Sandlot Illustrated: Archives

SPECIAL REPORT: 2010

Posted by Craig Smith on February 28, 2010 – 4 Comments

Spring is in the air, the grass is returning to green and the Super Bowl is becoming a distant memory which can mean only one thing -- it's time to play stickball again. The 2010 season is upon us! 2010 marks...

SPECIALS '09 TEAM AWARDS & The Naming of the NINES

Posted by Craig Smith on January 15, 2010 – 6 Comments

The SPECIALS,under the guidance of Bush League Manager of the Year, Doug Sabeh, had a phenomenal inaugural season winning an incredible 14 games, but this team wasn't built to win the game as much as it was to 'experience' the game . ....

2009 Championship Highlights

Posted by Mark Smith on January 1, 2010 – 4 Comments

Here is the highlight video I put together from the championship game. Enjoy! Feel free to blow it up full-screen, or watch an HD version on YouTube. Thanks to everyone for making 2009 a great season!...

The 2009 Playoff Preview

Posted by Doug Sabeh on December 19, 2009 – 8 Comments

It has been a long season and an even longer wait for this years playoffs to begin. However, we are just days away from one of the most anticipated playoff series to begin the week of December 21, 2009. The...

Change-up for the Jacks in the Playoffs

Posted by Clifton Labrum on December 14, 2009 – 2 Comments

The Utah Jacks announced today that due to recent health concerns of their foremost player, Clifton Labrum, he will be playing a Manager role during the playoffs. This means the Jacks will still maintain a presence in this season's charge...

Ahhh, That's Special!

Posted by Craig Smith on October 5, 2009 – 1 Comments

The SPECIALS, short for several 'special' places in the Bush League (Safford, Pittsburgh, EAC, Central, Indiana, Alton, Lake Jackson and San Antonio), were established in 2009 as a Semi-Pro, Traveling, Beer League-style, Stickball Club with Craig Smith as owner and...

First Half Season Review of 2009

Posted by Doug Sabeh on July 5, 2009 – 8 Comments

The 2009 Stickball Season is a little more than half way through. There a a lot of story lines and new teams in the mix and it has made for a lot of conversation over the last few months. Who...

Duane Makes His Comback, Cedric Makes His Debut

Posted by Mark Smith on May 17, 2009 – 2 Comments

May 16th was a great day for the Bush League - An old player made his return and three new Rookies took the field. Duane DeSpain was a dominant force during the first few years of the Bush League existence. ...

Rule Changes?

Posted by Mark Smith on March 8, 2009 – 3 Comments

After hearing some of the complaints and seeing some of the problems from last year and just trying to make the league a little more challenging for some players the commissioner's office is submitting the following rule changes to be...

Most Valuable Player: Brandon

Posted by Mark Smith on February 14, 2009 – 0 Comments

Brandon started the awards off 14 days ago with Batting Champion and finishes with the League MVP. Brandon had the greatest offensive statistical season of all time. With everything Brandon did at the plate this year he just did enough...

Pitcher of the Year: Jason

Posted by Mark Smith on February 13, 2009 – 0 Comments

Jason won the Pitcher of the Year and when you look at the numbers there wasn't much debate. He put up some incredible numbers many of which were career highs for him. Jason finished the season with a 10-7 record. ...

Defensive Player of the Year: Mark Smith

Posted by Mark Smith on February 12, 2009 – 0 Comments

In a year where the awards have been changed up a little once again a new award has been created - and Mark takes home the first ever Defensive Player of the Year. Defense? We talking about defense? This is...

Golden Glove Infield: Doug, Jason & Mark

Posted by Mark Smith on February 11, 2009 – 2 Comments

As was mentioned in the previous article, Golden Gloves will not be given to not just one player but multiple players who had great years. All three of these players had great seasons in the infield and would be a...

Golden Glove Outfield: Mark and Kimball

Posted by Mark Smith on February 10, 2009 – 1 Comments

We decided to give out multiple awards this year for the Golden Gloves. On a typical Bush League team, two or three players will play the infield while one or two will play the outfield. So why not just give...

Most Improved Player: Clifton

Posted by Mark Smith on February 9, 2009 – 1 Comments

Clifton brings home his third strait award of 2008 as he is this year's Most Improved Player. Clifton had a great season in 2008 as can be seen by how his numbers improved from 2007. With only 9 more at...

