Andy Hill: The Man, The Hashtag, The Manager?
As fall ball ended in a sloppy mess, and the offseason started with a bang the Huntington Wiffle Ball League lost 2 teams. The divisions were a mess, schedule was going to be a disaster,HWL was looking at a seven team league for the first time. Then the Friday before Good Friday was a perfect day for HWL. It started with bad news, HWL would not be playing at St. Cloud for the first time. Then good news came, the Huntington Parks Board picked a perfect spot that 4 fields would fit perfectly. Then the news that the league waited on since January came, that there was an 8th team that wanted to play. This good news came with a catch, they needed a 3rd player. Friday ended on a move that shocked the league and saved the league all in a Facebook messenger app. Andy Hill was released from Wiffle in Dixie and was free to pursue other options. With no team and only one option Andy took over to captain The Plain White Tees. Now we look at Andy Hill’s brief history with HWL.
Andy's Stats: .433 AVG, 13/30, 5RBIs, 3HR, 6BB, 7K
Andy was part of the Pitch Slappers, which would later become We Willy Wiffle, during fall ball in 2013. Andy enjoyed and became a staple on the team when he would get on base. His base running ability was nonexistent during the first few games. It was so horrible that Nick Kappra coined the Hashtag #Runboyshit. Andy would later become an average base runner and would help at the plate on occasion. Andy and WWW was looking forward to the 2014 season. He spent days practicing with the team and learning the game. He got to a point that Nick would only yell once a game/practice. 2014 season for WWW started rough before the season began. Andy would start a new job that would require him to work on Tuesday nights. Andy would have to resign from WWW, but not before hitting a grand slam in a tied spring training game.
We sat down to get Andy’s thoughts on the upcoming season.
What was your reaction to getting released from Wiffle in Dixie?
Andy: Honestly, it can only be to my benefit. Im hoping to be able to find an accurate pitcher. I can’t be any worse than Greg right?
Your team is in a tough division (Sit on my Base, Bagtag and Chicken and Wiffles). How will you approach this difficult schedule?
Andy: Hardest team we will have to face is Sit on my base. With Nick pitching, he is one tough player to hit off of and I always hated facing him. The good news is that he is moving later in the season right? Bagtag could be a problem, but I think I have a good strategy to playing them. Chicken and Wiffles has Josh Smith on it so that shouldn’t be too hard.
How do you see the season playing out?
Andy: Obviously the season is going to be fun. I’m not going to take this too seriously. I’m here to have fun and make sure my team has fun. There should be a couple of good games. I’m most concerned about how we will pitch. We also only have 3 players and are hoping to get at least one more.
What was your favorite thing about being on We Willy Wiffle?
Andy: I was never officially on We Willy Wiffle. I had the chance to play opening day with the team I worked with all offseason but the season got moved back a week. I did have one hell of a game during that week that turned into spring training though. I understand why Josh moved back the season, he doesn’t want to be the worst player in the league all the time.
What was the worst thing about being on We Willy Wiffle or Pitch Slappers?
Andy: Worst part would be the first game in fall ball. We hadn’t figured out pitching. We were playing bagtag, a team that we knew from kickball. We couldn’t get the ball in the strike zone and the ones we did were knocked all the way out of the field. Since that game things improved and we became a middle of the pack team that fall.
Any team you would consider rivals?
Andy: We are still a new team so we don’t have a rival. We are a last minute expansion team and would love to shock the league. We will play anyone and want to be very competitive. This season will be good as long as we have a couple wins at the end of the season.
Last Question, If a sign says “No parking, Violators will be towed” what would you do?
Andy: First, I would ignore anyone in my car saying its ok to park there (Jeremy). Then, I would have found a spot I would not get towed from. Saddest part is there was a ton of parking, but it would of cost 99% less to park in the garage.
