Kensington Jones calls it a career
Twin City Empire’s GM John Meeker sat in his seat , looking out the window of the lounge car of the train as the countryside went by. Opening Day 1909 had come and gone, and the Empire was off to a 4-3 start, and were on their way to Chicago to start a 3 game stint against the Packers. It was 4/15/1909, and Meeker was contemplating the teams fortune as his manager, Country Hardy eased into the seat next to him, ordering a beer. He smiled as he looked at the empty bourbon glass in front of him, and called the bartender over for another.
“So Kensington has decided to call it last night” John said to Country , “I feel for him, he rallied the troops for us at the end of last year heading into the playoffs , but Brooklyn was just to much”. “Yeah”, Country growled as his beer arrived, “woulda been nice to send him out with a Legacy Cup win. I know he would have hung it up then, rode off into the sunset like a…..like a….” “Like a legend “ John finished for him, inhaling the aroma off his new tumbler of whiskey.
“I wonder how much of the landscape of the game changing spurred him along. Spring Training was a first for all of us, and I noticed that his enthusiasm was there, but the old legs were not “ John mused. “More changes coming next year, the end of our divisions, which may not bode so well for us, having seen that we take our division lately, but will be #3 behind the Athletics and the Beavers. But we will get to add an extra roster spot, so we need to come up with a plan for how to fill that”.
Country took a deep pull off of his beer, belched and sighed. “Maybe not resting on our asses at the end of the year because we can sneak into the playoffs by winning our division will put some life into these boys. I know you noticed some lackadaisical play out of them last year.” “Yes”, Meeker replied, swirling his bourbon in his glass before taking a swallow, “There seems to be a lack of effort with almost half of the young guys in our minors. Hard to want to give them a shot at a position to root out another slacker in the bigs. I’m hoping Kensington can rub off on the fellas now, show them how to play the right way. I may have to ask if he has any interest in mentoring or even managing in the some way for our organization”
Country took another pull off his beer. “For now, I will keep going with our plan to use Gaston Manwaring at SS, and hope Curtis Rose puts it together in Duluth”. “Yes, I too hope so”, Meeker replied, “It was unfortunate he went down for the final 2 months with a bum ankle as soon as I sent him up to AAA. out at the same time ol’ Kensie was….He told me he reached out to Rose to encourage the youngin’ along with his recovery. Jones thinks he will be a great replacement for him, definitely with the offensive side. Don’t know if he will win 7 El Grande Snaggers like Kensington, but one can hope”.
Country Hardy drained his beer, and motioned for another. “Looks like we are gonna have a lot of work to do going ahead, Boss”. “You’re right” John said, draining his bourbon, “May have to look around and see what I can acquire to help out”. Country nodded thanks to the bartender and slurped at his fresh brew. “You know I will always be willing to let ya know how I feel about whatever players you bring in”. John laughed, “Of course , I expect nothing less from you Country….now I’m going to go see if ol’ Kensington has any thoughts on how he will want to fill his retirement time at the end of the season. Keep the boys heads up, and lets see if we can light a fire under them this year”.
