AAABA Sidelights: Generations enjoying the tourney

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August 14, 2008

By MIKE MASTOVICH AND JOE GORDEN The Tribune-Democrat Thu Aug 14, 2008, 12:26 AM EDT

Zanesville manager Doug Pollock, a former national president and AAABA Hall of Famer, is working the 64th tournament with both of his sons.

Zachary Pollock, a 16-year-old Zanesville High School student, is an infielder-outfielder for the Junior Pioneers. Zachary’s older brother, Joe, is a coach for Zanesville and a former player.

“I played over here in ’76. I’ve been managing since ’78,” Doug Pollock said. “My older son, Joe, who is the coach, played in five tournaments. And then, Zach is a 16-year-old, which would be the third member of our family to play in the tournament.”

Zanesville first baseman Wade Kaido’s father, Mark, played in two AAABA Tournaments for manager Pollock.

“Wade’s dad played here for me in ’79 and ’80, and he hit a home run in the Point up against the Ford dealership there,” Doug Pollock said. “He coached for me about five or six years. His older brother, Tyler, played here four years, and this is Wade’s first year here, too. So, he would be the third member of that family to play in the tournament.

Right fielder Jordan Buchanan’s brother, Tyler, played two years for Doug Pollock.

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Trifecta: Altoona’s Johnston Realty opened 3-0 via its 4-1 victory over Maryland State at Lilly.

Altoona hadn’t opened with three straight wins since 1999. That year, Altoona defeated Schenectady (13-8), New York (17-9) and Johnstown (16-6) in the first three games before falling to eventual champion Washington (12-1). Altoona finished 4-2 in 1999.

Altoona’s L.S. Fiore franchise began the 50th annual AAABA Tournament with five consecutive wins in 1994. Altoona beat New York (9-2), Milford (19-6), Brooklyn (14-1), Youngstown (11-2) and Washington (9-6).

Altoona was in the title round but fell twice (9-5 and 12-2) to a Brooklyn team that included future major leaguers Julio Lugo, the tournament MVP, and Nelson Figueroa, the top pitcher.

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Web gems: Two new Web sites devoted to the AAABA Tournament went on-line for the 64th event.

New Orleans administrative assistant Tyler Scheuermann, son of AAABA Hall of Famer Joe Scheuermann, has constructed the site www.aaabajohnstown.com. The site includes statistics, scores, links to Tribune-Democrat stories and current and vintage photographs, among other items.

Brian Varmecky, brother of Delweld second baseman Brandon Varmecky, manages www.aaabatournament.com. Brian Varmecky, who also has managed popular Johnstown sports-related message boards, including one on the Johnstown Chiefs, has gathered information such as the schedule, scores, brackets, history and links to Tribune-Democrat articles and those that appeared in newspapers covering other teams in the tournament.

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AAABA Sidelights: Generations enjoying the tourney

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