Established in 1987, The Norms were Minnesota’s most notorious Corporate/ Recreational Softball team of all-time. Named after their founder (a plumber) the team evolved from bar hounds into a 2-time State Champion who won a World title in 2002.
I will occasionally blog about my times with that softball team, because my seasons playing on the Norms mean alot to me. Many of the players are my best friends in the World to this day, and we had a great time, winning two Minnesota State Championships in 1999 & 2001, and one World Title in 2002. The memories from the dugout & on the mound are still crystal clear, and have even been recorded in our team’s documentary DVD ”e-Norm-us Softballs”
- Greatest Moment: It would be easy to add one of 25 city or league tournament championships, or even one of the state or world titles, however my greatest memory occurred the first time I practiced with the boys back in 1989. There was just something very cool about throwing in a chaw, grabbing a mitt and throwing warm up bullets for the first time. I remember just beaming, as the Geardaddies music blared loudly in the background, and saying out loud, “Is this a ball club or what?”
- Favorite All-Time Players: I gotta go with the classics, Jerry Keating aka Norm himself, who taught me that hitting is “All Attitude.” He told me once, “If you want to hit, you will hit. For cripes sake, it’s SLOW pitch softball. I also am a big fan of Todd Schneiderhan, who started out as an opponent of the Norms, but ended up being the best home run hitter in team history on the biggest stages we ever played in. Of course, the team was a team of great characters and the history would be nothing without 2B Keith Willaert (my first round pick for any softball team), Dave Rysavy (the first guy to ever get my back in a scuffle), Mike Eckert (The Big Hurt and MVP of the ’99 State Champs),
- Biggest Personal Achievement: I was a lousy hitter, but made my mark- like all Norms- by hitting in the clutch. One time, we were trailing 13-3 with 2 outs in our last chance to score before being 1o-run ruled in an elimination tournament game when I came up to bat. Strictly a pull hitter my entire career, I came up to bat to see the entier infield shift to the left side. The game was over, our bat bags were zipping up. I went up to plate and smacked a base hit right through the shift. On first base, I turned to the boys in the dugout and said, “This one ain’t over yet. Not on my clock anyway! Not on my F’n clock! Anyone else care to join me out here?” Final score of the game was 20-13 Norms. As a pitcher, I once went 65 innings without walking anybody. Apparently that is a rarity in slowpitch softball. Oh, and I had a no-hitter going for 6 2/3 innings once as well. Good times.
- Greatest Thrill: Winning the first League Tournament after completing a lousy regular season in 1991. We ended the season 5-12, and were the last seeded team in a tournament with 20 other teams. Our department was going through layoffs, new hires and reorganization. As a result, we ended getting new, unknown players on our team just in time for the tourney. Turns out the new kids were good. We lost our first game of the double elimination tourney, and then won the next 8 games, beating the defending champions soundly in the Finals 13-4. Nobody expected that run. It was the first of many titles to come.
