OTB News - 2000 January 19 - December 18, 2000 1999 News Archives

Dec. 18	OTB Merchandise Update The OTB Merchandise page has been updated to include the new OTB jackets that were shown at last Thursday's board meeting. Orders for t-shirts and baseball hats are now being accepted. If you have placed a tentative order before now, you will receive email. Check the Merchandise page for details.

Dec. 12

OTB Board Meeting The next board meeting is scheduled for this Thursday, December 14th at 7:00 PM. This will also be our annual meeting and dinner will be served as a token of appreciation to all our board members. The meeting/dinner will be held at the Centralville Social Club on Lakeview Ave. in Lowell, MA. on the 2nd floor. To get to the Centralville Social Club, drive to LeLacheur Park (home of the Spinners and our field for the final game) and head across the Aiken Street bridge. Cross route 113 at intersection and proceed to next intersection of Aiken Street and Lakeview Ave. Take a left onto Lakeview Ave. and approximately one block on your left see the social club just after AG Hardware Store. Business will be conducted at this meeting to include nominations for officers, managers and assistant managers. All officers, managers and assistant managers holding this position during the 2000 season are invited to attend. Pending nominees not currently on the board of directors will be contacted by a board member and invited individually. If you have any questions regarding this notice please contact Chris Augeri. OTB President now a Grandfather Good news from our founder and president, John Gianino: "Dear Friends, we have some wonderful news to share. On Wednesday, 11/22/00, at 12:06am, our daughter, Annmarie gave birth to our first grandchild, Grace Catherine. Grace weighs 7 pounds, 12 ounces, and is 20-1/2 inches long. Mom, dad, child and grandparents are doing fine!" Congratulations to John and family from all of us at Over Thirty Baseball. 2001 season registration OTB is currently accepting registration for new players wanting to join the league. Anyone interested can call John Gianino at 978-453-4444 and leave voicemail with a phone number that John can contact you at. New registrants will receive a mailing with the OTB application, waiver form, OTB rules, and a letter from John. Returning players that played in the league last year (any returning players that didn't play during the 2000 season must register as new players) will receive their mailings after the holidays. For new registrants wanting to register online, the application, waiver forms and rules will be posted here later this month. Online registrants must still make phone contact with John Gianino for their applications to be accepted. Website improvements Work is underway to redesign parts of our website to include such things as player databases and a more streamlined method of collecting weekly game summaries. Thanks go out to Bob Conway of the Yankees and Scott Metro of the Marlins who are designing web forms and databases so that team scorekeepers can enter game summaries directly on the website, saving time and allowing stats to be viewed sooner by all visitors. We look forward to this improvement for the 2001 season!

Nov. 13

OTB Banquet a smashing success This past Saturday's banquet was one of the most enjoyable and most attended banquets ever. We had 281 people in attendance. Trophies were handed out to the OTB Champion Athletics, the American League (Yankees) and National League (Giants) first-place finishers as well as the Dr. John Gianino award, team MVP winners, manager's choice awards, manager's appreciation awards, and umpiring award. The first-annual Frank Meisel Sportsmanship Award was announced, but the winner was not present. All the names of the trophy winners will be announced here later. OTB merchandise on sale at the banquet Joe Gouveia displayed the new OTB t-shirts and baseball hats previously mentioned here and sold many of the samples at the banquet. Joe will be putting together more orders for each. Stay tuned here for the details. OTB Board Meeting The next board meeting will be this Thursday, November 16, 2000 at Ignacio's, at 7:00 pm. All OTB players are welcome to attend. This will probably be our last meeting at Ignacio's, since the facility has been sold. Stay tuned for future meeting locations.

Nov. 8	OTB Baseball Hats! The first OTB baseball hats have arrived! Joe Gouveia had some made up to show the board of directors. Check them out on our OTB Merchandise page. OTB T-shirt update As of November 8th, the number of preliminary orders are approximately 22-28 shirts. Check out our OTB Merchandise page.

