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The Renegades are built of a team of blind players and sighted volunteers.
One thing that makes beepball somewhat unique is the fact the coaching
staff acts as both coaches and part of the team. Our sighted help teaches
strategy, implements game plans and teaches fundamentals. The sighted help
also contributes on the field. Offensively sighted coaches pitch and a
catch, acting as a team to help the player hit the ball. Defensively, we
have sighted help on the field to help position players and call zones
when the ball is put into play, these people are called spotters. The Renegades
view the players and coaches as one team.
The Players:
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#19 Darren Black
Garbage Man (Short Fielder), 3rd Base. Mid-Fielder
Black was the captain of the team till 2005
and we named a position after him. Darren put the G in Garbage as he
plays the short man position in our defense. Black is the all-time
leader in putouts for the Renegades with 281 put-outs from 2002 to
2008. He won awards for his defensive prowess in
the Bolingbrook tournaments from 2004-2007, won the defensive MVP
at the 2006 Long Island Classic and made the World Series Defensive
All-stars in 2004 and 2006. Black wants to be known as more than
a defensive player and he set a career high of 11 runs scored in the
2007 season.
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#30 Rachel Buchanan
1st Base, Rover
Buchanan showed her toughness in a try out in 2008
when she took a ball off the face, came away bleeding, "rubbed some dirt
on it" and kept playing. When you see her grip a bat, you see the
girly side as she will be sporting fashionable pink batting gloves. Rachel
is an athlete. She has excellent balance as a 15 year veteran of
gymnastics with experience on the balance beam. That balance will help
her on the field as she looks to become just the third female Renegade in team
history to play in a tournament.
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#15 Joey Buizon
3rd Base, 1st Base, Rover
Wrong Way Buizon has one of the biggest
swings in the NBBA. Buizon is second all-time in career batting
average at .342 for the Renegades. He won his first Offensive MVP
by hitting .556 (5 for 9) in the 2008 Philadelphia Hall of Fame
Classic.
Defensively, he improved his skills and made the play of the year
in 2007 on a 160 foot smash to center field by Indianapolis Thunder,
Steve Michaels. He graduated from Bridgewater State College in
May, 2005
with a degree in Social Work and is currently working at the
Massachusetts Commission for the blind.
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#28 Justen Cantan
Shorty
Justen moved to Boston from Hawaiito
attend college and decided to stay here after graduation.
He
heard about the team from his younger brother and became interested
after
talking to a few of the Renegades. Justen does not have
much of a background playing organized sports but he possesses a
competitive side that has shown his teammates he is ready to play.
One of his driving
forces is trying to outdo his younger brother as they push each
other to become
better players. Justen is working hard at playing one of the
shorty
positions in the Renegade defense and has a chance to be the first
Rookie Renegade to play this difficult position.
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#37 Shayne Cantan
3rd Base
At just 19 years old, Shayne is the second youngest player in
Renegade history. No rookie has ever
shown this much enthusiasm for the sport before even trying it. He signed on with the team without even
seeing the game for himself. All he
needed to hear was it was a competitive sport and an adaptive form of baseball. He
has been playing High School sports with sighted kids despite being visually impaired. Most recently he was the co-captain of his
high school football team in Hawaii
where he played offensive lineman. Playing line in football has transferred into beepball. His power on the line has
become power at the plate. The dirt dog mentality that every lineman
needs has become a love for the defensive side of the game.
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#38 Joey Duggan
Designated Hitter
Duggan becomes the fifth active Renegade named Joe but the first Rookie
of the 2009 class to get a nickname. "Hacksaw" Duggan becomes the
youngest player in Renegade history at just 17 years of age.
Duggan is actually still in High School as he is wrapping up his
senior year in Foxboro. He lives waking distance from the three
time World Champion, New England Patriots but will be found sporting
the Green and gold of the Green Bay Packers. Not afraid to be
different and support what he wants, Duggan is learning what it takes
to play beepball the Renegade way. |

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#36 Tony Flinn
Designated Hitter, 1st Base, Rover
Tony entered the 2008 season as the team's only rookie and every single
practice he improved his game. He improved so much that by the
end of the year he had cracked the starting line-up in the World Series
for the Renegades. Tony set a Renegade Rookie record for the
Lowest Strike-out percentage in a season (18.2%). This was also
the 6th best ratio in Renegade history for players with 15 or more at
bats in a season. His 2008 highlites included making two huge
defensive stops in the 2008 Philly Hall of fame classic and scoring 2
runs in a game against the North Carolina Pride in the 2008 World
Series. Tony resides in Maynard and works for Roche Brothers
Supermarket.
