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May 25 |
Field 9 |
Mashdown |
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June 1 |
Field 6 |
Base Pairs |
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June 8 |
Field 6 |
Tubers |
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June 15 |
Field 6 |
CCR |
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June 22 |
Field 5 |
Barrel of Monkeys |
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June 29 |
Field 6 |
Mashdown |
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July 13 |
Field 9 |
Base Pairs |
W 10-8 (9 innings) |
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July 20 |
Field 5 |
Tubers |
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July 27 |
Field 5 |
CCR |
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August 4 |
Field 9 |
Barrel of Monkeys |
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August 10 (playoff) |
Field 5 |
Bibliotechs |
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August 11 (semifinal) |
Field 9 |
Tubers |
1999 Roster/Stats | 1998 Games | 1997 Games | 1996 Games | 1995 Games || Clippers
On a brisk spring evening, the Clippers reunited with veteran teammates, welcomed this season's crop of rookies, ran like gazelles, fielded like vacuum cleaners, blew a four-run lead, lost the game, and still looked like troupers.
Newcomers Carolyn, Eric and Garrick infused the team with some new energy, and right off the bat the Clippers scored three runs on singles and aggressive base-running by Robert, Neal, Barry and Zeke.
After an RBI double by Nelson in the third inning, the top of the order struck in the third with doubles by Will and Neal and singles by Robert and Todd, and a sacrifice fly by Barry.
But Mashdown started to find their zone in the fourth, as their offense awakened with five runs, and their defense held the Clippers to just two more runs through the last four innings (doubles by Robert and Barry, singles by Zeke and Dan).
Frank and Alice gave stellar pitching performances, but when the game was over, the Clipper chant was, "Mashdown, Mashdown, you made us crash down!"
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Clippers |
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Mashdown |
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Mashdown 12, Clippers 9
A pair of big innings by the other team and a seventh-inning rally that fell short by two pairs of runs made the difference as the Clippers dropped their second game of the season.
The Base Pairs started off strong with four runs in the first, but the Clippers responded with two in the bottom of the inning and scratched back with another run on three singles in the third to pull within a run. The defense also contributed with a double play in the top of the third, when a Base Pair lined out to pitcher Frank, who then tossed to third to complete a double play.
But then the visiting team exploded for seven runs in the fourth, aided by two towering home runs, and never looked back. The Cliipers came back with three runs in the bottom of the fourth (including one where Garrick challenged the fielder's arm and scored just ahead of the tag) and two more in the fifth, making the score 11-8. The Base Pairs, however, responded with two more runs each in the sixth and seventh. The never-say-die Clippers staged a rally in the seventh with four runs, but it wasn't enough. They were consoled by the news that there'll be a new Clipper for the 2017 season or thereabouts, as Zeke is going to be a dad.
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Base Pairs |
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Clippers |
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Base Pairs 15, Clippers 12
On a hot and windy day, the Clippers held their own for four innings against an attitudinous Tuber squad but were done in by an outburst of runs and an obnoxious soccer team that kicked the softballers off the field after the sixth inning.
It looked grim at the start as the Tubers put up six runs in the bottom of the first, but the Clippers roared back with six of their own in the second. They held the Tubers scoreless in the bottom of the inning, courtesy of three fly-ball outs (two caught by Todd and one by Barry in left). The Clippers went ahead in the third with four runs (inlcuding one scored by Alice despite falling down between third base and home, thus distracting the other team), but the testosterone-laden Tubers added four more in their half of the inning.
It was a one-run game after four (13-12 in favor of the Tubers). However, the Clippers came up empty in the fifth while the Tubers put a seven-spot on the board. Frank struck out the last batter of the inning, but the damage was done. They scored another three runs in the sixth (notwithstanding a sliding catch in center by Neal) and the Clippers were held scoreless after the fourth. The Tubers were sharp in the field as well as at the plate; all but one of the 19 Clipper hits were singles (Frank had a double in the third).
They were denied their last at-bat in the seventh by a soccer team that belligerently bulled their way onto the field, yelling at our mild-mannered ump and dragging their goal into shallow right field at precisely 7:01pm. Though outcome of the game wasn't in much doubt, the phrase "Soccer sucks!" nevertheless worked its way into the Clippers game-ending cheer.
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Clippers |
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Tubers |
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Tubers 23, Clippers 12
The Clippers finally put a number in the W column for 1999 by beating an affable CCR team with solid hitting and pitching performances.
