2012 55 Central co-champs declared

DC crowned, Chicago co-champs in 55 Central

The DC Classics

By MSBL On-line

Months after the final out of the game, the DC Classics were crowned 55 Central champions, and the Chicago North Indians named co-champions, of the 55 Central Division,at the 2011 MSBL World Series.

The Chicago North Indians won the final game, played Oct. 22 at Goodyear Stadium, by a score of 6-1. However, their title was later stripped when it was learned that one of its players was 54-years old and team organizers did not request an exception to allow him to play. As a result, the Classics, who finished 7-2, and who had several approved exceptions, were crowned champions and the Indians named co-champions.

The Indians relied on a robust offense and strong pitching during the 2011 title chase. The Classics took a 1-0 lead into the bottom of the fourth inning, but the Indians countered with two runs in the bottom half the final gam thanks to a triple by Johnny Johnson, an infield error, and an RBI single by Mike Schmadebeck. The Indians, who banged out 15 hits in the game, had runners on base every inning.

The Classics are from the DCMSBL league with the majority of players playing together in the 45 and older Division. The team has been together in different iterations since 2000, with nine members of the team having played together for 10 plus years.

The 2011 DC Classics were led offensively by Bill Rector (.591, 17 RBI for the week), Kevin Clark (.467, 14 Runs scored), and Mike Anderson (.427). Andy Bowie and Tim Starinieri also made key contributions. The pitching staff featured Tim O’Brien, Bill Moorhead, Barney Owens, Matt Mohay, Heater Heatley and Mike Anderson, and was the mainstay of the team.

Rector, O’Brien and Moorehead shared MVP honors for the classics.

Bob McClary was an iron man behind the plate catching 70 plus innings during the tournament.

The Team was Co-Managed by C.J. “Heater” Heatley and Bill Rector.

The DC Classics have won four MSBL World Series Championships (2000, 2003, 2005, 2011), two Championships in the 38 plus ( as the DC Cobras and DC Cardinals), one in the 48 plus ( DC Cardinals) and now in the 55 plus.

“Like many squads, the players have a love of the game and realize that team chemistry, and the friends you make during the week are very important,” said Rector. “The DC Classics love to compete hard on the field and enjoy talking baseball off the field.”

The team looks forward to returning to Arizona in 2012 for another great week of baseball in the Valley of the Sun.

It was the second finals in a row for the Chicago North Indians who lost in the 2010 finals at the MSBL World Series.

The Chicago North Indiand