Sportsmanship Award: Doug & Clifton

Posted by Mark Smith on February 8, 2009 – 2 Comments

When I said the voting was close...this is what I meant, Doug - 31, Clifton - 31! And if you probably asked either one of them they would probably say to just give it to the other guy. This is...

Comback Player of the Year: Clifton

Posted by Mark Smith on February 7, 2009 – 0 Comments

Clifton received 46 of the total 80 votes - the second highest vote total of any award. So let's take a closer look at what made Clifton the 2008 Comeback Player of the Year. Some people voted for Clifton because...

Inventor of the Year: Craig

Posted by Mark Smith on February 6, 2009 – 2 Comments

v\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} o\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} w\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} .shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);} Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan;...

Joe Jackson All Hustle Award: Doug & Kimball

Posted by Mark Smith on February 5, 2009 – 2 Comments

This award is new to the Bush League Stickball. It was created in honor of Joe Jackson who was banned from baseball because of the Black Socks Scandal in the 1919 World Series. Although he was associated with the players...

Rookie of the Year: David Shelton

Posted by Mark Smith on February 4, 2009 – 0 Comments

Not known by many players in the Bush League, David did make a lasting impression on some of the players while only playing one day of the 2008 season. There wasn't much competition for this years Rookie of the Year...

The Real KO King: Robin Smith KO Ratio 50.0

Posted by Mark Smith on February 3, 2009 – 0 Comments

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;...

Homerun Champion & KO King: Jason 58 HR, 19 KO

Posted by Mark Smith on February 2, 2009 – 1 Comments

v\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} o\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} w\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} .shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);} Normal 0 false false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in;...

Batting Champion: Brandon Kempton .890

Posted by Mark Smith on February 1, 2009 – 1 Comments

Brandon shattered the previous records this season and did so with ease. The King of Swing flirted with .900 all season and went into the championship game batting right at the 90% mark. Many say that Brandon might not have...

2008 Bush League Stickball Awards

Posted by Mark Smith on January 31, 2009 – 0 Comments

We had a great year in the 2008 Bush League Stickball season. Just like Doug always said we did make it great in 2008. But the season would not be complete without the end of the year awards. We will...

The 2008 Playoffs: Rivalry Week or Status Quo?

Posted by Doug Sabeh on November 22, 2008 – 4 Comments

It has been a long season, with lots of ups and downs, but somethings seem to never change. For example, The Central Arizona Stickball League will once again begin its playoffs around the time of the United States Holiday of...

Keystones to File for Bankruptcy; Doug Sabeh Optioned to Miners

Posted by Doug Sabeh on November 13, 2008 – 6 Comments

Sandlot Illustrated reports that the Pittsburgh Keystones are filing for Bankruptcy. Since the West Virginia Miners made their decision to leave the organization in 2009, attendance at home games has declined and expenses have increased. The Keystones are unable to...

Welcome to the New Server!

Posted by Clifton Labrum on September 27, 2008 – 0 Comments

I know what you're thinking, so I've answered your questions below: "What!? This looks exactly the same. What are you talking about, Clifton?" I moved SLI from one server to another in order to cut costs and make some improvements...

SLI Email: Who Cares?

Posted by Clifton Labrum on September 19, 2008 – 6 Comments

Would anyone be interested in a free yourname@sandlotillustrated.com email address? I set up a thing where it looks and feels like Gmail, but it's strictly for the Bush League. You can see some screenshots here and here. You would have...

TOP 25 HOMERUNS

Posted by Craig Smith on September 9, 2008 – 8 Comments

Sandlot Illustrated, in the most recent issue, documented a top 25 list of the best and most memorable homeruns in the Bush League since 2000 when stats began. That was SI's opinion of the 25 best homeruns, but we...

League To Possibly Have Major Changes in 2009?

Posted by Doug Sabeh on September 2, 2008 – 4 Comments

Sandlot Illustrated has received information from several members of the league that there is a lot of uncertainty as to where the league is headed in the upcoming months as well as the upcoming year. There is a rumor going...

