Grasshoppers 2023 Team
The team started as the Orioles in the 18+ division way back in 2009. With an aging roster, the team moved to the 28+ division in 2017 and rebranded as the Grasshoppers. In 2023 we were finally able to jump the final hurdle and shed our self-appointed title of Most Talented TCMABL Team to never win a championship! Going back to 2019, the Hoppers have been a top tier team, making it to the championship game the past three seasons, but never played our best baseball when it mattered most.
We kicked off the 2023 season with mostly all returning players from the last three-plus years, along with a big-time upgrade adding Tim Duffy behind the plate, as his team folded from last year. All Tim was able to accomplish was hit .600 at the plate (leading the 28+ league) and lead the team in RBI; all while anchoring the defense with his pitch calling and dominant presence behind the dish.
For the year, Duffy and Hogan Jackson lead the Hoppers in most all batting statistics in their dominance at the plate. However, it needs to be mentioned that David Webb, Dan Hill, Jon Rans, Eddie Carey, Sean Grenfell and Matt Moharter all hit above .300 for the season. Homeruns were hit by Eric Hendrickx (2) with Jackson and Rans each having one. Hill added another 31 stolen bases during the season to his league leading career total of 304.
On the mound, five Hopper’s pitchers saw double digit innings lead by Matt Chruscielski’s 34 innings pitched with a solid 1.85 ERA and also leading the team with 29 strikeouts. Hendrickx had another successful year pitching for the Hoppers tossing 33 innings, striking out 20, with an incredibly low 0.37 ERA.
David Gordon, Bryan Jamieson, Jack Regan, and manager Jon Lipinski were also staples on the mound this year providing the arms needed to navigate the season.
Our regular season ended just about where we imagined, going 11-2 and securing the #2 spot in our division behind the newly reinforced Muskies team. The only regular season losses were at the hand of the Black Sox (American Division Champs) and the previously stated Muskies, who were the top team on our National Division side.
We kicked off the opening round of the 2023 post season in typical Hoppers form, falling behind to the Lake Monsters early before climbing outta that self-imposed hole. We took the lead back late in the game and eventually won 8-4. Hats off to the Lake Monsters for humbling us to start the post season.
Next stop on the Hoppers train landed us with another matchup vs the Muskies. As we had split the season games 1-1, we knew this would be a colossal rubber match to determine National Division representative in the Championship Game. To the shock of many, this loaded semi-final matchup was our best played game of the post season.
Early in the game it appeared we were going to have an old fashioned slug fest of talented teams as the score began 2-1 with a slight Hoppers lead; however, pitcher Eric Hendrickx would stake his claim to the pitching mound and deny the powerful Muskie bats anymore runs en-route to tossing a complete game, giving the Grasshoppers an 8-1 victory.
Hendrickx toed the rubber again for championship game against the Irish and delivered another gutsy performance on the mound going 7 innings allowing just 1 earned run.
The bats stayed hot for the Hoppers as we jumped out to an early 7-0 lead after just 4 innings, largely in part to Hogan mashing at the plate with 4 more hits and 4 RBIs. With the Irish themselves having a talented hitting roster and a pair of Hopper miscues later on, the Irish fought back the best they could, scoring 5 total runs in the game. These runs however were in vain as the Grasshoppers plated 11 runs in this game to win the 2023 TCMABL Championship 11-5.
Also worth mentioning, this championship game saw many Hoppers players help at the plate with Dan Hill, Duffy, Hendrickx, and Eddie Carey joining Jackson with multi-hit games. Hill also swiped a pair of bases showcasing his speed on the basepath.
During the playoffs at the plate, Hoppers power hitting third baseman Hogan Jackson swung a red-hot bat. Hogan hit .833 (10-12) with 11 RBI and three walks. Hendrickx threw for 16 innings allowing just one earned run, securing wins in the semi-final and championship games.
We thank all the spouses, family, and fans who have supported us, allowed us to play, and keep coming back each year. Special thanks to Mr. Chruscielski and his family as they have driven the nearly 3 hours each way from Duluth to the Metro area each week to play and cheer for the past seven seasons.
