Baseball #7 – High School – Years 1 – 3!? – FeMike's (aka IronMikes) Blog

Table of Contents

The Baseball Series:

Baseball – Why Do I Love Thee? here
Baseball Cards! – here, here, here, and here
Whiffle Ball! – Last post
High School Baseball!
1. Years 1 – 3 – this post
2. Road Trips and Music
3. The Characters!
4. Senior Year! Maybe More!!!
Baseball – The Pros and The Cons (of statistics that is…)

High School Baseball was such a fertile ground of stories, I’m not sure where to start! So, given my tendency…why only do one blog post!

High School Baseball – Years 1 – 3

I was part of my high school’s baseball team all four years, but let’s be honest—they were more “bench warmer” than “highlight reel.”

Freshman year? Over before it began. I was hitting well in preseason, feeling good, and my cousins Ronny (yep, from my last blog) and Carmen (not Capo Carm—just Cousin Carmen) were varsity locks lobbying for me. Maybe I was on the Varsity roster bubble? Then, boom—my knees got me benched. My doctor stuck me in knee splints for six weeks thanks to Osgood-Schlatter Disease (see here). By the time they came off, the season was toast. And wouldn’t you know it—that team, in its first year, made a Cinderella run to the state finals. I’m still bummed out today to have missed it!

Sophomore year, I cracked the varsity roster, but my actual innings came in JV. Good news: we were almost undefeated. Better news: I hit around .330, so at least my bat was doing the talking. That Varsity team made it to the regional finals but missed the state tournament by one game.

Junior year was when I thought I’d break out. Instead, I broke down—at the plate. Couldn’t hit a beach ball with a tennis racket. Looking back, I blame my mangled, Ricky Vaughn style, sports glasses, which had gotten crushed during football season. (Evidence below. Exhibit A: Wild Thing vibes.) We won Sectionals for the third year straight, but this time lost our first Regional game. Not exactly the direction I was hoping for…

Nebaletan Word of the Day – CALYOONS!?

With most of the team being Nebaletan, high school baseball was a goldmine for Nebaletan Words.

I’ve already introduced Coach Mel and CABOO GATZ in a past post (August 28, 2020 – Caboo Gatz! & GPS #23 – The Great Pizza Bake Off! see here). But perhaps the most legendary baseball term was:

CALYOONS! Pronounced: Cal-Yoonz. Definition: Best explained in baseball terms…

Coach Mel – after smashing a hard ground ball across the gym floor that skipped up at me: “Nice play! If not, you’da taken it right in the CALYOONS!”
Coach Schmidt – “Good hands or you mighta’ had a green weenie (see next post)!”
(Cue Coach Mel’s and Schmidt’s typical smirks.)
Me – “@#$%!!!!!” after fielding the bad hop as my mitt brushed across my CALYOONS, tossing the ball to first, then heading to the back of the ground ball line.

Coach Mel is a recurring character around here—he’s popped up before:

Want the literal definition? I had to dig, but from 121 Italian Swear Words: “Coglione” [pronounced CO-LE-OH-NEY] – testicle.

We were technically supposed to wear a cup during practice and game. I say “technically” because I only ever did it twice:

When I was playing the position of catcher.
When Coach Mel was rifling grounders at us in the gym when it was open season on CALYOONS!!!!

Now you know why gym days were cup days.

Quick Note: Besides coaching me in football and baseball, Coach Mel was also my junior year English teacher. He was the first to spot my “writing” (I won’t go as far as calling it a skill) and even nominated me for a county writing contest sponsored by Molded Fiberglass for which I received a small award.

Thanks, Coach!

Pizza Review – Tralia Pizza, Sarasota, FL

Last time, I mentioned Cathy and I hit up 500 Degrees in Nokomis for lunch—our local go-to. We were mid-bite into their square-cut Sicilian slabs when a text buzzed in.

Capo Scott: “Dinner at Tralia with me and Kim?”

We were leaving town in a couple weeks. We adore Scott and Kim. They’ve been hyping Tralia for months. And me? I’ve never met a pizza I could turn down—even if I just had one.

So I said yes. And I’m glad I did.

Capo Scott, tipping his cap to Pizza Tralia!

Date	April 18, 2025
Pizzeria	Tralia Pizza
City/Neighborhood	Sarasota, FL / Gulf Gate Neighborhood
Website	https://www.traliapizza.com/
About Us	https://www.traliapizza.com/our-story Or even better – https://www.businessobserverfl.com/news/2022/oct/14/anthony-petralia-35/ (a Rochester kid!). I need to make it a point to meet the owner on my next trip!!!!
Style	Classic Detroit
Ambiance	Classic old-school pizzeria vibes—warm, familiar, just the right amount of grit. Funny thing: this space used to house Screaming Goat Taqueria, our go-to Mexican spot. We were bummed when it shut down. But Tralia? More than a worthy successor.
Rating Criteria
Shape	Classic Detroit Rectangle – one pizza was just big enough for me!
Dough/Crust	Tickness – Tick Cook – Soft interior with a Crispy Crunchy exterior. Spongy/airy, Bubbly, Chewy Flavor – Buttery, Sweet Outstanding dough. It was not greatly flavorful, but bake was spot on for a Detroit. The pans must have been well seasoned and an ample amount of oil was added to the pan before baking which yielded a perfect crispy and buttery flavored bottom. It’s a Detroit pizza at its best!
Cornicione	Crispy crunchy Detroit pizzas really don’t have a cornicione since cheese is packed in next to the dough and pan boarder. But that was done to perfection with a browned cheese taste from that cheese edging.
Toppings	Pepperoni small but nice cup and char, Cheese – moozedell, Mike’s Hot Honey Fresh – unsure
Sauce	Sweet, Chunky, Tick and Rich Outstanding, on top of the cheese ala a classic Detroit
Cheese	Cheese Type – Moozedell too bad, this is the only downside of the experience. Classic Detroit pizza uses Wisconsin Brick Cheese. Moozedell is not as sharp nor has the texture of Wisconsin Brick. Cheese Distribution – All over
Cheese to Sauce Ratio	Sauce – Medium Cheese – Medium Balance – perfectly balanced Detroit

Value	Good, nearly great at approximately $13.75 for a 12″ equivalent round. The value is based upon a typical, and best, Lloyds Detroit Pan (see here) is 14″ x 10″ which I believe are the pans that are used when peaking into the kitchen. I had the “Roni and Hot” at $20, but the “Classic” is $17 which is what I used in determine value.
Overall Rating	I agonized over this one. Tralia Pizza’s Detroit is clearly the best Detroit pizza that I’ve eaten (so far!), the price is more than fair, and the kid is from Rochester! BUT, using moozedell and not truly Wisconsin Brick Cheese is hard for me to get over. So, Good, which is not Great….but nearly so!
Would I Go Back?	Absolutely!