Nov. 7

OTB Banquet Gift Donations The following is from John McCusker of the OTB Red Sox: Hello all: For the past couple of years we have been trying to do something special for the ladies of O.T.B. We are continuing this year by pulling names out of a hat for gift certificates for the Pheasant Lane Mall. If, however, there are any of us who have businesses that sell gift certificates they would be more than welcome as donations to the cause. One quick note - the gift certificate should be for a product, not a service. Thanks guys, John OTB T-shirt update As of November 7th, the number of preliminary orders are approximately 16-20 shirts. Check out our OTB Merchandise page.

Nov. 3	OTB Banquet Reminder Our annual banquet is next Saturday, November 11th at 5:30 pm at Germano's on Route 38 in Tewksbury, MA. Mark your calendars! OTB T-shirts The first OTB t-shirts have arrived! Joe Gouveia of the Pirates had some made up to show the board of directors. Check out our OTB Merchandise page.

Oct. 20	NABA Over 40 pictures posted The Over 40 NABA team's pictures are now available for viewing. Thanks to Dave Donahue of the Over 40 team for bringing his Sony Mavica digital camera for the trip, as well as Evan Schapiro for bringing his laptop and providing us with game summaries.

Oct. 15	NABA Over 30 page posted The Over 30 team's results page is posted for the 2000 NABA National Tournament. We're looking for the results of Game 5 and will post soon.

Oct. 14

NABA Over 40 page completed The Over 40 team's results page is complete and includes the playoff round of the 2000 NABA National Tournament. Check out the Over 40 page. Banquet update A note from league president, John Gianino: Hi Tony, Could you please announce to "all" that the returns are needed for the November 11 banquet by Monday, October 16th. Their response helps us a great deal in our planning. Thanks again, John

Oct. 9

NABA Championship Tournaments OTB took two teams out to Arizona for the 2000 Championship Tournament. The Over 40 team makes its 3rd appearance in the tournament, coached by Kevin Fleming. The Over 30 team is making its first trip out to the annual series, coached by Bob Kyle and John E. Saunders. The 'pool' play consists of five games from Monday, October 9th - Thursday, October 12th with playoffs on Friday, October 13th and championship games on Saturday, October 14th. We've received the first email from out west, late on Monday night from Evan Schapiro of the Over 40 team: "Hi Tony, Weather here is actually 'cool' this year so far. Low 80's with a breeze. First game today against the LA Dodgers, we won by forfeit. Half their team plays on an Over 30 team and they didn't make it to the game in time. The game was at the Indian School Field, where it all started 2 years ago. Attached is a team picture from Dave Donahue's Mavica. Our schedule for the remainder is: Tuesday, October 10th - Peoria Field 6, 9:15 am Tuesday, October 10th - Peoria Field 6, 1:15 pm Wednesday, October 11th - Peoria Stadium, 11:30 am Thursday, October 12th - Tempe Field 3, 11:45 am - Evan

Sept. 28

OTB Finals The OTB Championship game's contestants for this year are now set - the Athletics of the American League and the Braves of the National League. It will be the second straight appearance in the Finals for the Jim Shaughnessy and Bill McDonald's Athletics, who lost last year's matchup with the Giants. It will also be the second appearance for the Braves, their first since 1993, OTB's first championship matchup. At the time, the Braves were the Pirates and lost to the Dodgers, who won the league's first two league titles in 1993 and 1994. The Pirates, led by Bob Wood, Bob Saggese, Fred Tenaglia, Kevin Youngs, George Dristiliaris, Gerry Ward, Ron Jay, and John Gianino, kept their team name from 1993-1996 before changing to the Braves. Walk for Hunger/Homeless The Hunger/Homeless Commission of the City of Lowell is sponsoring a Four-Mile Walk for Hunger/Homeless on Sunday, October 29, 2000 beginning at 1:00 p.m. at St. Joseph Shrine in downtown Lowell. If you would like to walk, please contact John Gianino at 978-934-8416. If you will not be walking, but would like to sponsor a walker, John can provide you with all the details.

Sept. 23

Registration for 2001 has begun Registrations are now being accepted for next season. Anyone interested can contact our league president, John Gianino at 978-453-4444. The registration forms have been completed and will be mailed to those interested in joining the league. News page now has notification A new feature that was incorporated to allow visitors to get email when the Leaders page has been updated, is now in place for this News page. Send mail to to get email when the news gets updated.

