Bob Barnes always remembered the kids he coached and treated them with respect

Bob Barnes - Little League coach Bob  Barnes died July 8. He was a longtime Lewes Board of Public Works guy born in 1955. Bob was Lewes Little League manager of the Pirates the four years the Fred boys, Tom and Jack, played in the majors. The twins were not happy to be drafted by a last-place team of smart kids – they were 9 years old at the time, adding, “Bases loaded and one out, no one in the infield has any idea where to throw the ball.” Bob Barnes was a master at handling my ornery boys. He was never stern, and he finessed me pretty well as I can never recall talking baseball strategy or playing position with Bob, and over a lifetime, he was just the friendliest person when you ran into him. There were so many colorful managers back then, including Eddie Sheppard, Lou Rickards, Sam Burke, Tommy Engel, Don Burton, Wayne Mitchell and Terry Hudson. Bob Barnes was the only laid-back person except for the legend that was Hucky Hudson. Bob always remembered the kids he coached and still treated them with kid-like respect as they moved into their 40s. On one opening day when Tom and Jack were 12, each twin hit a fence-clearing home run. Barnes got the baseballs and gave them to me. I had them lettered by “angry artist” John Gardoski – “give me those damn balls.” They are on a shelf in my home office. The letters have mostly faded, but the memories are soft and soothing like a cloudy day by the canal with a bay breeze to blow away the bugs. Bob Barnes was a backdrop to all of this. Just a good dude. Is that good enough? I think it is!

Crazed and confused - Most of my age contemporaries with access to a microphone and a captive audience trip the circuit breaker of relevance when it comes to clarifying the machinations of sports and/or political systems. I’ve even attracted an AI bot with an attitude that advised me, “If your untold, long story is so funny then shorten it and let us hear it.” The Trump tweet threat to bring back the Redskins name and ditch the Commanders or he’ll block stadium funding inspired me to chase that ball but like an aging lab with hip dysplasia. My resting reaction was “you threw it, so you chase it.” Back in the early ’70s when I was teaching outside Philadelphia, I had the nephew of Eagles owner Leanord Tose in my class. It was at that time that Tose threatened to move the Eagles to Arizona for cash money to settle gambling debts. I’m remembering that Tose owned the Eagles, not the City of Philadelphia, and that stadiums were a public-private partnership. In 2025, the Eagles sublet The Linc to Temple football for like $3 million per season (six games). I also learned that Leanard Tose was married five times and that he helped establish the first Ronald McDonald House. The more time we spend paying attention, the more knowledge we acquire, but I’m not interested in being crazed and confused. I just want to watch games. “Go Birds!”  

Catcher’s Interference - Should I go to a baseball game because there’s a chance I’ll see something I’ve never seen before and that’s what makes the game so exciting? The Phillies beat the Red Sox in the bottom of the ninth inning on catcher's interference with bases loaded. I’ve never seen that before. Then the Phillies scored a run the next night on catcher's interference on a steal of home. I’ve never seen that either. I have a hundred Little League stories of things no one has seen before, and AI wants to hear them to add to its database because you can’t make up the real stuff.

Snippets - Jaden Davis, recent Salisbury University graduate, is a running backs coach for Chip Knapp’s Cape football team. Terrique Riddick and JoJo Kirby will be working with the freshman team. Cape football has 14 coaches. Jack Redefer is listed as an assistant coach for Brad Ellingsworth’s Sussex Tech Ravens. Last week, I wrote that Mason Fluharty had been optioned to Triple-A Buffalo by the Toronto Blue Jays. Before the Gazette hit the print edition a day later, Mason had been called back up. The next day, he was back with Toronto and threw two shutout innings against the Yankees. Luke Johnson (Cape-UMBC) was promoted to the Fredericksburg Nationals, a Single-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. The tides run stronger along the Mid-Atlantic Bight beginning in August. It’s an astronomical autumnal tides thing, so be respectful and careful. Go on now, git!