As someone who is no stranger to shedding a tear or two in public, I can resonate with the news report out of Seattle last night, given to us by reporter Ryan Divish:
Scott Servais got choked up talking about the team's effort to come back and win the game after such an awful ninth inning.
— Ryan Divish (@RyanDivish) August 19, 2021
"I really love this team."
Tom Hanks, as the manager of the Rockford Peaches in A League of Their Own, famously uttered the phrase to Madonna, “There’s no crying in baseball!” This is an oft-used maxim on baseball diamonds across the United States, though if you look closely at any given level of baseball (for instance, you’ll see quite a bit of crying this weekend in the Little League World Series – the cameras love to capture 12 year olds crying on the baseball field) you’ll see people with tears streaming down their face.
The Gospel of Matthew records in chapter 4 Jesus stating it is blessed to mourn (often accompanied by tears), while John the Revelator described heaven as a place where there will be no more tears (Revelation 21:4).
However, in the Field of Dreams Ray Liotta, who plays a convincing Shoeless Joe Jackson, asks Kevin Costner if the cornfield baseball diamond is heaven, to which Costner replies, “No, it’s Iowa.” There are certainly tears in the movie (and I’ll admit, there were tears in my eyes as I watched it again last week), some of them induced by pain and others induced by happiness.
By all appearances, then, it seems as though tears are an acceptable form of emotion in baseball, one which our league should perhaps embrace. Indeed, we have been led admirably by the Head Cheese into what it means to lament our team’s performance, even if none of us have yet been able to shed a tear of joy over the resilience or tenacity of our teams.
Why not begin today?
EFL Standings for 2021
| EFL | ||||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB | RS | RA |
| Old Detroit Wolverines | 86 | 36 | .706 | — | 701.7 | 452.0 |
| Flint Hill Tornadoes | 79 | 43 | .646 | 7.4 | 649.9 | 482.2 |
| D.C. Balk | 77 | 44 | .635 | 8.9 | 692.7 | 525.3 |
| Peshastin Pears | 77 | 44 | .633 | 9.1 | 610.4 | 468.2 |
| Kaline Drive | 72 | 49 | .598 | 13.4 | 649.7 | 537.7 |
| Haviland Dragons | 69 | 52 | .571 | 16.6 | 631.9 | 563.9 |
| Cottage Cheese | 68 | 54 | .557 | 18.3 | 695.5 | 635.6 |
| Pittsburgh Alleghenys | 67 | 55 | .549 | 19.2 | 625.0 | 564.9 |
| Canberra Kangaroos | 65 | 56 | .537 | 20.8 | 616.9 | 587.9 |
| Bellingham Cascades | 64 | 58 | .528 | 21.8 | 532.8 | 503.0 |
| Portland Rosebuds | 57 | 64 | .468 | 29.1 | 643.5 | 688.4 |
Old Detroit: W, 10-4; 24PA, 10.4IP
| AVG: 0.400 | OBP: 0.500 | SLG: 0.650 | OPS: 1.150 |
| ERA: 5.09 | WHIP: 1.132 |
The Wolverines are in an enviable position which leads to mostly only happy tears, though perhaps not until after the season is finally over. Of course, last night’s pitching could induce a modicum of wet eyes, as Jameson Taillon and Mike Minor had almost identical lines – indeed, the innings pitched and runs allowed were identical (5.3ip and 3 earned runs each). But the sadness of those pitching lines (which Flint Hill would gladly accept!) was overcome through excellent hitting. Though only 5 batters appeared, all of them got at least one hit and all of them except JP Crawford had at least one double (and Tommy Edman had 2!). If you add in the 4 walks and only 2 strikeouts they had, you see there is much reason for Manager Mock to imitate Manager Servais. However, the Wolverines have even more reason to cry tears of joy today, since the closest team to them is now over 7 games back. Their final weeks will almost certainly be stress-free, a most certainly tear-free.
