Welcome to Wranglerville

I’ve been trying all season, and finally, Mary and I were able to catch a Luray Wranglers game on Thursday night, just as this short, two month season was entering its final weekend. Our neighbor Steve joined us for the evening, which started out with most excellent bacon-cheddar burgers at Artisans’ Café in Luray. Also, a note to thank "Posumcop" for his encouragement about attending a game.

Everything was just what you would want in a minor league ballgame – from encountering the big Wrangler ad near the left field fence, the “Welcome to Wranglerville” sign at the box office, and the seats we chose almost directly behind home plate – not to mention a beautiful summer evening in the Valley. We settled in to enjoy ourselves.

After the home team players got the field into playing condition, there was a short ceremony on the field: the Wranglers’ manager Mike Bocock had recently notched his 500th win in the Valley Baseball League and the owner, players, and his family gathered to honor him. Then we had the National Anthem and the game began.

Being up close like that reminded me of old times when I used to head down to Vero Beach to watch the Dodgers Single-A team; I used to be able to get up front and watch the up-and-coming players (Mike Piazza among them) at the plate. Also, family lore has it that both my grandfather and his brother played baseball in the Valley - maybe in this league, but more likely at a local college - in the ‘30’s; there is still research to be done on this topic.

It was a close game, and we didn’t see the end, so I’ll rely on my fellow H-burg blogger for the results – according to http://allthingsvalleyleague.typepad.com/ Luray won in 11 innings 7-6 against H-burg. That made their record 25-17 heading into the final weekend, when seeds and playoff positions would be determined.

Over the weekend, as play came to a close, Luray finished with a 26-18 record and was seeded third in the playoffs. They were hot in their last 10 games, earning a 7-3 record. They were to start the playoffs against New Market; the teams split their season matchups 4-4. A total of eight teams are in the VBL playoffs, so who knows, we may have a chance to catch a playoff game just yet.