Life In The Minors
AS I wrote in last week's journal, pennant fever is in full effect with the Dubois County Dragons. Knowing that we were just a win or two away from clinching the Frontier League West Division title for about a week or so made us feel like the rabbit chasing the carrot tied to a stick just beyond its reach in the Looney Toons short. Dragons come full circle
by winning Frontier League
West Division championshipIt felt like we were chasing a goal that would never be achieved. For 38 of the last 41 games of the season, we had either led the division or had been tied for the lead. The title was ours for the taking. We just had to get our act straight. But nagging injuries forced us to sit a few of our key guys much too often, and even though our play had been steady, it wasn't spectacular as we inched toward the end of the season.
So there we were, needing a couple of wins on the road at Springfield, and a loss by the pesky River City Rascals, who just never seemed to go away, always lurking in our rear view mirror.
But eventually, we got it. Moments after we topped the Capitals in the series finale, we learned from our radio announcer that the Rascals had been defeated, giving us the divisional crown.
As our manager stepped into our visitor's clubhouse and announced that we had won the division, the shouting, screaming and elation of the 30 or so team personnel in the clubhouse got pretty crazy. Guys were hugging, high-fiving and, of course, smiling.
The four players who were carryovers from last season's Dragons club were unusually silent. Last season, the Dragons had been the butt of many a joke in Frontier League circles. Besides having the worst attendance in the league, the Dragons were hit hard by scandal in 2000.
The general manager got the ax early in the year, after he had been charged with driving under the influence. The first of their three field managers was fired when he had an affair with a married woman. The guy who finished the year penciling in the lineup every day was also the team's first baseman.
Basically it was a mess, professional baseball at its worst.
So when Greg Tagert, the only Frontier League manager to make four consecutive playoff appearances, was hired to steer the ship this season, expectations were high. He was looked to as the savior for one of the smallest markets in professional sports. Another loser would pretty much cost the sleepy town of Huntingburg, Ind., its minor league ball club.
Having played at Hawaii-Hilo, one of the smallest Division I baseball programs in the country, I could relate to the struggle a bit. The post-game victory handshakes were sometimes few and far between for the Vulcans. Although we were often physically overmatched, we pulled off the occasional major upset.
Coach Joey Estrella, and his assistants -- Richard Desa, Kal Miyataki, and Lyle Tamaribuchi -- taught us the importance of character and perseverance, and were tireless in their efforts to make us better ball players and better people.
Although I did play on a division winner with the Evansville Otters two years ago, winning as a coach this year was a bit different. It was new.
So it should have been no wonder when the four old Dragons and their pitching coach slumped silently into their lockers with sly grins as the rest of the team loudly celebrated and jumped around the clubhouse.
We had come full circle.
Brendan Sagara, a former University of Hawaii-Hilo pitcher,
is in his first season as a pitching coach for the
Dubois County (Ind.) Dragons