Roy Berger, 1st basemen for Team Vaughn, is also a Yankees fan. He attended the Yankees Fantasy Camp in 2015, where somehow the ball got rolling, would the Pirates be interested in FCCS 2015. He asked the Pirates, who must have said yes, because shortly after the invitations went out. It did not take long for Pirate Fantasy Campers to respond and the next thing you know we have a full roster.
Thank you Roy for putting this experience together. Glad to be a part of it. Like everything the Pirates do for Fantasy Campers, it didn't take long for the organization to fully support. Mike "Spanky" LaValliere was asked to manage the team, which he accepted. Good news for us, bad news for the other 7 teams.
The tourney will be held at the Yankees spring training facility in Tampa. The teams participating are:
Yankees 1 & 2
Mets 1 & 2
Phillies (2012 champions)
Red Sox (2013 & 2014 champions)
Twins
Pirates
There are two divisions. We will play 3 pool games, 2 crossover games, then the order of finishing will determine who plays for the championship. Poo1 1, first place plays Pool 2, first place. Consolation games are played by 2 vs 2, 3 vs 3, and 4 vs 4. First rule of Team Vaughn 2014 - KNOW WHAT THE TIE BREAKERS ARE. Better yet, the rules are simple, win 6 and you have a championship.
The Pirates official roster is as follows:
14 Lester Beaird
56 Roy Berger
16 Keith Bertetto, maybe 44?
11 Tom Bouchard
18 Wardo Brigham
17 Thomas Brooks
21 Gary Dmitrzak
34 Ted Geletka
22 David Gibbon
21 Tom Jonik
71 Kevin Kubala
3 Ron Lepionka
55 David Miller
15 Gary Sams
21 Duane Schifano
25 Bill Sirakos
Once the roster was solidified, the group had great fun sending messages via e-mail, Group Me, or text with various content. Most of which were aimed at Teddy. Keith was declared the "straw that stirred the drink", and he made sure to never disappoint, no matter what the subject. Go back on blog entry to see Keith "sporting his championship ring" - aimed specifically at myself & Team Vaughn. It was great fun to pose with him and his ring...
Our march to a championship begins tomorrow. Wednesday April 15th. All players are either arrived tonight or will be traveling tomorrow. Practice is from 2:30 pm to 4:30 pm. Can't even begin to say how amped up I am to be playing baseball again. My co-workers know that only one thing gives me an uncontrollable smile, thinking of playing baseball - then going out and performing.
Our mantra for the tournament has been "ALL IN". Tomorrow we will begin to show how ALL IN we are.
David Miller advised everyone, yesterday, that he sprained his ankle. He believes he will be playing on Thursday - we are all holding our breath. We are about to see how good the Yankees training staff is. Hope they are miracle workers.
Big thanks to:
Joe B of the Pirates, who sent out awesome Pirates gear to all team members. We greatly appreciated the generosity.
Randy Stear, who is recovering from an injury, or would be on the roster. Randy put together, along with Roy Berger, the 30 day countdown to FCCS 2015. Each day brought a piece of historical Pirates trivia to our e-mail. The best had to be the number of steal attempts by Spanky, along with the number of triples (and why) which was equal to the number of successful steals. Can't wait to hear the reply from Spanky at practice tomorrow.
The gear & clothes are all packed, ready to fly. So enjoy the ride with me, as we get set to take on some of the best Fantasy Campers who have participated over the past few years.
LET'S GO BUCS!
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