The Sea Kittens' manager & unofficial general manager, Joe finds an inordinate amount of joy in slow-pitch softball, and Sea Kitten softball, in particular.
Orland Park, IL
St. Michael School Wildcats
Favorite foods: peaches, chips & salsa
Patronus: Tiger
Born with the heart, soul, and aptitude of a baseball sabermetrician, and unfortunately also said nerd’s physical skill set, Joe didn’t play organized ball until he was 25 years old and debuted with the inaugural Southern Illinois University Fisheries Lab Fisheads team. Lacking any marketable skill and uncomfortable with the idea of having to field, Joe volunteered to pitch, did so adequately, and loved playing. After collecting 3 hits in his first game ever, Hennessy went on to bat 0.326 in his 16-game, 46-at bat SIU career. When Erin O’Brien suggested giving up Ultimate Frisbee and starting a softball team 13 years later, there was no going back.
Joe’s earliest baseball/ softball memory is playing catch in the backyard with one of his brothers and taking a pop-up off his mouth (hardball), a play that likely ended his little league career before it began… popups remain a triggering adventure.
More than 225 games into his Sea Kitten career, his collection of favorite Sea Kitten memories grows too long to recount, but among them is hitting two home runs in the first game after Callie & Estelle were born. Or else it’s whatever the most recent Sea Kitten game was, because it’s pretty much a weekly highlight all summer and fall. Though he notes that seeing people unexpectedly fall down is still delightful.
“The most annoying thing about Sea Kitten softball are rainouts due to wet fields on otherwise idyllic evenings.”