Much has been written over the years of the truly great teams of our beloved HKSPSA. Santa Fe's decade long dominance, Stormy Weather's improbable championship and Slappa's amazing turnaround to win the title earlier in this decade. But what do you know about the best team never to take the field on Saturdays? A team loaded with hitting talent, veteran savvy and depth to survive a 21 game season? After 3 years, the story is finally being told. The story of Hong Kong's very own Montreal Expos; Coach Jon Meyers Team Rawlings, a True Hollywood Story.
Imagine for a minute if you were a coach and had this lineup week in and week out:
- Willet Bird, P
- Andy Hasbun, SS
- Dave Work, C
- Doug Bippert, LCF
- Dave Trunzo, LF
- Jon Meyers, 1B
- Preston Powell, RCF
- Andy Doucette, 2B
- Paul Coonrod, 3B
- Troy Mackenzie, RF / Dan Thiel, RF
- Bill Bosway, EH
Reserves:
Brad Landes, INF
Travis Colby, OF
Nick Appel, OF
Almost sounds too good to be true doesn't it? Well, It was.
Maple Leaf Mediocrity meets Latin America's Golden Boy
They say that it's not what you know but who you know. This statement is very true for Jon Meyers, a long time Coach for Asia Telecom. A team that languished in the late 90's struggling to reach .500 year after year. Some weeks it was hard getting players to the field if there was a hockey game on the night before... cause there's 2 things this team loved more than softball- Molsen Beer and Hockey Night in Canada . Bright points of the team was the hard hitting Dave Work, defensive specialist Troy Mackenzie, power hitting Andy Doucette and wiley long ball hitter Dan Thiel, otherwise known as "Talidan" for his 2 foot long beard favored by freedom fighters in Afganistan. Yes this was a team in need of some new faces and players.
But help was on the way when an old family friend named Juan Pablo Garcia (identity protected) called in a favor with Jon asking him if he'd take in a young man named Andy Hasbun under his wing and show him the toy business. Rumor had it that Hasbun needed a change of scenery to lie low for awhile as the Feds were on to his family's wildly successful underground domino gambling dens back in Queens. Reluctance turned to gleeful acceptance when Garcia told Jon that Mr. Hasbun was a former MLB prospect in the Tigers organization.... an infielder no less. Jon reasoned that Mexicans need toys just as much as the rest of us, so he'd be happy to have Hasbun join forces both in the office and softball field. They were friends at first sight.
A Bird takes Flight
Lady luck was in Jon's favor once again when visiting NYC for toy fair he ran into a Mr. Willet Bird, who informed him that he was returning to HK for work and was looking for a softball team. Recalling Bird's talent for opposite field hitting, Meyers quickly offered Bird the leadoff slot in his batting lineup and 2nd base in the field. "This is great" Meyers thought "in just 4 months I've got a whole new infield!"
Redneck's Return
The hits kept coming for Myers when he secured sponsorship from local sweatshop manager John Robinson of Rawlings baseball. This sponsorship also came with another new player- Preston Powell who was also returning to Asia to work for Rawlings. Powell, a Case Logic teammate first and foremost had to choose to play for his new employer OR work in China for Rawlings on Saturdays. Meyers helped placate the situation by assuring Powell that his team was going to be just as good as Case. Meyers assured him, "we're going to win it all"!
Powell himself fond of packaged deals, offered to bring 2 new players with him to the team. A coworker of his new to Asia by the name of Chad Boyd and another new guy to Hong Kong Paul Coonrod. Both were no strangers to the game as Boyd played B level ball back in South Carolina and Coonrod on several adult baseball teams in Texas . "Fantastic! My young All Stars" exclaimed Meyers "we're going to take the league by storm!"
When it rains it pours and just before the season got underway, Meyers walked up to a booth in Wanchai promoting the "Ultimate Taste Test". No this wasn't the usual taste test Wanchai offers but one for Pepsi vs. Coca-Cola. A Mr. Doug Bippert was the ringleader stopping random folks to try for themselves the wonder of Atlanta 's very own favorite drink. Always eager to try free food, Meyers accepted the challenge and soon became fast friends with the Coca Cola guy Bippert. His eyes widened with joy when Bippert told him that he too had a minor league baseball past and would love to play softball in Hong Kong . "Doug.. you'll see for yourself the team I've assembled and with your arm and bat, we'll be unstoppable. Welcome aboard and bring some extra cases of Poweraid with you to games if you can!" Meyers said, his hands shaking with joy.
That 2003-2004 season for Team Rawlings had its ups and downs eventually bowing out in the playoffs to Santa Fe after beating Excel (Sportview) in the first round. It was all good though as this happy go lucky bunch were gelling together and excited for the upcoming season. All they needed was a couple more pieces! To celebrate what was to come, team veteran Brad Landes invited the entire squad over to his beautiful home high in the mountains of Tai Tam for a team celebration. It looked like things were finally coming together for Meyers!
