Durham NC
Home Again
Lucky timing on my part. Just recently I ran another search on Tony Neuendorff, and after three unchronicled years he's playing ball again! Tony hit a sacrifice fly for the Bernardo Bears this past June 19th. According to the Colorado County Citizen, one Tamalyn Neuendorff prepared trivia questions on the history of Bernardo, Texas, a town about halfway between Houston and San Antonio. The questions were posed to the fans attending the game, and Melvin Neuendorff won a prize by answering one of them correctly. I don't know if or how Tony is related to Tamalyn and Melvin; it's possible that two unrelated Neuendorff families live in Bernardo, Texas. I suspect, however, that Tony Neuendorff, who played college ball at Southwestern University in nearby Georgetown, Texas, has gone Home Again -- just like me.
The Citizen reports that five days later, on June 24th, the Bernardo Bears played a doubleheader against the Shiner Clippers. Tony hit at least three singles and drew a walk during the twinbill. I wish I could give details of the weekend following the 24th. I'm curious about Tony's progress, of course, but this piece of reportage from the Citizen makes me wish I'd actually been there:
That's right any former Columbus Ebony Bear or Bernardo Bear player, manager, coach, or fan is asked to come to the Den on Sunday. All past players, coaches, and managers will be introduced during the game.
There will be barbecue hamburgers during the game and barbecue brisket and pork sold by the pound after the game. Come out and support your hometown ball team, meet up with former players, and have fun. Where else can you see great baseball for just $3?
More lucky timing: This very morning I logged onto the ESPN sports web site. The lead story was about a guy named DeWayne Buice, a here-and-gone pitcher for the California Angels in the 1980s. One night in 1987, during his big-league days, Buice's search for a Chinese restaurant led him into a sports memorabilia shop to solicit advice. (Such is the taste of baseball players. As another pitcher, Bill Lee, once noted, when you are a young athlete all food is good. Only lack of food is bad.) He struck up a conversation with the owner of the shop, who recognized Buice and saw an opportunity to leverage his dream of a new baseball card company: he needed licensing permission from the baseball players' union, which is notoriously inaccessible, and if Buice was willing -- and dealt into the venture -- he could open the door. Upshot: within a few years DeWayne Buice was making millions as a founding partner of Upper Deck Baseball Cards. With some of his winnings, Buice bought into an independent baseball team called the Reno Astros. These are the same 'Nevada Astros' with whom Tony Neuendorff won the Roy Hobbs Open AAAA Division World Series in 2000. I know this because today I went back and looked at the photo; just behind Tony's left shoulder kneels DeWayne Buice, in full uniform. Buice, you see, is not only the Astros' owner. He's also, at age 45, one of their pitchers. Apparently he still throws a nasty forkball.
The semi-finals will take place June 28-29. The Bears will be at home on the 29. This will be a special weekend as it will be a reunion of all former Bear players from the team's 25 year history.
In fact, the two-for-one Tuesday promotion at the new DBAP admits two people to a Durham Bulls game for $2.75 each. But you won't see Tony Neuendorff.
