The 2022 season of the San Quentin Hardtimers softball team will not continue due to recurring medical quarantines. Under the weight of the medical restrictions and other internal factors, Hardtimers’ equipment manager Chris Granman has set his sights on next season.
“We are a family of players and coaching staff who have come together to take on the best. We have beaten each team who has challenged us,” said Granman. He has been running laps around the infield during games every time his team makes a homerun to honor a personal challenge between him and another coach.
The season has been limited to only a couple of games against outside teams, who the Hardtimers beat by wide margins. On Sept. 9, they beat the Outsiders 4-2, and on Sept. 11, they beat Prison Sports Ministry 23-11. The team management and coaches then decided not to finish out the season.
“Covid has made it hard for us to play all the teams who wanted to play us. Hopefully, next year we can play those teams and more,” Granman said.
Normally, the softball team would meet on the Lower Yard at least once a week to play against an outside team. But due to the pandemic, outside teams have been nearly non-existent on the yard until very recently.
The medical restrictions have eased somewhat and the softball players have once again been able to showcase their skills on the Field of Dreams. But other day-to-day challenges have added to the limitations imposed by the quarantine and led to the decision to shut the program down for the year.
Despite this, Granman is keeping his faith in the team and feeling the shared bond of unity among them.
“We came from hard lives, but we band together to become a team — a family,” he said.
Once the team finally regains its old cohesive flow, Granman is confident that they will continue beating every team that comes before them.
“Let it be known that we are the best!
