A Trivial Triumph

Anyone out there ever strike out Wade Boggs? Pin Russ Cozart? Tackle Jarrod Fayson in the open field? Then you know how I'm feeling today.

I helped take down Tony Saladino in baseball trivia.

Outlined against a blue-gray October sky, on a frozen tundra in the House that Ruth built, a six-member team representing the St. Petersburg Times ended Saladino's seven-year stranglehold on his annual baseball trivia contest with a dramatic victory Sunday night.

My wife, well into her ninth month of pregnancy, was on hand to witness this dynasty being toppled. Only a breakage of water would've overshadowed this glorious night in my otherwise mediocre athletic life. If you've ever attended a Saladino Award dinner, you understand why.

The contest is the annual finale to the dinner, held by Tony and wife Bertha in honor of the top senior player in Hillsborough County. Tony even has a trivia-game plaque for the occasion, with the winner's name engraved each year.

Thing is, Saladino's name covers the plaque the way lovebugs cover the grill of an 18-wheeler. He and his team of baseball-obsessed cronies typically own the competition, which also features teams representing The Times and Tampa Tribune. On a normal year, the Rays' middle relief would stand a better chance against the '27 Yankees than the media does against the host trivia team.

But this was no normal year. As the only Times representative at the event, the odds were stacked against me from the outset, prompting some gleeful ridicule from Tony. I needed some teammates with a respectable Major League Baseball trivia acumen.

Fortunately, Alonso coach Landy Faedo, Rey Toledo (grandfather of '07 Saladino Award winner Tommy Toledo), Sal Giardina (father of '06 winner Carmine Giardina) and Alonso scorekeeper Hector Valdes came to my rescue.

The questions centered mainly on Hall of Fame players (clues were given, we had to identify the player) and years (again, clues given). With Durant basketball coach Jeff Shotwell asking the questions and his wife Danielle (Bloomingdale athletic director) keeping score, we built a surprising early lead.

Then, mild controversy ensued. We correctly identified Rod Carew as an American League MVP who won the award without hitting a home run, but were accused of reading the lips of a Tribune member discussing the answer with his team. The dust settled, we moved into the final round deadlocked with Saladino at 10 points each.

The last question involved a year. Among the clues: It was the year in which Andre Dawson won the National League MVP award for a last-place team. As a Cubbies fan and child of the '80s, I knew it was 1987. Saladino's group guessed '86. Tony winced. We roared.

I squeezed my wife's hand as we left the Saladino residence. I tried to convey the significance of what she'd just witnessed. She told me she had just felt a contraction.

Suddenly, the victory seemed...well...trivial.