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Emperors Win in Queens
September 9
The Emperors came to the Queens event because they had been edged out in the previous Stickball Classic 2000 competitions and the rules allow a team to enter in more than one borough. As one of New York's most accomplished and established teams the Emperors were heavily favored to win, and when they took a quick 4-0 lead in their opening game against the Dead End Boys, it looked like the day might be ugly (see coverage of the blowouts in Manhattan ). The Dead End Boys gained composure and after their rocky start and played good ball for the remaining 6 innings. Still, it was too late, for the Emperors 4 runs were more than enough to win. By defeating the Dead End Boys, the Emperors earned the right to face the Computer Room, winner of this weeks opening event. This was a team composed of members from the Manhattan Supreme Court's Computer room (they process mailings and requests for NYC jurors). While they work together, they had never played stickball together, but decided to give it a try as part of the Stickball Classic 2000. At first the Computer Room looked totally disorganized, but they showed true heart by staying tight in the game against their opponents, the Digital Storm. Trailing 2-0, the Room scored 1 run in the 6th inning and then two big runs in the bottom of the 7th (the last inning) to pull out an exciting 3-2 win. It looked like it was going to get ugly when the Emperors put 4 quick runs on the board in the finals. Still, the Room settled in again and unlike the blowouts of last week, were able to hold the Emperors to only 3 other runs, managing a respectable 7-0 loss. You could see the team improve as the game progressed. Sydorna (Syd), the crew's work supervisor, a native of St. Albans Queens and the only woman player of the day was clearly proud of the team's effort. And though they won't be moving on in this year's competition, you see the Room had the stickball bug as players continued practicing after the game. Special Note - East Bronx Bombardiers Tie Emperors in Exhibition Game.This week marked the third appearance of the Classic's youngest team, the East Bronx Bombardiers. The team arrived too late to participate in this week's competitive games, but were able to play a special 3 inning exhibition game against the Bronx Emperors after the formal games. The Bombardiers played a remarkable game, emerging with a 4-4 tie against the Queens' Champions.The Bombardiers showed clear improvement over their previous games, maintaining composure in the field and mounting a fierce 4 run rally to start the third inning. True the Emperors were only playing in exhibition mode and with some of their members out and other handicaps thrown in, they were not at their competitive best. However, the Bombardiers growing confidence both at bat and in the field was noted by players and spectators alike. At the request of Curtis Sliwa, the Tournament's Coordinator and "Commissioner of Stickball," the East Bronx Bombardiers will play another team of youngsters from Brooklyn as part of the Stickball Classic 2000 finals on September 30. The match will represent the first time that an official Junior Division will be incorporated into the tournament |
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