Flint Hill: L, 5-8; 20PA, no pitching
| AVG: 0.211 | OBP: 0.250 | SLG: 0.316 | OPS: 0.566 |
There have been many tears in Flint Hill this month. To start, almost our entire starting rotation has been on the IL: Carlos Rodon, Zach Eflin, Yu Darvish and Julio Urias are all currently on the IL and will be until at least early next week. The remaining healthy pitchers have been bad and the replacement pitchers have, surprisingly, been a little better than the healthy pitchers, which is not a good pathway to happy tears. On the offensive side, Mookie Betts, Alex Bregman and Anthony Rendon have been on the IL then entire month, meaning the offense has also been woeful. It has truly been a sad month in Tornado-land, and it will not be surprising if we are in 3rd or 4th place by the end of the month.
DC: W(1), L(-1), 3-(-3); 20PA, 6IP
| AVG: 0.389 | OBP: 0.450 | SLG: 0.722 | OPS: 1.172 |
| ERA: 4.50 | WHIP: 1.333 |
In my opinion there are good reasons for happy tears in DC. The first being that they moved ahead of the Pears into third place after yesterday’s results. This is, however, a tenuous position for them since their lead is only by .002 percentage points. But when you take a step back, DC has to feel good about how it acquired young, controllable talent at the deadline for its expiring contracts while also not losing any ground to the teams around them. That is the type of fight that made Scott Servais cry last night, and could potentially cause Manager Bohall to reach for the nearest tissue to wipe away his own liquid joy. One of those controllable pieces, Sean Murphy, hit a home run last night to help the Balk. Another pitches tonight (James Kaprielian) – who knows what joy awaits tomorrow?
Peshastin: W(1), L(-1), (-1)-(-2); 30PA, 1IP
| AVG: 0.214 | OBP: 0.267 | SLG: 0.429 | OPS: 0.695 |
| ERA: 0.00 | WHIP: 0.000 |
The Pears have had plenty to cry about this season. Significant injuries to star players Juan Soto and Max Fried were only part of the reason. For a while, the Pears looked as though they might be in the hunt for their first ever EFL championship. Alas, it appears they will only be able to muster enough gumption for a fight for second place with the Tornadoes and the Balk. The Pears are champions in the competition to have a name that could be used as a rhyming device in a poem about tears (get on that, Dave), but I suppose that is only a small consolation and not enough to induce tears of joy. Mitch Haniger, a member of the Mariners whom Phil supports, had a good night – even making his own manager cry – going 2 for 5 with a home run.
Kaline: L, 2-8; 44Pa, no pitching
| AVG: 0.238 | OBP: 0.256 | SLG: 0.381 | OPS: 0.637 |
Tom has always struck me as a sensitive soul, and therefore I can imagine that he, like Scott Servais, would find plenty to be emotional about in regard to his team. Yet, he also has stated his contentedness to be right in the middle of the pack, which is where he is and has been for a while now, and that type of approach isn’t one to necessarily induce many tears. It is consistent through the ups and downs, pleased with effort and unconcerned, for the most part, about the outcome. Which is how the Drive played yesterday – how fitting. Two hitters had excellent days – Jonathan Schoop and Phil Gosselin each collected three hits, and one of Gosselin’s was a home run. However, 4 other hitters combined to go 0 for 13. In between? A group of 4 hitters each collecting one hit. All in all, it was a day akin to what Tom is happy to see, though I am not sure it is the kind of happiness that would make one cry.
Haviland: L, 3-14; 23PA, 6IP
| AVG: 0.250 | OBP: 0.348 | SLG: 0.600 | OPS: 0.948 |
| ERA: 13.50 | WHIP: 1.667 |
As easy as it is for me to shed a tear, it might be a surprise for you to learn that I have only once or twice in my life seen the Haviland manager cry. The one memorable time was when I was going off to college – leaving my home in Newberg to move into my dorm in Newberg at George Fox University. I think it more the momentous occasion than it was the distance, though perhaps he was sad I wasn’t going further away, but there was a moment or two of tears then. A lack of tears, though, is not an indication of a hard heart, because Haviland’s owner is a gentle man with a kind disposition as most of you know. However, he may have shed some tears in agony over his pitching staff last night, who gave up 9 earned runs in 6 innings. Spencer Howard was the main culprit, with 5 of those his runs through only 2 innings pitched. But the three other pitchers also gave up runs in few innings. Does it matter that every hitter except JT Realmuto got at least one hit? Probably not, in this instance.
