Team UP Touch Base July Newsletter

This month, we recognize Audrey C., a Fall Church Kiwanis Little League youth baseball player on the Washington Nationals Hurricanes. She has played with the league for seven years.

Audrey started the season as one of the team¡¯s most dependable and talented players. In the first game of the Washington Nationals Hurricanes season, one of the team's catchers had difficulty catching the ball thrown from their strongest pitcher. After the first inning, Coach Erick called upon Audrey to catch, and she did a fantastic job! As a matter of fact, everyone was so impressed that she quickly became the starting catcher.

As Audrey's confidence grew, so did her level of play. She developed into a strong, consistent player who was always ready to play. She caught in 12 of the 16 games she played this season, including six complete games, one of which went into extra innings!

Audrey became one of the team¡¯s strongest hitters. With 34 total at-bats, she ended the season with a .265 AVG, 9 Hits, and 10 RBI. Not bad for an 11-year-old player going up against a bunch of 12-year-olds. Audrey¡¯s excitement about the sport is apparent. Wanting to improve and play her best she never missed a single practice and always gave full effort.

Fall Church Kiwanis Little League:

Falls Church Kiwanis Little League is a proud member of Team UP and has been serving the Fall Church area since 1948. The non-profit organization is run entirely by volunteers and has a long history of parents working closely with the league to introduce and teach baseball and softball to kids. More than 500 children ages five to fourteen participate in Falls Church Kiwanis Little League each spring and fall season.

Did You Know

• The Nationals became the first team in Major League history to secure a World Series title by winning all four road games.
• The Nats faced elimination five times during the 2019 playoffs. The Nationals came back in each of those games, becoming the first team in Major League history to have five comeback victories in a single Postseason.
• In the five potential elimination games, the Nats beat some of the game¡¯s best pitchers - Josh Hader, Rich Hill, Clayton Kershaw, Justin Verlander, and Zack Greinke - to clinch the World Series title.
• From the seventh inning on in those five elimination games, the Nats outscored the opponents 19-0.
• From Game 4 of the National League Division Series vs. the Dodgers to Game 3 of the World Series vs the Astros, the Nationals put together an eight-game winning streak.
• With this eight-game winning streak, the Nationals joined the 2014 Kansas City Royals, 2005 Chicago White Sox, and 2004 Boston Red Sox, with the longest winning streak in a single Postseason.

Negro League Career:

• During his 17 seasons with the Homestead Grays ( played at both Forbes Field in Pittsburgh and Griffith Stadium in Washington, D.C.), Walter Fenner "Buck" Leonard held the record for most Negro League seasons played by one player. His record of consistently high-level hitting and defense is why he is considered one of the best players in Negro League history. In addition to competing in a record-setting 12 East-West All-Star Games, he helped the Grays win four back-to-back Negro League World Series titles from 1942 to 1945.

Early Career:

• His hometown of Rocky Mount, North Carolina, did not have a high school, so Leonard began working full time at 16. In his free time, he played semi-pro baseball. This laid the groundwork for his career as a full-time player that came after losing his job in 1926 during the Great Depression.

Homestand Grays Career:

• Leonard teamed up with catcher Josh Gibson and the two were called The Thunder Twins because of their frequent home runs. Leonard would immediately follow by ripping the ball all over the park, into the gaps, and over the wall. Leonard was known as "the Black Lou Gehrig,". Those who watched him play believe he was the better defensive player when compared to Gehrig.
• Leonard was also an awesome fastball hitter. Giants great Monte Irvin once said, ¡°Trying to sneak a fastball past him was like trying to sneak a sunrise past a rooster.¡±

After Baseball:

• In 1972, Leonard joined his teammate Josh Gibson in the National Baseball Hall of Fame, becoming the first position player from the Negro Leagues to be given this honor.
• Despite never playing in the Major Leagues, Leonard is known as one of the greatest players in baseball history. He died at age 90 on November 27, 1997. Leonard¡¯s legacy includes being the best first baseman in the history of the Negro Leagues and playing the most years with one Negro League team.