2026

Guys,

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday season, Christmas and New Year!      Once again, amazing how fast time flies.    The Winter Solstice has come and gone, and spring training is right around the corner.    About the time you guys were thinking there is no Santa Claus, Kris Kringle(aka Scooter) shows up out of the blue with a new Miken Freak KP23 12.5 Maxload bat with a ribbon tied around it    Scooter was thinking “I wear a number of hats in this organization”, but maybe I’ll try putting a Santa hat this year    So, thank you Scooter for adding one more thing to your already loaded resume!   

I think a few of you guys played Fall ball this year(I’m talking softball), and as I remember you had great fall weather, some great camaraderie, and a very good win/loss record.   What more could you ask for?   

I’m guessing the rest of you guys we’re in the weight room, on your bike, or doing that early 5:30am jog around the neighborhood this Fall/Winter    Somehow, I don’t think of this group as vegging on the coach with a beer in each hand(well on second thought…).

It’s time to pull out the old mitt and cleats and dust them off(provided your significant didn’t include them with the latest Goodwill drop off).

Scooter, Harry and I would love a headcount for the 2026 “Year of the Horse” season, which usually starts early May(practice usually starts mid April).    For those of you who don’t ride your bikes to the game(), with the way traffic has been you might want to leave 3 hours early to get there on time(I shouldn’t even joke about Seattle traffic right now…sorry).    I’m finally getting this Virtual Reality stuff.   Just think, you could sit in the comfort of your home, throw a headset on, play 7 innings of ball, never have a rainout, layout on every catch, slide head first into any bag, not get injured, let the ump know how you really feel, then crack open a cold beer   And why would we need to close Leny’s down on a late night celebration  when we could just celebrate over a Zoom call     What’s more to like??  

But then think of all the IN-PERSON things you’d be missing:    Kevin and his “Whirling Dervish” routine on the mound!   Or just think you wouldn’t be able to pester Scooter about whether he gave you a hit in the scorebook on that slow roller to the mound, or hear Nico ask Taylor, “what inning is this” in the first inning, or how could you possibly miss Taylor’s “slip and slide” catch in the outfield(that “Parkour’est” style move that is usually only seen at a Red Bull Event    The list goes on and on….

So guys, management wishes each one of you a very health and happy 2026, and Scooter will be sending out another headcount email at some point in the future.   Take care and GO Hawks!

Ron, Scooter and Harry