Cottage: L, 5-10; 44PA, 7IP
| AVG: 0.282 | OBP: 0.341 | SLG: 0.385 | OPS: 0.726 |
| ERA: 9.00 | WHIP: 1.571 |
The Cheese give to us an annual lament, so we know that Dave is in touch with his emotions. To be so open and vulnerable with one’s sadness is something to which we should all attain, for in his lament I believe we all felt a closer bond to him. Suffering is often like that – a catalyst for developing deeper relationships with others, but only if we allow others to enter into our grief with us. And the grief continues for the Cheese, it seems, whose pitching this month has been stellar – except, it wasn’t yesterday. Michael Fulmer gave up 3 runs in one inning, and Taijuan Walker gave up another 4 in his 6 innings. Those performances overshadowed two more hits and two more walks for Shohei Ohtani, and a home run from the once-hot Adolis Garcia. Dave could also be crying happy tears along with Scott Servais (and perhaps Jerry Dipoto, too), because he knew even before the Mariners did that Abraham Toro was good. Thanks for leading the way in vulnerability, Dave. You have modeled well how to be sad in community.
Pittsburgh: L, 3-7; 21PA, 1.7IP
| AVG: 0.111 | OBP: 0.238 | SLG: 0.278 | OPS: 0.516 |
| ERA: 15.88 | WHIP: 2.353 |
The Allegheny sadness is one that is not easily perceptible. Reading the emotions of the usually stoic Manager Weinert has been likened to attempting to swim directly across a river in motion. And yet there have been glimpses of sadness at times this season. The first coming with the news of number one draft pick Luis Robert’s hip injury that kept him sidelines for the first three months of the season. There must have been some tears shed, too, when the decision was made to trade away beloved stalwart Jose Altuve. But Pittsburgh can continue to console itself by remembering that of the 17 seasons listed on the EFL’s championship trophy, seven of them are followed by the name, “Pittsburgh.” Does that make an awful day any better? Maybe? Does it help that of the two hits earned yesterday, one was from his cornerstone Robert? Or that the home run hit was by Andrew Vaughn, who is a deb? Life is complicated, as are the emotions of the Allegheny leader. At least we think so. It’s hard to tell.
Canberra: W(1), L(-1), 1-(-8); 12PA, 8IP
| AVG: 0.250 | OBP: 0.500 | SLG: 0.375 | OPS: 0.875 |
| ERA: 1.13 | WHIP: 0.750 |
If the season has felt a bit sad to the Roos, they can lean on the joy of yesterday’s results. It is quite a feat, perhaps worthy of tears, to shed 8 runs from one’s Runs Allowed total. The tears that Scott Servais shed were no doubt tied in with the utter anguish he must have felt after the Mariners’ bullpen erased a stellar outing by Chris Flexen. Flexen tossed 7 innings, giving up only 1 earned run. But the bullpen imploded until Paul Sewald came in and pitched an earned-run free inning to help get Servais’ tear ducts unclogged. I imagine there might also be some happy tears in Canberra getting two Austin Ms (Meadows and Martin) for two guys who are now on the IL (Bregman and Haase).
Bellingham: W, 7-2; 16PA, 7IP
| AVG: 0.533 | OBP: 0.563 | SLG: 0.733 | OPS: 1.296 |
| ERA: 1.29 | WHIP: 1.000 |
Andre seems like a calm, cool, and collected kind of guy. But did yesterday’s results cause him to shed a tiny tear of happiness? If not, it was a missed opportunity! The batters were few but did their job to the tune of 3 doubles and only 2 strikeouts. Shane McClanahan was awesome (5IP, 1ER), and Brusdar Graterol and Andrew Chafin each tossed a scoreless inning. Sometimes I wonder what kind of emotional toll it is to be the son-in-law of the Chief Cheese. I am most certain it is entirely positive emotional toll, but it’s also easy to pass off sad tears as happy tears when necessary. Does Andre feel pressured to also lament his team, even after a day like they had yesterday? Or is he given the freedom to enjoy the crumbs of sweetness in spite of the bitterness of being trapped in the bottom of the league?