Sept. 13	Leaders page updated The Leaders web page is now up to date, as of 7:00 PM. A new feature has been incorporated to allow visitors to get email when the Leaders page has been updated, saving time and disappointment! Go to the Leaders page and click on the email link next to the rotating "New" sign and fill out the email from the account that you wish to receive updates at.

Sept. 8

Home Run Hitting Contest Winners The Labor Day Home Run Hitting Contest held this past Monday was a success. The list of contestants grew 35 by the time it got underway. Tom Walsh of the Cardinals finished in 1st place and Tom Bartlett of the Orioles was the runner-up. Check the contest summary. Annual OTB banquet date set OTB President John Gianino informs us that this year's banquet will be held on Saturday, November 11th. Invitations will go out in the mail later this month. More details to follow. OTB Board Meeting The next board meeting will be Thursday, September 21, 2000 at the usual place, Ignacio's, and the usual time, 7:00 pm. All OTB players are welcome to attend.

Sept. 4

Home Run Hitting Contest Update The Labor Day Home Run Hitting Contest is today. The skies are a bit overcast, but overall looks like a good day for hittin' dingers! We'll have a cookout as well, and pictures also. The list of contestants is now at 34. Be at Dracut High School Field in full uniform no later than 12:45 pm today. Lowell OTB beats QVOTB in a close one The Lowell OTB gang beat the Quabbin Valley OTB League, 8-7 yesterday in the annual interleague matchup. Check the game summary.

Aug. 29	Home Run Hitting Contest Update The Labor Day Home Run Hitting Contest rules have now been posted and the list of contestants is growing, now up to 33.

Aug. 19

OTB board meeting update At last Thursday's board meeting, several items were discussed. Alumni Field dates were finalized for September - check the Schedule page. The 18-inning pitching limitation started over for the first round of the playoffs and will continue through the final game. OTB will expand to 16 teams for the 2001 season as early as October of this year! The Labor Day Home Run Hitting Contest is now open to anyone in the league (it was previously only for those who had hit a home run during the 2000 season) and is on a first-come, first-served basis. Those interested should email Chris Augeri or call him at home at 978-453-0305.

Aug. 16

OTB Interleague game at Belchertown Over Thirty Baseball will hold its annual matchup with the Quabbin Valley Over Thirty Baseball League on Labor Day weekend. The game will be played on Sunday, September 3rd in Belchertown, MA and is part of a full weekend of OTB activities which include the Home Run Hitting Contest. If you're interested in playing in the game in Belchertown against our QVOTBL friends, send email to our Games department. OTB Board Meeting The next board meeting will be this Thursday, August 17, 2000 at the usual place, Ignacio's, and the usual time, 7:00 pm. All OTB players are welcome to attend.

Aug. 2	OTB to hold first annual Home Run hitting contest! Over Thirty Baseball will hold a Home Run hitting contest on Labor Day Monday, September 4, 2000. For full details, check the contest page.

July 27

Extra Innings Offers 10% discount to OTB players Extra Innings Training Center now offers a 10% discount for OTB members on all services as well as on equipment in their Pro Shop. Mention OTB when you reserve time at the Training Center or make any other purchases. Extra Innings is located in Middleton, MA. on Route 114. Their phone number is 978-762-0668 and their web site is at www.extra-innings.net.

July 26

New Over 30 Baseball Mailing List There's a new mailing list on www.egroups.com created by Jeff Buxton of the OTB Cardinals. The mailing list is "Dedicated to those Grand Old men (and women) who still play the Grand Old Game - the over-30 amateur baseball player in leagues like Lowell MA Over-30 Baseball from across the world." Click to subscribe to over30baseball 2000 Playoff Schedule This year's playoffs, which run from August 13th through October 1st, will be posted here on the site very soon. We're waiting for confirmation of fields before posting the schedule. Keep an eye on the OTB home page or this news column. New, updated Links page Check out the revised Links page. Go to the OTB home page and click the "Links" button, or click here.

