Randy Hundley Fantasy Camp '07
by cubboy89 on Feb 10, 2007 11:28 PM CST
Email
PrintI previously posted that my wife surprised me with a combonation birthday/Christmas gift with a trip to Mesa, AZ. last week to attend Randy Hundley's 25th year anniversary fantasy camp (cubsfantasycamp.com). It was awesome. If you have ever thought about doing this, but aren't sure, just DO IT. You will NOT be disappointed. There were 8 camper teams and we played double headers monday thru friday against each other. Stay with me as this is the first time I've tried to post pictures. On Saturday, we played the ex-Cubs http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s238/cubboy89/BullandFergie.jpg
at Hohokam Park http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s238/cubboy89/gameday2.jpg. Each team got to play one inning in the field and got one at bat. I played SS http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s238/cubboy89/Cubscamp.jpg and was fortunate enough to be asked to pitch http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s238/cubboy89/pitching3.jpg http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s238/cubboy89/pitching4.jpg against the ex-Cubs, too. I got a line drive single to right field off Ron Davis in my at bat.
I thought I'd send some shots from the week. The camp is expensive, but I had the time of my life and knowing the die-hard fans some of you are, you guys would have a blast, too. Being the 25th year anniversary, Hundley brought in the big guns http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s238/cubboy89/DSCF0020.jpg http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s238/cubboy89/DSCF0013.jpg
My manager for the week was Lee Smith http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s238/cubboy89/LeeArthur.jpg and he was quite a character. I lead off for our team http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s238/cubboy89/cubscamp26.jpg and he had me at shortstop http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s238/cubboy89/cubscamp38.jpg just about every inning, except after I pulled a hammy in mid-week, he played me some at 3B and 1B instead so I didn't have to move as much. The fields at Fitch Park were amazing and you wouldn't believe the infields and the true hops you get. I must've had at least 30 chances at SS during the week and had only one error and that was a throwing error. I'm gonna be spoiled once I get back to the fields I'm used to playing on when I get home.
Best off the field moment: "Bull" Durham says to a bunch of us in the parking lot that he has room for one more in his car as we were leaving Fitch Park and heading to Hohokam Park for the big game on Saturday. I run over and say "thanks". Little did I know that there were other passengers in the car. Durham is driving, Jody is sitting shot gun and Sutcliffe and me are in the back seat. Pretty cool. Too bad the ride was only 5 minutes.
My assigned roommate at the hotel we stayed at was from the south suburbs of Chicago like me and we found out we play in the same 35 and older hard ball league at home. Small world!
Randy Hundley is a true gentleman and works very hard to ensure every camper has a great time. http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s238/cubboy89/cubscamp20.jpg The coaches there this year http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s238/cubboy89/cubscamp9.jpg were great, too. They are very accessible and will pose for pictures, sign baseballs, baseball cards, etc. It was special for me as there were guys from the '69 team (Santo, Banks, Williams, Fergie), players I grew up watching as a youngster like Cardenal, Reuschel, Biittner and then guys from the '84 team I watched as a teenager like Sut, Jody, "Bull", Moreland and Bobby D. I'm 39 and I was probably one of the younger guys there (the minimum age requirement is 30 years old), but the camp is for anyone who has a love for the game and wants to live out that dream for a week. Any questions, feel free to contact me .
This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of SB Nation or Al Yellon, managing editor (unless it's a FanPost posted by Al). FanPost opinions are valued expressions of opinion by passionate and knowledgeable baseball fans.
18 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
Some players...
Others look fantastic like Mr. Prior.
by sparkles721 on Feb 10, 2007 11:47 PM CST up reply actions
Wow...
Truly Memorable
Hey, It's Never Too Late
The link is to a book by a guy named Jeff Guinn, who went to a fantasy camp in 1994. There were a few older guys there, and they had a blast. Hundley makes sure to accomodate them. Sorry the link doesn't contain more. I found the book at a used bookstore a while ago.
Ed Lynch??
Still, I'm sure it was a great time.
Lynch...
Sure...