Portland: DNP, 1-1; 20PA, 1IP
| AVG: 0.235 | OBP: 0.350 | SLG: 0.471 | OPS: 0.821 |
| ERA: 18.00 | WHIP: 2.000 |
It is true that the Rosebuds owner has his own birthday approaching, something which is certain to bring with it tears either of joy (for another year alive!) or sorrow (for another year older). But I have a report of some good news for the Rosebuds owner which I am certain brings him happiness, even maybe eliciting tears of joy (it’s not my news to share, but I bet Mark will when ready). So who cares if the basement is where the Rosebuds will most likely finish the season? Last time I checked, they had their name on the trophy a couple of times, which might make things a bit more bearable that they are in, say, Flint Hill.
Combined MLB + EFL Standings for 2021
| AL East | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| Old Detroit Wolverines | 86 | 36 | .706 | — |
| Flint Hill Tornadoes | 79 | 43 | .646 | 7.4 |
| Tampa Bay Rays | 75 | 47 | .615 | 11.2 |
| New York Yankees | 70 | 52 | .574 | 16.2 |
| Boston Red Sox | 69 | 54 | .561 | 17.7 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 63 | 56 | .529 | 21.7 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 38 | 82 | .317 | 47.2 |
| NL East | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| D.C. Balk | 77 | 44 | .635 | — |
| Atlanta Braves | 65 | 56 | .537 | 11.8 |
| Canberra Kangaroos | 65 | 56 | .537 | 11.9 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 61 | 60 | .504 | 15.8 |
| New York Mets | 60 | 61 | .496 | 16.8 |
| Washington Nationals | 52 | 68 | .433 | 24.3 |
| Miami Marlins | 51 | 71 | .418 | 26.3 |
| AL Central | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| Chicago White Sox | 71 | 51 | .582 | — |
| Pittsburgh Alleghenys | 67 | 55 | .549 | 4 |
| Bellingham Cascades | 64 | 58 | .528 | 6.6 |
| Cleveland Indians | 58 | 61 | .487 | 11.5 |
| Detroit Tigers | 58 | 65 | .472 | 13.5 |
| Minnesota Twins | 54 | 68 | .443 | 17 |
| Kansas City Royals | 52 | 68 | .433 | 18 |
| NL Central | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 74 | 48 | .607 | — |
| Cottage Cheese | 68 | 54 | .557 | 6.1 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 66 | 57 | .537 | 8.5 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 62 | 58 | .517 | 11 |
| Chicago Cubs | 54 | 69 | .439 | 20.5 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 42 | 79 | .347 | 31.5 |
| AL West | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| Kaline Drive | 72 | 49 | .598 | — |
| Houston Astros | 71 | 50 | .587 | 1.3 |
| Haviland Dragons | 69 | 52 | .571 | 3.2 |
| Oakland A’s | 69 | 53 | .566 | 3.8 |
| Seattle Mariners | 66 | 56 | .541 | 6.8 |
| Los Angeles Angels | 62 | 61 | .504 | 11.3 |
| Texas Rangers | 42 | 79 | .347 | 30.3 |
| NL West | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| San Francisco Giants | 78 | 43 | .645 | — |
| Peshastin Pears | 77 | 44 | .633 | 1.4 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 76 | 46 | .623 | 2.5 |
| San Diego Padres | 67 | 56 | .545 | 12 |
| Portland Rosebuds | 57 | 64 | .468 | 21.4 |
| Colorado Rockies | 55 | 66 | .455 | 23 |
| Arizona Diamondbacks | 41 | 81 | .336 | 37.5 |