It was a bitter sweet day on the ball fields at McGaugh Elementary School on May 17.
The Seal Beach PONY Baseball League held its 9th Annual Home Run Derby. The event, sponsored by the Seal Beach PONY Baseball League was led by Greg and Denise Danner. The Danners have both served on the PONY board for nine years.
Greg has served as the Director of Baseball while Denise was the Snack Shack Coordinator and Team Scheduler, which takes on the dubious task of scheduling 25 teams every year. It was to be the days of the Danners’ swan song so to speak. Meanwhile, The Home Run Derby is a chance for players and parents to see how far they can hit a baseball.
The derby is divided into 5 divisions. Shetland (ages 5 & 6); Pinto (ages 7 & 8); Mustang (ages 9 & 10); Women and Men. Winners received a gift card and the first place winner took home a big trophy.
The rule was the player who hit the fence (225 feet) or over the most times won. The pitcher for 4 of the 5 divisions was Greg. It is estimated that Greg made over 2,000 pitches given the number of contestants and the number of pitches per player. The home run derby was highly competitive and even playoffs had to be done to determine the winners.
Other activities were available during the home run derby such as a dunk tank. Hundreds of players took a shot at “dunking” their coach in the dunk tank. A bounce house for the little guys and various teams were gathered around the fields celebrating the end of the season by handing out trophies at their team parties. The Seal Beach Lions Club grilled hamburgers and hot dogs for the event. The event was an exciting day for Seal Beach families, raising an estimated $2,800 for the league. “This was a great way to end the season,” Greg said.
The home run derby was the last regular season event for the Danner family with Seal Beach PONY Baseball. Greg and Denise started both their sons in T-Ball at age 3 growing through the league to the Mustang Division (age 10). Their oldest son, River, 14 an 8th grader at McAuliffe, plays in the PONY Division at LAYB. Reef, age 10 in 4th grade at McGaugh, finished his Mustang season in Seal Beach and now both boys will continue this summer playing All Stars baseball.
After 11 years, this is Greg’s last year coaching in the league. He is managing the Seal Beach PONY Mustang All Star team, starting with their first pre-all star tournament Memorial Day weekend. “It’s bittersweet and sad at the same time. I’ve seen the league grow over the years and to hand it over and be done, is hard,” said Greg. Greg will be missed next season as a coach. Mustang All-Star player Ryder Buell, said, “I will miss Coach Greg being my 3rd base coach. He does the signs perfectly and never messes up.”
The Danners have lived on “the hill” in Seal Beach since 1995. Greg owned the popular restaurant, Greg’s Main Street Café, in Old Town Seal Beach. He ran his business for 10 yeas until the building was sold. Greg then decided to start his own construction company, Danner Construction soon after closing the doors to his popular diner. Meanwhile, Denise works as a 4th grade teacher in Downey.
Seal Beach PONY Baseball will never replace the dedication of the Danner’s 11 years in the league. Greg and Denise have been a valuable asset to the baseball league and the community of Seal Beach. Greg has worked countless hours on the fields, assembling and managing teams, coaching, directing the league’s coaching staff and fixing up the snack shack. Greg and Denise never asked for anything in return, when something needed to be done. Instead, they just did it.
They will run their final event with the league this weekend at McGaugh Fields for the Seal Beach Pony Baseball All Star Tournament May 31-June 1.
For more information go to www.sbpony.com.
