Big League WIFFLE Ball News

It has been a phenomenal year.

After spending nearly one year in Iraq, stepping off the plane from Kuwait and onto the snow-crusted tarmac in Wisconsin was surreal. I have never been so thankful to live in the United States.

I think all Americans have an understanding that we are truly lucky or blessed to have been born in this country with all of its priceless freedoms. To travel to a distant location and experience a place that is foreign to America in nearly every way cements that sensation in you.

Thanks are in order for all of you in the Big League Wiffle Ball community who supported and are supporting the Midwest contingent. I appreciated the letters from the Connecticut school kids that Nick Benas set up. Our favorite letter received from an elementary school kid read: “Dear Soldier: Don’t Die. I love you.” We all thought that was really funny and kept saying it to one another as we went on missions or just killed time on the FOB (Forward Operating Base).

As Nick Benas introduced Wiffle Ball to the Iraqis during his tour with the Marine Corps, Cory Newmann and I have tried to carry on his legacy. I hoped that at some point we could’ve snapped a photo under the crossed sabers in Baghdad with wiffle bats, but that opportunity never presented itself. In fact, the only time I even saw the crossed sabers were when we were flying down the streets in our MRAPs (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected) vehicles, trying to get back to our base while roadside bombs and small arms fire were lighting up the streets of Baghdad. Our motto that night was “Drive Fast, Take Chances.”

We did get some chances to play wiffle ball on Camp Liberty. With makeshift fields carved into the sand and gravel, water bottles made up field lines. Packing the strike zone and balls and bats was worth it. It will always be a memory that I could never have imagined in all my life. Newmann coming down to Baghdad and sneaking in a wiffle ball game or two among the palm trees, not far from where Paul R. Smith earned the Medal of Honor fighting off a company-sized (approximately 100 man) attack with a .50 caliber machine gun. Insane.

Another thanks are in order to DOOM who sent me some autographed wiffle balls while I was over there. I appreciate the hell out of that–couldn’t believe it when I tore the package open after mail call.

Well, you’re probably sick of listening to me jaw-jack so I’ll hang it up. I just wanted to let everyone know that I appreciate their support. Please remember Cory as he still has a couple more months in the sandbox. Hopefully he’ll get out of there before the summer heat hits 120 so we can bring some more Big League Wiffle Ball to the Midwest.

I can’t wait to set up the wiffle fields in the Midwestern summer sun, have everyone come out, and listen to the crack of the plastic. What is more American than that?

Ben Biddick, BLWB Midwest Manager

As fate would have it, the Midwest Managers of Big League Wiffle Ball were able to link up in Baghdad for some wiffle ball. The sandstorms relented during their window of opportunity and out came the yellow bat and wiffle strike zone.

Midwest Managers Cory Newmann and Ben Biddick

While Cory Newmann warmed up his pitching arm, his teammates built the field and worked in some batting practice. The intense heat of the afternoon had cooled into the low 100′s. Cory Newmann, Kevin David, Eric “The Tank” Frank, and Nathan Van Gheem were going against Ben Biddick, Tim Connolley, and Krystal Gotz.

The batters box was carved in gravel overshadowed by the shade of a pair of palm trees. The singles and doubles lines were marked off by bottled water. The homerun line consisted of massive blast walls. They loomed at the end of the field like a tan version of Fenway’s green monster.

Ben Biddick began his pitching assault. After some solid introductory innings, the hitting prowess of Cory Newmann’s team began taking advantage of small mistakes. Some waning control produced some serious homeruns including one by Cory Newmann (which is the longest recorded homerun on the Baghdad field to date). Kevin David added one to the scoreboard, and Nathan Van Gheem had a solid performance.

After three outs, Cory Newmann took his place at the pitcher’s line and began working his game. Tim Connolley generated a pair of homeruns, sending in runners put on base by Krystal Gotz. Biddick popped a pair of triples to contribute to a lead that they hoped would hold out through the bottom of the final inning.

The teams continued to battle in the fading light of day. Frank “The Tank” stepped to the plate with two outs in the bottom of the final inning. They were down by two runs, and the bases were loaded. It was all on his shoulders. Biddick hoped he could sneak in a riser under the cover of darkness. The sun had already gone down, and it was becoming difficult to see the ball. He was one strike away from victory.

Biddick unleashed the pitch. Frank “The Tank” committed. He swung the bat and crushed the ball. The tiny white comet landed somewhere beyond the blast walls, and the game was over. Grand slam.

The following night, Biddick, Connolley, and Gotz were looking the avenge their loss. Connolley, who had been working on his pitching, warmed up his arm. Newmann, Van Gheem, and The Tank worked in some batting practice. Kevin David was on administrative leave due to a contract dispute.

Tim Connolley warms up his arm while Cory Newmann gets some batting practice.

For the first innings, Connolley dominated the strike zone. Van Gheem fought through the onslaught and managed to smack a triple. Connolley quickly shut down a short scoring run after two runs.

Cory Newmann began working his knuckle ball with solid results, but Biddick, Connolley, and Gotz managed a two run lead by the time they entered the final inning.

After a series of base hits, the inning closed with Connolley, Biddick, and Gotz facing a one run deficit. The memory of the prior evening’s loss still raw in their minds, Biddick leaned in and cracked a base hit. Gotz gave the strike zone a tap as she entered the batter’s box and got to work. After a series of foul balls, Gotz sent one down the right field line for a double. Connolley stepped to the plate and readied himself for the pitch.

Connolley swung. The crack of the plastic shattered the hopes of their opponents as the wiffle ball ricocheted off the blast walls for a triple, scoring two runs. The hit claimed victory in the second and final game of the two night series.

A show of sportsmanship followed as they shook hands and broke down the field. MRAPs and  Humvees growled as they drove by. They were heading out on missions that put the final American touches on a liberation of Iraq from tyrannical rule.

American friendships begun decades ago never foresaw that they would find a pocket of time to play their favorite game in this foreign land. A country that during those same decades languished under a tyrannical rule, now hastens toward stability and a future of asserting its collective, national will on the international stage. They are a resilient people struggling to unite internal sworn enemies from multiple ethnic, cultural, geographical, socio-economic, and religious backgrounds. Under internal and international pressures, they face the agony of countless wounds and immeasurable losses. They face tyrannical insurgents hoping to undermine and intimidate Iraqi gains with crowd-killing car bombs. They face neighboring nations who seek to exploit their weaknesses and vulnerabilities. They face danger on every side, a danger that burns away in the brilliant light of freedom, in the sweet breath that oxygenates a collective identity, and the glory of possessing the right to exist as a sovereign nation.

As the soldiers walk back to their housing units, their footsteps crunch through gravel where their fellow soldiers once sweat, bled, and died in order to give a gift of liberation to the Iraqi people. The horizon swallows the sun. The stars shimmer above the whirring helicopter blades. They have played an iconic American game and passed a pair of hours in the tenuous, unfolding creation of democracy in the Middle East.

For more by Mack Dreyfuss check out his website at www.themackdreyfusslounge.com