Vilius
Will Gordon Joined: June 6th 2006
Logged in: December 16th 2010
Logged in: December 16th 2010
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Dad and Me
When I first began writing this blog, my main objective was to keep in touch with those whom I don't necessarily keep in touch with very often. Often when i would write I'd write with my grandparents in mind, knowing that either they would be reading my blog or that my dad would be taking them hard copies to keep up with their grandson bouncing around the world. As I've settled into a more 'sedentary' lifestyle over the past year, I've found less time to write on my blog and, moreover, every time I think about writing I think 'no, that's not very interesting'. When you find yourself engaged in the same activities from day to day, in the same job, etc., it is easy to think that what you are doing is uninteresting. Most often, ... read more
DOVYDAS NEVERAUSKAS SIGNS WITH THE PITTSBURGH PIRATES; FIRST LITHUANIAN IN HISTORY TO SIGN A CONTRACT WITH MLB TEAM 7/13/2009 For the first time in the history of Lithuanian Baseball, one of its own has signed a professional contract with an MLB squad. On July 9th Dovydas Neverauskas, a 16 year old pitcher from Vilnius, Lithuania, agreed to terms of a professional contract offered by the Pittsburgh Pirates, making him the first player in Lithuania's history to do so. Neverauskas agreed to sign with the Pirates only after considering proposals from several MLB Clubs. The 6-3, 170-pound flamethrower will pitch in the Florida Instructional League Program this fall and join the Pirates in Spring Training next year. Also receiving attention from several MLB Clubs was Edvardas Matusevicius, a hard-throwing RHP and outfielder who has also been ... read more
I returned to Lithuania after a long and restful, yet somehow also hectic and very busy, two months being home with family, grandparents, friends. It was a really great visit, and also special because Viktorija traveled with me and it was her first visit to the U.S. It was fun and exciting to see her experience my home for the first time, and especially to notice the ‘firsts’ that she found most exciting. Things, for example, that you don’t see/have in Lithuania that I never thought about. A short list: fireflies, turtles (she never saw them in the wild!), skinks, krispykreme donuts, 'Tide' stainremover pens…… I always thrive on traveling and transitioning, though it can be stressful and uprooting it also provides time and space to slow down and think and relax a bit. On Friday ... read more
June 5th 2009
Prague Tryout
Sveiki!!! Life and baseball in Kaunas, Lithuania, rolls on. Kaunas is still undefeated in both Lithuanian and Interleague games, but all of this might change as our US Tour approaches and the competition stiffens. Not to forget also that we have two tough games to close close out the first half of the season against Vilnius Logipolija. It has been two busy weeks of hosting MLB Envoy Coaches and CFS End of Year Trips!!! So here are a few updates!!! *********************************** 3 LITHUANIANS INVITED TO MLB EUROPEAN ACADEMY, TIRENNIA, ITALY, AUGUST 11TH-29TH!! For the second year in a row two young talents from Vilnius Logipolija Baseball Club, Edvardas Matusevicius (outfielder position) and Dovydas Neverauskas (pitcher position), have been selected to attend the 2009 MLB European Academy in Tirrennia, Italy, this summer (featured photo). In addition, Lukas ... read more
As summer arrives, time seems to be moving faster and faster. A week flies by, seeming like just a few days. A few interesting events regarding Lithuanian Baseball: May 28-June 5: Sam Dempster, a Major League Baseball Envoy Coach, will be giving baseball clinics to youth ages 13-18 in Vilnius, Kaunas, and Utena, Lithuania. This is an exciting 'first' for Lithuanian Baseball, to host an MLB coach. We hope it will be a great experience both for the visiting coach and for the players involved. June 8-24th: Kaunas Lituanica Baseball Club travels to the US!!! We will be playing against semi-pro teams in Chicago as well as in Davenport, Iowa!! We will be playing an 8-game schedule, seeing two Chicago White Sox games, and getting to visit Chicago! This will be the first trip to the ... read more
I have been in Lithuania for probably its most crippling economic period since their post-occupation economic growth began just after the fall of the Soviet Union in the early ‘90’s. Teaching English at a small English school in the center of town, on ‘Freedom Avenue’, a pedestrian street that stretches the length of the whole downtown of Kaunas, I have seen shop after shop close down. And they all have a common series of events. First a sign goes up saying ‘sale’, then big circle-shaped ads in bold colors advertising that everything is on sale. 50%, 60%, 70% ‘nuolaidos’ (discount). Then a week later the shop is closed, completely empty, sign taken down, with stickered letters posted across the windows spelling out ‘isnuomuojame’, which means ‘for rent’, followed by a phone number. And you know no ... read more
Kaunas vs. Logipolija-Vilnius
A few highlights from the first few weeks of games: ************************* LITHUANIAN CHAMPIONSHIP WEEK 2: LITUANICA (KAUNAS) AND VIKINGAS (VILNIUS) TAKE TWO FROM LOGIPOLIJA AND VETRA Kaunas Lituanica extended their record to 4-0 in ’09 Championship Play with two wins over Vilnius Logipolija this weekend, beating Logipolija 13-7, 16-5 in two games. In game 1 Will Gordon and Marijus Dargis shared the pitching duties for Lituanica, recording 11 strikeouts and giving up only 4 hits in 9 innings. Lituanica outmatched Logipolija, recording 16 hits on the game, led by strong hitting performances by Audrius Beliauskas (3-5, 2B, R, 4 RBI) Gediminas Sabalius (4-6, 2 2B, 2R), and Arunas Dankovskis (2-4, 2 2B, 2 R, 4 RBI). In game 2 Arturas Eimutis of Lituanica got his first victory of the season, with Aivaras Jacyna pitched 3 solid ... read more
Lithuanian Baseball Association
Hi everybody, I am back and there is much to write about. I want to let you know that, for the moment atleast, my blog will take a slight twist. It will once again become a bit more baseball-oriented. This is because, yet again, my life has become more baseball-oriented as well. I have been here in Lithuania since January; I arrived in the bittery cold winter, near-zero temperatures, heading directly to Juodkrante with Viktorija and family to celebrate the New Year with family by drinking champagne, dancing in the bitter cold around a huge decorated christmas tree in the square near the the town church. Speakers blaring with traditional and contemporary lithuanian tunes, hands clasped as we formed human chains encircling the huge pine, lighting off sparklers and waving them in the air like we ... read more
Hluhluwe National Park
Here are some photos from our last days in South Africa. After baseball in Durban and and saying goodbye to Thanda, we rented a car and drove north to Hluhluwe National Park, a game reserve several hours north of Durban. We spent a day there, two nights, and then headed back to Durban to catch our flight back to Europe. ***Don't forget to check page 2 of this blog for the crocodile pictures!!!! You'll see a real crocodile hunter who is missing four fingers he lost during his crocodile adventures!!!... read more
first visit to Durban
As sort of a culmination of our work teaching the baseball and on our final weekend in South Africa, we traveled to Durban to take part in the school youth baseball league. The league, supported and organized by Kwazulu-Natal Baseball Association, begins in July and runs for 8 weeks. It is sort of a pre-season to the Club league that starts up after the completion of the school league—the school league gets kids into baseball, it is less competitive, and then those who wish to continue on (and who are selected by the club teams) can play in the club league. Each team represents a different elementary school from different parts of Durban, and in the school league there are 16 teams in all. What is really unique about this baseball community is its diversity; there ... read more