It was a joyous occasion, as league favorites Doucette and Tmac were thrilling all with their tales of Prince Edward and it's crystal clear waters and fresh moose sausage. Hasbun surprised everyone's taste buds with his scintillating enchiladas and fresh salsa, a secret family recipe. And Coonrod and Powell were working overtime translating Chad 's special dialect telling amazing stories of growing up in Fayettville's hard streets with fast women and the unforgiving Marines stationed there. The weather was perfect too. It was an unseasonably cool June night, one of low humidity and a pleasant breeze from the South China Sea. Everything was.... in a word: perfect!
Taking it all in was the the Ole Ball Coach himself, Mr. Meyers. With a wide smile on his face and full pint of Stella in his hand, no one was more proud of the way his multicultural group was coming together. To top the evening off were the team's newest members, Powell's buddy Dave Trunzo from Taiwan and Bippert's friend Bill Bosway who he coached Little League with. Both experienced players from abroad. "Now these guys are ball players too, seasoned vets as well. Just what we need to make it over the top in the HKSPSA"
And then IT happened. Without warning the impromptu toast that would change the face of Hong Kong's beloved League. Just before 11pm that evening Meyers took a deep breath of the clean air and a healthy swig from his pewter Homer Simpson mug, stood up on the Teak picnic table and declared "Everyone, My friends, collegues (nodding to Dean who just arrived with more ice cold Molsen Ice), teammates and fellow countrymen. I want to thank you all for coming to my team party at Brad Landes' house. Thank you to all of the wives and girlfriends who prepared such delicious food and snacks. This is truly a feast fit for my All Star Team. I am very excited with the prospects of our upcoming season as well as our new recruits! We are going to be the talk of the League! I can taste the sweet smell of victory even at this moment. Please... raise your glass with me now.. as I'd like to propose a toast to our new fearless leader and Coach. The man who's made this evening possible and who's kept the beer taps flowing with the finest ale. The talented Mr. Brad Landes!!!!!!!!!!! (insert that big wide Meyers' smile here)
A tepid applause followed by a long silence, the long line for Lily's potato salad quickly evaporated and Chad Boyd narrowly caught Powell by the belt as he attempted to throw himself off the deck in protest. Dean would later say "it sounded and felt like someone died. I've never actually seen someone die before, but at that precise moment, the hopes and dreams of 9 men evaporated into the Southside night."
Birdman.. also inebriated to the bejesus screamed, and hung his head in disbelief. Bippert asked "Brad who??", and Chad Boyd paused from hitting on the hired help and questioned "Brad Landes?? I can't play for no Mexican!" The Talidan threatened to shave every single hair off his body at that very moment if Meyers did not take back the team.
But take back the team Meyers did not. Minutes later the party folded like a fart in a wind storm! Word got out that Bosway needed help organizing his stereo wires at home and most of the new recruits left to help and discuss amongst themselves what to do next.
The Fallout, Where are they Now?
Over the next 3 months, the strong Rawlings Team had lost their sponsorship and several players. Willet Bird would move on to Bulldogs, and hit well over.500 and pitch his new team into back to back Championship title game. A year later, Chad Boyd would also join him on Bulldogs helping to form one of the leagues toughest lineups. Preston Powell, Dave Trunzo and Bill Bosway found greener pastures and welcoming faces on Chris Angelosante's Stormy Weather team and would later go on to form the nucleus of the Keg. Andy Hasbun and Paul Coonrod spent the next season not worrying about softball but rather exploring Hong Kong's disco club scene and wife hunting in the process. Also in protest of the teams leadership change, The Talidan sold all of his worldly possessions and moved to Montana and became a goat farmer living off the land. Dave Work became semi retired from softball and started a family. Doug Bippert also joined Bulldog's in hopes of winning it all but ended up moving back to Atlanta to launch Coke Zero.
Meyers and Hasbun would languish on what was then the Venue team before trading themselves to Coyote/California in hopes of bringing a championship to that team. Landes himself defied expectations and turned in a worthwhile performance as coach that season- they didn't finish last place but rather in 6th! He later handed over the team to Andy Doucette and Tmac, the latter of which still manages to this day.
So what about Mr Meyers himself? Why did he, at the pinnacle of team cohesion and talent relinquish the reins on such a good team? We went to his residence this weekend looking for answers. Jon answered our knock on the door in a green plaid robe that had tiny red maple leafs embroidered on the collar. Tightly clutching his Miniature Schnauzer, Zuki, Meyers refused comment saying that the world would know the real truth in his official rebuttal. Repeated attempts to reach Mr. Meyers by phone were unsuccessful at press time. Fair enough Mr. Meyers, the world will be waiting the other side of the story to be told. Odds are the next time there is a party with free flowing cold Stella Artois and home made potato salad. The late stock car racer Davy Allison once said that hindsight's always 20/20. This we know to be true. No one said that it was an easy job managing so many difficult personalities all under one clubhouse. All we can do now is wonder "what if?". What if that infamous toast had never been made? Would we see a Team Rawlings Championship pennant waving at Kings Park today? Would Jon Meyers himself be hailed as one of the best to manage the game? Perhaps.. but we'll never know. This much we do know;: that Team Rawlings was the Greatest Team that Never was.
