Sacramento, CA (AP) - With a cast of reserves in a 1-0 win over the
Sacramento Knights, the Vero Beach Bums clinched the Picard Division
pennant on Monday. The outcome of Monday's game was in fact meaningless,
since the Binghamton Mets lost Monday at home to Duluth by a score of 7-3.
That score was posted on the scoreboard in the third inning, to the
delight of the Bums players on and off the field. The umpires called time
when the always-classy Sacramento fans offered a round of applause.
Manager Phil Garner exited the dugout and tipped his hat to the fans, and
the game resumed.
"Finally, we can celebrate a great season," said All-Star 2B Rex Hudler,
distributing cigars throughout the raucous visitors' locker room after the
game. The popping of champagne corks filled the air as the players
celebrated. "We did it! We did it!" yelled an exuberant Ismael Valdes,
21-year-old starting pitcher.
The Bums won the Picard crown with a combination of balanced hitting and
clutch pitching. Throughout the season, they were never unstoppable, but
they always found a way to win. "It's been my strategy all season, just
to keep plugging away and win every series," said Garner, drenched in
champagne. "We've met a lot of our goals so far -- and we've got more to
reach, but I couldn't be more proud of this team. Especially our pitching
staff. They really bore down and pitched great in the second half."
"This is a marvelous team, a great bunch of guys, and I'm glad we can go
to the playoffs and get some well-deserved recognition," said Vero owner
J. Lee Gohlke. "I'm most impressed with how well they handled injury and
adversity. A lot of teams, losing their star players, might collapse, but
these guys did not. They showed a lot of determination and kept winning
despite having practically a third of the team always injured."
In Monday's game, the Bums won on what was most likely Bill Goldsmith's
best pitching of the year. The 39-year-old hurler, filling Kevin Ritz's
spot, pitched brilliantly for seven scoreless innings against the hapless
Knights. He struck out seven and gave up just 2 walks and 5 hits. Mark
Guthrie and Trevor Hoffman finished the game perfectly, getting the hold
and the save.
Ramon Garcia also had an excellent outing for the Knights, pitching nearly
the entire game, striking out ten, giving up only 3 hits, and walking
none. His only mistakes came in the seventh inning, during which he gave
up the only run of the game on back-to-back doubles by Omar Vizquel and
rookie Joseph Idstein.