Ed Lynch
Moreland told the story of charging the mound in '84 after Lynch hit him; it was quite humorous. Moreland said he was on the on deck circle w/Jody and told him, "If he hits me, I'm goin' to get him." Moreland went on to say that if you he finds that %$%^&*(#@, Bobby Valentine, he's gonna kill him. Moreland walked away with two bruises on his forehead and slowed down the videotape and saw that Valentine sucker punched twice while Moreland was on the bottom of the pile.
i'm guessing...
Welcome back!
- Ron Santo was still playing and managing a Fantasy team that year. It's sad to see what has happened to him since then, but he has a great spirit about it. He and Fergie were my two favorite Cubs as a kid, and it was only later that I learned he played with diabetes, which I got in 1974. I have since had a Kidney/Pancreas transplant and no longer have diabetes, but it's a treatment, not a cure.
- Mentioning Fergie, that was another item from the book that stood out. He came to camp that year even though he had just lost his daughter and wife(?) to a murder-suicide. The book said it was his wife, I had always heard babysitter, maybe it was somewhere in the middle. Tragic either way, especially since his first wife died from injuries in a car accident only about a year or so before that. A classy man all-around.
- Reading the book this time, I went slow and enjoyed the stories, especially the ones with my friend Brian in them, but as the book ended, I got a glimpse of why baseball players sometimes hang on longer than they should. I like other sports, but from about 5th grade on, baseball has been the one sport that has gotten inside of me and been a friend of sorts, instead of just a hobby. The players feel/felt that way too, and you could feel it in the book amongst the campers. I can't imagine coming to the point of your career, which is so much shorter than most, and realizing it's over.
i think, iirc...
going only from memory here, no cites.
The camp
One interesting thing I found out about the '84 guys was that most of them didn't care for Jim Frey, the manager that year. Dernier made a comment like, "The Jim Frey school of mananging, just let the best 8 guys go out there and play". During one of Moreland's stories, he mentioned he was playing for a manager he didn't really like. I asked Smitty if that was the general feeling from ALL or least most of the players and he said it was. He said, "The Preacher Man" (that's how Lee Smith refered to Frey) didn't have any people skills. He went on to say that Frey would say things in the paper about his players, which the players construed as "talking behind their backs". Interesting stuff.
Good stuff.....
A couple times...
Another story comes to mind. On Wednesday, our 2nd game was cancelled due to rain and because the grounds crew was still working on some of the fields early Thursday, the start time for my game was pushed back a little. I took that time to hang out in the locker room where Ernie Banks was most of the time. My mom asked me to relay a story of hers to him from 1967 when she was four months pregnant with me. She apparently chased him around Wrigley before a game trying to get an autograph. She didn't succeed. Anyway, I told this story to Ernie and he says, "What's your mom's name?" I say, "Kathy." Ernie says, "Let's get your mom on the phone." My jaw dropped. I said hold on, Ernie, lemme get my phone. After I called my brother to make sure my mom was home, I dialed the phone for Mr.Banks and he took over. My mom answers the phone and he says, "Hi Kathy, this is Ernie Banks." He apologized for not hearing my mom's pleas for an autograph almost 40 years ago and proceeded to have a 10 minute conversation with her. That obviously made my mom's day.
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recommended FanPosts
Recent FanPosts
Cubs By The Numbers
Cubs By The Numbers is a history of the ballclub by uniform number, but the biographies help trace the history of our beloved team in a new way. For everyone who's a Cubs fan, anyone who ever wore the uniform is like family. Cubs By The Numbers reintroduces readers to some of their long-lost ancestors, even ones they think they already know.
Click here to order your copy, available now!
Recent Stories in Ticket Exchanges
Baseball Nation Recent Stories
In Association With
Big League Stew - MLB - Yahoo! Sports
- The Cardinals Hall of Fame can now be found at Bill Clinton’s library in Arkansas (Huh?)
- Will Bryce Harper start the season with the Nationals?
- Mitch Mustain puts football behind him, signs reported rookie deal with White Sox
- Robinson Cano and Denzel Washington face off in Jay Leno’s Yankees trivia contest
- Shane Victorino lands role on ‘Hawaii Five-0′
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
