Heidibadger Nelson (L, with bat) and Karlin “Clutch” Younger (R, kneeling), bookend the Sea Kittens team photo commemorating their victory in the first battle for the Can O’Corn Trophy, May 20, 2015- a 10-4 win over Infield Flies. Oh, how many from this moment are now amongst the legends!
As the calendar turns to March and afternoon temperatures creep several degrees above zero, Sea Kittens stir and their thoughts turn to spring. Alas the 2019 squad will be assembled without the services of two decorated veterans. Sea Kittens bid sad-finned farewells to two of their finest, as Heidibadger Nelson and Karlin “Clutch” Younger have announced their retirements.
Nelson is heading west to join the Federales squad in Portland, Oregon and Younger, sidelined for all of 2018 with a shoulder injury, has not yet fully recovered and plans a move east in the near future. It’s possible the Langley Informants will offer her a contract if her condition improves, but Langley and Younger are both tight-lipped about such a possibility. In any case, both players are Sea Kittens 4eva, and always welcome back into the chowder.
The Heidibadger- so named for the ferocity with which she both played and did not give a shit- is one of only four players who have appeared in more than 100 games with the club. A softball novice, she debuted May 18, 2011 in a 20-2 drubbing Los Gatitos took at the hands of Pedro’s but enjoyed the experience enough to keep coming back for more. Between 2013-2016 she appeared in 31 consecutive summer league games played- still the third-longest streak in club history, and during that time developed into a reliable multi-position player and learned to avoid bright outfield lights. Asked what advice she’d pass to an eager up-and-comer Nelson offered, “hug the kitten, throw the grenade!”
A pure right-handed hitter between 2011-2014, during a preseason batting practice in 2015 she stepped into the left-handed batter’s box and promptly started depositing hits into right field. She became the Sea Kittens first- and to date only- switch-hitter in the 2015 season opener, knocking a bases loaded single in the first inning from the left side. The skill elevated her game to a new level, and during that 2015 season she tied a still-standing team record for women by reaching base 19 times, batting 0.424 with an 0.500 on-base percentage. Unfortunately, she was beaned in the back of the head by a left-fielder’s throw in September 2015. Overall, Nelson retires with 88 career hits and 67 runs scored. After adopting her new tricksy approach at the plate, Heidibadger upper her career batting average 117 points over the next four seasons. “What you did not know was that I am not right-handed,” she later explained.
A stalwart in Harmony Tournament play (yay for day games!), she appeared in 13 of the club’s 14 Tourney games between 2011-2018 and batted a strong 0.395 in those contests with a remarkable 0.480 on-base percentage. In her final game (to date) with the club- game two of the 2018 Harmony Tournament- Nelson went 3-5 with three runs scored in the squad’s dramatic rally from an 11-run deficit to 19-16 win.
Nelson entered semi-retirement before the 2018 season, but still appeared in six games for the Kittens including the team’s Summer League Championship win, crowning her career with a well-deserved “I’m a Winner!” t-shirt.
- 104 games played, #4 all-time, 2011-2018
- Reached base 19 times in Summer 2015- the all-time mark for SK women (shared with MCO’B (2012))
- With 33 bases on balls she is the all-time Sea Kitten leader, and one of only four players who have drawn three in one game
- One of eight Sea Kitten women to rap 4 hits in a single game
- Her two career summer-league doubles are tied for #3 on the team’s all-time list among women
Karli “Clutch” Younger joined Sea Kittens August 20, 2014- part of the renowned “Class of ‘14” that revitalized the franchise. Recruited by scorekeeper/ scout Jillian Potter and with years of fastpitch experience under her belt Younger brought a veteran softballer’s presence to the Cats in the aftermath of The Schneid, and immediately slotted into an outfield spot. She led off for the Cats that night and rapped a single in her first at-bat. She watched the team allow five runs without recording an out in the bottom of the 7thinning that night to walk off 9-8 losers to the Baltimore Factorioles, yet like Nelson, enjoyed the experience enough to keep coming back for more.
Alas, Younger’s career was riddled by dance-floor injuries and job-related travel, limiting her to 36 games with the team between 2014-2017. Still, when on the field she was a solid contributor, and was a key contributor on the high-octane 2016 squad that could handle anybody except Infield Flies, the Factorioles’ successor. Appearing in all 16 of the team’s summer and fall league games in 2016, Younger posted a 0.476 batting average, knocking in 11 runs and scoring 16. During fall league play, Younger posted a gaudy 0.571 batting average- the 4th-highest ever for a Sea Kitten woman and earned her nickname- and the Cats a share of the unofficial league title- with a walk-off 7th-inning double in a 4-3 win over KL Engineering.
Younger was poised to build on that breakout year in 2017, and hit a solid 0.375, but was limited to appearances 5 games during the summer season. She grounded out but drove home a run in her final at bat of the Cats 16-2 win over Softballers September 20, 2017, with none in attendance imagining it would be her last at-bat (to date) as a Cat. Clutch developed a biceps tendon injury over the winter of 2017-18 that severely limited her ability to throw a softball. In a perhaps rushed attempt to return, she aggravated the injury during a scrimmage in summer 2018 after a forfeit win for the Cats- ultimately and unfortunately the only appearance she would make on the diamond in 2018.
In a statement released March 1, Younger wrote, “It is with a sad meow that I announce my retirement, but the Great Sea Kitten in the Sky has other plans for me. I’ll cherish the flavor of Salmon Snacks, good and embarrassing, for years to come, but most of all the memories of camaraderie with my litter mates. Forever and always – Go Sea Kittens!”
- 36 games, 2014-2018
- Owner of one of the seven walk-off hits in Sea Kitten history, and the first Sea Kitten woman to deliver a walk-off win
- Her 0.571 batting average in Fall 2016 is the 4th-highest single-season mark posted by a Sea Kitten woman