Reminiscing on the 2007 Cyclones Charity Game

May 10, 2008   ·   Patrick Hickey, Jr.   ·   Jump to comments

I got an e-mail a few days ago from the Cyclones stating that they will indeed have another 24-hour long charity game. If last year’s game [or games] were any indication, it’ll be another great time.

I still remember talking to all the writers last year and hearing about how they were preparing was great. I myself was going to batting cages and throwing the ball around with my girlfriend, who used to play a ton of competitive softball on Staten Island and can hit and throw better than most of the men I know. Plus, she’s a million times cuter than anyone I’ve ever played with. Nevertheless, despite playing pretty much everyday throughout my childhood and playing in High School I was a bit worried. I’ve put on some weight after High School, due to a serious car accident I was in and didn’t know if I could still do what I used to. After a month of preparing, my girlfriend too wasn’t too confident either.

Nonetheless, once the game started, I felt invigorated and had a blast. The guys from the Cyclones staff are great people to talk to and they were a lot of fun to play against. Sure, there were a few moments where the game got a little out of hand, such as when former Brooklyn Paper’s intern Nick Pauly was throwing what had to be 75 mph fastballs to the women on the team [I know, I was playing catcher], which of course resulted in a few unfriendly words being thrown out, but overall, it was still great fun.

Aside from that though, there were so many entertaining things that happened during the game that made it really enjoyable. Watching photographer Pete Borriello, who’s not an athlete by any means, bit the bullet and play a great third base was amazing. Seeing Brooklyn Papers columnist Ed Shakespeare behind the bench was pretty cool too. Like I said, it was like all us nerds got a moment to understand why we love our jobs and for that I’ll always be thankful to the Clones for putting the event together.

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In the end, people got the help they needed via our donations and yours truly went 2 for 2 with two doubles and a walk [Enjoy the video by the way of my first double]. I also made a few good plays on defense and felt like a kid again. Calling a game is something I used to love to do when I was younger and I can tell you that hitting is something that I’ve always been good at. Hitting a few one-hoppers to the wall was definitely a great moment that I will remember the rest of my life.

I hope this season the media gets another shot out there.

By the way guys, the interview with Brant Rustich went great, as we spoke on the phone while he was on his way to Savannah, where he was just assigned. The article should be up during the week.