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Article 3: Game Summary #100 Milestone
Posted: Aug 20, 2010
By Andy Wolan / WRCS
Game Summary #100 Milestone
The formidable Game 6 has its history in Boston lure, from Bill Bucker’s error in the 1986 World Series to the bewildering protest of a forfeited game this season. But for the writing staff, the sixth game of Verdasys Softball’s 2010 season holds happy memories.
As reported before the start of the season, the writing staff of this website was hoping to reach a major writing milestone by the end of this season. Following the release of “Game Summary 6p - Protested Results”, the staff is proud to announce that they have reached this milestone by publishing their 100th game summary!
This writing milestone took seven years to accomplish, spanning from the 2004 season through 2010. Of course, the Verdasys Softball wasn’t the only team covered during that span.
Originally, the concept of a “team website” and a “writing staff” were created as a gimmick to attract attention to the newly formed “Avengers” ball club in 2004. Taking center stage on the website were the game summaries. To keep things interesting, the summaries including the on-field antics of team skipper “A-WOL”. Though the summaries were crude and were littered with words that were “tragically misspelled”, they proved to be a hit with office colleagues.
Realizing that they were on to something good, the writing staff returned in 2005 to cover both the Avengers and the antics of “A-WOL”. Since then, the staff has followed “A-WOL and his traveling circus” across the northeast and reported on whatever team he had played on that season. The teams include the aforementioned Avengers, the Pittsfield Vets, the Hardballers, the 356ers, and of course Verdasys Softball. In addition, Ryan Landscaping and B-Crew, two non-affiliated teams on which “A-WOL” moonlit, received special game coverage.
As for the game summaries themselves, they covered everything from
rain postponements,
to bitter rivalries,
to bitter calls, to
umpless games,
to close games and to some really not-so-close games.
While the bulk of the summaries were written by lead writer Andrew Wolan, there have been other contributors. Ryan Molloy and Rick Palma both contributed a game summary in 2004 and 2006, respectively, while an undisclosed source ghost-wrote a summary for Andy in 2004.
So, of the 100 games that were covered, how many were actually won? Were any of the games extraordinary? Below is the break-down:
- 19 games were won (2 by forfeit, one was won on an unaffiliated team)
- 1 game ended in a tie
- 63 games were lost (4 by forfeit, two were lost on an unaffiliated team)
- 12 games were postponed, (3 of which were never made-up)
- 4 were exhibition games
- 2 were “supplemental” game summaries
So, does the writing staff have any plans on writing another 100 game summaries? “No, not really” said lead writer Andy Wolan. “Reaching this milestone required some tremendous personal sacrifices. I don’t think I can keep this going for much longer.”
So why write 100 games summaries in the first place? “Well, my 7th grade English teacher once said that everyone should write a novel in their lifetime. For me, I choose to write an auto-biography about my softball playing experiences. And instead of getting it printed on paper, mine is published electronically on the Internet so anyone can read and enjoy it,” commented a reflective and satisfied Wolan.
In honor of this special occasion, the writing staff has gone through all 100 game summaries and has selected the 10 most memorable moments. Enjoy!
Andy Wolan is a reporter and photographer for Verdasys Softball. This story was not subject to the approval of the league or its clubs.
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