Around the horn at the Class A championship
By Bob Otto / Yucaipa, CA


[Lancaster, CA] - For a national championship, where were the teams? Seven teams? Three from southern California? Knock, knock, where were the rest of you? Could the impact of the ISC II, NAFA, and the bushels of teams "playing down" in the ASA Class B and C championships, have left the ASA Class A field woefully under-represented? And if it hadn't been for the three California teams, is it not safe to say that the tournament faced serious
consequences of being cancelled?

The only California team north of Santa Barbara was the Savala Painters, a Masters team from Stockton (Calif.) Knock, knock northern Cal, where were you? Has the "A" game become that sparse in California (and throughout the U.S.) that few "A" teams exist?

And where was Washington? New Mexico? Arizona? Utah? Colorado...? With such a limited field and close traveling distance, why not enter and take your
best shot?

Rating the Class A national: Big8Softball complex: A+; tournament efficiency and operation: A; grounds crew: A; fan attendance: F (I counted about 15 at the championship game.) Media cooperation (media packet with team rosters and furnishing printouts of game results): C-; food selection and prices, too few and too high: D. Official tournament photographer and photos of
games: None! F.

As much as I like having the tournament in southern California (a two-hour drive to Lancaster for me), it doesn't belong here. No fan support, no interest. Get it back in the Midwest where it's centralized and less costly for teams to travel. Let's face it, most of the Class A to Open teams are in the Midwest and East. Yes, the Lancaster tournament committee did a fine job, but if attendance is nil and travel costs prohibitive, we say good luck
to the "A" in locals such as Eau Claire, Fargo, Minot, Sioux Falls, or Hutchinson.

You don't have to worry about Frank Keating, Sr. stopping you on the roadways of Pennsylvania anymore. The 31-year state trooper retired and purchased a fitness center - thus Keating's Fitness Center. "I've been a sponsor since 1997," said Keating. "I took over the fitness center when I retired and played (fastpitch) since I was 15  (46 years in the sport) and love the game, it's a fantastic game."

Keating brought his three boys into the game at a young age and Frank, Jr. and Michael played prominent roles in Keating's runner-up spot. "When the boys were 12 or 13, I had them pinch run for my team," said Keating. "Everyone says it's (fastpitch) dying out and trying to figure out how to keep it going."

Bet you've never heard this one: When asked how he felt before the start of the "if necessary" game, Dave Stokes uncorked a new one on me: "I'm as loose as a 40-year-old hay baler," said Stokes, 34, just prior to marching out to the circle.

Most old timers will recall that the Mishawaka and Elkhart, Indiana area (near South Bend, just below the Michigan border) was once a hotbed of men's fastpitch, but had started dying out, said Duncan Bullets' pitcher Ron Banush. "We didn't have a league in Elkhart for 10 years, but started one up with four teams," he said. "It's starting to come back." Banush, 38, was named a Second Team ASA All-American. Although the Bullets lost 7-0 to Keating's in the loser bracket final, Banush said that in their last
encounter at the 2003 ISC II, they came out on top, 2-1. Banush said that lefty Darrell Bender retired. One of my favorites to watch pitch. Not fast, but crafty, and hit his spots.

If you're on the opposing side and don't know him, you might think he's loud, obnoxious and irritating, but if you're his teammate or a pitcher locked in a tough battle, you want McKie catcher, Mike Cutro on your side. I don't know what he said when he had a little "discussion" with Rod Bunge in the first inning in the middle of Keating's three-run first inning barrage, but it worked. Bunge settled down, and threw a great championship game over the final six innings. There is no doubt whether between the chalk lines, behind the plate, from the third base coaching box, or on the bench, Cutro is in charge. And when his team got behind early, grew quiet and looked ready to get flattened he was in there face with his "We are going to win this!" vocal assault. How can you not give it your all for a guy like that?

I searched the local Palmdale / Lancaster newspaper and didn't find any tournament reporting. Did anyone call in the scores? I didn't spot a reporter or photographer Friday, or at the championship game, Sunday. Did anyone call requesting coverage? I know it's tough to get a large daily's attention, but perhaps requesting the help from the mayor or an influential community figure head, may have stirred up some journalistic action. There is no excuse for the championship game going unreported. Especially when local folks are busting their behinds to host the event.

I looked in my road atlas: Wilkes-Barre, PA, (south of Scranton) population about 48,000. Oswego, New York, (on Lake Ontario, north of Syracuse) about 19,000. Elkhart, Indiana, (near South Bend, host of the 2004 ASA Major) 44,000. I like looking at maps to see where teams come from. That's all.  McKie and Keating's secured eight of the 15 First Team All American slots.
To check out the All American first and second teams, log on to:
www.asasoftball.com/tournaments/getNcAwards.asp?tid=1118

Bob Otto
botto3@verizon.net