Who are these Dirty Mitts?

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the wrecking ball known as the Dirty Mitts, Here's a little snapshot of where we came from.

With nothing very Big planned for the Spring of 2004, a small idea was Born within the minds of Morgan Martmaan and Jamie Clarkson, an idea that would flourish and spread like ivy

After rounding up what some might have considered a 'rag-tag' bunch, there was just the small problem of "Where to Play". After some looking around, Morgan came across the League at softball City. From what it looked like at first glance, this was a great opportunity. The leagues were split up into Rec, and Elite, allowing the Mitts to nestle nicely into the lower echelon to start off. Bonus, we got a $250 bar tab. Nice.

The final outcome of the first season was not very spectacular as we finished near the bottom and didn't have too much to celebrate, but it did put the fire inside us, and every member of the team was amped up for another go at it.

Season number two and three saw a bit of the changing of the guard with the Mitts, picking up a few players, dropping a few, the largest turnover rate came between the first and third season. The team was trying to find it's identity. Players were dropped and then picked up again, it was turmoil. Very early on though, it was very evident that this was all for the better, and the Mitts closed out season 3 by winning the E Div title in epic fashion, and followed it up with an equally epic celebration in the parking lot.

Season 3 was the coming out party for the Mitts, they had won the lower division, and now it was time to show that they belonged in the upper echelon of the Softball city Co-Ed league. The start to the season was fantastic, with a 4-0 record to kick it off, however things quickly seemed to unravel and saw the regular season end with the Mitts in the middle of the pack. No worry though, they thought, we'll get them in the playoffs. This seemed to be the case too, until they met up with their future nemesis, The Diggers. The Mitts were bounced in a heart breaker, but more determined than ever to bounce back with a vengeance.

2008 saw the Mitts enter their 5th season of spring league ball at Softball City, most of the players were out practicing far before the season started. Determined that this would be the year of the Mitt, the dirty Mitts roared out of the gates and found themselves leading the league for the majority of the season, unfortunately finishing 3rd due to some bogus forfeits from other teams and a lower Run total that the team ahead of them. Making sure not to repeat their same mistakes the Mitts started dispatching their opponents handily, making it to the quarter finals with no losses in a double knockout tournament. Things were looking up when the Mitts suffered back to back losses, culminating in another elimination at the hands of the diggers... by mere runs....

Finally, with a 1980 Green School bus to take them to the promised land, the dirty mitts roared into 2009 like a rabid raging lion. The new and improved juggernaut found that they could surprise even themselves. Many days spent at the park with the big green bus, roasting hotdogs, playing dingle balls and rocking out to the boss broguht the team back to their roots... back to being one with the park... It brought the dirty mitts to their 'happy place'. With a 'take no prisoners' approach and a chip on their shoulders from the past 2 seasons, the dirty mitts avenged their previous early exits from the playoffs and took home the top prize. 2009 proved to be a season to tell the grandkids about, and a season that re-energized the gang. In the spirit of the team's unofficial mascot, look for 2010 to provide some good ol' "Glory Days"...