July 16	July 16th games rained out All of yesterday's games were rained out. As of this point, no rainouts will be made up. OTB Board Meeting The next board meeting will indeed be this Thursday, July 20, 2000 at the usual place, Ignacio's, and the usual time, 7:00 pm. All OTB players are welcome to attend.

June 10	New category for Leaders page You asked for it, and now it's here: ERA leaders. Check out the Leaders page. OTB Board Meeting The next board meeting will indeed be this Thursday, June 15, 2000 at the usual place, Ignacio's, and the usual time, 7:00 pm. All OTB players are welcome to attend.

May 31	OTB NABA Tournament 30 'A' Team Bob Kyle of the OTB Orioles is recruiting for the Over 30 team to compete in the 30 'A' division of the NABA 2000 Tournament. Check out Bob's OTB NABA Over 30 page. Also of interest may be the OTB NABA page or last year's OTB NABA Over 40 team.

May 17	OTB Umpire Web Page It's finally here - the OTB Umpiring Crew, lead by Lou Tanguay, now has their own web page on the OTB web site.

May 16	OTB Board Meeting - date confirmed The next board meeting will indeed be this Thursday, May 18, 2000 at the usual place, Ignacio's, and the usual time, 7:00 pm. All OTB players are welcome to attend.

May 12

League-issued uniform update If you are awaiting new baseball pants from OTB (if you are on the Pirates or White Sox, or a new player drafted by an existing team), the new pants have been received. Chris Augeri has handed most of these out to players and managers, but if you still haven't received yours yet, contact your manager, and thanks for your patience in the equipment delay. OTB Board Meeting - possible date change to happen Although the date for May's OTB Board meeting was posted here previously as May 18th, we may not have access to Ignacio's for that night. Watch here for updates on any changes. OTB All Star game date and field We have received confirmation from the City of Lowell for our All Star Game field. The game will be played on Tuesday, July 4th from 12 noon - 4:00 pm at Alumni Field. The details of player selection will be published here sometime in June.

May 8

From QVOTB - a sad loss From Cliff McCarthy of the Quabbin Valley Over Thirty Baseball League: It is with shock and deep sadness that QVOTB learns of the death of Ed Rivera of the Tigers. Ed was warming up prior to his team's Opening Day game at Williston Field in Easthampton when he apparently suffered a massive heart attack. He was taken to Cooley-Dickinson Hospital where he was pronounced dead. Ed was well-liked around the league and was respected as the Tiger third baseman. This was to be his second QVOTB season. The league extends its deepest sympathies to his family and friends. Tiger manager Patrick Johnson released the following statement: "I don't know how many of you have heard by now, but Edwin Rivera died today. He was scheduled to start at third base when he collapsed on the field before the first pitch. He was fine and there was no indication that anything was wrong just prior to him collapsing. The ambulance was called, and several players on both teams with some medic training assisted until EMTs arrived. They worked on him on the field for probably 20 minutes before taking him to Cooley Dickinson. Eddy apparently died in route. One of the original Tigers, Eddy enjoyed the game as much as anyone in the league -- as well as the camaraderie afterward. I know he was looking forward greatly to this season. He was waiting in the parking lot when I arrived 90 minutes before the game. Always in good humor, pesky at the plate, and dangerous on the basepaths, he was, in many ways, the embodiment of what the league is supposed to be about. His presence on the Tiger bench will be missed." The Tigers-Braves game was cancelled and a moment of silence was observed at each of the other scheduled games, as word spread of Ed Rivera's death. (A note for OTBers: You may remember that Ed played in our Labor Day game and I believe he came to The Bench afterwards to meet some of you. He will be missed by all who knew him.)

