Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades (1986)

The Ship opened its eighth season sporting some new faces in the lineup. Management has decided to call up some rookies to the squad in order to breathe some new life into the team. Best rest assured, fans, this is no rebuilding year, because from the looks of the young talent, The Ship could be headed for its best year ever.

The season kicked-off in the friendly confines of Bleecker Street Bar, but the venerable old site was not friendly to the veterans on The Ship. Rich and Andrew dropped the first two S501 games, as did John, in his return to action after a long layoff. But Fred got The Ship back on track, and set the example for Roni and Nacho, who both recorded their first wins ever, and got The Ship back to a 3-3 tie heading to Cricket.

Once again, the rookies led the way, as Nacho / Fred earned a split in game 1, and Roni / Rich swept their games. So after Cricket, The Ship was again tied, with the rookies contributing to 5 of the 6 points. But, we would need to take at least two of the three games in D501 in order to take the night.

Andrew / John ran into a buzz saw to start D501, as their opponents got in right away, and then threw a Ton-23. But The Ship was given new life, when the rookies won game 2, capped off by an amazing out by Roni. Rich / Fred rolled in the last game, securing a 10-8 victory for The Ship.

Props:
Roni & Nacho: Virtual locks for co-ROY honors.
Bruce & Patti: For the best birthday present evah!