Humber squad in their second match-up of the year despite playing some of the most stellar defence ever seen on the Dreamers’ diamond.  Special mention should go out to Janine Caster who players might be apt to call “Dyson” after she vacuumed up every ball hit to her at 3B and made an excellent catch on a Phillip Morgan special delivery at 1B.  The game despite the loss was a resounding success for the hard work of a team building on the two great early season skillshares. Don River starts the season 1-2-0 (1 win, 2 losses, 0 ties)

HUMBER RIVER

Like a game of Cranium at 2am on a bleary Saturday night, we are still not sure what a Humdinger is and whether or not our vocal chords are prepared to find out….but what we are sure of is that if any team thus far has represented the heart and soul of the league, it’s been Humber.  After two tough losses, the Humdingers are hmm…hmmm….hmmmmmm…..ing their way in to the win column, with an ecstatic display of agility, teamwork, and defensive genius.  Last week’s game was capped off by Colin Hastings beautiful slip and slide on the Humber glide double play and the barrage of hits off the bats of the Humber chorus…Robin Smillie, Alex Brant, Annelies Cooper, Brianna Greaves, Meg Wright, Karen Campbell, Ryan Hayes, Jo Jefferson, and Rachel Small all found ways to make the needle drop and pile up the hits as the power of the Hustle gave wave to the droning consistency of the Humdinger brand of ball.  Humber River starts the season 1-2-0 (1 win, 2 losses, 0 ties).

ROUGE RIVER

If any team will make you blush this summer, you’ll need to be watching the Rouge.  You may at first mistake these lovelies for fans of the great 1998 Jennifer Page song, Crush, or with this nationalistic rallying chant, but don’t be fooled! It’s not just a little crush, it’s a lot of blush! It’s not U-S-A, it’s B-L-U-S-H….and they’re Blush, hush, hush, hush, hush…..The Rouge River Blush have been bringing the Red Light Special  to the SkyDome for three straight weeks as they dropped two heartbreakers to the Credit River squad sandwiched in-between a love affair with home runs against the Dons.  Captained by the fabulous duo of Terrance and Merle, the team has embraced style, snacks, and the bugle as its official mascot. If you hear Lainie Basman or Sarah Weinberger trumpeting their team, you can have the delicious fried corn snack to thank! But on the ballfield Rouge is easy, breezy, and beautiful, as they use the power strokes of Andy Smith and Umar Saeed to combine with the electric speed of Jenny Chan, Rocio Velasquez, and more. Rouge River starts the season 1-2-0 (1 win, 2 losses, 0 ties).

See the game box scores here

See player stats here

See league standings here


ocean.parkway-1.5.half_.milestone

MILESTONES

Credit River
Jill Aoki-Barrett becomes the 84th player in league history to record at least 10 career at bats!
Tanis Franco becomes the 87th player in league history to reach the 5 career singles plateau!
Navjeet Sidhu becomes the 17th player in league history to reach 40 career runs batted in!
Gita Madan with 44 singles is currently tied for 21st all time for career singles!
Yogi Acharya becomes the 16th player in league history to reach 15 career doubles!
Rachele Gottardi becomes the 34th player in league history to reach 75 career at-bats (76)!
Peter Demakos becomes the 15th player in league history to reach 45 career runs batted in!
Robyn Letson becomes the 15th player in league history to reach 60 career singles!
LJ Robinson becomes the 4th player in league history to reach 125 career hits (127)!
Ness Dixon has started their career with 22 hits in 27 at-bats for an .815 career batting average!
Johann Juarez becomes 3rd player in league history to reach 40 double plateau (42)!
Darren Puscas currently tied for 5th all time with 13 career triples!
Karl Gardner currently ranks 5th all time with 121 career hits!

Don River

Caren Weisbart becomes the 105th player in league history to record a run batted in!
Suzanne Narain becomes the 120th player to take an at-bat in league history!
Shelagh Pizey-Allen with 16 career runs scored is tied for 53rd all time in league history!
Kate Uffelman tied for 35th all time with 44 career hits!
Janine Caster see oddities below
Katie German becomes 28th player in league history to record 40 career singles!
Laura Pin becomes 56th player in league history to record 50 career at bats (51)!
Andrew Stokes ranks 11th all time with 52 career runs batted in!
Stuart Schussler becomes 29th player in league history to record 50 career hits!
Phill Morgan – see oddities below
Richard Peters – 68 career hits ranks 22nd all the all time list!
Andrew Norton – becomes 11th player in league history to record at least 20 doubles!
Niloofar Golkar – begins the season with 60 career at-bats ranking 49th all time!

Humber River
Meghan Wright becomes 72nd player in league history to reach 20 career at-bats (21)!
Brianna Greaves tied for 44th all time with 19 career runs scored!
Jessica Duarte tied for 38th all time with 34 career singles!
Karen Campbell see oddities below
Robin Smilie see oddities below
Alex Brant see oddities below
Ryan Hayes becomes 2nd player in league history to reach 60 career doubles (62)!
Natalia Saavedra currently tied for 15th all time with 4 career home runs!
Jo Jefferson becomes 8th player in league history to record at least 150 at-bats!
Annelies Cooper becomes 15th player in league history to record at least 80 hits (82)!
Devin Clancy currently ranks 8th all-time with 77 career singles!
Rachel Small becomes 6th player in league history to reach 120 career hits!
Colin Hastings becomes 9th player in league history to record at least 150 at-bats!

Rouge River
Sarah Weinberger becomes 84th player in league history to record 3 career runs batted in!
Samira Banihashemi becomes 114th player in league history to record their first career hit!
Rocio Velasquez becomes 21st player in league history to record at least 110 at-bats (111)!
Jenny Chan ranks 7th on the all time list with 118 career hits!
Noah Adams becomes 22nd player in league history to record at least 100 at-bats (105)!
Merle Davis tied for 12th all time with 66 career singles!
Tracey Mann becomes 1st sub player in league history to join as a full time player!
TH Vega tied for 69th all time with 13 career hits!
Andy Smith currently leads all qualified hitters with an .889 career batting average. Almost an A+!
Umar Saeed tied for 10th all time with 6 career home runs!
Lainie Basman tied for 10th all time with 73 career singles!
Terrance Luscombe becomes 13th player in league history to reach 90 career hits plateau!
Craig Fortier 2018 becomes 1st player in league history to reach 90 career doubles!

Baseball-near-Second-Base

ODDITIES

AN ALMOST CYCLE 

Phillip Morgan’s (DON RIVER) first game started with a single, double, triple, and then another single and despite this feat Phill’s first game did not get recorded in the books and so the rookie is still in search of a first extra base hit!

Strange But True

Through their first 77 at-bats Janine Caster (DON RIVER) and Karen Campbell (HUMBER RIVER) have been mirror images:

Janine Caster 77AB 46HITS  44SINGLES  2DOUBLES
Karen Campbell 77AB 46HITS  44SINGLES  2DOUBLES

At this point in their career, Alex Brant (HUMBER RIVER) and Robin Smillie (HUMBER RIVER) have posted nearly the exact same batting line:

Alex Brant 74AB  40HITS  39SINGLES 1DOUBLES
Robin Smillie 73AB 40HITS  38SINGLES 2DOUBLES