Recent Happenings

Since the last Mechanicsburg Nine post on the 15th of June, a lot has happened. The Nine have played in three separate matches, participated in the 2nd Annual Gettysburg Vintage Base Ball Tournament, hosted a clinic at the National Civil War Museum in Harrisburg and were featured in a recent Patriot News insert celebrating 25 years of Harrisburg Senators baseball.

On the 18th of June, Mechanicsburg hosted the Philadelphia Athletics at our home field. The games were played on a beautiful sunny day and the matches were attended by a supportive and plentiful group of cranks. In addition to it being a good day - weather wise - it was also a good day for base ball, as the Mechanicsburg Nine left the grass a double winner by the scores of 14-3 and 8-3.

On June 25th, The Mechanicsburg Nine traveled to Westminster, MD to challenge The Elkton Eclipse in two '64 matches as part of the re-enactment of Corbit's Charge. This was the first set of, what will ultimately be, many between the two clubs. However, unlike the beautiful day just mentioned, the local Nine did not fair as well in the score book this day. It should have been taken as some sort of omen as, upon arrival, the the two clubs did not have a field to play upon. But, after some haggling with some local politicians and city folk, we eventually commandeered the field on the old high school grounds. Once the field was finally decided on, the Mechanicsburg Nine remained competitive until the later innings but eventually fell to a score of 15-6. In match two, the Nine never really found their bats and must have been a little lethargic following the delicious meal of fried chicken, slaw, rolls and cake as served by the generous folks of the nearby Corbit's Charge Encampment. Final tally of match two - Elkton 13 - Mechanicsburg 5.

On July 9th, Mechanicsburg traveled to Havertown, PA - outside of Philly - to challenge our friends the Philadelphia Athletics in a 1864 double-bill. The matches, hosted by the local historical society, were played on the grounds of the Lynnewood Elementary School. With a healthy number of cranks in attendance, the Athletics and Mechanicsburg played two enjoyable matches on a breezy, but noticeably warm, Saturday afternoon. After two well-played skirmishes, the Nine left the "Town of Haver" with two more victories under their belts.

On the following weekend - July 16 and 17th- The Mechanicsburg Nine were invited to participate in the 2nd Annual Gettysburg Vintage Base Ball Tournament. It should be noted the Nine were not originally scheduled to play as part of the main tournament happenings, but rather were scheduled to play only on Sunday - in the conciliation round. However, due to the extremely sad and untimely loss of their team captain, The Talbot Fairplays withdrew from the event and asked that the Mechanicsburg Nine to take their place. The Nine willingly and proudly accepted the offer. R.I.P Curly.

The Tourney was attended by nine teams from across the country. On Saturday, Mechanicsburg played the Saginaw Old Golds from Michigan and the Mudville Nine from Massachusetts. In game one vs. the Old Golds (who by the way were Michigan Sate Champ in 2009 and Ohio cup Champions in 2009) the Nine stuck with the boys from Saginaw for more than half of the match - even surprising the talented bunch enough to wake their bats and seal a well-earned victory. In the second match of the day, Mechanicsburg faced the jolly boys from the Massachusetts Mudville Nine. In similar fashion, Mechanicsburg held on for as long as they could, but could not answer several cloud hunters - one of which cleared all of the runners from each of their sacks.

On day two, Mechanicsburg played two additional matches. This time facing the Indiana Hilltoppers and The Ohio Buckeyes. Sunday turned out to be a better day in the win column for the The Nine as the local boys came home with two well-played victories. A hearty "huzaaah!" to all the of the teams that traveled great distances to participate and for helping to grow 19th C. Base Ball in Central PA.

