The Ridgewood 12U Little League baseball team won its district championship with a 2-1 victory over Waldwick. FRONT ROW, from left: Collin Feeney, Donn Patrick Joseph, Ryan Cummings and Ather Williams. MIDDLE ROW, from left: Matthew Byrne, Reed Darienzo, Ed Chanod, Bryan Chan, Joseph Pagano, Donovan Joseph and Chris Fyock. BACK ROW, from left: Coach Andy Meyer, George Hadfield, Jack Meyer, coach Guy Darienzo and coach Mike Feeney.
JULY 17, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, JULY 17, 2015, 12:31 AM
BY RON FOX
CORRESPONDENT |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Coaches only can hope to get their messages across as well as Guy Darienzo did in 2012. The Ridgewood Little League coach stressed team play, players pulling for each other and staying fiercely determined not to give up under any circumstances.
His Ridgewood Raiders squad won their district championship that first year and have won each of the age-group titles every year since as they’ve moved up, extending that streak this week with a 2-1 win over Waldwick for the District 4 12U title.
“As far as I know, winning four straight district championships is unprecedented in New Jersey,” Darienzo said as his team prepared for Saturday’s opening of sectional play in Kittatinny, where Ridgewood will play against Somerset Hills at 3:30 p.m.
Perhaps an even more spectacular streak is the team’s overall play. The Raiders have never lost a district game in those four magical years. Basically 90 percent of the players on the roster have played together while moving up through the various age groups to dominate and collect four district banners.
“The kids bought into what we were preaching [in 2012] and it’s great to hear them cheering for each other, each at-bat,” said Darienzo, formerly a standout athlete at Bergen Catholic.
Two well-balanced squads faced off for the title this time around. Waldwick, making its debut in the tournament, fought through the losers’ bracket to earn the berth against defending champion Ridgewood, and a pitchers’ duel broke out.
Baseball Hall of Fame Manager, Tommy Lasorda, will sign his new book, My Way .Each Person attending must have at least one book.
TOMMY LASORDA
Thomas Charles Lasorda
Inducted to the Hall of Fame in: 1997
Primary team: Los Angeles Dodgers
Primary position: Manager
For more than three decades, he has been the face of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
And after more than sixty years in the Dodgers’ organization, Tommy Lasorda remains the embodiment of Dodger Blue.
Lasorda, who managed the Los Angeles Dodgers from 1976-1996, was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1997 by the Veterans Committee following a career where he won 1,599 games, two World Series and two more National League pennants – all with the Dodgers.
Thomas Charles Lasorda was born Sept. 22, 1927 in Norristown, Pa. He got his start in pro-baseball at the age of 18 as a southpaw pitcher when he signed with the Phillies in 1945, then served two years in the military.
In 1948, Lasorda made a record-making return to the baseball scene with the Schenectady Blue Jays as he authored a 25-strikeout performance. In 1949, the Dodgers drafted him from the Phillies, and he made a new home pitching for the Greenville Spinners and the Montreal Royals. During his time with the Royals, Lasorda led his team to four minor league championships.
Lasorda made his major league debut on Aug. 5, 1954 with the Dodgers. He played for the Dodgers for two seasons before being traded to the Kansas City Athletics, where he pitched for one season.
After the 1960 season, Lasorda ended his playing career in pro ball and became a scout for the Dodgers until 1965. He managed in the minor leagues from 1966-72, and in 1973 Tommy made his way back to the big leagues as a third base coach for the L.A. Dodgers under another future Hall of Fame manager – Walter Alston. Alston retired in 1976 after 23 years with the Dodgers, and Lasorda took the reins.
By 1978, he had led the Dodgers to two straight National League championships, and became the first NL manager to win pennants in their first two seasons. After losing to the Yankees in both the 1977 and 1978 World Series, the Dodgers went on to win the World Series over the Yankees in 1981. They defeated the A’s in 1988 to give Lasorda his second World Series title.
After retiring in 1996, Lasorda stayed busy working in baseball. In 2000, he managed the U.S. Olympic Baseball Team to a gold medal in the Sydney games.
“Guys ask me, don’t I get burned out?” Lasorda said. “How can you get burned out doing something you love?”
Appearing authors will only autograph books purchased at Bookends and must have valid Bookends Receipt.
Availability & pricing for all autographed books subject to change.
First In Line Certificate use is the the discretion of Bookends. Blackout dates may apply.
Bookends cannot guarantee that the books that are Autographed will always be First Printings.
Autographed books purchased at Bookends are non-returnable.
While we try to ensure that all customers coming to Bookends’ signings will meet authors and get their books signed, we cannot guarantee that all attendees will meet the author or that all books will be signed. We cannot control inclement weather, author travel schedules or authors who leave prematurely.
Bookends, 211 E. Ridgewood Avenue, Ridgewood, NJ 07450 201-445-0726
MAY 8, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, MAY 8, 2015, 12:31 AM
BY BETSY MURPHY
CORRESPONDENT |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Joan Ryan, who claims an ideal childhood in Ridgewood, will tell you she gives her father credit for her passion for baseball and sports. Her dad, Bob Ryan, coached Little League the years the family lived here.