Although CCR opened the game with four runs in the fourth, the Clippers settled down defensively while scoring runs in every inning of the game. Two of the hits came from Philip, lent to us by CCR at the start of the game when only eight Clippers were present. In offensive highlights, Lisa had two singles and Frank -- who had a grand slam in the fourth ("your first of the decade," commented Dan) -- was just a double short of hitting for the cycle. Zeke and Garrick (5-for-5) also had homers. Even a hard-throwing but wild relief pitcher inserted by CCR in the fifth oinly temporarily slowed the Clipper attack.
The defense sparkled as well, exemplified by a scoreless top of the third, when the Clippers turned a 4-3 double play and Dan snagged a line smash at third. The consensus: a highly satisfactory evening against a worthy opponent, as reflected in the cheer "CCR, CCR, you're the coolest team by far!"
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CCR |
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Clippers |
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Clippers 17, CCR 9
June 22 versus Barrel of Monkeys
Playing another amiable opponent, the Clippers finally went on a power surge with, with a grand slam by Garrick as well as a pair of triples and four doubles by his teammates on their way to a 14-9 win over Barrel of Monkeys.
The team alternated big innings, scoring three in the first, five in the second and four in the fifth (though there were also single runs in the fourth and sixth innings). Lisa had a breakout perfect day at the plate, hitting three singles in as many trips to raise her average to .571 (just over the team average of .569). She also had a big day in the field, tagging out a runner at home for the final out of the third inning.
Other Clippers flashed some pretty good leather of their own. Though they put the ball in play, the Monkeys were held scoreless in the first as Clipper fielders recorded two forceouts at second, while a throw from Eric in right to Dan at third caught another runner tryting to stretch a double. Another Monkey tried to stretch a single in the second but was nailed by a throw by Neal. Meanwhile, Garrick racked up five RBIs, aided by his third-inning "grand salami." Another fun evening, capped by insightful post-game analysis in the Walker "conference room."
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Barrel of Monkeys |
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Clippers |
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Clippers 14, Barrel of Monkeys 9
The Clippers won-loss record reached the .500 mark for the first time this season in an exciting game against a well-matched opponent -- a game that may have featured the team's best-ever quality of play.
After the first two batters flied out to center, the Clippers roared onto the board with a trademark two-out rally, notching eight runs in the top of the first. Nelson set the tone with a solo home run, charging through the third-base coach'es stop sign and beating the throw home. He hit another homer in the second when he rounded third base, stopped halfway, drew an errant throw back to third and scored on the miscue (which of course doesn't count in this league).
After the top of the second, it was 8-5 Clippers. In the home half of the second, they recorded a run on Nelson's homer and had two runners aboard on walks in what was shaping up to be another big inning, but Mashdown snuffed all hope with a beautifully executed triple play -- the first ever seen by the Clippers. Garrick hit a grounder to the shortstop, who stepped on second to force Dan and threw to first to nail Garrick. The first baseman then threw home, where the catcher tagged Zeke trying to score from second.
Defensively, the Clippers shone. They got a slight case of the "dropsies" in the thiurd, but all was forgotten after the fifth, when first baseman Will caought a foul pop fly and short-center fielder Eric Cook recorded the other two outs on amazing catches -- the second one after a collision with right fielder Eric Lindblad, though both emerged unscathed.
The score was knotted at nine after four innings of play. The Clippers held a tenuous one-run lead after five, but they shut down Mashdown in the sixth when pitcher Frank tossed a perfect inning in which catcher Alice never actually caught a ball. Frank threw exactly three pitches; each Mashdown batter swung at the first pitch and made an out (the last on a hard liner to shortstop Garrick)
About the only team error was our first failure to come up with a credible cheer for our opponents at game's end. But the players celebrated the stirring victory with a record turnout at the post-game analysis session.
…And a big hello to Deanna Creighton,* president of the Edmonton chapter of the Clippers fan club!
* (Eric Cook's wife)
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Mashdown |
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Clippers |
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Clippers 15, Mashdown 10
Five blimps, four light planes, three helicopters, two teams, and one winner.
With a cacophony of aeronautical craft hovering above their 7th game of the season, the Clippers forgot that maybe all the activity was in honor of that little game going on directly across the river. Instead, they assumed that all the hype and media scrutiny was for them, facing a team that had beaten them previously and who, if they won again, would send the Clippers back below the .500 mark.
Determined to show their best, and with Captain Alice on the DL, the Clippers turned in one of their finest performances ever to rally for a tie in the 7th inning and win it in extra innings, in the 9th.