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#35 Chris Genikos
Designated Hitter
Genikos joined the Renegades late in the 2008 season to join Tony Flinn
as rookies on the squad. His first look at the game was during a
charity game against Chen PR. Chen signed Genikos to a one game
contract and placed him in the line-up. In batting practice
Genikos was launching balls over 100 feet in the air on his first few
swings ever. In his first at-bat he hit the ball hard in the game
but found himself running to the wrong base as his baseball instincts
took him to first base instead of third which was buzzing. A
common mistake by most people who play the game for the first time.
This is a mistake he will not forget and you can expect him to be
scoring runs for the Renegades in the near future. |
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#81 Larry Haile
Rover, 3rd Base
They call him the "L-Train". This train was
running off the tracks in 2008 as he had a break out year and led the team in
runs scored with 20 which more than doubled his production of the previous two
seasons. When this train gets rolling, he is hard to stop.
Haile became just the third Renegade in team history to score five runs
in a game as he led the Renegade offense over the North Carolina Pride in the
2008 World Series. Larry works for the MBTA in Boston. The subway systems have had a
few collisions in recent months and this train is getting ready to collide with
the NBBA in 2009 as he sets his sights on becoming one of the elite hitters in
the league.
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#2 Steve Houston
Designated Hitter, 1st Base
Houston
came to the squad late in the 2005 season with more baseball experience than
the entire Renegade team combined as he played collegiate baseball at Salem
State
and also played in the Boston Park League.
After playing years of baseball, Steve thought he had a good
understanding of beepball. In
his 3rd year of play, he found out how little he knew about beepball. In a light moment at practice during the 2008
season, Houston
stepped out of the batters box upset at his pitcher, Ron Cochran. Someone made a comment that Cochran was
pitching underhand which upset Houston
to the point where he thought the coaches were making fun of him. Houston
yelled at Cochran to stop teasing him and throw the ball. As his teammates laughed, Houston quickly
discovered that in beepball, pitchers don’t throw overhand.
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#3 Melissa Hoyt
1st Base, Rover
Hoyt picked up a bat in spring, 2007 and
became the second
female player in Renegade history to play in tournament
competition. As a child, she played soccer and basketball
until her vision loss seemed to put an end to her participation in team
sports. “As a kid I was an avid sports fan, following
football, basketball
and baseball, wishing at times I could be on a team again.”
That wish is
now reality, as Hoyt brings her desire and her positive attitude to a
team sport
that allows her to develop her skills and her abilities.
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#17 Sengil Inkiala
Rover, 1st Base, Shorty
A rare combination of speed and age is what this African born player brings
to the Renegades. Inky was born in the Congo many, many years ago. He is
the oldest member of the team and arguably is the fastest player as well. In the 2005 Bolingbrook
tournament, Inkiala came an at-bat shy of making the all-offense team as he hit
.571. Inky
has won championships in
blind sailing and fencing, and looks to add Beepball to the list of his
achievements. After taking the 2007 season off, Inky returned in
2008 and scored the tying run in Boston's amazing 5 run come from
behind walk off victory against the Chicago Comet B team to clinch the
first ever tournament championship for the Boston Renegades
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#23 Joe O'Neill
Designated Hitter, Rover
O'Neill has been playing beepball longer
than anyone on the team in the boson area. He got his start playing
recreationally for the Lowell Association of the Blind in the 1990's. He
saw his first competition in tournament play in 2004 at the Bolingbrook
tournament. Despite his tourney inexperience, he managed to get the bat
on the ball as he was the only player not to strike out in the 2004
season. O'Neill has put 68% of his at-bats into play in his
career and had a career high of 6 plate appearances in the 2007 season.
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#14 Joe Quintanilla
Rover, 1st Base
Q was Captain of the
Renegades from 2005 to 2007. Q may be one of the
quieter guys on the team, but his bat is one of the loudest. He has
been the
offensive leader of the team since the inception of the franchise. Q is
the
all-time team leader in At-bats (301) and runs scored (89).
He was named the Offensive MVP of the 2007 Long Island Classic
with his .600 batting average. One of his biggest highlites came
in a home game during the 2008 season against the Pennsylvania
Wolfpack. In that game, Q hit the walk-off hit in front of a few
hundred Renegade fans to lead the Renegades to their 6th consecutive
victory.
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#29 Evan Silver
Midfielder, Rover
HI HO SILVER! You will hear that call
every time Evan steps to the plate or makes a defensive put-out.
Silver has been a pampered athlete on the Renegades in the past
because he was one of the first players to have his own personal
pitcher. He thrived on the pitching of Rob Weissman in the 2004
season. Since then, Weissman has not pitched often and Silver has
struggled at the plate. That struggle ended in the 2008 Long
Island Classic as Evan Silver was named co-offensive MVP (with Luis
Marquez) for his five runs scored and his .500 batting average.
Silver's bat represented 26% of the offensive output for
Boston in their Long Island Classic championship.
