THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 29, 1995 TAG: 9501270208
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 28 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Sports
SOURCE: BY GARY EDWARDS, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 96 lines
RICHARD ``BIG K'' KELLY backs off the pitching rubber and blows into his right hand, trying to keep it warm. It isn't working.
The 58-year-old softball pitcher wears glasses and a gray mustache. He also wears gray sweat pants under his blue Nike running shorts.
Kelly is the sponsor, spiritual leader and wise old man of the Kellys Karpets team. Obviously wise. Behind Kelly, some players have on shorts only. No sweats. First baseman Neal Hinch wears sweats, but they are cut off above the knee.
Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the Virginia Beach Department of Parks and Recreation's winter softball, officially known as the Frostbite League. And fittingly so. The sun is up, but the temperature hovers around 45 degrees. An un-softball-like 25-mph wind out of the north whips debris across the outfield grass where it's trapped against the chainlink fence.
Kellys is pitted against Pocket Billiards on this wintry January Saturday afternoon. The two teams played on opening day the weekend before and Pockets came from behind to win in the seventh, and last, inning. Pockets has a five-run lead this day. The mood on the normally loose Kellys Karpets bench is ugly. Kelly talks to his young charges, encouraging them, trying to rally their spirits as well as their bats.
Still, going into the fourth inning, Pockets pitcher Mike Anderson has held Kellys aluminum sticks to a mere two runs. Sparkling defensive play has staked the Billiards boys to a 7-2 lead. Third baseman Scott Creel throws around a load of leather. He backhands hard shots over the bag, spins and fires the ball through the icy wind. He moves to his right and knocks down screamers that have outfield written all over them. Kellys Karpets batters make a sharp right turn at first base and head back to the bench, muttering and shaking their heads.
Momma didn't teach them to sling bats and use language like that.
``I pitched in high school and got tendinitis in my elbow. Then I went in the Navy,'' said Creel, patting his stomach. ``Added a few pounds.''
What Creel doesn't catch, shortstop Dana West does. His stops maybe aren't as spectacular as Creel's, but the man's got a right arm stronger than raw onions. He throws runners out from deep in the hole. More muttering. More swearing.
The fact that the Kellys players are as cold as their game isn't helping.
West is young, too. He wears shorts. It's no problem.
``I played in a winter league in Dearborn Heights, Mich., eight years ago,'' he said. ``We played in snow with a softball painted orange. This is nice and warm.''
In the Kellys half of the fourth, Anderson walks a couple of batters and gives up a couple of hits. Bob Kraly strides to the plate and crouches into his stance. Ball one. Strike one. The third pitch arches toward the plate and Kraly coils and swings. The flyball rises between leftfield and centerfield. Pockets outfielders chase it until they can chase it no more. The ball comes to earth with a muddy splat a few feet beyond the fence.
Kraly's teammates wait for him at home plate. The three men who scored ahead of him slap high fives with Kraly.
``I knew it was gone the minute I hit it,'' said Kraly, with a big grin and a shrug.
``You're the only one who did,'' chided a teammate. ``If the wind wasn't blowing so hard the shortstop woulda caught it.''
The seven-run inning lifted Kellys Karpets to a 9-7 lead. They laid on five more runs to win their first game of the season, 14-8. Their record stood at 1-2 after the first two weeks of play. The initial win made their bench a happy place.
KELLYS AND POCKETS are just two of the six teams fighting off the cold to play softball in January and February. The Rockies climbed to the top of the standings with wins in their first two games. The aptly named Polar Balls were one of three .500 teams. They had a 1-1 record. ECSC/Pioneer Title also had a 1-1 mark and Pocket Billiards stood at 2-2. Haven Inn and Kellys Karpets started out of the box slowly at 1-2.
So, what is a respected businessman and pillar of the community doing on the field at Princess Anne Park on chilly Saturdays?
Richard Kelly beamed like a 10-year-old at a summer picnic and said: ``Having a great time with my son (Mike) and this team,'' he said. ``I've played with some of these boys for years.
``. . . I stopped playing a few years ago, but Mike had an idea we ought to get a team together. So here we are.''
Freezing and having fun. ILLUSTRATION: Photos by PETER D. SUNDBERG
ABOVE: Shorts in January are no problem for slugger Dana West. ``I
played in a winter league in Dearborn Heights, Mich., eight years
ago,'' he said. ``We played in snow with a softball painted orange.
This is nice and warm.''
LEFT: Chris Norton, right, looks on in disbelief as umpire Jim
Grassano calls him out on a tag by third baseman Scott Creel.
by CNB