Friday, July 31, 2009
Former Post 68 coach missed at state
Ray Cox covers recreational, high school and college sports in the New River Valley. If you have information you’d like featured,
e-mail ray.cox@roanoke.com or call 381-1672
Ray Cox
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GLEN ALLEN -- The landmark first trip to the state American Legion baseball tournament for New River Valley Post 68 was ever so slightly diminished this week.
Danny Evans couldn't attend.
Evans coached the team for two distinguished decades. There were some heartbreaker near-misses, but he never had a team at the state.
So it was melancholy he couldn't be there to see the boys split their first two games at cozy Glen Allen Stadium, stroking six home runs in the elimination second game Wednesday. Evans allowed as to how he was disappointed to have to miss it.
The rest of us were disappointed to miss Evans. On the other hand, it's great knowing he's still around to miss.
Evans was diagnosed with a malignant tumor in one of his ears before last Christmas.
"I knew right then I wouldn't be coaching next year," he said.
He'd been threatening to retire for years. He stopped coaching at third a while back after he concluded, reluctantly, that his eyes weren't good enough any more to pick up the ball off the bat.
The cancer required five hours worth of surgery at Bowman Gray Hospital at Wake Forest University.
The subsequent recovery and accompanying treatments has, to put it mildly, been unpleasant and tedious.
"It's been rough," said Evans, who's not the complaining sort.
Still, a June 8 CAT scan had him cancer-free.
"But you know how that is," he said.
Greg Dudding, Evans' former assistant coach who was elevated to the top spot when the boss turned in his resignation, was so disappointed Evans couldn't be here.
Last week, when Post 68 polished off defending champion Big Island to win its first District 9 tournament, Dudding said, "I want to do whatever we can to get him down there to the state tournament."
Evans had his last radiation treatment recently and he hasn't been feeling that hot. He didn't want to take any chances on driving all the way from Narrows -- then have to turn around and go back if he took ill.
Plus, the pep predictably leaves his step for periods of most days.
He's still stepping, though.
When he was still healthy, there have been times on the baseball field that would have prompted lesser men to step in front of a southbound train or leap from a high ledge.
In 1992, with a team that hit a breathtaking 28 home runs, New River Valley had the title game of the tournament all but won over nemesis Post 3 Roanoke. Then, a ninth-inning pop got dropped, a poor throw was made, and the game slipped away.
"I liked to sat down and cried," Evans said.
Loaded last year with guys like Jared King and Greg Juanarena, Post 68 took the top seed into the tournament but couldn't close the deal. Danville delivered the knockout blow.
Thus, a squad that had a .377 team batting average and 1.97 ERA played no more postseason ball.
"Danville has been a thorn in our side," Evans said.
Four times, New River Valley has been regular season champ. Eight times, it's been in the finals.
"I don't want to talk about last year, but the team we had, we would have gone to the state and won it," Evans said. "I talked to Kelly Russell, who coaches Big Island that did win the district, and he told me we were as good as anybody up there."
Richmond Post 137 won the state, Mid-Atlantic Region, and finished third in the national tournament last year. That team returns largely intact this year and is the heavy favorite at this week's state tournament.
Post 68 was eliminated Thursday after losing 10-1 to Norfolk Post 60.
Still, I wish Danny could have been here to see it.
