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OUTSPORTS.com
presents coverage of the
2001 Gay Softball
World Series
Player Reaction
Some of Cyd Zeigler's
comments about the LA Stray Cats have spurred letters to
Outsports. As we
encourage all viewpoints at Outsports.com, we are printing some of
them here. Thanks to everyone who wrote in.
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Dear Outsports:
My hat goes off to the LA Stray Cats, a great team and a super bunch of guys!
I hope to see them next year and congratulations again! Their excellence inspired my team to play its best
ball at the right time of year!
Ed Adams
Pitcher, San Francisco Seals |
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Dear Outsports.com:
While I would have liked more score updating, Outsports.com's first
effort gave information from the Gay Softball World Series in progress
quicker and to a broader audience than at anytime before. In the past, the
dissemination of the World Series results was a hit-and-miss affair that was
days and even weeks behind.
But, I would like to give a special commendation to Cyd
Zeigler's "Parting Thoughts..." piece. This was surprisingly incisive, especially for
someone new to the GSWS. I've been active in NAGAAA leagues starting in '82,
to the present in LA. I saw what happened from when the player/team rating
system was introduced in '96. In short, if NAGAAA was doing the job of a
sports organization (such as our ASA affiliation) they would be reviewing and
enforcing the rules throughout the year and at the various gay league tournaments around the country and Canada. The protests and disqualifications
at the World Series shows an organization that hasn't even done the basic job
of reviewing rosters before teams show up.
"Rating slip" is rampant because there has developed the "elite" LA
Stray Cats that imports out of town players to their roster. There are few
teams that want to play the Stray Cats. So there has developed "A" player
"trickle down" to "B" Division teams. Then "B" players trickle down to "C"
Div. teams. NAGAAA's solution? This year they initiated a "D" Division!
I appreciate the spirit of the reform suggestions that
Zeigler made. "Pro players in the highest Division" (to close a Women's Div. loophole) is a
no-brainer (except for the NAGAAA wheel re-inventers who haven't read the ASA
Rules). However, "no out of town players" may need some refining for situations like players from Long Beach/Orange County who play in Los
Angeles, or vice versa. As for making World Series penalties stiffer, NAGAAA
should first start acting like an international sports organization throughout the year of tournaments.
John Sainsbury
GLASA Member
Los Angeles |
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Dear Outsports:
First of all I must take offense to your attack on the LA Stray Cats
and on the membership of the Greater Los Angeles Sports Association (GLASA).
You not only have question the integrity of the team, but of the leadership
of GLASA. I have been Commissioner of this league for the past eight years. I
have attended the NAGAAA Winter and Summer meetings for the past nine years. I know the rules, in fact, I have been involved with the writing
of the rules you questioned in your article.
The LA Stray Cats are a class act and would never consider bending
rules. Besides, I would never have allowed that to happen. The membership of
this league knows that I would never allow my integrity to be questioned.
The buck stops with me. The two-straight-player rule was a compromise to
what use to be a no-straight-player rule and the non-resident rule enables
the A Division teams to draw from an additional resource. The A Division is
unique. Nationally, we only have 13 teams that compete at this level. We
recognize that with so few teams at this level we need to give them a larger resource base to enable potential growth. The two non-resident
Stray Cats are members of the Gay Community and have been known nationally
for sometime. They have even played for other NAGAAA teams outside of the
Los Angeles area. Because the division is small, the managers of these
teams keep in contact with each other to agree on tournaments that they will
support throughout the year. This is the only way these teams have to ensure that the competition level is consistent and fair. These players
all know each other and the recruitment of players is part of the game.
They are friends off the field and competitors on the field.
The LA Stray Cats are as much a part of our community as any member of
this league. They support fundraisers and league activities throughout the
year. I know that I can speak for the membership of GLASA in denouncing your
article. I hope in the future you will make sure you know the hole picture
before writing such a slanderous article.
Mark L. Springer
Commissioner, GLASA
Los Angeles |
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Dear Cyd,
You have really misjudged the Stray Cats. It's
very easy to go after a team when they are on top. Even I thought that
I would like to see someone else win. It wasn't because I don't like
the Stray Cats, I have many friends on the team and I really value
their friendship. So why do I want to see a team beat them? Well
because that would be one hell of a game and it would raise the
competition in gay softball to a new level.
Many people I talked to at the world series had
negative things to say about the Stray Cats. The thing is, how many of
those people really know anything about the team. A lot of people are
just jealous, others base their dislike for the Stray Cats on rumors
they have heard. You said they weren't a part of the community, maybe
it's that their is this myth built up around them that has kept many
people, yourself included, in gay softball from getting to know them.
