Ryan Posted March 3, 2011 Posted March 3, 2011 The highlight of the week was the baseball afternoon on Saturday. Rob Fox organised a team of international retailers (padded out with a couple of exhausted micks), caps and shirts for both teams, four trophies, a herf edition Stinky ashtray for the winners (already engraved with the winners names, you could say we didn’t have great expectations, we were already drinking out of one of the loser’s cups on the previous Sunday night) and 3 regular stinkies as the loser’s trophies. Hamlet organised the field, the stadium at Guanabacoa, and the other rollers. Armando, Jose Candia and Hamlet’s son pitched for us, one of the few rules was that someone who had played before had to pitch, which is fair enough, though I don’t think any of us were in any state to throw the ball hard enough to do any damage. On the way, Lawrence and Johnny of Sautters emptied the Mercadito on La Rampa of every Bucanero and bottle of water. At the bottom of the fifth inning, the Cubans were sweating more than us, only because they were pouring more beer into them than us. I played left field, luckily didn’t see too much action. Got a couple of hits at bat but not to first base. Rob got an inside-the-park home-run (with possibly a little help from the opposition) and the crowd went wild, it was like Ireland had just beaten England at cricket or something Ajay was probably the best non-Cuban catcher on our team. Lawrence hit a ball out and Bogusha got to first base. Stuart’s sliding finish to the plate was impressive but the ball had already arrived before he started. Hamlet was quite impressed that we stayed upright for so long. Final score was 22-6 to the Cubans (with a couple of Canadian ringers), though it was closer than that score reflects.. That’s with the Cubans batting left-handed for most of it and having very slippery mitts out in the field. No chance of keeping any of the shirts or caps as souvenirs as you’ll see. It would be easy for me to say that it was about giving something back and all that rubbish, but it wasn’t that at all. It was a fun day out and about getting to know people a bit better. There was a point raised during one of the factory tours, while watching all the festival goers mope around, that it’s easy to forget that all of these people working in them have names, and that’s the point. Congratulations and many thanks to Rob for pulling off a great day and everybody else for making it out, it couldn’t have gone any better. Looking forward to Cuban Cigar Bowl II. I don’t have many pictures of the action as I was “playing” but I know that I was not the only FOH member there with a camera. Which Behike is bigger.. Yay! We Lost!
JohnnyC Posted March 3, 2011 Posted March 3, 2011 Thanks for sharing Ryan. It looked like a great time for all...I only wish I could have been there Also I know it is a little premature but Happy St Patricks Day
ckearns Posted March 3, 2011 Posted March 3, 2011 Looks like you guys had a really great time. I'd like to make it down for one of these one day.
SoCalSmoker Posted March 4, 2011 Posted March 4, 2011 Ryan, thanks for the pictures and story. What a wonderful day.
First Lady Posted March 4, 2011 Posted March 4, 2011 You guys did a great thing I am sure you would have lost by more if Rob was playing for you LOLOL
Habanakane21 Posted March 4, 2011 Posted March 4, 2011 Absolutely incredible. Fantastic photos! Must have been great experience...
CanuckSARTech Posted March 4, 2011 Posted March 4, 2011 LOL, very cool. Kudos to Rob Fox for doing that then - well done to all! (....wish I was there for it.... )
thechenman Posted March 4, 2011 Posted March 4, 2011 Very cool, thanks for sharing the experience and the play by play.
Ryan Posted March 7, 2011 Author Posted March 7, 2011 Some videos have gone up on Youtube, some are quite funny. It's not cricket Ajay, you can't run on a foul ball. Interesting commentary, not a clue what's going on. Punch Joe pitching to Hamlet, I think it started going downhill around here.
Nino Posted March 7, 2011 Posted March 7, 2011 Happy to help out with some of my pictures, Andy. Great day and great fun. Nino
Ryan Posted March 7, 2011 Author Posted March 7, 2011 Great pictures Nino! Thank you very much for that. In your last one, it actually looks like we're doing something in an organised fashion! How the camera can lie. Thanks again.
thechenman Posted March 7, 2011 Posted March 7, 2011 Great additions Nino. I'm still perplexed as to why it is called a Bowl though.
CanuckSARTech Posted March 8, 2011 Posted March 8, 2011 Great pictures, Nino, and awesome videos, Ryan. I had a bit of a laugh at the first vid. I play some league slo-pitch, and I'm a big guy who likes to step in as a hitter. I too have been cat-called off the field after trotting half-way along to first base, still holding the bat in my hand, as I get distracted and get caught watching the ball.
El Presidente Posted March 8, 2011 Posted March 8, 2011 Punch Joe pitching to Hamlet, I think it started going downhill around here. The "Fix" was in
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