Home Run Derby: The Tale of Kirk and Kurt Traditional Cache
Home Run Derby: The Tale of Kirk and Kurt
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Size: 
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WELCOME TO HOME RUN DERBY 2015. EVERY SATURDAY MORNING A NEW CACHE WILL BE RELEASED. AFTER IT'S PUBLISHED YOU WILL HAVE ROUGHLY A WEEK TO FIND IT AND SELECT A SLUGGER TO REPRESENT YOU IN THAT WEEK’S EDITION OF THE HOME RUN DERBY. SELECT ONE PLAYER AND INCLUDE HIS NAME IN YOUR LOG. THE NUMBER OF HOME RUNS HE HITS THE FOLLOWING WEEK IS YOUR SCORE (DON'T WORRY, WE WILL HANDLE ALL THE SCORING). AFTER SIX WEEKS THE STANDINGS WILL RESET AND WE WILL START ANOTHER SIX WEEK SESSION. AT THE END OF THAT THE CHAMPION OF ROUND ONE WILL SQUARE OFF AGAINST THE CHAMPION OF ROUND TWO FOR A GEOCACHING WORLD SERIES!
THE "CATCH" IS EVERY PLAYER MUST BE UNIQUE, SO FTF HAS CHOICE OF ANY PLAYER, SECOND TO FIND WILL HAVE SECOND PICK AND SO ON. THE CACHE HIDERS WILL ALSO BE PLAYING SO THE CACHE OWNER WILL SELECT FIFTH EACH WEEK.
THIS IS WEEK 2 OF THE SERIES. ALL SCORING WILL TAKE PLACE APRIL 20 – 26. PARTICIPATION IN THE DERBY IS STRICTLY OPTIONAL SO FEEL FREE TO FIND THE CACHE AND WATCH ALL THE ACTION FROM THE GRANDSTAND. GAME ON!
Ask any baseball fan about Kirk Gibson and most likely they will conjure up images of his one at bat in the 1988 World Series. Hobbled Gibson came to the plate in the bottom of the ninth as a pinch hitter and hit what many fans believe to be the most dramatic home run in the history of the game. His walk off game winning homer propelled the over matched Dodgers onto a series victory over heavy hitting Oakland As in five games. However ask any long time Padres fan and they might, instead, recall a different iconic World Series Gibson homer.
Four years earlier the San Diego Padres found themselves in their first World Series of their short 15 years of existence. They lost game one to Kirk Gibson’s Detroit Tigers and were down 3-0 in game two when utility infielder Kurt Bevacqua hit a three run homer putting the Padres back in the game which they would eventually go on to win. It was, and remains, the only World Series game they have ever won in franchise history. As he rounded the bases Bevacqua irreverently blew kisses to the crowd and to his teammates, something that did not sit well with Gibson.
The Padres lost games three and four and were on the brink of elimination when Gibson came to plate in the bottom of the 8th of game five as the Tigers clung to a 5-4 lead with runners on 2nd and 3rd. Gibson had already homered once off Padres starter Mark Thurmond, and skipper Dick Williams came to the mound and suggested to the Padres ace reliever Rich “Goose” Gossage that he intentionally walk Gibson with first base open. Gossage would have none of it. He had always had success against Gibson when Gossage was with the Yankees and even struck Gibson out in his first major league at bat. Williams acquiesced to his star reliever and headed back to he dug out. A gleeful Tiger manager Sparky Anderson yelled at Gibson “He doesn’t want to walk you!”
Two pitches later Gibson sent a Gossage fastball into the upper deck and the stadium went wild. Not one to forget being slighted by an opponent Kirk Gibson did his best Kurt Bevacqua impersonation and blew kisses to the crowd and is teammates.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
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