Player Of The Week

Week 8

This season has seen multiple short but memorable stints for players on the Spitballs squad. This week's Player of the Week and Heavyweight Champion of the Diamond is one of those impact players who delivered a lot of bang for his buck. Mike Rowland, aka "The Intern", aka "the one who plays baseball", aka "Rolo", aka "iMicro", had himself a game this last Sunday against the infamous Cok-Dyno. By definition, Mike "The Intern" Rowland is a temporary laborer, brought on when some extra man power is needed but not expected to stay long. He joined the Spitballs organization at the beginning of this year and everyone knew in the back of their minds that there would come a day when he would be leaving us. That day is upon us. As I write this, he sits at his makeshift desk against the window overlooking the highway, watching cars fly by like tiny mutant ants with wheels and no antennae, counting down the minutes, not until the end of the day, but until lunch, because interns like to take things one step at a time. He could be thinking to himself "Maybe some day I'll be zooming along like that with my new custom made irons and new burners with the club head cover that I sharked from the store where I got them in my trunk, on my way to a full time job". Or he could be thinking "I wish Ross would quit farting". Whatever streams of thought are meandering through his head, they are sure to be right on. Countless times over the course of the summer, the intern has shown he's an admirable foe to anyone who chooses to stand in his way of dominance in everything he puts his mind to.

If you are looking for the embodiment of a triple threat, Mike Rowland isn't one. He's an infinity threat. When asked whether he thought he was a stronger player in bags or washers he was quoted as saying, "I've never played bags but I'll probably be pretty good at it." This is a pretty bold statement for someone whose mantra is "Under-promise, Over-Deliver". As a side note, Rowland went on to carry his team to victory in the bags tournament at the intern Royals Night at the K tailgate later that day. As part of this performance he swished a high arcing rainbow toss after calling his shot.

So, as iMicro prepares to embark on his journey back to the doldrums of college life, we salute his efforts this summer and wish him well. He can take comfort in the fact that he made an impact for the Spitballs this summer, and that he will probably get paid more as an intern next summer.

Oh yeah...he went 4-4 at the plate in Week 8 with 2 singles, a double, and a triple, continuing his miracle season. He's batting a thousand and hasn't made an error in the outfield all year. Here's to you Michael Rowland. Thanks for being this week's Player of the Week and Heavyweight Champion of the Diamond.

Week 7

When the going got tough this week, there was one player who picked up his boot straps and led the Spitballs to victory. That man came through in fine fashion, both offensively and defensively. Ryan "Mick Foley/Mr. Socko" Gamso tore up the field yesterday in the Spitballs matchup against The Soft Balls. His efforts helped keep the Spitballs undefeated on the year. Have an Oreo, Mick, you deserve it.

You can call him the Player of the Week, the Heavyweight Champion of the Diamond, a hero, or anything you want. Chances are he's been called it before. As a kid in Bloomington, Indiana, his nickname was "The Bloomington Bulge". Foley went to high school with the star of "King of Queens", Kevin James. The two were on the wrestling team together. After his family moved to New York, Foley enrolled in college at the State College of New York at Corland. While there he hitchhiked to NYC and watched his favorite wrestler, Superfly Jimmy Snuka in a steel cage match against Don Muraco. Foley said that after seeing Snuka flying body splash Muraco off the top rope, a light opened in his world that would lead him into the world of professional wrestling. He was captivated.

In Freedom, PA, Mick Foley would enter the professional wrestling world. While still in college, he would drive several hours with other students to train and appear in early smash matches for WWF tapings. He debuted under the name Jack Foley. During one of his early matches against the British Bulldogs, Foley was clotheslined so hard by The Dynamite Kid that he couldn't eat solid food for weeks. After several years with the wrestling organization in Freedom, PA, Foley got an offer from the Memphis based CWF and he agreed to wrestle as Cactus Jack. After a short stint with the CWF's Stud Stable, Foley made the rounds, wrestling with Texas based World Class Championship Wrestling as Cactus Jack Manson. He won several titles there but left after losing a match to Eric Embry in 9 seconds. After that was the Alabama wrestling circuit, where he competed in Clash of the Champions X: Texas Shootout. While with this organization, he got into a car accident that knocked his two front teeth out.

