(Clinton Hill, NY) August 23—The genesis for the Straphangers Hard Ball League actually took place over “…a pastrami--grilled, crisp” and a vanilla egg cream, in a King’s Plaza Diner booth on Avenue U in South Brooklyn in the dead of winter, 2003. Flying Hamsters of Doom owner Adam Goldberg had called Yorkville Cheese Pimp owner Greg Duva to a meeting concerning the venerable Bon Vivant League, of which both are some of the newer members.

Over the course of the conversation, Goldberg professed his long-held desire to form a league of his own from scratch, a challenge the veteran Strat Baseball Fanatic had yet to undertake. Duva, a veteran of many years of league play who was itching to return to action, took note of Goldberg’s desire as he began preparations to rebuild the BVL’s woebegone Sioux City Attorneys.

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Fast-forward to Bed-Stuy, in the midst of sweltering July, as Duva began to grow itchy for more even more action beyond what his initial season in the BVL was able to provide. Late at night, via his trusted Asian laptop associate, Miss Toshiba, he placed ads on the Glen Head website, and later through the Sporting News online Strat message boards, and later to underground informational clearinghouse craigslist.

He also thought immediately of his comrade Goldberg, but not as an owner. “I thought Adam would make an ideal commissioner,” said Duva. “Adam is meticulous to a fault about detail, very creative, hugely enthusiastic about Strat-O-Matic, and totally dedicated to any Strat projects he undertakes. I also was deathly afraid that his wife Marlaine, who I adore, would take a serious contract out on me if I actually asked him to play in the new league.”

Happily, Mrs. Goldberg has grown into an enthusiastic supporter of her husband’s long-time Strat-O-Matic addiction. Duva was pleasantly surprised when Goldberg made his intentions known to be one of the founding owners of the SHL.

The applications began to roll into the Bed-Stuy kitchen that served as the early SHL headquarters. Kevin Cryan, a mild-mannered vegetarian managed-care worker from Fort Hamilton, was an early entrant. Robert Emrich, a staff member at Sports Illustrated, and the youngest of the bunch, followed shortly thereafter.

Iraq War veteran and ex-Marine Peter Stratigakis and two of his long-time Stuyvesant High School Strat buddies, Andy Wong and their friend Alex answered the craigslist ad enthusiastically. All three had been avid Strat players years before, and Wong and Stratigakis in particular were serious online players, but were excited to have a chance to play face-to-face once again.

Long Island accountant Steve Braccia was also in the early running for a franchise, but the impending birth of his third child would later force him to withdraw from consideration shortly before the initial draft.

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A meeting was called as the dog days of July stretched into August, 2004, at the business offices of Stratigakis’ contracting firm on the edge of Chinatown, at what would thereafter be referred to in Straphangers lore as the “Hester St. Compound.” BVL owner Jesus Diaz was recruited as the initial SHL Commissioner, and addressed the assembled owners in abstentia by letter.

Deep in the heart of the Hipster-infested Lower East Side, Duva met Adam and Marlaine Goldberg at Tiny’s Sandwich Shop on Rivington St. for a pre-meeting repast, and following the copious consumption of Zagat-rated New York heroes, all three headed over to Hester St. to meet the other prospective owners.

Stratigakis, Emrich, Goldberg, Alex, Cryan and Duva all spent an excited evening gathered around a conference table mapping out a strategy for a very player-friendly league. Plans were also made for the initial draft, and Marlaine Goldberg drew blindly for the first SHL Draft spots. A new league was born.

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A mad scramble to actually agree on upon a date convenient for all soon followed, and Braccia, Wong and Alex dropped from the ranks due to personal commitment at the very last. Duva’s mobile catering outfit was set to work the historic final Phish shows in Coventry, VT, and he showed up for the fateful Sunday proceedings with laptop, backpack and tent in tow, fixing to hightail it to Vermont as soon as the ink was dry on the day. Bay Ridge resident and long-time NYC Strat player Doug Tucker stepped in graciously at the last minute to take a club, and agreed to draft for the new club by cell phone. Duva drew first blood by selecting Latino hitting sensation Albert Pujols, and the Straphangers Hardball League was underway.

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The first attempt at action proved to be fruitless. Tucker was forced to drop from the ranks with his southpaw-dominated franchise due to family concerns, and Wong blew in on green hurricane winds to take his place. Then Metuchen, New Jersey redneck Tommy Lavin was recruited to take over the franchise left dormant by Braccia, but a series of philosophical differences between Emrich, Duva and Goldberg forced the SHL to suspend operations about ¾’s of the way through the inaugural season.

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The SHL’s remaining owners continued to mull the possibilities of returning to action over the winter of 2004-05, and Duva eventually decided to call a quorum to see who was interested in picking up the pieces and continuing on. Tommy Redneck spearheaded efforts to reunite the disparate parties. Diaz was deposed as SHL Commissioner as Lavin replaced him, Stratigakis and Wong decided not to continue on, and Cryan, Lavin, Duva, and Emrich all decided to convene at the ESPN Zone in Manhattan with a new, prospective owner, with Goldberg represented in abstentia, and the decision was made to reform and try again.

The second SHL Draft took place via internet hookups and phone soon thereafter. Duva again selected Pujols first, and the boys were at it again…

And how…Emrich and his protégé quickly proved their lack of mettle once again, and soon were dismissed from SHL ranks on a permanent basis.

Jack Flynn, who had expressed interest in the original formation of the SHL, but could not participate due to academic commitments, soon agreed to take over one of the dormant franchises, and the SHL finally had a select core of five committed owners, and a clear course of action for the future.