Fleetwings have extreme in youth, experience

Besides having the dads on the team, they have a lot of promise for the future.


By Ted Meixell
Of The Morning Call

 

The Tri-County League's newest team, the Tri-City Fleetwings, may also be its oldest.

Or its youngest.

The Fleetwings, currently setting the pace in the league's East- Central Division, boast oodles of baseball experience, savvy and tradition.

But also a whole lot of promise for the future.

Four of the elderly Fleetwings, including Manager Bob Fatzinger, are living out a dream: their sons are teammates. And pitcher Ray Ganser's son Adam is the batboy.

Even the balance of the 'Wings' 21-man roster is a healthy mix of the old and the new.

* The Dads: Bob Fatzinger (51), Dan Waelchli (50) and Mike Witkowski (49) were high school teammates at Dieruff for one season in the late 1960s, Waelchli and Witkowski for two.

Witkowski, an infielder/outfielder, and Waelchli, a pitcher, both played professional ball, Witkowski for three years (1969-71) in the Detroit Tigers organization, Waelchli for one (1971) in the Pittsburgh Pirates' chain. And, even though Fatzinger, a catcher, never got a pro opportunity, all three may safely be categorized as among the top players ever to come out of the Lehigh Valley.

Witkowski played American Legion ball for Allentown's Downtown Youth Center. When his pro career ended, he played a few years with what are now the Bethleon Blue Jays in the Blue Mountain League. But he's mainly stuck with the Tri-County League. He's now in his 23rd season, having previously played for the Allentown AA.

Fatzinger and Waelchli both played for Midway Manor Legion under Ron "Punkin" Miller, now the skipper of the BML's Banko's Orioles.

He played football, not baseball, at Fork Union Military Academy, but began playing in the BML with Bath in 1967. When Miller founded the Allentown Orioles, Fatzinger signed on -- along with his older brother, Horatio "Ishky" Fatzinger, and the late Tommy Morgan.

When Ishky took over Limeport's Tri-Co team in 1972, Bob went along and stayed 20 years. Ishky, a 20-year player in both the BML and Tri-Co, is in both leagues' halls of fame.

Another note: Bob's nephew (Ishky's son), Bill, still manages the Limeport Bulls. Along with ICC, the Bulls are the Fleetwings' main competition in the East-Central Division. The Bulls and 'Wings will tangle at 5:30 p.m. today in Limeport.

Waelchli played at Kutztown University for three years and has been a social studies teacher at Parkland High School since 1972. He was the Trojans' head baseball coach before resigning after the 1998 season.

His amateur career has been mainly in the BML, and he's in its hall of fame. He played for the Allentown Phillies, Bath, the Bethlehem Red Sox and the Allentown Orioles -- before his one pro season. When he returned from pro ball, he went with Miller's Egypt (now Banko's) Orioles.

His Tri-Co career was brief -- and funny.

"I pitched two games," he said, "one each for two teams, two different years. One was for George Horn's East Texas Longhorns, against Stahley's. They beat me. The other was for Stahley's. Against the Longhorns. They beat me!

"Maybe that's why I'm on this team. I'm still looking for my first Tri-County League win!"

Tom George, 49, played four years at Parkland, graduating in 1968. He began with Northwestern Legion, then went with South Parkland when it was founded. He also enjoyed a three-year career at Rider University.

He began what is now a 30-year BML career in 1970 with an Emmaus team coached by Tommy Morgan. He had a seven-year run with Miller in Egypt, but has been with Bethleon since 1982. His only prior Tri-Co stopover was with a South Parkland unit coached by Horn.

His schedule this summer is hectic. He plays for Bethleon, the Tri-Co Fleetwings and the Heights AA Fleetwings in the Mens Senior Baseball League. And he's managing South Parkland Legion for the fifth year.

"Between Memorial Day and July 4," he said, "I'll have three days with no baseball."

Ganser, 45, is a 1972 Central Catholic High graduate. He starred there, and played five years of Legion ball -- first with Midway Manor, then with the East Side Rams. He pitched at St. Francis College in Loretto, Pa., but the school dropped baseball after his sophomore season.

His BML resume includes stops with the (West Allentown) Miller Brewers, Saylorsburg and, briefly last summer, the Limeport Dodgers.

He's now in his 22nd year in the Tri-County, the first 21 with the Allentown Angels, which eventually became Stahley's.

That's not all, though. All five -- Ganser, Waelchli, Fatzinger, George and Witkowski --began playing for the MSBL's Fleetwings in 1989. All five still do. All have played for the Lehigh Valley MSBL in several World Series, both in Arizona and Florida.

George, Fatzinger and Waelchli all played for the Valley's "Over 40" national championship team that played in Arizona in 1993. And Ganser, Fatzinger, George and Witkowski won an "Over 30" national crown in Florida two years ago.

* The Sons: Brendan Witkowski, 19, graduated from Allen High in 1998. He played for Terry Stoudt at North Parkland Legion. He started college at Virginia Wesleyan but transferred to Lehigh Community College and hopes to eventually play baseball at a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference school.

Teague Fatzinger, 20, graduated from Northwestern in 1998 (father Bob was a Tigers' assistant, but stepped down this year). He also played for Northwestern Legion and now attends Northampton Community College.

Ryan George, 19, graduated from Parkland, where he played under Dan Waelchli, in 1998. He played for his dad's South Parkland Legion club and attends St. Andrews in North Carolina.

Chad Waelchli, 17, played for his dad at Parkland. But when Dan resigned as baseball coach there, Chad transferred to Central Catholic. He started every game for Head Coach Tom Shive and will be a senior in September.

This summer, he also plays for Tom George at South Parkland Legion -- and is with him for the Bethleon Blue Jays in the BML.

* The Other Oldsters: Dennis Kinney, a former San Diego Padres reliever, and Matt Hlay add pitching depth. And 35-year-old Dave Toth plays everywhere he's asked to, but is usually the designated hitter.

* The Other Kids: Shortstop Scott Garger (Emmaus '98, Wilkes), infielder Justin Godusky (Emmaus '98, St. Joseph's), catcher Jeremy Arner (Emmaus '98, NCC), outfielder Casey Paras (Northwestern '98, NCC), infielder Jeremy Rex (Northwestern '98), pitcher Jim Messick (Emmaus '98, Temple), infielder Mike Santay (Emmaus '96, Mary Washington), infielder Paul Santay (Emmaus '99, Lower Macungie Legion), pitcher Myron Trunick (Whitehall '98) and pitcher/DH Matt Marcks (Dieruff '98, New Haven).

Along with Teague Fatzinger, Garger, Arner, Paras, Trunick and Marcks were members of the Lehigh Valley's 1998 Carpenter Cup championship team.



ted.meixell@mcall.com

From The Morning Call -- June 20, 1999

Copyright © 1999, The Morning Call