Foley's big pay day would come a few years after this when he joined the WCW. In what is considered one of his most violent and memorable series of matches, Cactus Jack took on Vader. The first match, Cactus (not the Chick-Fil-A one) won by pin but was severely beaten during the match. In the rematch, Vader removed the protective mats that were ringside and powerbombed Cactus Jack onto bare concrete, causing a legitimate concussion that caused Foley to lose sensation in his left hand and foot. The match caused Foley to go insane, was institutionalized, escaped, and developed amnesia. Upon his return to the sport, Cactus Jack faced Vader in a Texas Death Match at Halloween Havoc. Cactus would have won the match but Harley Race used a cattle prod on him, knocking him out cold for over 10 seconds, which was more than enough time for Vader to pin him. In the culmination of this feud, Foley and Vader wrestled in Munich, Germany. While beginning a move called "the hangman" where the wrestler's head is wrapped in the top two ropes of the ring, Foley became dangerously caught because of a tightening of the ropes prior to the match that neither wrestler knew about. the move was made even more unsafe by the fact that the WCW didn't use actual ropes, but elevator cables encased in rubber. Foley would rip most of his ear off and would have to undergo surgery later that day to reattach the cartilege and would have reconstructive surgery later that year. Instead of going to surgery the day it was scheduled, he wrestled in the tag team championship on Slamboree and won the tag team championship.

After his time as Cactus Jack, Foley took on the persona of Mankind, a psychologically disturbed wrestler who squealed, talked to a rat, pulled out his hair, and yelled "Mommy!" during matches. He feuded often with the Undertaker. At King of the Ring, the two competed in the third Hell in a Cell match. In one of the most famous matches in professional wrestling history, Foley received numerous injuries and took two dangerous and highly influential bumps. The first one came as both wrestlers were brawling on top of the cell, and Undertaker threw Mankind from a height of 16 feet (4.9 m) and sent him crashing through the Spanish announcers' table. This event also triggered Jim Ross famously shouting "Good God almighty! Good God almighty! They've killed him! As God as my witness, he is broken in half!". With both men back on the top of the cell, Undertaker chokeslammed Mankind, and a section of the cage gave way. Foley fell through and hit the ring hard. A chair that had been atop the cage also slammed Foley's head and knocked out a tooth as he hit the canvas. He was also knocked unconscious for a few moments from the impact, but he finished the match after waking up. Although Mankind lost, both wrestlers received a standing ovation for the match, and the event is often said to have jump-started Foley's main event career.Many future matches attempted to replicate some of the spots from this match. In his autobiography Have a Nice Day! A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks, Foley wrote that he couldn't remember much of what happened, and he had to watch a tape of the match to write about it. The match was voted Pro Wrestling Illustrated's Match of the Year for 1998. Although many fans regard the match as a classic, it has generated controversy as well. Critics charge that the falls in the match were so extreme and they set the bar for further bumps so high that the inevitable attempts to equal or surpass them would be unsafe for the wrestlers involved. Foley said in his first book that his wife cried during a post match phone conversation between the two, and this made Foley strongly consider retiring from wrestling. He also said that after the match, Vince McMahon thanked him for all he had done for the company, but made Foley promise to "never do anything like that again." He also made mention in the book of a rather humorous exchange he and Undertaker had backstage while being checked out by Dr. Pettit, the company's resident doctor. Foley, still somewhat dazed from the concussion he sustained, turned to the Undertaker and asked "Did I use the thumbtacks?", a staple of some of Foley's early matches. The Undertaker looked at him and rather sternly replied "Look at your arm, Mick!", at which point Foley discovered a significant number of thumbtacks still lodged in his arm.

