10 YEARS IN THE MAKING.

Hurtin' Units make it 10 Seasons.

May 2019- This will be the 10th season for the Hurtin' Units. We started the team in the 2010 season and 10 years later we are still here taking on the league's best teams. 

Now there have definitely been some changes over the 10 years; Logos, co-captains, shirt colours, shirt materials, the addition of new teams and the folding of other teams. The league has also seen 4 presidents over that time. 

Mikey O. and I were the captain and co-captain over the first 6 seasons, then Peter H. came on board when Mikey stepped down. These guys have both been fun to play with and both gave me a lot of support over the years. 

Over the ten seasons the Hurtin' Units used 4 different logos. A guy sliding in the dirt, Bender from Futurama, Stewie from Family Guy and the Tasmanian Devil from the Bugs Bunny Show. The Units have worn 7 different colours over the ten years. Royal Blue 9(2), Navy Blue (1), Gold (2), Kelly Green(2), Forest Green (1) and Black (2). In the early years the shirts were made of cotton, today we use polyester with sweat wicking material.  

Over the 10 seasons we have seen 4 different presidents running the league. In our first season it was Chris Ross. Followed by Jamie McClean, Steven Ross and Doug Dwyer. Two of the 4 have played on the Units, Chris Ross and Jamie McClean. 

In 2010 the Oldtimers league had 14 teams. Of those 14 teams there are still 7 teams still going.

1. Hurtin' Units
2. Rusty Rebels
3. Grisslies
4. Hot Tub Woodies
5. Dodge City
6. Dusty Cleats
7. Dog Catchers 

You can view the 2010 blog to see the final standings and the teams that are no longer in the league.

On the field, we have had good seasons and we have had really, really, really crappy seasons. You would have to go back through the blog to find which is which. Over the the 10 seasons we have won the league regular season (2010), HTKP tournament (2017), Beer cup (2016), the Keg party (???), but we have never won the league championship. Could this be the year??

In 2018 and 2017, Pete and I really thought we had the teams to go all the way, but something happened on our journey and it was not to be. In 2017, our #1 player (Darren Hall) got injured, in the August tournament, never returned, and that really hurt our chances. Last season (2018), we were on a roll (8 wins in a row), we had taken over 1st place and then something happened and our wheels didn't just fall off, they were ripped off the rims and down the stretch we went 1 in 10 with no wins in the playoffs. There was a game in the playoffs were we had the game all but won (with a lead, 2 out in the last inning, lazy infield pop up, Clayton playing 2nd base, can of corn pop up) and the ball drops in, our opponent went on win the game. WE WERE SNAKE BITTEN!!! Someone definitely had a voo-doo doll with our jersey on it. 


Over the first 9 seasons, I never missed a game blog on the Hurtin' Units team. Last season I needed a break and decided to stop doing the blog. I really found it time consuming and I wasn't really giving it the attention it needed. I feel the same this season. I will probably do 1 or 2 postings along the way, one with all the games in the season in one post, more of a record for the team. I still post our rosters, in the roster page, it's really cool to go back and look at the players who have played with the Units. 

A few years back, Peter Hayward made the Units a banner, something I am very fond of and I bring it out for special events (HTKP tournament, Playoffs, draft, etc.), I was actually thinking about printing all the past rosters 2010-2019 and beyond on the back of the banner to show all the alumni that have played with the Units. We have had some repeat players (i.e. Clayton Avery 5 times), but if I were to count the number of players it probably would be close to 82 players if you include injured players who only played part of a season. 

Season 10 is under way and it looks like we have another great group of guys on the Units this season. I've got my fingers crossed that this might be the year for the Hurtin' Units to win the championship. Go Units!!!    

2018- END OF SEASON.

Where did the summer go? 

The 2018 season is almost over and I didn't even think about the blog or discussing any of our game on the blog. This year I really just wanted to play and captain the Hurtin' Units. Don't get me wrong there was lots to talk about. The Hurtin' Units had a great squad this season, from top to bottom this was a team that was fun, competitive and we had a chance to win the league.

Yes, we had a chance to win, but in our last nine games the wheels fell off a bit and with out consistency the teams around us managed to put some distance between us and the top spot. The Draft Kings got off to an incredible start on the season and held 1st place most of the season, but the Tap Masters were a run scoring machine and eventually grabbed the top spot and held on for the title of League Champions. 

The Hurtin' Units did have the # 1 spot in the standings for a few games, but slid down the standings quickly, after losing 6 of 7 games. At one point in the season the Units had a 8 game winning streak. We also lost some really close games. Four of our loses were by 1 run to four  of the top teams, Grisslies, Dog Catchers, Draft Kings and Tap Masters. At times, I thought we played to our competition, we seemed to play the good teams hard and the teams, lower in the standings, a bit more lackadaisical. We had a chance to win the league, but it was not to be. We actually had a deal with Pete that if we won the league he would have to braid his goatee. Maybe next season Pete. 

I look at the final standings and think what an incredible first half the Hurtin' Units had. In our first 17 games we were 13-4-0. Then the wheels fell off...In our last 9 games we were 1-8-0 and even with such an awful finish to the season, we finished in 6th position. 

In the playoffs, the Hurtin'Units losing woes continued. We even had a game in the bag, but a infield fly (a routine catch) was missed and the other team went on to win the game. The Hurtin' Units would finish the playoffs with a 0-4 record and would be finished the season on the Saturday.  

It really was a good team, it was a good season, but something happened and we could not get back on track again... Thanks go out to all the Hurtin' Units in the 2018 season. I hope 2019 has a good of group of guys.   

Congratulations go out to the Tap Masters who won both the League and the Championship.