Daegu Softball League 2012
Last year I detailed the progression of my third season in the Daegu Softball League:
http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/...softball+korea.
This year, things are different. Yours truly is the rookie captain in the league after one of the coaches bowed out in humiliation. In this dynasty, I will detail my trials, my tribulations, and my beer consumption in my first year as a captain in the DSL.
A review of the cast of characters, first the captains:
Lee (AKA “Babs”, AKA “The Badger”) – That’s me. I’m 34 years old, a bit overweight, but still damn good at softball. In a league where we have some guys who played college ball and some guys who sprinted in college, even the somewhat athletic but never at a high level guys like me have a chance to shine, too. Last year I played on the winning team, the Swingers, and won my second Gold Glove at 3B.
2012 Team: Honey Badgers. Internet meme or not, I am a big LSU fan, and Tyrann Mathieu became the true Honey Badger as a Heisman candidate. On my trip to Louisiana this past winter, I packed my old #7 LSU jersey (bought it when Trev Faulk was breathing fire for the Tigers) and a Honey Badgers pin, knowing I had a character and theme for my team. I think I might even start calling myself LB7.
Doug (AKA “Dougie”) – The defending champion captain and my captain the prior two seasons. Doug hails from Seattle, Washington, and is 34 like me. He has been one of my best friends in Korea, even though he roots for shitty teams like the Seattle Seahawks—I’ll root for them more now that they have my boy Matt Flynn—and the Seattle Mariners.
2012: The Swingers. Still green and will be toting the champions trophy around each game. Doug has more swagger now since he was the only one of the original captains without a championship.
Chris (AKA “Bolg” pronounced /bolge/) – Bolger is another of the original captains and has what I think is the dumbest team name in our entire league. Yet, he has been a champion (2010) in the league. This Canuck from Ontario thinks he knows a thing or two about softball.
2012 Team: The Bus Drivers return. Keeping their royal blue, the Bus Drivers are looking to return to their winning ways.
Bill (AKA “Wild Bill” AKA “The Belly Button”) – Another of my good friends in Korea and a former co-worker. Bill was the rookie captain last season who took his team to the brink, losing to the mighty Swingers in the championship game. He’s also the oldest captain.
2012 Team: Pitch Slappers. He dropped the “The” from his team name and changed from print to a logo look, but the South Florida grad hangs on to his Miami Dolphins love, choosing orange with a aqua print to ride out the 2012 season.
Jason (AKA “Jayo” AKA “Jaaaaaaaaayoooooo”) – Jayo has had the most success in Daegu softball history, claiming the league’s first three titles. However, his team missed the playoffs last year, giving the Philadelphia native some much-needed humility.
2012 Team: Hanamana. The only team named after a business, Jayo returns to his Phillies colors, sporting red shirts. He also is trying to return to winning. We’ll see.
Adam (AKA “Beattie” AKA “Beatle”) – One of the better player/captains in the group, the Beatle is usually right around the top with the best team in the regular season, but he has yet to claim a championship. Like Bolg, Beattie hails from Ontario.
2012 Team: The Master Batters. Like the Swingers and Pitch Slappers, the Master Batters maintain a long tradition of sexual innuendo in softball team names. Like usual, the Master Batters should be one of the top teams in the league thanks to their coach.
Scott (AKA “Scotty” AKA “Timp”) – Scott was another of the rookie coaches last season, and his team was really competitive. Hailing from Connecticut, Timp was trying to “bring back the Whalers” through Daegu Softball last season. This season he’s jumped on the sexual innuendo bandwagon…kind of. Timp is also one of the better captains in the season, manning shortstop for his team.
2012 Team: H.I.T. Positive. Yes sir. Political correctness is not a factor for these machismo dudes.
Corey (AKA “Big mothaf***er”) – Corey is large and in charge. He had last year’s Most Valuable Player, but his team did not go very far. This year he returns to his philosophy of getting guys who look good on paper.
2012 Team: Multiple Scoregasms. Same as last year, the third of our Ontario captains keeps his same name from last season.