In addition to playing the role of Mr. Socko, whose performances you've seen this season, Foley would go on to become Commissioner of the WCW, referee, part time wrestler, and announcer. He became an executive shareholder, authored 3 memoirs, 3 children's books, and 2 adult fiction books. He has had numerous film, TV and radio appearances, including 25 on camera roles.

Below are the nicknames held at one time or another by the most colorful personality in the history of the wrestling world:

  • Jack Foley

  • Cactus Jack (Manson)

  • Mankind

  • Mr. Socko

  • The Hardcore Legend

  • The Unpredictable

  • Mrs. Foley's Baby Boy

  • The Demented One

  • Mr. Bang Bang

Despite being counted out most of the time because of his antics, Foley accomplished quite a bit in his career in professional wrestling. Here is a list of his lifetime achievements:

Championship Wrestling Association

  • CWA Tag Team Championship (1 time)– with Gary Young

Eastern Championship Wrestling / Extreme Championship Wrestling

  • ECW World Tag Team Championship (2 times)– with Mikey Whipwreck

Extreme Mid–South Wrestling

  • MSW North American Championship (1 time)

George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame

  • Frank Gotch Award (2010)

Great Lakes Championship Wrestling

  • GLCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

International Wrestling Association of Japan

    • IWA World Tag Team Championship (IWA Japan version) (1 time)– with Tracy Smothers

  • King of the Deathmatch (1995)

National Wrestling League

  • NWL Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

Ozark Mountain Wrestling

  • OMW North American Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

Pro Wrestling Illustrated

  • PWI ranked him #46 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI Years in 2003[95]

Steel City Wrestling

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling

World Championship Wrestling

World Class Wrestling Association

World Wrestling Federation

Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards

Week 6

Week 6 brought with it a sense of anxiousness for the Spitballs as they had a 3 week hiatus from softball. With everyone chomping at the bit to get out there and tear someone's head off with a line drive or Atomic Drop someone running down a base path, one player rose above the rest to claim this week's Player of the Week and Heavyweight Champion of the Diamond award. Danny "Hacksaw" Kaminsky is this week's winner. His performance both on and off the field were notable this week. On the field he helped the Spitballs remain undefeated by tossing a complete game shutout, recording 2 strike outs and no walks along the way. He went 1-2 with a double and had a run scored, and he looked damn good doing it. Hacksaw is having a great year for the Spitballs. His average is sitting at .750 and he consistently leads the team in BPI each week. He has more time to focus on his softball playing abilities these days as the Toronto based Border City Wrestling and Maximum Pro Wrestling take up considerably less of his time than Total Nonstop Action Wrestling and WWE did. Hailing from Glen Falls, NY, Hacksaw excelled in all sports but chose to play football in college and was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons. He was unfortunately released due to knee injuries and turned to his second love, wrestling. He debuted in the Mid-South Wrestling League and instantly had a feud with another newcomer, "Hacksaw" Butch Reed. After Ted DiBiase teamed up with Skandor Akbar, Hacksaw refused to go with him and became a fan favorite, solidifying himself as the true Hacksaw. It was during his time with Mid-South Wrestling that he began carrying his iconic 2x4.

After breaking a fan's eye socket and being sued for $25,432, Hacksaw left Mid-South Wrestling and joined the World Wrestling Federation. In 1988, after only a year with WWF, Duggan won the first ever Royal Rumble, thus making history. After feuds with Andre The Giant, Ted DiBiase, and Hercules, Duggan started portraying traits of an American patriot by picking fights with foreign villains such as Dino Bravo and Russian Boris Zhukov.

In mid-1992, Duggan was moved to undercard status. In early 1993, he was involved in a feud with the then near 600 pound Yokozuna, who was the number one contender to the WWF Championship. Manager Mr. Fuji was bad mouthing America and Duggan challenged his protégé to a match. The match was promoted by claiming that no one had knocked Yokozuna off his feet, even though Yokozuna had been knocked off his feet shortly before, during the 1993 Royal Rumble match by the "Macho Man" Randy Savage). The stipulations to the match were if Duggan knocked Yokozuna off his feet, Duggan would win. On the February 6 edition of Superstars, Duggan won the match after knocking Yokozuna down completely and then was manhandled by the much bigger Yokozuna after the match. Yokozuna gave him about four more Banzai Drops, sidelining Duggan for about four months.