Joan spent her impressionable years, from four to thirteen years old, with jaunts to the Duck Pond, summer and winter (“we would ice skate there”), or “going across the creek behind our house to skate in the parking lot.” She remembers having Mod parties with friends, Maureen Quinn and Diane Whitehead, wearing white mini-skirts and dancing; the basketball hoop on the garage; catching fireflies; the bus to Somerville. She remembers going to Lyon’s for candy, or milk for mom, and the trips to Tice’s Farm at Halloween. “It really was a perfect place to grow up!”
She adds, “There were no opportunities like that in Florida.”
Joan was the third of six children and her mother, tired of the cold, moved the family to Florida in 1972. “I didn’t like it at all,” says Joan.
Former MLB Catcher Bengie Molina will appear at Bookends Saturday, May 9th @1:00pm
Molina is a former MLB Catcher for Anaheim Angels, the Toronto Blue Jays, and the San Francisco Giants,
Bengie Molina, will sign his new book:
MOLINA: The Story of the Father Who Raised an Unlikely Baseball Dynasty
Bengie will Sign ONE piece of Memorabilia with purchase of book!
Books available May 9th
Appearing authors will only autograph books purchased at Bookends and must have valid Bookends Receipt.
Availability & pricing for all autographed books subject to change.
First In Line Certificate use is the the discretion of Bookends. Blackout dates may apply.
Bookends cannot guarantee that the books that are Autographed will always be First Printings.
Autographed books purchased at Bookends are non-returnable.
While we try to ensure that all customers coming to Bookends’ signings will meet authors and get their books signed, we cannot guarantee that all attendees will meet the author or that all books will be signed. We cannot control inclement weather, author travel schedules or authors who leave prematurely.
Bookends, 211 E. Ridgewood Avenue, Ridgewood, NJ 07450 201-445-0726
APRIL 24, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, APRIL 24, 2015, 12:31 AM
BY MATTHEW BIRCHENOUGH
ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
RIDGEWOOD — On a warm, sunny day, seemingly handpicked for the unofficial start of the season in the village, swarms of young athletes flocked to the 65th annual Ridgewood Baseball and Softball Association (RBSA) Opening Day festivities.
“The baseball gods, softball gods were with us today with the beautiful weather,” RBSA President Jim Albano said last Saturday, referring to the streak of poor weather the event had experienced in recent years.
The association pulled out all the stops this year, expanding the event with a 60-item tricky tray, 28 craft vendors, five food trucks and various other baseball- and softball-related activities.
“It’s a festival now, it’s not just Opening Day,” Albano said.
RBSA board member Lisa Powers, the key figure behind the so-called “grand-slam changes,” had sought a larger event to “bring the community together.”
“I wanted to make it bigger and better and more exciting, not just for the RBSA but for the community,” Powers said. “I wanted to make it fun for the kids, so it wasn’t just a parade, and they could have a day off from their games and play.”
The festivities attracted several hundred youth players to Veterans Field and the early reactions were positive.
Baseball’s Jim Kaat Thursday, April 23rd @ 7:00pm
Former Major League Pitcher & Broadcaster for the New York Yankees, Jim Kaat, will sign his new book: If These Walls Could Talk
Appearing authors will only autograph books purchased at Bookends and must have valid Bookends Receipt.
Availability & pricing for all autographed books subject to change.
First In Line Certificate use is the the discretion of Bookends. Blackout dates may apply.
Bookends cannot guarantee that the books that are Autographed will always be First Printings.
Autographed books purchased at Bookends are non-returnable.
While we try to ensure that all customers coming to Bookends’ signings will meet authors and get their books signed, we cannot guarantee that all attendees will meet the author or that all books will be signed. We cannot control inclement weather, author travel schedules or authors who leave prematurely.
Bookends, 211 E. Ridgewood Avenue, Ridgewood, NJ 07450 201-445-0726
APRIL 18, 2015, 10:59 PM LAST UPDATED: SUNDAY, APRIL 19, 2015, 9:17 A
BY BOB KLAPISCH
RECORD BASEBALL COLUMNIST |
THE RECORD
Good luck to anyone trying to figure why Alex Rodriguez has become the Yankees’ best hitter, despite all the factors that should’ve been working against him. That includes his age, the yearlong drug suspension, two surgically repaired hips and going cold turkey on PEDs. We think.
Let’s address this last point first. I have to assume Rodriguez is playing clean in 2015; it would be professional suicide to resume cheating after being caught, confessing and being subjected to industrywide humiliation. Not even A-Rod is pathological enough to return to the scene of the crime — even though, remember, he never did test positive.
But let’s give the slugger the benefit of the doubt in exploring why he went into Saturday night’s game against Tampa Bay with a team-best .344 average, four home runs and .781 slugging percentage. It’s great news for manager Joe Girardi, whose lineup needs the boost, as well as the fans, who are panicking at possibly missing the playoffs for the third straight year while the crosstown Mets are surging.
