2017 Pirates Make it Four Titles in a Row in 40+ Division in Sacramento

Sacramento Men’s Baseball League 40+ Division

Golden State Pirates 14, Rockets 3

Front L-R: Rafa Rubio, Edgar Montes, Jorge Sandoval, Aaron Kirkland, Roberto ‘Chavo’ DeLaCruz. Rear L-R: Dan Martinez, Enrique ‘Henry’ Garcia Jr, Dan Peterson , Tom Tomaszewski, Louis Fisher, Chad Carrington, Elias Mendoza. (not pictured) Craig Shara, Ever Maldonado, Steve Sharp

‘Pirates Make it Four Titles in a Row’

Submitted by Dan Martinez, Pirates co-manager

(Pictures courtesy of Jane Burkitt) 2017 was another great year for the 40+ Golden State Pirates of the SMSBL under the management of Tommy Tomaszewski, and co-managers Dan Martinez and Ever Maldonado. The GS Pirates continued their dominance of the 40+ division by winning their fourth consecutive championship, and fifth of the last six. The team finished with a record of 14-4 and were undefeated in inter-division games against 18+ teams. The team was once again a perfect example of what all-team effort can accomplish. The addition of Lou Fisher (SS, P), Chad Carrington (C), and Craig Shara (OF) helped solidify the lineup after losing key players from the 2016 roster.

The Pirates won with nearly error free, solid defense behind strong pitching led by big Eli Mendoza, who finished with a league leading pitching record of 9-1. Rafael Rubio, Lou Fisher and Aaron Kirkland rounded out the Pirates’ dominating pitching rotation, led by catchers Ever Maldonado and Chad Carrington. Pirates pitching gave up only 53 runs, a league best. The outfield was covered by speedsters Dan Martinez, Roberto “Chavo” Delacruz and Dan Peterson. The rest of the lineup helped cover down the stretch after some injuries.

The infield continued to be solid with one of the best third basemen in the league, Jorge Sandoval, and first baseman Enrique “Henry” Garcia. Second baseman Edgar Montes continued making highlight plays with Lou Fisher and Aaron Kirkland sharing the shortstop position.

Offensively the entire Pirates lineup contributed and finished with a league leading 153runs scored to support the pitching staff. Craig Shara, Aaron Kirkland, Roberto “Chavo” Delacruz, and Elias Mendoza all finished the season hitting over .500.

The Championship series versus our main summer rivals, the Rockets, proved to be a tough matchup as always, with the Pirates winning the best of three series. When the Pirates and Rockets meet each other, you can always bet on a fun, but competitive game. The Golden State Pirates are looking forward to the 2018 season as we prepare to defend our titles.