Duggan signed a contract with WCW in late 1994. He debuted in WCW at Fall Brawl, where he defeated Steve Austin in a squash match lasting thirty-five seconds to win the United States Heavyweight Championship to show his respect was to the United States After becoming champion, he quickly started a feud with Austin, and eventually defeated him in a title rematch at Halloween Havoc by disqualification.T he two had a second title rematch on the November 16 edition of Clash of the Champions, where Duggan retained the title again by disqualification. Duggan's reign ended at Starrcade, where he was defeated by Vader. It was this defeat that landed Duggan back at mid-card status and had him wrestling on Saturday nights. He was diagnosed with kidney-cancer in 1998 and took a leave of absense from wrestling.

Don't worry, he didn't die. Duggan returned to wrestling shortly thereafter. He has been jumping from circuit to circuit for the last 12 years and is currently with Border City Wrestling. He will forever be known as an American icon in the Professional Wrestling world for carrying around a flag and a 2x4. His most notable finishing move is "Old Glory", a version of the Flying Knee Drop.

Rasslin'

America!

Week 5

Week 4

For the second week in a row, the championship belt will be residing with a member of the McCreary household. In an impressive display of power, speed, and charisma, Jason McCreary (Ric Flair) takes over as the Spitballs Player of the Week and Heavyweight Champion of the Diamond. He went 3 for 4 at the plate with a triple and picked up 2 RBI's while scoring every time he reached base. In the field he was a defensive stopper catching everything that came his way, including a rope down the left field line that would have been out of most people's reach. Richard Morgan Fliehr, essentially the king of nicknames, has racked up quite a few monikers over his tenure in the professional wrestling business, and is arguably the most well known wrestler in the world. He debuted in 1972 where he adopted the nickname that would stick with him throughout his career of Ric Flair. He battled with George "Scrap Iron" Gadaski for 10 minutes until the match ended in a draw. Over the next two years, Flair would wrestle against the likes of Andre the Giant, Dusty Rhodes, Larry Hennig, and Wahoo McDaniel while with the American Wrestling Association.

In 1974, Flair left the AWA for Jim Crockett's Mid-Atlantic region in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and he soon captured his first singles title when, on February 8, 1975, he beat Paul Jones for the Mid-Atlantic TV Championship. On October 4, 1975, however, Flair's career nearly ended when he was in a serious plane crash in Wilmington, North Carolina that took the life of the pilot and paralyzed Johnny Valentine (also on board were "Mr. Wrestling I" Tim Woods, Bob Bruggers, and promoter David Crockett). Flair broke his back in three places and, at age 26, was told by doctors that he would never wrestle again. Flair conducted a rigorous physical therapy schedule, however, and he returned to the ring just six months later, where he resumed his feud with Wahoo McDaniel in February 1976. The crash did force Flair to change his wrestling technique away from the power brawling style he had used early on, which led him to adopt the "Nature Boy" style he would use throughout his career. Groomed by Jim Crockett Jr. as his future top star, Flair won the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship when he defeated Bobo Brazil on July 29, 1977; and during the next three years, he held five reigns as U.S. Champion while feuding with Ricky Steamboat, Roddy Piper, Mr. Wrestling II, Jimmy Snuka, and Greg Valentine (with whom he also formed a championship tag team). Flair, however, reached elite status when he began referring to himself as "The Nature Boy" in order to incite 1978 feud with the original "Nature Boy", Buddy Rogers.

