Monday - February 13, 2012 - "I can't say it was fun while it lasted, but there were some awesome moments." Following a string of hardships brought on by the wrath of nature and at the hands of the petty crooks that lingered after dark, the Shankee organization was forced to pull out of Parque Roca, and thus close a bitter sweet chapter in the Shankee history books. It was in April 2011, that the Shankees were awarded the right to restore and operate an abandoned Clubhouse and Softball field within the Parque Julio Roca premises. However, the internal codes of the park and the crack heads from the adjacent shanty neighborhoods, made it almost impossible for Shankee Skipper and President Paul Perry to keep things going, despite his desires and efforts to turn it into an international spot for baseball players from all walks of life. “If it’s not the wind blowing off the makeshift tin roof, it’s the broken pipes flooding up the entire place, and if it’s not the thieves stealing the power cables from underneath the ground, it’s the park workers digging up ten years of trash for no apparent reason, and then leaving me to clean it up,” states Perry, who financed the restoration and development of the area himself with the help of generous Shankee supporters. “We put about 10,000 pesos into that place, al pedo!” Perry adds, who despite being broke after having put all his savings into the clubhouse, is still hopeful he can get a team together before the season starts on March 4th. “I know how much Shankees baseball means to Expats and to Buenos Aires,” says Paul, after contemplating calling it quits. Though given the support of Shankees past and present, this seems very unlikely. “I never thought I'd never play hard ball again,” states former Shankee Karl Hass, who adds, “I can’t thank you enough for giving me the chance to throw on the mask again, it meant the world to me. I'll never forget my time in BA because of that.” Shankee Sponsor and the first fan to ever hang up a K sign, Fred Badagani of Silver Star Transport states, “The clubhouse concept should not go away; we need a place to eat real chips and salsa, have brisket, win baseball games, eat real cookies and hang K signs and Speak English. This is so sad!” Former ace pitcher Andrew Terry also comments, “The Shankees need to continue to grow... It's my favorite Buenos Aires experience.” And local artist, the flamboyant Tranki Yanqui says, “Look at all this support Pauly! You're a hero man, and everybody loves the Shankees!” Given the outpour of support, the Shankee Organization is looking to get back on track, and continue to bring baseball to everyone who loves the game, and just happens to be in Buenos Aires.
Reporting for the Shankee Press, Jack Green.
Chronicles of pitfalls:
May 2011- Thieves break into clubhouse and steal 8 recently bought plastic chairs*
June 2011- Strong winds blow half the roof off the clubhouse. *
July 2011 - Broken pipe leaves clubhouse without water for two weeks.*
July 2011- Mild hurricane blows tin roof off again. *
August 2011- Park workers dig up the entire space along the first base line. Unearthing decades of garbage.*
September 2011 -A series of robberies cause Perry to remove everything until better security can be installed.*
October 2011 - Heavy rains flood entire clubhouse.*
December 2011- Thieves steal 20 meters of electric cable from underground, causing 1000 pesos in ice-cream to go to waste.*
January 2012- unable to replace electric cable due to the uncertainty that it will be robbed again, the clubhouse remains inoperable. Rats eat two boxes of Alfajores. *
January 2012 – Perry finds dead rats in kitchen. A most gross moment. *
January 2012 – Perry obtains new electric cable and digs a ten meter trench in which to place the new cable.
Next day- Cable gone; Power out again.*
February 2012 – Perry receives threats from the park administrators, claiming money for maintenance and a copy of the keys to the clubhouse.*
February 13th- Perry rents a moving truck and enters Parque Roca in the night to empty out clubhouse. Exodus!
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