{"id":19294,"date":"2012-12-24T16:43:49","date_gmt":"2012-12-25T00:43:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/?p=19294"},"modified":"2012-12-31T10:56:08","modified_gmt":"2012-12-31T18:56:08","slug":"passing-of-ted-jensen-service-on-dec-28-2012-at-1pm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/?p=19294","title":{"rendered":"Passing of Ted Jensen, Funeral Service on Dec 28, 2012 at 1pm at San Diego, CA"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Ted Jensen<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I was saddened to learn this morning of the passing of Ted Jensen, former manager of the Phase Alloy Miners, in San Diego during the 1980’s. <\/p>\n

The funeral service will be held:<\/p>\n

\nFriday, December 28, 2012
\n1:00 p.m.
\nChurch of Jesus Christ of LDS
\n1444 Lake Drive, Cardiff By Sea, CA<\/a>(near Ted’s home in Encintas, CA, about 30 minutes north of San Diego)
\n(760) 753-3912 \u00b7 lds.org
\nclick link for map.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Funeral service for Ted Jensen, Friday, December 28, 2012<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Ted’s squads were one of the powerhouses ASA Class “A” teams in California, getting his team to the 1982 ASA Nationals in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Ted’s Miner squads competed in the Pacific Coast League, one of the premier class A leagues in the country, in an era where teams had an annual dog-fight for a lone ASA “A” nationals berth, and the ASA “A” Nationals regularly hosted 48 top caliber “A” teams.<\/p>\n

I had the privilege of playing for Ted in 1981 and 1982 on those Miner teams, where I learned as much about the game as I did from any person I have ever known, and came to love him, as did all of his players. Some say he resembled comedian Dom DeLuise, both in appearance, and lovable humor and sharp wit. <\/p>\n

Playing for Ted was my introduction to highly competitive travel ball, when I was a youngster of 25. The Miners had won the PCL title in 1980, with a 23-5 record the previous year, and I was invited to join the team when my own squad shuttered operations. My first season playing for Ted was the year I took my bar exam, and Ted went out of his way to balance my pitching and time for my studies. I recall Ted yelling encouragement to me when pitching that summer, telling me to “throw the book at them, Flim Flan”. <\/p>\n

Ted’s teams were known for their large rosters, including pitching staffs of 4 or 5 pitchers, and enough extra position players to warm them all up at the same time…with some to spare. He quickly acquired the nickname “Captain Hook” for his frequent pitching changes. One of Ted’s favorites was Adrian “A.D.” Downs. A.D. was deep into a no-hit bid one afternoon, surrendering his first hit in the 6th inning. He turned with a smile to the dugout, offering the ball to Ted. Without missing a beat, Ted turned to the bench with a wicken grin and said “You guys get loose”. Five pitchers and five bullpen catchers sprang into action.<\/p>\n

Ted also pioneered a “small ball” offense with lefty-laden lineups full of slap hitters. More than once, Ted’s lineup cards were stocked with left handed hitters, 1 through 9. His philosophy was to work to manufacture runs. Opposing pitchers would face an onslaught…bounce, bounce, slap, slap, line drive; next thing you knew, you’re down 4-0 and still looking for that first out. Former Long Beach Nitehawk Terry Canale got his start as a leadoff slap hitter for Ted. Pan-Am-USA team member Ron Wood was a 19 year old starter, while the likes of Mark Grogg and Joe Dottore the more senior members of a seemingling endless line of slappers. <\/p>\n

Ted was always the center of activity, and good natured joking in the dugout. You didn’t want to wander far, lest you miss his seemingly endless string of one-liners, delivered with two things he possessed in great supply: love and wit. No one escaped, certainly not me. Nor did you want to. It was a badge of Ted’s affection, shared by those who had the good fortune to play for him.<\/p>\n

Even after the teams run in the sun ended, the team reprised for some tournaments, dubbing the squad “Phased Out”. Few if any missed the opportunity to reprise the good times shared playing for Ted Jensen. The dugout was once again a full house – even with 9 men on the field.<\/p>\n

Somewhere in heaven right now, Ted is making a list of the available pitchers, and nudging them to “go get loose”.<\/p>\n

Ted, we miss you already.<\/p>\n

Editor’s note: Players with photos of team or Ted are invited to send to me, jim [at] fastpitchwest.com<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I was saddened to learn this morning of the passing of Ted Jensen, former manager of the Phase Alloy Miners, in San Diego during the 1980’s. The funeral service will be held: Friday, December 28, 2012 1:00 p.m. Church of Jesus Christ of LDS 1444 Lake Drive, Cardiff By Sea, CA(near Ted’s home in Encintas, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19317,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-19294","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-people","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19294","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19294"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19294\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19319,"href":"https:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19294\/revisions\/19319"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/19317"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19294"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19294"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19294"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}