HRL: History and Future

HRL: History and Future (a first in a series) 

By Nick “Sanchez” Consoer

The Golden Years: Do it your way Mr. Storey
A rare thing can happen in your 7th year of the HRL. You can have a career year. That’s exactly what’s happening for Larry “Cheezy” Storey.

A career .182 hitter is going into the final two weeks of the season with a career high .224 average. While some may scoff at this near Mendoza-line average, there’s more to it than meets the eye. Take into account that with two weeks left to go Cheezy has already set career high marks for the following categories: Runs, Hits, HR, & RBI. And barring any unforeseen drastic drop off during the final two weeks he’ll also eclipse his single season marks for At Bats, SLG, OPS, and possibly doubles, walks, and OBP. And while the former sticky paw winner might not get quite as few opportunities in the field as he used to he’s still hanging around with a respectful 96.43% fielding rating in 56 chances. That’s not too bad for a guy who celebrated his 40th birthday not too long ago.

A Bit of HRL: Twin Cities History Involving Cheezy
Cheezy is an original member of the HRL starting back in 04’ with the A’s. The original A’s made it all the way to the HRL Finals losing in seven games to the Twins. Cheezy showed up big at the plate for the A’s postseason run hitting 9 HRs and driving in 24 runs in 13 games.

The A’s disbanded for a brief time during the offseason between 04’ and 05’ before being restarted by Jason “Scarecrow” Hall. During their down time Cheezy signed with the Braves at the first annual HRL: TwinCities Winter Meeting. Negotiations were well received by both parties throughout the night and the announcement was made during a stop at Bullwinkle’s Saloon.

After the 05’ season the Braves underwent radical roster changes and completed the first official HRL: Twin Cities trade where Cheezy was sent to the Padres/Phillies in exchange for Kelly “Peeks” Pieklo. That offseason the Braves also signed Jim “Edgar” Renneberg while releasing Sean “Rocket” Pabon and Keith “Torpedo” Pabon.

Cheezy’s HRL time line has continued with the Padres/Phillies ever since. With his help they’ve made the playoffs in 2006, 2008, and 2009. They currently have a lock on their division race with a record of 26-7 and a 7 game lead over the Red Sox (19-14).

Off Into the Sunset
While Cheezy’s on field stats may not secure him a spot in the HRL: Twin Cities Hall of Fame once his playing days are done, his off the field prowess should guarantee his spot in HRL history books. From his message board banter including “post game observations,” “pre-series rap smack talk,” “Maroon 5 hate rants,” to his quite respectable 8415 posts (at time of publication), and his guestbook entries which include 8 separate entries from former Vice President Al Gore, Cheezy is a driving force on the board. He is a humanitarian, a Leo, a fine bowler, a mixer of good drinks, a music lover, and a fine friend. A better member of the HRL there may not be.