Celebrity Stickball Team - Online Voting

Posted by Craig Smith on August 24, 2008 – 31 Comments

Welcome to the Celebrity Stickball Team Online Voting! Here are the rules for voting. Each BUSH LEAGUE player or family member can vote one time per week from now until November 15th. Vote by posting a comment to this...

Miners to end Affiliation with the Keystones at the End of the 2008 Season

Posted by Doug Sabeh on August 4, 2008 – 3 Comments

The West Virginia Miners announced today that they will not renew their agreement with the Pittsburgh Keystones of the Central Arizona Stickball League in 2009. Although their debut in the league was considered a success, the Miners have decided that...

The State of Stickball

Posted by Mark Smith on July 21, 2008 – 4 Comments

We are more than halfway done with our season and I would like to take a moment to discuss the state of our league and what is to come in the near future. We have had some great turn-outs for...

Miners eXperience helps Keystones in Safford Tournament

Posted by Doug Sabeh on June 17, 2008 – 3 Comments

The Miners eXperience in the Safford Tournament was the high point for the Keystones organization. The Miners in their league debut went 2-2 in the tournament thanks to fairly decent play by their double duty player, Doug Sabeh. Mr. Sabeh...

The BUSH LEAGUE eXperience: Are You Ready?

Posted by Craig Smith on May 26, 2008 – 3 Comments

>* Note: To "experience" the full effect of this article please read in the voice style of William Shatner, Brent Musburger or Jack Black. Experience . . . the tradition . . . the paegentry . . . the passion...

Miners to Make League Debut End of May or Early June

Posted by Doug Sabeh on April 26, 2008 – 2 Comments

The West Virginia Miners have announced that they plan to be in town to be part of the opening festivities of the Summer Tournament held in Safford Arizona this year that runs from June 2-7, 2008. The Miners will be...

2008 Begins with a Blast

Posted by Clifton Labrum on April 6, 2008 – 2 Comments

The stats are already beginning to roll in from around the Bush League, and it appears that this season will be the most competitive and intense in the history of Gila Valley stickball. Even the Utah Jacks managed to get...

In the Works: Virtual Bush League

Posted by Clifton Labrum on March 26, 2008 – 0 Comments

The rumor mill has been churning once again, and the word on the street is that the Virtual Bush League (VBL) is under consideration by the Commissioner. Reports have indicated that Mark Smith managed to acquire a Nintendo Wii...

More from the Highlight Reel

Posted by Mark Smith on March 9, 2008 – 2 Comments

After a lot of work, I finally present to you my highlight video from 2006 and 2007 where we played out at Legacy Field and in San Antonio when Craig and Clifton visited. I hope you enjoy the Napoleon and...

Jacks Name to Change?

Posted by Clifton Labrum on February 17, 2008 – 1 Comments

The rumor mill has been churning in the Bush League press room that the Utah Jacks are poised to make a team name change. This photo was leaked from an anonymous source and is purported to be the new, official...

Yard Dogs Move on...and Expand!

Posted by Mark Smith on February 17, 2008 – 2 Comments

Rumors are flooding out of San Antonio that the Yard Dogs are on the move. Less than a year removed from their second championship it appears that the Yard Dogs of Mesa errrr, San Antonio errrr, Safford are going back...

Lone Stars Announce New Minor League Team

Posted by Craig Smith on February 17, 2008 – 1 Comments

Texas Royal Lone Stars Team President/Mascot, Chuck Norris, aka Walker Texas Ranger, announced on behalf of the organization that the DOMINICAN TIGRES will double as their minor league affiliate and winter ball/Wii team for 2008. The decision to bring the...

Keystones and Miners Reach League Affiliate Agreement

Posted by Doug Sabeh on February 16, 2008 – 4 Comments

Today the Central Arizona Stickball League is continuing its growth. The Pittsburgh Keystones in an attempt to stregnthen its organization signed a minor league affiliate agreement with the West Virginia Miners. The Miners are a semi-pro stickball organization that has...

Bold Predictions

Posted by Mark Smith on February 11, 2008 – 4 Comments

Everyone in sports loves a good prediction. Whether predictions are totally wrong like in the case of Rory Sabatini who claimed last year that Tiger Woods, “is as beatable as ever”. Tiger went on to crush him along with the...