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#13 Dino Vasile
1st Base, 3rd Base, Garbage Man (Short Fielder)
Vasile is one of the oldest players on the
team but may have become the most improved player over the past few
years. Dino has been big on both sides of the ball.
Offensively, he is third all time in batting average at .339. He
is just one of five players to hit over .400 for a season (.419 in
2006) and he
is one of three players to score 5 times in a game.
Defensively, Vasile has quickly become one of the Renegade's
all-time best defenders. Vasile's 40 stops in 2008 led the team
as he became only the second player in team history to make 40+ stops
in a season (Darren Black did it 5 times)
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#10 JJ Ward
1st Base, 3rd Base, Rover, Shorty
Ward fell in love with hitting. He
spent the entire off season working on his swing in the batting cages
on his own. That work paid off in 2007 as he had his best season
ever. JJ scored 17 times in 2007 which almost equaled the 20 runs
he had scored in the previous 4 seasons of play. He was also
second on the team in 2007 in putting balls in play at 88% which is the
2nd best season ever of any Renegade. His
best game of the year was against the Indy Thunder where he plated 3 of
the teams 6 runs to lead their offense to victory. Ward suffered
an injury early in the 2008 season and is working hard to rebound and
lead his team to victory in 2009
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#9 Guy Zuccarello
Midfielder, 1st Base, Shorty
Guy was one of the original players from the 2002 squad. He
left the team to have a baby after the first season of play. As his
child has grown, he was coaxed back to the sport of beepball and has made an
instant impact making the starting line-up. In
just 4 seasons of play Guy has made his mark on both sides of the ball.
He is third all-time in defensive put-outs (72). His career
high was 6 stops against the Indy Thunder in the 2007 World Series win.
Offensively, Guy was third on the team in batting average in the
2007 World Series hitting .357.
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The Coaches and Staff:
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John Oliveira
The Owner
John is the man behind the Renegades. You
may not see him on the field or hear him in team meetings, but his
influence is everywhere. John met Coach Weissman in 2000 and the two
had a vision to create a competitive beepball league in the Boston
area. That vision may have been tweaked over time, but the Association
of Blind Citizens found a way to fund the Boston Renegades Beepball
program. John helped get the team started in 2000 and coached them in
their first World Series in 2002. In 2003, he moved "upstairs" and left
the coaching duties to new coach Rob Weissman. Oliveira's passion to
promote programs for visually impaired people has been the number one
reason the Boston Renegades exist as a team.
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#62 Rob Weissman
Head Coach & Catcher/Pitcher
Weissman helped start Beepball as a competitive sport in the Boston area.
He got his start as the head coach of the Lowell LAB Retrievers in 2000.
In 2003, he returned to the coaching ranks as the head coach of the Boston
Renegades. He brings a unique style to the team where he is heavily involved
in every aspect of the game as a hands on vocal coach. Those vocal chords
get a work out during the season as he is known to lose his voice during
tournaments yelling words of encouragement and barking out strategy. He
may be the only head coach who catches during the game, which helps him
keep a unique perspective.
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#42 Nick Bebas
Hitting Coach & Spotter
Nick has been with Boston since 2003 as he joined the team to bring some
needed baseball background. Bebas was the first coach assigned to help
players learn the fundamentals of the swing. During the games you can find
him manning the on-deck circle helping players prepare for their at-bat
and in the field helping players align themselves in the Boston defense.
Nick's calming attitude helps the players relax in the pressure situations.
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#44 Ron Cochran
Pitcher
Cochran returned to beepball in 2006 as he along with Weissman
and Grillo helped get beepball started in Massachusetts back in 2000 with the Lowell
LAB Retrievers. In
his first year as a pitcher he set many of the Renegade
records including best batting average against (.368). Cochran continued to improve into
his third year as he is currently the all-time leader in batting
average against (.337), Putting balls into play (77%) and at-bats
(893). Ron has helped 4 players win 6 offensive MVP awards in the 2007-208 seasons. Ron brings with him
experience in pitching, a hard core competitive fire and years of coaching
experience.
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#21 Dan Cotter
Pitcher/Catcher
Some call Dan Cotter fearless. That is good, because it
takes a lot of nerve to stand 20 feet from a batter as they are trying to wail
on the ball. Dan plays this spot with no protection at all. Yes, we said, no
protection! Cotter has the longest tenure of any coach on the staff. Dan got
his start with the team as the catcher in the 2002 World Series. In 2003 he
became the team's pitcher. Danny is one of two Renegade pitchers who have
let up 100+ runs in his career. One of his most memorable moments as a pitcher
came in 2008 as he connected with Sengil Inkiala for the game tying hit against
the Chicago Comet B team in the bottom of the 6th inning which led to the
Renegades first ever tournament victory.
