Yesterday, I was able to spend a couple of hours with a couple of my best friends, Tom Rerucha (Ratch) and Don Duckworth (Duck) at Inside the Five Brewing Company on Main Street in Sylvania. Duck currently lives in Ft. Myers but was in town for a couple of weeks.
We talked about the same stuff we always do. What’s going on with our lives (and others) and sports.
Let me give you some background about these guys, both of who I played baseball with for many years.
I first met Ratch during my freshman year (1970) while playing baseball at The University of Toledo. He was a senior and finishing his career. Along with Tom, I also met Bobby St. John (Sainter) and Ken Dippman (Dipper), all seniors, but we hit it off right away. Note: yes, we all had nicknames. That’s what baseball players do. I soon became Emcher.
The summer after graduating from high school, my college coach wanted me to play Toledo Federation ball along with some of the other guys on the team. I remember playing against Ratch, Saint and Dipper. The next summer I played Senior Knothole ball for Bernie’s Market, so I didn’t play against them but stayed in contact.
Tom and his Dad managed the Toledo Merchant team. That next year (1972), they asked me to play with them, and I jumped at the opportunity. I didn’t start right away but eventually worked myself into their starting shortstop. I played with the Merchants until I moved away in 1978.
Needless to say, we have many great times. The Merchants were one of the best, and at times, the best team in the league. We always played in national tournaments after the season. We won the AABC regional tournament, I think in 1976, and qualified for the national tournament.
The bottom line is that we have so many great experiences that have lasted us a lifetime.
We moved away in 1978 due to my job and didn’t return to the area until 1984. During this time, I moved to softball, and thought my baseball days were over. I moved back in 1984, and still played softball for the next few years.
During this time, an organization called Roy Hobbs Baseball came to the Toledo area. It was baseball for guys 30 and over. Naturally, Ratch immediately pulled together a team and they were off and running playing baseball again. Dipper would touch base with me at times and ask me to come play with them, but I always said no. But you have to know Dip, he’s not one to give up so easily. He called me so many times, it was actually starting to bug me.
Just about this time, I was getting pretty close to hanging up the glove and spikes for good. But Dip called one day at work. I was busy at the time, and I agreed to come out to a practice. I really thought by doing this, it would stop him from calling in the future.
Well, I went to a practice and the rest is history. I agreed to start playing with them. I am so glad that I did because I went on to play for 20+ years with these guys, again creating so many great times and memories.
I bet you wondering about Duck. Did I forget about him? Heck, no. Duck had his own team in Roy Hobbs. After a few years, we were able to convince him to come play with us. A great move for the Mounties (we were Toledo Paramount). Duck played 2nd base, so we became the SS-2B combination.
A little more about Duck. First of all, he’s one of the nicest and funniest guys you will ever meet. And he is one of the best pure hitters I have ever met. He is also a great infielder. He can play any position. So we became the Mounties double play combination. I can’t even think to count the number of double plays we turned during the 15-17 years we played together.
I could go on and on, but that’s enough for this post. Friendship is priceless.