May 4

New OTB Award At the April OTB meeting, the board established the "Dr. Frank Meisel Sportsmanship Award". This is an award which will be given to one OTB player each year at our annual banquet. The recipient will be the player who has received the most season-time acknowledgments as "Sportsman-of-the-game". The "Sportsman-of-the-game" acknowledgments will be noted for two players after every game. Each team will choose a Sportsman-of the-game from the opposing team's bench, and report this after each week's game. An additional acknowledgment is being solicited, for one player per game, from the umpiring crews (the winning team's manager is being asked to note this vote, and the opposing team's vote, with his own). In this way, three players will be acknowledged in each game while their actions are fresh in everyone's mind. Sportsmanship will be judged using Frank Meisel as our example. Unselfish play, hustle, congratulations to others (either team) for good play and placing teammates' needs before his own are the typical qualities we would acknowledge. The team player who shows up to the game for his teammates' fun above his own is probably the greatest example of Frank's spirit. Thanks to Cardinal manager Steve Prutzer for putting all of this together. Each team reporter that sends game summaries into OTB will note the game selections for this award, and all votes will be sent to Steve for tallying. The vote counts will not be advertised during the course of the year, and the award will be presented at this year's annual banquet. Thanks, Steve for this wonderful tribute to Frank. NABA National Tournament in October There will be an Over 30 team from OTB participating in this October's NABA National Tournament in addtion to the Over 40 team, which played in the 1998 and 1999 tournaments. Watch the news column for more updates on the Over 30 team, which is planning ahead for October. If you are an OTB player and are interested in this year's tournament, played each year in Phoenix, AZ., send email to Bob Kyle of the Orioles. For box scores of last year's Lowell Over 40 team, check out the 1999 page.

Apr. 28

Two New OTB Fields in Tewksbury Thanks to Dan Emerson of the Indians, we now have 2 new playing fields for OTB. With the recent losses of Alumni and Hadley Fields, we needed to quickly replace them for Opening Day on Sunday as well as for a good part of the season. The two new fields are in Tewksbury on Livingston Street in a cluster of several baseball fields, all of them in very good playing condition. They are Antonelli and Obdens Fields. We will start using them right away. Keep an eye on the schedule page for last-minute changes. OTB Board Meeting The next board meeting will be Thursday, May 18, 2000 at the usual place, Ignacio's, and the usual time, 7:00 pm. All OTB players are welcome to attend.

Apr. 19

Pickup Games on Easter Sunday Since there would have been a low turnout for the scheduled exhibition games on Easter Sunday, there will instead be a pickup game at Shedd Park at 8:30 this coming Sunday, April 23rd. If there are enough OTB players for a 2nd game, we have another field permit. All interested players should show up at Shedd Park at 8:30 am to play. Uniforms are optional. Field Updates Since the end of the 1999 season, we have had a change in the playing fields that OTB has used in the past. Gone permanently is Cushing Field at UMass Lowell. Gone temporarily are Alumni Field and Hadley Field. A new field to OTB this year is Campbell Field, formerly known as "Flaggie's Field". Two previously used fields will come back - Ryan Field and Gage Park. We will continue to use Shedd park, Greater Lowell Technical High School (GLTHS), and Dracut High School. A big Thanks to Chris Augeri of the Marlins for handling the applications, permits, attending meetings on all these fields over the last few years. In addition to the above fields, Chris has put OTB's name on applications for another 12 or more fields, in which he is waiting to hear back an answer. Thanks, too, to Giants manager Frank Serafini for handling the Westford fields. For directions to all the fields, visit the OTB Fields page. New OTB Practice Field Campbell Field is available to any OTB players for practicing on Wednesday nights, starting April 19th. The field is available from 8:15 pm until lights out. In the past, we've had Ryan Field in a similar setup, which was beneficial for open practices where any OTB player could come by to get some hitting, pitching, and fielding practice. Campbell is a very nice field that's had a lot of work done to it over the past year and is now probably one of OTB's best fields.

Mar. 30

2000 Rosters Finalized The two new teams for 2000 season are completely staffed. A waiting list has been started to take names for new players. The finalized schedule has been handed out to managers and assistants, and will be posted here soon. OTB Board Meeting The next board meeting will be Thursday, April 13, 2000 at the usual place, Ignacio's, and the usual time, 7:00 pm. All OTB players are welcome to attend.