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Laura Genikos
Volunteer
Laura was just looking for
anything she could do for the team in 2009. She found a niche as
a volunteer for the Renegades. She can be found doing just about
anything. Laura has been instrumental in helping organize some of
the teams' fundraising events. She also helps organize practices
on the field by keeping everyone on schedule and helping players with
specific needs so the coaches can focus on coaching. When
she is not doing work for the team, she is helping her husband and a
few other Renegades so they can get their defensive and offensive work
in outside of practice. She is also instrumental in getting the
team together socially and is quickly becoming an instigator planning
out pranks to keep things loose.
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#33 Bryan Grillo
Defensive/Running Coach & Spotter
Grillo gets his beepball roots from coaching
with the Lowell LAB Retrievers in 2000 with Rob Weissman. While in
Lowell, he was often found wearing a blindfold and playing the game as
player. The perspective of being a player has helped him to lead the
team in the field. Grillo is the Renegades Caller. When there is a ball
put into play you will hear Bryan yelling out signals to the players to
help them zone in on the ball. Grillo has been the Renegades
caller in 66 of 68 games since he joined the team in 2003.
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#5 Jacki Jones
Base Running Coach, Spotter
Jacki joined the Renegades in 2008 and embraced the team quicker
than any other first year coach. Not only is she at every
practice helping to improve the Renegades base running, she is a
driving force behind the scenes. She works with many of the
players outside of practice to help them get into shape. She is
one of the "guys" in the weight room as she can be found yelling at
players to get extra reps out of them. She has made a very quick
impact and has helped players on many different levels on and off the
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#31 Kristen Kirk
Defense/Running Coach
Volunteers can be found in many places. Kristen was discovered after talking to Luis
Marquez on a public bus. It all started
innocently with a conversation about his dog, Xion. By the end of the 2005 season, Kristen was
very interested in helping out the team.
Kristen’s attention to detail (as an accountant at Mass Eye and Ear) has
paid immediate returns in helping the team stay organized. Committing herself to a bunch of strangers
for 20+ dates of practice proves that accountants now how to socialize.
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#32 Jason Lenicheck
Hitting Coach
Jason "Ace" Lenicheck has more coaching experience than the entire
Renegade staff, with years of coaching girls soccer. In 2004, Ace joined
the coaching ranks to help the Renegades with their hitting. Back in his
playing days he was known as an all hit no field 3rd baseman for Acton
Boxboro High School. The combination of his hitting and coaching skills
quickly have made him an impact coach on the staff.
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#7 Justin Manjourides
Defensive/Running Coach & Spotter
While getting a graduate degree at Harvard
University in Bio Statistics, Justin was asked to see if he could apply
his brain power to the sport of Beep Baseball. 2009 marks his
fifth
year as a coach and he has stepped it up big time. Justin worked
very hard to help the Renegades develop a new defensive plan for the
2006 season. Justin has spent more games in the spotter role than
any other coach as he has teamed with Grillo to lead the defense for 22
games in his career.
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#26 Rick Myers
Hitting and Defensive Coach & Spotter
Myers was introduced to the game of beepball in 2000 as he was part of
a sighted team asked to play the Lowell LAB Retrievers in a scrimmage game.
He was one of the few sighted people to score a run in those contests.
In 2004, Myers joined the coaching ranks to help Boston with their defensive
skills. One important lesson he taught was the importance of wearing a
protective cup as he accidentally hit a player three times before they
made the all important purchase. In 2005, Myers started coaching hitting
to help the team with the mechanics of their swings.
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#25 Matt Nippins
Defense Coach, Spotter, Catcher,Trainer
Since 2000, Nippins has had season tickets in the bleachers
next to Weissman and Grillo. He heard stories of the Renegades for years until one day at work he bumped into a
co-worker asking her about her hat. In a
small world story, he quickly found a link to his co-worker (Carolyn Tassini)
and his seats at Fenway. His deep love
of baseball and these friendships kicked started him into action with the Renegades
in 2006. Nipps has been willing to do
anything at practice including coaching all aspects of the game. He has found a love for the
defensive side of the game and you can hear him breaking balls (literally and
figuratively) at all of the Boston
practices.
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#39 Jeff Paladino
Hitting Coach
Jeff
joins the squad officially as a hitting caoch in 2009. It has
been an easy transistion for him because he has been around the team
since his wife joined the team in 2006. Jeff has been acting as
the team's umpire. During a game between Boston and the
Pennsylvania Wolfpack, Jeff quickly learned that beepball has some
different rules. During one of his first innings as an umpire he
just missed having a nasty collision as a Renegade player ran down the
third base line trying to score a run. In baseball, players don't
run from home to third but in beepball its a common occurence.
Thankfully everyone was safe and collisions were avoided. |
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