Finally, on just this past Saturday - July 30- The Mechanicsburg Nine hosted a 19th C. Base Ball clinic on the grounds of the National Civil War Museum in Harrisburg, PA. We presented to a interested crowd of 25-30 folks. We talked about the history of Base Ball, base ball during the Civil War and about our squad and what we have been up to. We also ended with a little play time with some cloud hunters being struck to Bulldog, StringBean, Dave P. and a newly interested ballist - Andrew D.. Andrew and a young crank also took turns swinging the lumber. The clinic was well received by those in attendance. In fact, the President of the Harrisburg Senators Fan Club was on site and has requested that we speak at an upcoming Fan Club meeting.

Thanks for reading and look for more updates in the near future.

Huzaaaah!

Philly visits Mechanicsburg and 19th C. Base Ball Gets Some Press

The Philadelphia Athletics BBC will visit Mechanicsburg this Saturday, June 18 for a double header versus the Mechanicsburg Nine BBC. Match time will start at 12 p.m. and will be played under the rules and standards of 1864 base ball.

Folks from the Patriot News will be on hand for game one to gather some material for an article on Vintage/19th C. Base Ball that will be featured in the upcoming July 17th edition. The write up on the Mechanicsburg Nine and 19th C. Base Ball will be part of a piece celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Harrisburg Senators.

Game On Finally!

After a ridiculously rainy spring, the long awaited start of the season finally occurred two weekends ago for the Mechanicsburg Nine 19th C. Base Ball Club. The Nine - actually six (we were short players) traveled to Easton, MD for a double bill with the Talbot Fair Plays.

The Mechanicsburg "six" with the assistance of three able-bodied Talbot boys put forth a valiant effort in game one against the Talbots who had already ten games under their 2011 season belts. In fact, Mechanicsburg was in a commanding 5-3 lead after five. The lead was short-lived as Mechanicsburg tallied goose eggs for the rest of the day while the Talbots collected eight additional plate crossings to edge out the visitors. Final tally - Talbots 11 Mechaincsburg 5.

In match two, Mechaincsburg, with the help of three other Talbots, again put forth a strong early match effort. The Nine, minus three, again held an early lead only to lose it in later innings. At the end of the day, the Talbots edged out the visitors with a final tally of 18-13.

The Mechanicsburg Nine would like to thank the Talbot Fair Plays for a fine day of base ball and for sharing their able talent and providing Mechanicsburg with the staffing needed to field a full squad. The Talbots will visit Mechanicsburg in 2012 and The Nine looks forward to the opportunity to avenge their recent double loss.

Game Cancelled!

Due to the inclement weather, today's game will be cancelled. Check back for upcoming schedule and information on our next home game.

The Season has begun!

Come experience base ball from the 19th Century. The Mechanicsburg Nine will be hosting an afternoon of 1864 base ball this Saturday, April 16.

There will be a triple header featuring our own Mechanicsburg Nine,the Arundel Excelsiors and the Chesapeake Nine of Baltimore.

The first pitch is at 1:00 PM at West Shore E-Free Church on Williams Grove Road in Mechanicsburg.

Free Family Fun

Half of a Double

This past Saturday, July 31st, the Mechanicsburg Nine played their first home match against the Eurekas of Bohemia. The match was a follow up to the team's first meeting where the Eurekas handed the Nine a double loss at the Bohemian home ground. However, this most recent meeting found the Nine splitting a the double header in front of a spirited batch of cranks - bringing the Nine into the win column vs. the boys for Bohemia. Incidentally, the crank crowd easily numbered into the half century mark - an excellent turn out for any vintage club!
To be noted later, the crowd included a local ball fan with a passion for our pastime where she pens a blog detailing her support of the grand old game.