Mar. 23

OTB expansion At last week's board meeting, the members voted to approve expansion for the 2000 season from 13 teams to 14. Currently each of the two new teams are staffed with approximately 10-11 players each and there are open roster spots to bring teams up to 15 players each. The league is still accepting applications for the upcoming baseball season. For a complete registration package for new players, which includes application, waiver form, and cover letter from league president John Gianino, call the OTB office at 978-453-4444. Leave your name and phone number and John will return your call and then mail a registration package to you. New OTB teams The two new teams for 2000 are the White Sox of the American League, and the Pirates of the National League. Returning to a managing role for the White Sox will be John Saunders, former manager of the Cardinals. For the Pirates, Joe Gouveia, formerly of the Athletics, will be their new manager. Good luck to both John and Joe and their new teams, as well as all the new players that filled the open slots in the other 12 teams. We'd like to also say Thanks and good luck to the players who decided to retire this year, and hope that they keep in touch with us through the web site. I'll post a list of the retiring as well as new players here when the rosters become finalized.

Mar. 15

OTB Registration and 2000 Draft Update - March 15, 2000: The turnout for the open house and mail-in registration was overwhelmingly positive! OTB has successfully recruited enough players to expand from 12 teams to 13, and now we're looking for enough players to expand to 14 teams. The annual player draft was held on Sunday, March 12th, and open slots for the existing 12 teams were filled along with a new, 13th team. The league will accept applications for the upcoming baseball season for a limited time. For a complete registration package for new players, which includes application, waiver form, and cover letter from league president John Gianino, call the OTB office at 978-453-4444. Leave your name and phone number and John will return your call and then mail a registration package to you. OTB board meeting The next board meeting will be this Thursday, March 16, 2000 at the usual place, Ignacio's, and the usual time, 7:00 pm. All OTB players are welcome to attend.

Mar. 6

OTB board meeting The next board meeting will be this Thursday, March 9, 2000 at the usual place, Ignacio's, and the usual time, 7:00 pm. All OTB players are welcome to attend. OTB Registration and 2000 Draft OTB's open house on February 27th was a success with a good turnout of possible future Over 30 ballplayers. The 2000 draft will be held on Sunday, March 12th. There is very little time left to register before Sunday, and there is no guarantee of placement on a team for this coming year at this time. If all the open roster spots are filled, all other applicants will be put on a waiting list and notified of openings. If you are interested, please call John Gianino at 978-453-4444. Don't wait too long!

Feb. 14

OTB 1999 Championship Pictures The pictures from the 1999 Championship have finally been posted. Check out the pictures page as well as the game summary. OTB Open House Registration Correction: The date for the open house registration, February 27th, was incorrectly listed as a Thursday. Thanks to Steve Bergholm for finding this typo. February 27th is on a Sunday. The open house will run from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm.

Feb. 13

OTB Open House Registration Over Thirty Baseball will hold its annual registration open house on Sunday, February 27, 2000 at Ignacio's Pitch and Hit, from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. Players interested in joining OTB can come down and meet managers, board members, and players. Check out our Registration page. OTB board meeting The next board meeting will be on Thursday, March 9, 2000 at the usual place, Ignacio's, and the usual time, 7:00 pm. All OTB players are welcome to attend. OTB 2000 Draft The annual Draft Day for new players (as well as those switching teams) will be on Sunday, March 12, 2000 at Ignacio's, from 10:00 am to 12:00 noon. Attendance is limited to OTB board members.

Feb. 2

Declan Cassidy Brian Stanton's grandson Declan Cassidy lost his battle with an illness after only 10 months of life. Brian is a member of the OTB Tigers. The league wishes to extend our sincerest condolences to Brian and his family. If you would like to extend a personal note to Brian, his address is: Brian Stanton, 10 Manwell Road, Chelmsford MA. 01824 A wake is being held this evening (Wed., February 2nd) at the McDonough Funeral Home in Lowell. Funeral services are tomorrow morning, Thursday, at the Immaculate Conception Church in Lowell starting at 9:00 am. God Bless Brian and his family.

Jan. 19

2000 registration At last week's OTB board meeting, this year's registration fee was finalized, along with the Rules and Regulations revised for registrations. Registration for returning players for this year will be $160 and new players and players changing teams will be $240, which includes uniforms. The registration form is being finalized and will be mailed to returning players as well as new players that have requested forms. There will be an opportunity for returning players to become more involved in the league if they wish, by filling out a new section on the forms.

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