Back in 1997 I played on a team in the Seattle
4th of July "Cascape Cup" Tournament. This was one of the
first tournaments I had traveled to, and I was playing on a pick-up
team with guys I hardly knew that one of my friends from the Stray
Cats got me on. I was staying with another friend of mine who lived in
Seattle and played on their R Place A Team. Basically my only friends
at the tournament played for R Place and the Stray Cats, the top two A
Teams in the tournament.
The guys on the R Place team thought the Cats
were a bunch of guys who were, for lack of a better word, softball
snobs. After actually hanging out with the guys, and going out and
partying with them over the course of the weekend, one of the members
of the R Place team came up to me and said (and this is loosely quoted
since it was over four years ago). "You know, I always thought
they were stuck up guys, but they are a lot of fun."
The game between the Stray Cats and R Place on
the final day of the tournament wasn't even close! That didn't stop
both teams from having fun, and it was all because they had taken the
time to talk and find out what the guys on the other team were all
about.
Like I said earlier it's really easy to turn the
guy who keeps coming out on top into the bad guy, but when you look at
it, they have not done anything wrong. In fact there are A Teams out
there that you don't know about who have actually broken the rules
trying to beat the Stray Cats. The Stray Cats are good at softball. As
a matter of fact, they kick ass at softball. They practice hard, they
play hard in their league, they play hard at straight tournaments
where they prove that gays can play softball with the best of them and
yeah, they go out to win. But that’s all on the field, and the Stray
Cats leave it on the field.
At the end of the day, the Stray Cats are the
best team in gay softball. They play by the rules and put together the
best team they possibly can within the bounds of the rules that
everyone has to play with. Just because they are good is no reason to
make them the target of an article that accuses them of
"cheating" or bending the rules.
Travis D. Bone
Sports Reporter for The Gay and Lesbian Times
San Diego |
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Dear Editors:
I've been a member of two different gay softball leagues (GLASA &
SWATS), L.A. and Long Beach over the past 23 years. I was director of the
first 3 L.A. Tournaments, later I chaired a Long Beach Tournament and again
chaired another L.A. Tournament, I know the work that goes into organizing
these events. These days I'm involved in the development league within
GLASA, teaching the younger, less experinced interested men to play softball.
I'm 55 years old and no longer able to run, react, and do the things that
competitive players are expected to do but, and that's OK, I have wonderful
memories and have developed life long friendships during my gay softball
career. During those years I've had the privilege to play with and against
members of many teams including The L.A. Stray Cats. I've participated
in many tournaments as an A player, initially the gay leagues had only one
division, so my association with The L.A. Stray Cats (formally Griff's), is a
long and a special one.
I have always taken my game a little higher when I played against
Griff's or The Stray Cats. Always knew I was going to have to be at my best and
that's exactly what I had to do. The games whether they were blow outs or
tight are some of the most memorable that I cherish.
Mr. Zeigler in his column indicated that the Stray Cats didn't care
about anyone or anything except winning, I beg to differ.
After my competitive days were over, I played and worked with C teams,
trying to help develop their skills and their understanding about what gay
softball was all about. For some of our practices I invited members of the
Stray Cats and members of other teams to act as guest coaches and I was never
turned down.
When GLASA conducts its winter and summer clinics, members of The Stray
Cats can be seen on the field showing the inexperienced what and how to do a
particular thing. At fund raisers for the league or for other teams, members
of The Stray Cats can be seen in attendance, assuming key roles, participating and interacting with other members of the softball
community.
Several years ago in Los Angeles, The Stray Cats helped an AIDS
organization "Las Memorials" "Mayan Warriors" with their fund raiser. They
represented the Gay Community and played against Los Angeles Sheriffs All Stars.
The fans in the stands did not single them out as two straight men and
egomaniacs who played only for themselves. The cheered and rooted for the
eventual winning Stray Cats and partied with them afterwards.
The Stray Cats for the most part are a descent, fun
loving and serious team. They're not perfect but neither is any team I know.
In past holiday tournaments, I recall two different incidents. One
morning as some of my team members and I waited outside our hotel, in preparation to
depart to the ball fields for our scheduled game, we witnessed some of
The Stray Cats returning to the hotel, dirty and sweaty. They'd been up
early that morning practicing. Another incident, a member of another team
mentioned that he'd witnessed The Stray Cats working out as he returned
home from a night of partying and tricking. Is it a wonder The Stray Cats
are champions 8 times in a row, they work for it, man I wish I had some of
that commitment from the members of my teams.
I understand it's not possible to interview everyone to get the real
stories, but don't assume that you can see and solve that which has taken 25
years to create.
I am very proud of The Stray Cats as I am proud of each and every
individual that devotes his time, energy and love for the game.
Rudi Almanza
Manager, Los Angeles Lodge Cobra, Developmental Team
Los Angeles
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Letters About the GSWS |
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