In the first match, the local Nine played a solid match from start to end. Mechanicsburg tallied fourteen total aces against Bohemia's ten. A high-point as this may have been, it was met squarely with a double dose of disappointment. The father-son duo of Grumpy and Spuds Heinick were stricken with day ending injuries. Spuds fell to a 1st inning incident that found the big man writhing in pain after stretching for a throw from the left of the infield - only to feel his knee "pop" and his day end. He did continue on in support of the Nine by graciously manning the score book- Huzahhh. The second Heineck fell shortly thereafter - as the elder Heinick left the first bag in stride for the second one of his legs failed him mid way to the second sack. Grump fell face first into dry base path followed by a hush of silence. To this writer, it looked as though old Grumps and fallen faint and taken an unplanned snooze mid-stride. Or, maybe a baseball spirit from days gone by had snuck up behind him and colcocked him with a invisible piece of ash. Either way, Grumpy, found his way to the bench for the second Heinick loss of the day.


Following the lead of the younger Heineck, the elder stayed on, stepped up and played the role of
arbitor while the Nine swung the lumber. Huzaaaah again. A hearty Huzaaah also goes out to Pip Walsh for filling in and covering the right pasture in a fine manner.

In game two, the Nine management went to the cranks for some needed assistance in fielding a full squad. Already down two Heinicks, the Nine was forced to say farewell, for the remainder of the day, to Lefty Garrido. Lefty had a prior engagement in upstate NY that he could not talk Misses Lefty into missing. Apparently an afternoon wedding ceremony takes precedence over base ball. A hearty round of thanks to Misses Lefty for Lefty's presence in game one.

With Lefty gone, management found an able-bodied participant in the form of Dan Briner (immediately dubbed "Rook"). Donning the injured Spuds cap and uniform top, Rook quickly found himself in the center pasture. Rook made his first bare-handed catch in the second frame but, soon found that not all fly balls are created equal and muffed the next. But, it should be noted that Rook stood fast and manned his position with gusto. He has been welcomed back to join the Nine anytime.

Finally, the Nine had to dip into the well of crank talent one final time as Express Pendergist left the field in order to partake in the fruits of a melodius gathering in the city of Brotherly Love. Prior to his musically infused departure, Express was positioned behind the dish as the day's catcher. His replacement came in the form of another local crank - named Miller (first name unknown). Miller had wandered over from a near by neighborhood to partake in the days festivities - not knowing he would soon be acting as a substitute catcher for a bunch of 19th Century ballists. It was quickly evident that Miller was more than able to fill in for Express for the remainder of the second match - even barefoot. The final tally for the second match did not end up in the Nine's favor. The Nine found themselves down by one in the last frame but ended up on the bottom side of an 11 to 8 loss.

All in all - the Mechanicsburg Nine, the Eurekas and the bounty of cranks enjoyed the full day of base ball and look forward to the next outing.

Thanks to Smokey Walsh for continually carting and storing supplies. Thanks to Ray Shutta Shaw (from the Newtown Sandy Hooks vintage ball Club in CT) for his continued support and behind the scenes efforts in helping to get the Nine off the ground. And a final Huzaah to Beth Pendergist for her efforts in outfitting the Nine. The Nine will be back to this digital outlet with an update on future scheduled matches. Also, one final Huzaaah for Ed and Molly Hans of Han's Frozen Yogurt for the post match treat. You have many of the Nine and their families hooked already.

Finally, as noted above, visit www.baseballhasmarkedthetime.blogspot.com to read about one of the local cranks take on the day. Huzaaaaah!

The Mechanisburg Nine will host the Eureka Base Ball Club of Bohemia, MD today, Saturday, July 31st at 12 noon behind the West Shore Evangelical Free Church on Williams Grove Road, Mechanicsburg.

The double match will prove to be a tough one for the local nine as Mechanicsburg dropped a twin dip to the boys from Maryland on a sweltering July day two weeks ago. The Eurekas hit hard and ran harder as they stole a base as quickly as they were able to get to one. Despite the short porch in right (and the herd of heifers waiting for a lost fielder to wonder into their pasture) and the endless yard in left, Mechaincsburg was never able to gain a foothold and bring home a victory.

The local nine hope to change their fortunes today and show any visiting cranks that the new venture into the 19th century will be one of success.