Richard Haft
Unsportsmanlike Conduct
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"When I asked Richard to coach third base in the first
game, he refused. Instead, he sat in the stands
away from our bench and sulked. I was stunned...[In the second game] Haft deliberatly threw an elbow into the head of [our opponent's]
first baseman, then continued on to second...It was a dirty play...
I was sickened by what I saw. Was this
my team?
"~Jay Hatfield
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Lawrence Crawford
Unsportsmanlike Conduct
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"I was horrified when Crawford grabbed the player by
the collar, lifted him up, and threw him head first
into the backstop fence. The benches cleared...Duane Christian, Crawford's best friend...told me
that I should bench him immediately. However,
I waited...I am not proud of that decision. Indeed, there was very little to be proud of this day."~Jay Hatfield
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Gary Sanchez
Unsportsmanlike Conduct
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"In the middle of the
first game, Mark Prebich (who was playing left
center field) had to walk up to me on the bench
from the outfield to ask me to get Sanchez under
control...[later] Sanchez started a loud verbal dispute with
Duane Christian (his own teammate!) while Duane was standing on third
base and Sanchez was the third base coach!...Sanchez remained in the game,
but he would not remain on the team for much
longer."~Jay Hatfield
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Duane Christian
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"Before the day was over I would turn to Duane
for advice on a lot of things..."~Jay Hatfield
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Mark Jenkins
~Game Winning HR~
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Mark Prebich
~~Spring 1993 MVP~~
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"During the winter of 1993-1994, Jay Hatfield, Mark
Prebich, and Jody Bankins would begin to reconstruct
a U.S. Exporters men's softball team that we all could
be proud of."~Jay Hatfield
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Jody Bankins
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U.S. Exporters Split
(In More Ways Than One)
The July 9, 1993 game against the Pit Bulls was
a classic. Both teams had fought a long and tough
pennant race, and had entered the final date of the
season with identical 16-0 records.
And then it turned into a war.
But when The U.S. Exporters weren't fighting against
the Pit Bulls, they were fighting against each other...
The temperature in the Washington area had reached
the 100 degree mark. This fact, along with the 6:30 pm
starting time, may have contributed to everyone's
short tempers. But that would be no excuse for what
happened on this day.
This game would mark the beginning of the end for the
original U.S. Exporters men's team, although we would
play one last season in the District of Columbia
in the fall.
On this date our team lost the first game of the
double header by the score of 8-7, but more heart
breaking to me was discovering that some of our
top players had suddenly lost something more
important than a game: They had lost their sense
of sportsmanship.
As a manager, I could tell that I was going to have a
tougher day than usual before the first pitch
was even thrown. I had selected Jody Bankins to be
the starting pitcher in the first game, which
did not sit well with our other pitcher, Richard
Haft. Richard, who fancied himself as the team's
top player, had complained all season long about the
Bankins/Haft pitching rotation, and apparently decided
that this was the perfect moment to drive home his
protest.
When I asked Richard to coach third base in the first
game, he refused. Instead, he sat in the stands
away from our bench and sulked. I was stunned.
The game began, and in the 2nd inning our starting
catcher Lawrence Crawford objected to a low, but
very legal, slide into the plate by a Pit Bull player.
I was horrified when Crawford grabbed the player by
the collar, lifted him up, and threw him head first
into the backstop fence. The benches cleared,
but no punches were thrown. The other manager
demanded that I remove Crawford from the game after
it became clear that the umpire would not eject him.
I turned to Duane Christian, Crawford's best friend,
and asked him what I should do. Duane told me
that I should bench him immediately. However,
I waited until the 3rd inning to make my change.
I now believe that I should not have waited. I
always depended on Duane's counsel, and I am not
proud of the decision I made.
Indeed, there was very little to be proud of this
day. Before it was over I would turn to Duane
for advice on a lot of things...
Oh, what a day...First it was Haft's tantrum. Then
it was Crawford. Suddenly, to make matters worse, Gary
Sanchez (our always pugnacious right center fielder)
started to make trouble on our bench! In the middle
of the first game, Mark Prebich (who was playing left
center field) had to walk up to me on the bench
from the outfield to ask me to get Sanchez under
control. Apparently, Sanchez was ordering Mark
around in the outfield, and Mark (and everyone
else within earshot) was getting sick of it.
Between innings I pulled Sanchez aside and asked
him to settle down. I obviously didn't make much
of an impression on him, because shortly afterward
Sanchez started a loud dispute with Duane Christian
(his own teammate!) while Duane was standing on
third base and Sanchez was the third base coach!
I was developing quite a headache at this point.
Why had these clowns waited until the championship
games to pull this kind of crap?
I had had enough of Sanchez' nonsense and prepared
to replace him with Jim Mazur, but Duane
came up to me and asked me not to do it. To this
day I don't think I should have taken Duane's
advice, but I did. Sanchez remained in the game,
but he would not remain on the team for much
longer.
It was no great surprise to me that we lost the first
game, but the season wasn't over. This was a
doubleheader, so we now needed to win the second game
to get at least a share of the division title.
Since Richard Haft was scheduled to pitch the second
game, he deigned to rejoined the team from his
sulking seat in the stands.
Jody Bankins moved over into the catchers spot.
The next game saw another bench clearing incident
in the second inning.
I am happy to report that the U.S. Exporters were
guiltless in this situation. There was a play
at the plate and Jody Bankins tagged out the runner.
The umpire was slow in making the call, so Bankins tagged
the runner once again to "sell the out" to the umpire.
Apparently, the Pit Bulls felt that the second tag
was a provocation, and both teams once again emptied
onto the field. No punches were thrown.
The U.S. Exporters defense played a strong second
game. Mark Prebich and Mark Jenkins hit consecutive
home runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to take
a lead that the U.S. Exporters would never relinquish.
Prebich's second home run of the game (a towering
three run shot to right field) put the icing on the
cake.
But Richard Haft would mar the game with a final,
and ugly, display of poor sportsmanship.
Leading off the 6th inning, Haft hit a ball to the
outfield. While rounding first he collided with the
first baseman who was, in my opinion, accidently out
of position. Haft deliberatly threw an elbow into the
head of the first baseman, then continued on to second.
It was a dirty play...
Once again, I was sick by what I saw. Was this
my team?
Haft was tagged out at second base when the throw
came in from the outfield. Haft screamed that the
first baseman had interfered with him, but the umpire
hadn't seen the play. If the umpire had seen the play
I presume that he would have immediately ejected Haft
for throwing the elbow.
Haft's punch had enraged the first baseman, who threw
his glove and hit Haft square in the face.
Proving that there is truly no justice in the real world,
the first baseman was ejected from the game rather
than Haft. I note with some satisfaction, however, that
no one from the U.S. Exporters left the bench to come to
Haft's aid after he was struck in the face by the glove.
I rather suspect that the team believed that Haft deserved
it. Haft would not remain on the team for much longer,
either.
Although I was delighted to win our first regular
season championship, I was appalled by the circumstances
surrounding the victory. Had winning become more important
to me than fair play? This was supposed to be a happy
moment. Instead, I was feeling completely ashamed.
The 1993 version of the team would be dissolved after
the fall season. Sanchez and Haft would be banished.
Mark Jenkins would leave the team to play for the Black
Roosters. Crawford would never be invited back, although
he was never officially banished.
During the winter of 1993-1994, Jay Hatfield, Mark
Prebich, and Jody Bankins would begin to reconstruct
a U.S. Exporters men's softball team that we hoped we
could all be proud of.
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