Following a best-of-three falls match with Steamboat that lasted just short of the 60-minute time limit (and ended with a disputed finish where Steamboat retained the title) at Clash of the Champions VI: Ragin' Cajun on April 2, Flair regained the title from Steamboat on May 7, 1989 at WrestleWar. This match was voted 1989's "Match of the Year" by Pro Wrestling Illustrated, and is widely considered among the greatest matches of all time. Flair was attacked by Terry Funk (serving as a judge for the match, as per its stipulations) after the match when Flair refused to grant Funk a title match, telling Funk that he had spent too much time in Hollywood and out of wrestling, and was not a listed title contender. The attack reached its conclusion when Funk gave Flair a piledriver onto the judges' table.

Months later, a "recovered" Flair returned to competition in an emotional match against Funk at The Great American Bash. The two continued feuding through the summer and eventually Flair reformed the Four Horsemen, with the surprise addition of longtime rival Sting, to combat Funk's J-Tex Corporation. This led to an "I Quit" match at Clash of the Champions IX: New York Knockout. Before the match, Funk stated that he would shake Flair's hand if he lost, a promise he kept when he shouted, "Yes, I quit!" after being in Flair's figure four leglock. Flair then kicked Sting out of the Horsemen upon his challenge for the NWA Championship, resulting in a revived feud between the two which had to be delayed due to Sting injuring his knee, forcing WCW to slot Lex Luger as Flair's main challenger until Sting returned. On July 7, 1990, Flair dropped the title to Sting at The Great American Bash. After being unmasked as the Black Scorpion at Starrcade in 1990, Flair regained the title from Sting on January 11, 1991, in front of a near empty house due to the blizzard conditions in the New York City area. Prior to this reign, WCW split their recognition of a World Heavyweight Champion from the NWA, and Flair was subsequently recognized as the first WCW World Heavyweight Champion, while still being recognized as NWA World Champion.

Flair's career has spanned almost 40 years, in which time he has collected over twenty World Championships. His most recent matches have been with Total Nonstop Action wrestling (TNA) where Flair has been feuding with Hulk-Hogan. On the February 25 edition of Impact!, Hulk Hogan announced that both he and Flair will make their in-ring TNA debuts on the March 8 Monday night edition of Impact!, when Hogan and Abyss face Flair and Styles in a tag team match. On the March 8 Monday night edition of Impact! Hogan and Abyss defeated Flair and Styles, when Abyss pinned Styles. Afterwards, the returning Jeff Hardy saved Abyss and Hogan from a beatdown at the hands of Flair, Styles and Beer Money, Inc. At Lockdown Team Flair (Sting, Desmond Wolfe, Robert Roode and James Storm) was defeated by Team Hogan (Abyss, Jeff Jarrett, Jeff Hardy and Rob Van Dam) in a Lethal Lockdown match. On the April 26 edition of Impact! Flair was defeated by Abyss in a match, where Flair's and Hogan's WWE Hall of Fame rings were at stake and as a result Flair lost possession of his ring to Hogan. The following week Hogan gave the ring to Jay Lethal, who returned it to Flair out of respect. This, however, wasn't enough for Flair, who attacked Lethal along with the members of Team Flair.

His impressive collection of nicknames include:

"(The) Nature Boy"

"Naitch (Short for "Nature Boy")"

"The Dirtiest Player in the Game"

"Stylin' and Profilin'"

"The Man"

"The Limousine Ridin', Jet Flying, Kiss Stealin', Wheelin' Dealin', Son of a Gun"

"Space Mountain" (because he likes to remind people of is that "even though Space Mountain is the oldest ride at the park, the line is still the longest.")

"The Sixty-Minute Man"

"Slick Ric"

"The Master of the Figure Four"

"The Golden Stallion"

with ne thing Flair

Week 3

This week's Most Outstanding Player and Heavyweight Champion of the Diamond was clearly Daniel Faulk (Sting). With only two at bats he managed to rack up 4 RBI's on a triple and a home run, which is his second in two games this year.