Sharp defense defined a game which see-sawed back and forth. Garrick made some breath-stopping snags of line drives at 2nd base, Dan started a crucial 5-4-3 double play in the bottom of the 7th, and with a nasty setting sun bedeviling all the infielders, Will cooly grabbed a pop-up that others had lost, to nail down the second out in the bottom of the 9th.
Eric Cook and Zeke collided trying to reach a fly ball early in the game, with Eric bruising his back but gamely returning to contribute to the contest. Todd, back in the line-up after missing several games, made an astonishing catch in deep left field, back-pedaling furiously as he leaned his glove back over his head and hauled in what would have been a sure homerun.
Early offense included a triple by Neal, who was brought home with an sacrifice fly by Eric L., and in the 5th, an RBI single by Frank and a 2-RBI double by Neal.
The game reached a crescendo as the Clippers came to bat in the top of the 7th inning, down 7-4, facing a do-or-die situation. Garrick didn't hesitate as he led off the inning and smacked a homerun, sliding home ahead of the tag. One out later, Todd tripled, and then Dan singled him home, to make it 7-6. With two outs, Frank singled, and with Dan on second, Neal got his 3rd RBI of the game, a single which brought Dan charging around third base and sliding in home just ahead of the tag to tie the game and bring great joy to the Clipper bench.
The Clippers held the Base Pairs in the bottom of the seventh, thanks in large part to the Dan-Garrick-Will double play.
In the top of the eighth, after 2 outs, Clipper alumnus Ben hit a possible homerun, and none of the Clippers had the heart to hold him as he rounded third. The Base Pairs hosted a number of strong, accurate arms, and one of them sent the ball straight into the catcher's mitt, who then applied a tag to the sliding Ben.
The Base Pairs must've liked the look of the inning, because after recording two outs in the bottom of the eighth, one of their players launched a drive that might've won the game for them, but a quick throw to Zeke and a strong relay to Gretchen, heroically blocking the plate, cut down their sliding runner to preserve the 7-7 tie.
In the top of the ninth, with two outs, the Clippers finally broke through as game MVP Garrick launched a tremendous hit to center, and wisely held up at third base. Nelson quickly put the Clippers on top with an RBI single. Dan liked the idea of the triple, and duplicated it, plating Nelson. Zeke applied the finishing touch with an RBI single, and the Clippers led 10-7.
Defense, and Frank's stellar pitching (another complete-game win), then kicked in again in the bottom of the ninth and the Clippers went home happy with 10-8 win.
...The Clippers take special note of Clipper alumnus Chris Collingwood, who has reached the "majors" in New York City, appearing in a feature in the New York Times weekend section in honor of his band, Fountains of Wayne. Chris batted .571 for the Clippers in 1994, with a homerun and four RBIs in five games.
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Clippers |
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Base Pairs |
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Clippers 10, Base Pairs 8
The Clippers gave it their best shot against the excessivly macho (and entirely male) Tubers and almost pulled out a victory, but not quite.
They knew it would be a battle, and so it was, as the Tubers posted four runs in the first inning. However, the Clippers answered with thre ein their half of the inning and scored four runs each in the second and third, leading 11-9 after three. It was close the rest of the way; the Tubers regained the lead in the fourth and it was 16-14 after five.
At that point, time was marching on and the soccer-players threatened, so the ump ordered a speedup of play and possibe ending of the game after the sixth. In the top of that crucial inning, the Clippers held the Tubers scoreless for the only time in the game and had a chance to win going away in the bottom of the sixth. But they scored only one run, making it 16-15 Tubers, and the inning went so fast that both teams batted again in the seventh. In that final frame, the Tubers added an insurance run and the Clippers were blanked, making the final score 17-15.
The Clipper offense was highlighted by a three-for-three, four-RBI day by Nelson (single, double and three-run homer), plus doubles by Barry, Dan, Garrick and Frank and a triple by Zeke. The even more offensive Tubers, undefeated thus far, were already slotted for the top playoff spot, with a bye in the first round and another meeting in the second game, should the Clippers win their post-season opener on August 10.
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Tubers |
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Clippers |
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Tubers 17, Clippers 15
They may have won only one game all season, but CCR takes the trophy for grace and humor, even after absorbing a 24-run outburst by the victorious Clippers.
The tone for the game was set in the very first inning, as the Clippers notched eight runs against an amiable and plucky CCR squad. The inning featured five doubles, the last by Todd, who racked up five RBIs on the day. CCR went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the first on two catches by Garrick in short center and a catch by Barry running far toward the foul line in left. He also made an amazing catch to end the third. (Later, when a foul ball was hit to deep left that Barry couldn't snare, a CCR runner on first commented to his first-base coach, "I thought he was gonna catch that, 'cause that guy's nuts. He gets, like, the best jump on the ball.")
