We are the Champions!

Ten years of hard work paid off. After lots of practices, tournaments, organizing, fundraising and dedication, the Philadelphia Fire Beep Baseball Team won its first National Beep Baseball Association World Series in July!

John Margist, 3rd Baseman and co-captain, was named MVP with the highest batting average, .718, in the tournament. He received a medal and a plaque for being named MVP of the World Series championship games in St. Charles, Mo, near St. Louis. John is a supervisor in VisionCorps Professional Services Division.

“Honestly, it’s sinking in more now,” says John, who jokes that he’s so committed to the sport that people call it his obsession. “It meant a lot to me. I knew I wanted to win the championship since I started playing and watching other teams do it.

“It proved to me that you can do anything you want if you are dedicated and work hard at it. Put in the personal work and anything is achievable. It kind of completed my beep baseball career.”

“It’s the first time a team from the east has won the championship in the history of the league since 1976,” says John. “The previous world champs were from the Midwest, Texas, and the West Coast. Finally, a team from the East is the winner!”

Philadelphia Fire was an underdog coming into the final tournament, says John. In fact, he heard that the tournament public relations office was asked who won the game against the number one seed on Thursday – and without checking the score – said the Thunder beat the Fire! The Fire defeated the Thunder 14-12 and ending up with a record of 8-0 for the week!

“I don’t think most people expected us to win!” says John. “This year, coming into the tournament we were ranked #4 seed out of the 20 teams. We had to trust the process and work hard.”

Philadelphia Fire Co-captain Gina Natoli, also a supervisor in VisionCorps Professional Services Division, said it’s a surreal feeling.

“It meant so much to me,” she says. “I’m still on Cloud 9, just thinking about how far we’ve come from when John and I joined the team 10 years ago as the PA Wolfpack to now.

“Our team is like a big family, we love each other,” says Gina. “I’ve seen them all once a week since January – I see them more than most members of my regular family!”

Gina explains when the earlier beep baseball team, PA Wolfpack, was transitioned to the Philly Fire in 2016 by her, John and a few others, there was nothing in place.

“We had no baseballs, no volunteers, and had to recruit team members. Now, when I’m not working, it takes up all my time – and most of my weekends,” she says.

Now, the team begins working out in batting cages in January and participates in beep baseball tournaments from April through July, including hosting a home tournament each year called the Beast of the East. The team has also won that tournament the past four years in a row.

They worked through intense practice focusing on their defense, which got more difficult with outside workouts in 90-degree weather.

“We started at the beginning of the year with workouts in batting cages, which we do until it becomes memory. It’s the same batters and same pitchers,” says John. “We got close in the past few years. This year, coming into the tournament we were ranked #4 seed out of the 20 teams. We had to trust the process and work hard.”

“We accomplished this – winning the World Series – with dedicated practices, hard work, and with the help of many volunteers,” says Gina.

The team took 14 players plus 10 volunteers to the World Series. It cost about $20K to attend. Players paid for their own travel, while the team raised money through hosting fundraisers and found sponsors to help pay the remaining costs for volunteers, lodging and transportation for the week.

Gina and three other women from Philadelphia Fire played in the Women of Our League (WOOL) exhibition game featuring the Northeast Dynamic Divas (East Coast) versus the Southwest Bombshells (West Coast). It gives women from each team a chance to highlight their skills – and get more playing time on the field. Olympic gold medalist Jackie Joyner Kersee, a St. Louis native, threw out the first pitch of the game.

The team will be honored with NBBA championship rings, and they plan to get special shirts made.

“Our team is wonderful – we’re like a big family,” says Gina. “We love each other.”