2007 Championship Highlights

Posted by Clifton Labrum on January 2, 2008 – 12 Comments

By popular demand, here comes the energized 2007 Championship highlight reel. You can watch a variety of at-bats taken from games 3-5 of the series where the Yard Dogs clinched their victory. This video is about 55MB, so I highly...

Hype Contest Results

Posted by Clifton Labrum on December 28, 2007 – 2 Comments

The Championship has passed, and the results are in for the hype contest that I announced back at the end of November. I realized that I had to throw out ticker updates since that's something that I can't track. The...

Recap of Games 1 and 2

Posted by Clifton Labrum on December 23, 2007 – 3 Comments

After a late start and a quick warm-up, the Jacks took the field and the Yard Dogs came to the plate. The Dogs spread their hits out all over the field keeping the Jacks on the defensive for several innings....

Mitchell Report

Posted by Mark Smith on December 20, 2007 – 2 Comments

The new report that just came out Thursday named some pretty big names in Major League Baseball. Among those named were MVP Barry Bonds, Cy Young award winner Roger Clemens and All-Stars Mark McGuire, Andy Petitte, Paul Lo Duca, Kevin...

A Big Championship Trophy

Posted by Clifton Labrum on December 20, 2007 – 4 Comments

As a relatively new franchise, the Utah Jacks don't have much to showcase their success (or lack thereof). When one beholds the award galleries of teams like the Stix, the Lone Stars, the Keystones, and even the Yard Dogs, one...

Equipment Found!

Posted by Clifton Labrum on December 20, 2007 – 3 Comments

The Utah Jacks originally realized that their cherished equipment, purchased specifically for stickball, was lost as of last spring. Clifton was nothing short of a beggar out in the field between innings borrowing gloves from the least-sweaty players in order...

A Gift to the League

Posted by Clifton Labrum on December 20, 2007 – 2 Comments

To this day, the Jacks get teased about an unprecedented and completely unexpected home run that Clifton hit at the high school last summer. The pitch came in, slow, lazy, high, and outside. In a rare moment of full-arm extension...

The Twelve Days of Stickball

Posted by Mark Smith on December 13, 2007 – 3 Comments

Since there are now only twelve days until Christmas I thought I would write our own Christmas song, thanks to Jenn, Clifton and Ashley for help. Hope you enjoy! On the twelfth day of stickball the commissioner gave to me…...

The Mysteriously Mediocre Jacks

Posted by Clifton Labrum on December 9, 2007 – 8 Comments

There has been considerable speculation into how the Utah Jacks made it to the championship. Some claimed that they played too few games this season. Others suggested additional playoff games were necessary to solidify their championship candidacy. Whatever the dispute,...

UPS, Official Sponsor of the Yard Dogs

Posted by Mark Smith on December 5, 2007 – 7 Comments

Just as Doug wrote back in 2005, my championship hopes came down to a plane trip and a van ride so do my hopes of a second championship this year. The only difference is that this year I need a...

2007 Championship Predictions

Posted by Mark Smith on December 1, 2007 – 2 Comments

A few thoughts on what might happen later this month. Game--------Place------------------------------------------Winners #1----------Stk. Center-----------------------------Mark, Brandon, Jason, Robin #2----------Stk. Center-----------------------------Clifton, Craig, Jason, Robin #3----------High School----------------------------Mark, Jason, Brandon, Doug #4----------Middle School--------------------------Mark, Brandon, Craig, Doug #5----------EAC-------------------------------------Clifton, Craig, Brandon, Robin #6----------Thatcher High-------------------------Clifton, Craig, Brandon, Kimball...

Countdown to the Championship

Posted by Clifton Labrum on November 30, 2007 – 5 Comments

All right, fellas, we're just a few weeks away from the 2007 Bush League Championship where the San Antonio Yard Dogs will face the Utah Jacks. In order to celebrate the impending battle of brains and brawn, and to rally...

Starting Pitchers for the Jacks

Posted by Clifton Labrum on November 25, 2007 – 3 Comments

After several weeks of careful deliberation, the Utah Jacks announce their championship pitchers. The Jacks look to put more than half the series in the hands of the famed Robin Smith of the San Carlos Scouts. The Jacks expect to...

The New Website is Here!