APRIL 17, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2015, 12:31 AM
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Mr. Met will be among the attractions highlighting a revamped Ridgewood Baseball and Softball Association (RBSA) Opening Day Parade and Family Fun Day Saturday at Veterans Field.
The New York Mets mascot is scheduled to march in the parade, which is expected to include more than 1,000 players from the village’s youth baseball and softball teams.
The 65th annual event begins at 9 a.m. at the Ridgewood train station and will proceed through town via East Ridgewood Avenue to Veterans Field, where the opening ceremonies will begin at 9:30 a.m. at the Kasschau Band Shell.
The New Jersey Jackals minor league team is slated to make a guest appearance alongside Grand Marshals Gary and Nora Muzio, longtime supporters and invaluable members of the RBSA.
This year’s fair features a fresh new look and will include five of the area’s top food trucks, including Pizza Vita Brick Oven Pizza, Jersey Johnny’s Grill, and Oink and Moo BBQ. A pavilion will be set up where 30 vendors will showcase a mix of unique wares and sports-related items.
Also new to the events is a 60-item Tricky Tray and Silent Auction. Participants can take a chance on winning prizes such as tickets to professional sporting events, golf outings, a Rawlings pitching machine, Easton Mako and DeMarini Vendetta bats, spa packages, dining certificates and more.
Opening Day Baseball Parade and Family Fun Day – April 18
Saturday, April 18th at 9am the Baseball Parade starts at Wilsey Square and marches to Veteran’s Field for Opening Ceremonies and a day of fun filled activities – Food Trucks, Vendor pavilion, music, inflatables, instruction clinics, sports demos, wiffleball tournament, carnival games and RHS vs Westwood HS Game.
Annual RBSA Parade and Family Fun Day, Saturday, April 26
Grand Marshall is “The Special All Stars”. Special All Stars is a program designed to give children with special needs, in and around our community, an opportunity to play baseball/softball with the help of community volunteers via one on one personal instruction.
The Parade will begin as usual at 9:00 a.m. at the Ridgewood Train Station on the Wilsey Square side of town and will conclude at the Kasschau Band Shell at Vets Field. Bring your family and enjoy food, activities and the RHS Varsity Baseball Game. We are looking for parent volunteers. If you would like to participate as a volunteer please contact Brendan Buckley; [email protected]
All Players and Coaches should be at the train station 8:30am. This year we ask that each player brings (1) non-perishable food item to the train station. The Social Services Association of Ridgewood and Vicinity will be collecting these for the needy in our immediate area. PLEASE SUPPORT THEM by bring a box of cereal, can of soup, or any item you can spare.
There will be RBSA Board Members walking around with Help Signs should any player or parent need assistance. Please view the attached TEAM ASSEMBLY AREA MAP.
PARENTS and COACHES – the Parade Assembly Area and the congregation of Teams at the Band Shell at the end of the Parade route is very chaotic.DO NOT LEAVE ANY CHILD UNATTENDED. If you find any child in need of help, bring them to the Band Shell and summon a Parade Marshal.
R.H.S. baseball: Veteran bats lead the way for Ridgewood
APRIL 18, 2014 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, APRIL 18, 2014, 12:31 AM BY MATTHEW BIRCHENOUGH ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR
ALLENDALE — The first week of the season went according to plan for the Ridgewood High School baseball team, the No. 6 squad in The Record preseason Top 25: three games, three wins by a combined score of 33-14 over Hackensack, Clifton and Ramapo.
Senior catcher Nick Coppola was involved in a pair of run-scoring rallies for Ridgewood in Monday’s Big North Freedom Division baseball game at Northern Highlands.
Since then, things haven’t been so easy for the Maroons, who dropped three of their next four and dipped to No. 14 in the rankings.
“We’ve been struggling, and the last couple games have been tough ones for us,” RHS head coach Kurt Hommen said following Monday’s 8-5 loss at Northern Highlands.
Making the recent troubles even tougher to swallow is that each of the three losses have come against Big North Freedom rivals — Indian Hills, Paramus and Northern Highlands — dropping Ridgewood’s record within the division to 2-3.
“We’re going through a bit of a rough stretch,” said senior shortstop Nico Symington, who is committed to play at Tulane. “We just have some things we need to clean up.”
Opening Day petition gets to first base
March 24, 2014, 12:21 pm
By Tim Devaney
The Obama administration will look at a petition to turn baseball’s Opening Day into a federal holiday, just a week before the 2014 season begins for most teams.
A White House petition has garnered more than 100,000 signatures from baseball fans around the country, enough to trigger a review by the president, who cheers for the Chicago White Sox.
As of mid-day Monday, 101,591 people had signed the petition, which was started by beer company Anheuser-Busch and is being promoted by Hall of Fame shortstop Ozzie Smith, who played for the St. Louis Cardinals.
While the Obama administration will have to review the petition, most say it is a long shot that the president would adopt such a rule.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
