By Mark Schapiro
The 3rd annual Chabad/JA softball game has been deemed a rousing success. The weather was beautiful, the company was great, and the level of softball was—well suspect at best.
Chabad defended their title with a decisive 14-5 victory over the JA. Rabbi Mendy Teldon led the way with the big bat, sending shots over the centerfielder’s head on a consistent basis. Acrobatic plays and hard nose slides were the staple of Chabad 3rd baseman Levi “nails” Wisconsin. “Nails” it was later discovered is a product of the new Chabad minor league system. Perennial gold-glover Steve “hoover” Katz once again wowed the crowd with his stellar defensive play in leftfield.
The JA was led by the stellar play of---well no one in particular as the score would dictate. For JA, Larry might have been our MVP with 3 hits and some nice catches in rightfield. Lev gave a valiant effort in centerfield as did Dave “Jeter” Gordon at shortstop. JA tried to spark the team with a last second signing of free agent and last year’s reigning MVP (with the game winning hit) Andrew “big poppy” Glick. Ahh but to no avail, the Chabad was just too overpowering.
The bottom line however is that the 2 or 2 ½ hours spent on the field was a fun time. The old guys got to feel young again, and relive some old memories. Their wives made them feel good by cheering for them, and the children had fun watching their daddys play. The underlying theme of the day was not to see which one of us would have the furthest hit, the best catch, or pull the first hamstring—it was about being together with your family in a fun, caring environment of fellow school parents and congregation members.
Thanks go out to Chaya Teldon for once again organizing this successful event, and to Melissa for her BBQ expertise. Really, where else can you play in a softball game and have burgers and dogs delivered right to the dugout for player consumption? Looking forward to next year’s rematch.