The next two and a half innings were a bit less chaotic, with only a single run (by CCR) crossing the plate in that span. CCR answered a Clipper two-spot in the fourth with three of their own in the bottom of the inning, but the Clippers broke it open for good in the sixth, sending 17 batters to the plate and scoring a whopping 13 runs. Four came on a grand slam by Garrick, who leads the team with five round-trippers this season.
The Clippers have always prided themselves on their creative game-end cheers for their opponents; today's was "CCR -- we like who you are." But they were completely outdone by the clever CCR team, whose offering went like this:
When I swim, I wear flippers.
When I sleep, I wear slippers.
When I dream, I beat the Clippers!
Three cheers!
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Clippers |
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CCR |
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Clippers 24, CCR 11
August 3 vs. Barrel of Monkeys
In their final regular-season game, the Clippers handily dispatched the Monkeys with plenty of offense and the usual excellent pitching from Frank.
They set the tone in the first inning with a four-spot, including a three-run blast from Zeke. But their biggest inning with the bats was the third, when the Clippers posted a season-high 10 runs and sent 14 batters to the plate. There were seven singles, plus doubles by Dan, Neal and Zeke (who had six RBIs for the day) and a home run by Nelson. Later, there were also homers by Garrick and Barry and another by Nelson. The seventh inning featured four straight hits in which the batters hit for the cycle -- a homer by Barry, a double by Eric Cook, a triple by Todd and a single by Lisa.
Defensive highlights included a diving, rolling catch by neal in center field in the fourth, a 1-2-3 bottom of the second, and the requisite minor injury for Eric from his intense full-body fielding (a leg scrape this time). In the middle of the seventh, Todd took a hasty team photo. Watch this space... Anyway, the Clippers were already assured of a post-season berth, and hoped that their offensive explosion boded good things for next week against an as-yet-unknown Pacific division team.
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Clippers |
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Barrel of Monkeys |
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Clippers 29, Barrel of Monkeys 11
The Clippers showed up for their first playoff game against an unknown opponent, and guess who it was? Our old friends fom the Kentucky Fried League, the Bibliotechs!
The game was an exciting pitchers' duel, played with crisp defense and manufactured runs. Frank delivered a stellar performance on the mound, consistently getting called strikes and tossing with a serious arc. Nonetheless, the Bibs plated three runs in the first on a couple of hard-hit balls to the outfield. But the Clippers later tied it up with two in the second and one in the third, while Frank held the opposing team scoreless four four innings.
In the fifth, the Clippers went ahead on an RBI single, scoring Alice, who had reached on a swinging bunt and took second on an interference call at first base. Her teammates added three more in the sixth with a walk, three straight singles and a fielder's choice on Lisa. Though the Bibs scored two in the bottom of the sixth, it wasn't enough, and the Clippers won their first-ever post-season game.
It was a pleasure to play such an evenly matched -- and friendly -- opponent, especially one who huddled to come up with an excellent cheer after the Clippers serenaded them with "Bibs, Bibs, we like your books; Bibs, Bibs, we like your looks!" The Bibliotechs responded with "Octopus don't have no flippers; nothing else will beat the Clippers!"
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Clippers |
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Bibliotechs |
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Clippers 7, Bibliotechs 5
In their second post-season game, the Clippers girded their loins to face their nemesis, the Tuber frat boys, who had won the division and gotten a bye for the first round. Alas, the best Clipper effort wasn't quite enough to pull out a victory, though the game was close and crisply played.
After blanking the Clippers in the top of the first, the Tubers put up a crooked number in their half (a three-spot). There undoubtedly would have been more runs, but third baseman Dan nailed a runner trying to stretch a single with a strong throw to Nelson at second, and the third out was recorded on a hotshot liner into the glove of Alice at first base (ooh, that smarts!).
The Clippers rallied for a run apiece in the second and third, and they got the Tubers 1-2-3 in the second, but the boys from Theta Delta Chi scored three in the bottom of the third and four in the fourth to make it 10-4. Our heroes answered with four of their own in the fifth, but that 10-8 score was the closest they got; the final tally was a respectable 13-9.
Our final cheer of the season: "Some are peanuts, some are goobers; we got beaten by the Tubers." The Clippers will have one more team meeting at next Wednesday's barbecue.
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Clippers |
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Tubers |
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Tubers 13, Clippers 9