Sting, known by his mother as Steve Borden, came from humble beginnings in Omaha, NE. He made his way to the softball diamond via the wrestling ring, but for a while Steve resisted fate. He constantly turned away offers from Red Bastien and Rick Bassman, owners of the pro wrestling stable Powerteam USA to be the 4th member. After grudgingly agreeing to dabble in the sport, Steve made his debut in the sport under the name "Flash Borden" in November of 1985.

Over the next few years, Flash Borden and his tag-team partner who many of you now know as Brandon Fleischmann, Ultimate Warrior, B-Money, and Beef, but who was then known as Jim "Justice" Hellwig, traveled around and competed in the Memphis, Tennessee based Continental Wrestling Association and later the Shreveport, Louisiana based Universal Wrestling Federation.

After establishing himself as a rising star in the wrestling world, Sting would challenge Ric Flair for the 1988 NWA World Heavyweight Championship at the Clash of the Champions. Sting lost to Flair, but would continue to be booked in title matches. He finally earned a Heavyweight title at Starrcade '88 by defeating The Road Warriors with his partner Dusty Rhodes. Sting would challenge Flair for the Individual Heavyweight Championship over the next several years with both holding the title several times.

In what would become the most famous feud of his career, Sting endured 3 cracked ribs and a ruptured spleen against Big Van Vader. The 450 pounder "Splashed" Sting and won the match, but Sting would recover to regain his title. Sting would go on to have a career that stretched into 2006, and after a Brett Favre-like come back to the sport, he was, as of May 3, 2010, ranked #1 in the world of wrestling.

In addition to wrestling, there are two books that detail his career, Chad Bonham's Wrestling With God (2001) and a collaboration between Sting and George King entitled Sting: Moment of Truth (2004). Moreover, he has several DVDs and VHSs, including Sting: Deadly Venom, Sting: Unmasked, Sting: Back in Black, and Sting: Return of an Icon. Great Job Sting.

Week 2

Week 1

Reiher achieved his dream only a few short years after moving to Hawaii and quickly saw his body building career deflate after he was introduced to Twinkies by some American tourists he met. As uncertainty was looming over his body building career he decided to switch to a more lucrative business and became a professional wrestler. During this time of transformation, Jimmy not only changed his profession. It was during this time that he would adopt the name Jimmy Kealoha. For a few years he traveled the Pacific Northwest wrestling everything and anything he could get his hands on. His indominable work ethic and crazy animal print thongs earned him his first Heavyweight Championship in 1973 when he pinned Bull Ramos. After his first title, Jimmy took on the name Jimmy Snuka. Snuka would go on to win 5 more Heavyweight titles during his stint with the NWA Northwest Pacific. He also garnered success with his tag team partner Dutch Savage and encountered his first notable feud with another rookie, Jesse "The Body" Ventura.

During the 80's Jimmy entered the WWF and sold out to main stream professional wrestling. He became known for his high-flying wrestling technique and top-rope antics and was dubbed "Superfly" from that point on. One of the most defining moments of Snuka's career came at a steel cage match in Madison Square Garden on a brisk fall day in 1983. Snuka lost his match to Don Muraco, but afterwards he managed to drag Muraco back into the ring and connect with the most infamous Superfly Splash of his career from 15 feet above the ring off the top of the steel cage. Future wrestling stars The Sandman, Mick Foley, Tommy Dreamer, and Bubba Ray Dudley all witnessed this spectacle and site it as the reason they chose to pursue a career in professional wrestling.

This week's Player Of The Week is Ben Frerichs, aka Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka. He hails from Fiji. Snuka, then known by his given name of James William Reiher, got into amateur body building competitions and moved to Hawaii (Mookalakaheeki. Come on, you wanna lay me) to pursue his dream of becoming Mr. Hawaii.

Outside the ring, Snuka is part owner of Body Slam University in southern Florida. He has also appeared on the big screen as himself in Buffalo Bushido in 2007 and most recently in the film "Shoot Out Of Luck" co-starring Willie Nelson and Randall "Tex" Cobb.

Jimmy, you're an inspiration to all of us, both on and off the field. That's why you're this week's Spitballs Player Of The Week!