Posted by Clifton Labrum on November 18, 2007 – 1 Comments

After hours and hours of work, and thousands of lines of written-from-scratch code, the new and improved Sandlot Illustrated is here! The coolest new features include more comprehensive statistics and awards, not to mention the administrative section of the site...

Politics, Playoffs and Polls

Posted by Craig Smith on October 23, 2007 – 5 Comments

There's a nip to the air, the leaves are changing and the presidential candidate debates are in full swing as we embark upon another October Classic in baseball. Our own Championship Series is about two months away so we thought...

The Showdown

Posted by Clifton Labrum on October 13, 2007 – 6 Comments

As the opposing championship teams gear up for the big series, the trash talk has already begun. Text messages fire back and forth between Utah and Texas as well as sarcasm-packed voicemails and phone conversations. Do the Jacks, with...

Yard Dogs Announce Their Starting Pitchers

Posted by Mark Smith on October 13, 2007 – 4 Comments

Game #1……………………. Mark Game #2……………………. Mark Game #3……………………. Mark Game #4……………………. Mark Game #5……………………. Jason Game #6……………………. Mark Game #7……………………..Robin...

2007 Championship Schedule

Posted by Clifton Labrum on October 12, 2007 – 4 Comments

Okay folks, the commissioner has put together the team lineups, game locations, and schedule for the 2007 championship. Just click the image below to download the PDF that contains all this information. If you have any questions contact the commish....

Yard Dogs vs. Jacks

Posted by Clifton Labrum on October 10, 2007 – 4 Comments

After an action-packed playoff series, the San Antonio Yard Dogs and the Utah Jacks managed to clinch the championship showdown to be played December 22-28. Anyone who's anyone will make the trek to Safford for the showdown. The team lineups...

The Keystones and Dogs Are In!

Posted by Mark Smith on September 29, 2007 – 5 Comments

With many major league teams clinching playoff spots it is time for two Bush League teams to start spraying the champagne, sparkling cider, IBC Rootbeer or whatever your drink of choice is. The Eastern Division will send the Keystones and...

The Stretch Run

Posted by Craig Smith on September 17, 2007 – 1 Comments

The Stretch Run is upon us and don't it feel good? This is why we play the game! The suspense . . . the drama . . . the glory . . . the passion . . . the agony...

The integrity of the league has been compromised!

Posted by Mark Smith on September 1, 2007 – 9 Comments

Rumor has it that the integrity of the Bush League has been compromised and that certain players have been associated with the mob. Craig, Clifton, Mark and Kimball have supposedly begun playing “virtual games”. A reliable source, very close to...

Where has all the stickball gone?

Posted by Mark Smith on August 26, 2007 – 4 Comments

Is stickball as we know it on the way out? Will the Smith family ever get together again to play ego ball, or at the very least to get in a fight? Are we truly approaching an end of an...

Can the Drama Continue?

Posted by Mark Smith on May 23, 2007 – 2 Comments

First things first, I would like to welcome back all the players! Hopefully the rest of this year can live up to what was the first two weeks. The stats have been great…for some, good…for others, and well not MVP-like...

Updates Made, More on the Way

Posted by Clifton Labrum on April 18, 2007 – 2 Comments

Greetings to the world of Stickball! The 2007 season has begun and the website has now been updated to post the 2007 stats. Craig will soon add the season's first round of data to the updates section, and we'll watch...

The Story the League doesn't want you to know.

Posted by Craig Smith on October 9, 2006 – 5 Comments

I'm writing a book about all the stuff behind the scenes in the Bush League, and I'm going to name names. And then I'm going straight to the top . . . Barbara Walters! That's right, I'm going to tell...

The End of an Era?

Posted by Clifton Labrum on October 6, 2006 – 2 Comments

The world of stickball has hit some bumps lately as a flurry of scandals have hit the fans. Mark Smith was indicted on charges of doping on Chili Cheese Fritos just before the Labor Day Weekend Spectacular. Brandon Kempton was...

International Slugfest

Posted by Clifton Labrum on April 10, 2006 – 2 Comments

The League announced earlier today that there will be a tentatively-set stickball gathering across the border in Mexico. Unfortunately Craig and Kimball won't be present for the first ever International Slugfest. The League may call on the locals for the...

Article Archives