The Base Ball Championship Of Missouri

After the 5 wins against 1 defeat showing in the Ohio Cup, we had strung together quite a summer of base ball; the 2-1 loss to the Columbus Capitals was just our 4th defeat in 28 matches since the 1st of June.  We would lose just twice more on the season and found ourselves coming into the final weekend of the season with a record of 28-10.  With two more wins we would reach the 30 victory plateau, but even more importantly, we would win this:

The Missouri Cup plaque (the actual Cup
is behind the plaque, with the golden ball.)

The Missouri Cup - the Vintage Base Ball Championship of the State of Missouri.  This was the 9th year of the Cup.  In the previous eight cups, the Perfectos had won three, the St. Louis Unions had won three, and the Columbus Crawfords and University City Lions had each won once.  So this would be a rubber match of sorts, possibly breaking the tie in number of Championships between ourselves and the Unions.  Even more importantly, the Perfectos were defending champions as well, having won the Cup in 2012 and 2011.

Unfortunately, due to some unfortunate circumstances, the Unions would not be playing in this year's cup.  It would be a three-team tournament between the Perfectos, the St. Louis Brownstockings, and the Lafayette Square Cyclone.  Up first on the day, Perfectos vs Brownstockings.

Danger addresses the 'cranks' before the first match
with the Brownstockings.

The Brownstockings are a fleet-footed club but without much power.  The key to beating them would be keeping them off of the basepaths and take away their scoring opportunities.  To do this we needed our quick and sure-handed scouts to play well in the outfield.  Pitchfork had been unable to play since before the Ohio Cup due to nagging ankle and elbow injuries.  Luckily we were able to make up for this loss with the play of one of our youngsters, Moonlight, who made a number of nice plays in the outfield.

Moonlight joined the Perfectos about half-way through
the season and filled in admirably for Pitchfork.

Then it was just a matter of getting hits and scoring ourselves.  With Hammer back in the middle of the lineup after missing the Ohio Cup, this gets a lot easier.

Hammer gets ready to, uh, 'hammer' the pitch

Scoring in each of the first two innings took some of the pressure off of us, and we want on to hold on for a hard-fought 9-6 victory.

Walnuts drives the ball

The Brownstockings would get knocked off in the second match by the Cyclone, setting up a winner-take-all final match between us and our 'sister' ball club - many of whom began as Perfectos.

The championship match between the Perfectos and Cyclone

The Lafayette Cyclone BBC was created in 2009, carved out from the St. Louis Perfectos club that had simply gotten too large.  With over 30 players showing up most weekends, playing time for everyone became difficult to manage, so a new club was formed.  Both clubs still share Lafayette Square Park as their home field and have a friendly rivalry between us.

Hawkeye runs down a drive in left-center

The championship match started out as a very close affair as the underdog Cyclone stuck close with some sleight of hand and good defense.

Shakespeare juggles

Ultimately we pulled ahead with surges in the late innings and went on to a 14-3 victory, capturing our 4th overall Missouri Cup and third championship in a row!  Huzzah!

2103 Missouri Cup Champs

The St. Louis Perfectos -- the 2013 Missouri State Vintage Base Ball Champions, posing with the Missouri Cup:  standing (L-R), Chatterbox, Danger, Hammer, Cyclone, Outlaw, DJ.  kneeling (L-R), Moonlight, Walnuts, Hawkeye, Stoney.  Not pictured: King, Pitchfork, Turnpike.