Page 44 - August 2017

For the love of the game
CPD Finest takes to the diamond for charity, for baseball fun
n BY DAN CAMPANA
n PHOTOS BY JAMES PINTO
Hobbling slightly from a sore hamstring, a tired Vincent Macias couldn’t help but smile as he looked toward the seats along the third base line at Guaranteed Rate Field.
The fans – family, friends and other supporters of Chi- cago Police Officers – lingered behind the visitor’s dug- out to chat with members of the victorious CPD baseball team, while kids looked for last-minute autographs from the City’s Finest.
“Look at how happy these guys are. Up and down (the dugout) you got guys who are just having a great time,” said Macias, who has been on the job for eight years and a member of Chicago’s Finest baseball team just as long.
On a humid July night on the South Side, Chicago cops and firefighters renewed their friendly intra-city rivalry on the diamond for the 18th time. The cops have dominated the series, and it was no different amid overcast, muggy conditions as CPD rolled to an 11-3 win on the strength of eight runs in the final four innings.
Competition aside, the game’s main priority centered on raising funds and awareness for police and fire chari- ties, including the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation. CPD players, to a man, offered perspectives that focused on the honor they find in doing something that helps the families of fallen officers. They collectively agreed that playing the game they love and entertaining the blue- laden crowd is a great way to support the cause.
“We put a lot of effort into it to raise as much as we pos-
sibly can, and the reward is we get to come out here and play on a Major League field in front of our friends and family,” Eric Bermudez, an officer in 017 shared.
“At the end of the day, it’s all about fundraising. It’s all about the kids who came out to support us,” added 14-year-old department veteran Danny Hernandez, who donned a Cubs poncho in the dugout and teased kids by marching with a fidget spinner taped to the end of his bat. “The fidget spinners are in right now, so I went and got a box of them (to give out). It seemed like it was a hit today.”
Speaking of hits, the Finest racked up 13 against Fire Department Bravest pitching. With CPD leading 2-1 in the top of the sixth, the Finest scratched across a run on a pair of singles and two walks before Officer Henry Delval- le split the right-center gap for a three-run double. CPD put the game away with a four-run seventh inning rally fueled in part by Officer Erik Ricken’s two-run triple.
Pitcher Ryan Murphy proved to be the benefactor of the offensive burst. Murphy, who works in 011, never got into last year’s rain-shortened game but shut down the fire- fighters for three-plus innings.
44 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ AUGUST 2017
“Your nerves are up there walking out on a pro field
Beyondthe Beat