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Sports: Thursday, June 21, 2007 Park senior team has 5-1 record BY JOHN SHERMAN - SUN NEWSPAPERS (Created: Wednesday, June 20, 2007 10:44 PM CDT) When Pete Chubb started the St. Louis Park Cardinals 35-and-older baseball team in 1991, he thought he might play and coach for a couple of years. Now, in 2007, he's in his 17th season as manager of the Cardinals. Chubb's role has changed slightly this season. He has yielded his field manager's duties to Paul Meissner. "The only other person left from the original team is Paul," Chubb said. Park has been a contending team in Senior baseball for years and has a state title to its credit. The Cardinals went 15-1 during the regular season in 2006, but had a disappointing 2-2 record at the state tournament. "We play in the Eastern Division of the North Star Senior Baseball League," Chubb said. Some of the players in the league are in their 50s or 60s, while some are the 35- and 36-year-old "rookies," Chubb noted. Shortstop Steve Swanson and left fielder Jim Januschka are Park's leading hitters this summer. Meissner is a consistent hitter and first baseman Dan Webster, who led the team in hitting last season, is another threat. One of the big changes for the Cardinals this season is the North Star League's decision to go to wood bats. Many of the players prefer maple bats, because they don't break as easily as some others, Chubb said. At $60 apiece, the maple bats are somewhat durable, but any bat in susceptible to splintering. "As far as the wood bats are concerned, I'd say, so far, so good," Chubb said. "Ninety percent of the guys never used wood bats before this year. They grew up using aluminum, so that's all they've known." Park's pitchers have done well in keeping opponents' wood bats in check. Randy Nelson, Dave Prax and Brad Reifsteck are top guns for the Cardinals. "Brad, who played for Northern Iowa, is not only a good pitcher, but probably our best catcher, too," Chubb said. One of the best things about Senior league baseball is the playing venues, Chubb said. "We like playing down at Jordan and at Belle Plaine," he said. "And Loretto has a nice park." The Cardinals play their home games at Dakota Field in St. Louis Park, and for the local players, that's their field of dreams. For Chubb, Park's winning tradition and the camaraderie with the players keeps him coming back every year. Chubb said his ballclub is pointing to the state tournament, which will be played Aug. 24-26 at Jordan, Belle Plaine and Union Hill. |