The 2023 Running Baseball Thread

That’s one way to avoid your fireworks barge of a bullpen.

 

Palmer has COVID. That’s part of it.

 

Apparently, Ben McDonald had already said he was taking this time off, too.

 

Tonight might be the last day of the season for the summer wood bat team I work for. We are facing elimination if we don't win. Some observations:

* 59 games in 69 days is a compact schedule. We could play three more games, finishing Monday, so that would be 62 games in 74 days. Our first home game was June 16. It has not rained a drop on the day of any of our 32 home games.

* We've had anthems performed by host family dad, sponsor's daughters, some random Canadian (for Kelowna and Kamloops games), a guy playing a saw, a couple of junior high orchestras, a mariachi band, a local community college choral group and who knows who else. I still prefer the recorded instrumental version.

* When Microville Tech "fixed" the old broken press box windows, the replaced them with solid windows that don't open, except for a transom at the top. Works great for the Beavers in the spring, when it's always cold and rainy. Not so in the summer. We've had as high as 95 degrees in the press box.

* Watching games that generally take less than 2:30 is wonderful. Pitchers who do not throw strikes are the bane of my existence. Seeing the analytics guys celebrate when somebody hits directly into the shift they called is fun.

* Most players are very respectful. The ones who aren't get sent packing. God bless our host families.

* Whoever OKed a schedule with 1:05 p.m. Sunday games, or a game in Kelowna, BC, the night after our home fireworks game needs their head examined.

* God bless my friends who bring me a cold beer during the game (yes, we're pretty low-key).

* Singing "Take me Out To The Ballgame" before a sold-out Fireworks Night crowd is an absolute blast. Three years and counting now. So is sitting around with the coaches postgame, pounding that ol' Coors Banquet. Once I thought I knew a lot about baseball, I know now I don't know shit.

* No Adley Rutschmans, Matt Duffys, Tommy Hansons, Mitch Hanigers, Travis Bazzanas, Tyler Andersons, Steven Kwans or others who made/will make the majors on this team, I don't think.

* Baseball, when played well, is the greatest game in the world and a ton of fun, almost 60K fans in Microville can't be wrong.

 

Our summer wood bat team had a good-but-not-great season.

They had a guy who was at a bad regional D2 find his way into the MAC, while hitting .350 with 13 homers and 59 RBIs in 53 games. Another kid smashed the club record and has 67 RBIs in 59 games. However, the team ERA is over 6 (in a park that is 340+ down both lines). They've had a winning record in both halves of the season, but had a bad week just before the turn and were in the same division as a team that's gone 25-5 in the second half.

Still, the operation needs a big refresh. Attendance is near the bottom of the league (about 850 a night). The stadium was built toward the tail end of the Great Depression and is sandwiched between a residential neighborhood and an industrial park and because of our location, is prone to 'bad' weather even on nice days in June if the wind is coming off the lake. It's owned by the city, which has bigger problems (housing, housing, housing) and paid for turf and new drainage about 10 years ago, and I think the owners stopped investing in amenities on their end after the pandemic.

Even compared to how it was when I got to town (2015), it seems like the pendulum has swung way towards 'player development' over 'entertainment.' They started doing pitch clocks, but even then there's at least one game every two weeks where it seems like they walk 10 guys.

 

Duluth Huskies? The stadium is a WPA relic, right?

 

Are Victoria and Nanaimo in that league?

 

At least Bunning pitched a no-hitter for the Tigers first, then had the courtesy to wait a few months after getting traded to the Phillies to pitch his perfect game in 1964. The Tigers got Don Demeter and Jack Hamilton for a future Hall of Famer.

I think the Tigers got fleeced again this time around. Although Lorenzen should steer clear of politics after he retires.

 

Talk about losing a ball in the lights ...

 

On the Angels broadcast they said Michael Lorenzen is the fourth pitcher from Fullerton Union High School in the OC to reach the Majors and all four have no-hitters.
The other three are Mike Warren, Steve Busby and Walter Johnson.