The Catch

 The Catch



     A billion Chinese probably did not notice or care but in the Summer of 1985 Greg had his greatest moment in Strange Heads softball. It was a rather forgotten season where we had trouble getting players out for the games on Thursday nights. The scene was Adult Slow-Pitch softball on diamond 4 at South Gate park. The Heads were a cherished tradition among the men who once performed in the SGJAA. The team began back in the late 1970's as C&H Auto and eventually transformed into the competitive Strange Heads, under a name that continues, albeit now in Orange County. We had a blast playing together and even won a couple of championships for a team that just played for the fun of  it against teams who took it all very seriously. There are dozens of great stories from the long history of the team but the foundations of that band of brothers started back in the Park leagues where the first teams actually used wood bats and wore steel cleats. All the best friends I had found their way onto the diamonds there for battle with worthy opponents, as in this case the league champion "Runnin' Rebels." The Rebels were a good bunch of guys who had marched through the schedule without a loss and figured to mop up the diamond with our ragtag bunch. Yet, somehow the Strange Heads found their groove on this night and the bats warmed in the balmy Summer heat. We ran out to a decent lead which was no assurance of a win in slow-pitch softball. We had my new VHS camera and actually captured the glory of our struggle. We had recruited one of the best pitchers that ever played for the Heads in Paul Lee and his high lobs were confounding the Rebels, leaving them to tap grounders or soft flies. Then, when the Rebels looked beaten they began to rally. They scored a run, had a couple on and their big gun belted one deep into right center. Greg was out there and running as fast as his white-collar worker haunches could take him and at the last moment he stretched out his glove to the fullest extent and plucked what looked to be a home run out of the air. The Rebels groaned and the Heads shouted admiration. "The Catch" took the fire out of the Runnin' Rebels and made sure of one shining moment in the 1985 Summer season for the lads.

The lineup on that night

P- Paul Lee

C. Mike (a friend of Steve Wright)

1B Jim Grimes

2B Stephen Creason

SS Steve Wright

3B Glen Creason

LF Fred Chernoff

CF Tim Balderama

R Billy Hogan

RF Greg Sheehy

"From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remember’d;
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne’er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition:
And gentlemen of LA now a-bed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon the diamonds of SGP"

     with apologies to Wm Shakespeare "Henry V.



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