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Volume 216, No. 28
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COUNTY FAIR MORE THAN RIDES, FRIED FOOD, page 5
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Photo by Maya Stevens
Photo by Maya Stevens
Major league manager and 2024 inductee Jim Leyland waves to the crowd during the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum’s Parade of Legends on Saturday, July 20.
Class of 2024 Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Joe Mauer was joined in the Parade of Legends by son Chip, wife Maddie, and their own Minnesota Twins, Maren and Emily.
Long-time Manager Leyland Steals the Show at 2024 Induction “Ladies and gentlemen, that’s COOPERSTOWN you and that’s baseball and this n a separate category from the other three members of the 2024 Hall of Fame Induction class, 22-year is the Hall of Fame.” major league manager of four different teams By CHARLIE VASCELLARO
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Jim Leyland was elected by the Contemporary Era Committee for Managers, Executives, and Umpires, while fellow inductees Adrian Beltré, Joe Mauer and Todd Helton, all players, were elected on the regular Baseball Writers’ Association of America ballot. Widely respected and acknowledged as one of the best of his era, and all-time, Leyland won three Manager of the Year awards (1990 and 1992 with the Pittsburgh Pirates and 2006 for the Detroit Tigers), six division titles (1990-1992, with Pittsburgh and 2010-2013, with Detroit), three league pennants (1997 Florida Marlins, 2006 and 2012 in Detroit) and one World Series title with the 1997 Marlins. His 1,769 wins rank 18th all-time, sandwiched between Lou Piniella, 1,835, and Buck Showalter, 1,727, neither of whom has yet gained election to the hall. INSIDE ► BE LIKE WORMS—wASTE NOT! page 3 ► NATURE, POETRY SOOTHE THE MIND, page 4
— 2024 HOF inductee manager Jim Leyland
He also came out of retirement to lead Team USA to a World Baseball Classic title in 2017. His Hall of Fame plaque does not contain the logo of any team in his cap. Shortly after stepping to the podium to deliver his acceptance speech, Leyland dropped the best oneliner of the day in front of an estimated crowd of 28,000 at the Clark Sports Center on Sunday, July 21. After introducing the members of his family—wife Katie, son Patrick and daughter Kelly, seated in the front row—Leyland shared a recent anecdote with the crowd. “I was having coffee with Katie a couple of weeks after I was elected to the Hall of Fame and I casually
Laurens Grads Generating Buzz on Festival Circuit By KRISTIAN CONNOLLY
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LAURENS cademy Award-winning ► THOUGHTS ON GLOBAL it director and global OUTAGE, page 4 movie star Mel Gibson spent three of his childhood ► OF MAGAS AND PRESIDENT years in the Town of Laurens BIDEN, page 4 before the Australian beaches ► LOCALS: OTSEGO’S BEST and Pacific waters of Sydney AND BRIGHTEST, page 6 became his home. Now, two Laurens Central ► LAKESIDE ART AND School graduates are beginTHEATER, page 9 ning to create some waves of ► what’s happenin’? their own as up-and-coming EVENTS FOR EVERYONE, filmmakers. page 14 Spencer Sherry and Ryan Jenkins, LCS Class of 2012 Follow Breaking News On and friends since the second grade, are behind the short-film OTSEGO.com “Anomaly,” which in May had
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said, ‘Katie, can you believe in your wildest dreams that I’ve been elected to the Hall of Fame?’ and Katie replied, ‘Jim you’re not in my wildest dreams.’” The crowd responded with its loudest guffaws of the afternoon. With a dry, acerbic and sarcastic wit, Leyland continued to deliver a heartfelt, emotional and oftentimes hilarious 13-minute speech. “My contributions to our beautiful pastime pale in comparison to the joy it has brought to my life, from the heart of a little boy to the soul of an old man,” said Leyland, adding, “I’d like to thank every player that played for me in the minors and the majors because I’m here today because of you and the four organizations that gave me the opportunity to manage their major league team.” In a chronological narrative, Leyland began by telling the story of his minor league playing days. “Shortly after high school I signed a pro contract with the Detroit Tigers. The scout that signed me was Continued on page 13
its world-premiere showing at the Coney Island Film Festival in Brooklyn. After New York City-area showings to end the spring and begin the summer, “Anomaly” was one of five nominees for “Best Short Film” at this month’s Long Island International Film Festival. Written and directed by Jenkins and produced by Sherry—both now living near Albany—”Anomaly” clocks in at 15 minutes and tells the story of The Great Van Alden (played by Eric Mead), a magician whose final performances gain the attention of a federal government agent (played by John Romeo) whose specialty is the inexplicable.
“The agent confronts [Van Alden] after the show, demanding to know the method; what ensues is a cat-and-mouse conversation in which both men’s ulterior feelings slowly become revealed,” said Sherry via e-mail. The film will continue on the festival circuit later this summer, at the Lonely Seal Film Festival in Arlington, Massachusetts, on August 25, and the North Country Short Film Showcase in Glens Falls on August 31. Sherry hopes to have an Otsego County showing on the calendar at some point. “We’ve gotten into some film festivals and have been rejected from plenty as well, but every Continued on page 12
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RYAN JENKINS AND SPENCER SHERRY
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