Looking at the Game of Baseball from all ends of the Spectrum
For those who missed it, local favorite Kyle Hudson has just been called to the majors. Hudson was a University of Illinois player who was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in 1998 in the 4th round.
Hud has been up for about a week already has four hits to name.
I went to the Arvada Colts team page today to check on the progress of Illini pitcher Drasen Johnson. The Colts are in the Rocky Mountain Collegiate Baseball League. As I clicked on the āStatsā link, I was presented with only three categories of stats (Games pitched, innings pitched and wins) plus this disclaimer:
āFREE Access to the Arvada Colts for all Fans
To view expanded season statistics you must be a Fan of the Arvada Coltsā
Boo.
I have a hard time digesting this. To put a price on baseball statistics, even when it is āfreeā, sets a really bad precedent.
The Arvada Colts subscribe to the GameChanger service which displays their stats for them.
The tornado sirens are blaring tonight in Omaha during the College World Series postponing the games and flights from the local airport are even being evacuated.
Brian from College Baseball Daily uploaded this video of the sirens going off at the CWS tonight.
ā¦and hereās a pretty nasty looking photo of the sky.
get somewhere safe everyone.
[update] looks like they are going to actually resume the current game tonight at 10:45pm.
Itās all fun till someone tears a muscle, guys.
When I grow up (yes I know, Iām 46), I want to be a sport photographer. Thatās why it was it was especially fun for me to interview sports photographer Cary Frye. Cary specializes in shooting University of Illinois sporting events. Heās a regular at Illinois baseball games and thatās how we got connected.
You can read the interview over at Illinois Baseball Report.
My buddy Todd, the umpire, may not realize it but I actually learn a few things from him.
All baseball history buffs know about Eddie Gaedel, the man who stood 3 foot 7 inches and was brought in as a pinch hitter for the St Louis Browns on August 19, 1951. It was a stunt by Browns owner Bill Veeck, known for his off-the-wall publicity moves. Gaedel walked, of course and his mark as the shortest man to ever play baseball still stands.
But I learned something the other day that kinda blew my mind. There is a descendant of Gaedelās that is playing the game of baseball today. Kyle Gaedel is Eddieās great-nephew and plays for Valparaiso University.
The irony of it all? Not only is Kyle Gaedel a fine ballplayer (he was drafted by the Rays out of high school in 2008) but he is a statuesque 6 foot 4 inches.
The Valparaiso University athletics web site did a spotlight on him last year.
Sounds like crews are already on the ball and are inspecting the damage of the āsnow thudā at the Metrodome last Sunday.
This isnāt the first time this has happened at the Humpdome.
Commission chairman Roy Terwilliger says it’s the fourth roof collapse since the stadium opened nearly 30 years ago, all caused by heavy snow.
Interesting personal angle with me. The University of Illinois baseball team (who I blog about at Illinois Baseball Report) just came out with their schedule last week and the team is/was scheduled to play at the Metrodome in mid-March at the newly formed Metrodome Tournament.
Gives a new definition to āTournament jittersā.
I sat first row in Game 1 of the World Series today. Ok, maybe it was University of Illinois baseballās annual āOrange and Blue World Seriesā but it was still a baseball game. The O&B WS is the Illiniās split squad series they play at this time of year.
I took some photos and did a write-up over at IllinoisBaseballReport.com if you want to see more details.
A week or so ago, I did an interview of Ben Taylor whoās an assistant Sports Information Director at the University of Illinois. He is responsible for coordinating publicity for the U of I baseball team. The resulting article is posted at the Illinois Baseball Report.
I correspond with Ben fairly regularly especially during the college baseball season and we have a pretty good relationship. So I threw him this slightly hard ball question.
IBR: As SID for college athletics, you act as a public relations guy for the team. Is there a fine line between providing as much information as possible about the baseball program to the public yet at the same time keeping the program in a good light? For example, we donāt hear too much about injuries and the like in official press releases. Is that University AD policy?
BT: Yes, there definitely is a fine line. Fans have become much more adept at sniffing out spin in the last decade, so most of them can tell when they arenāt being given the whole story. But as the official spokesperson for the athletic department, our office doesnāt release much in the way of injury updates unless itās of the season-ending variety. Even then, itās often up to the head coach because it can be construed as a competitive advantage for opponents. We realize that it is our job to portray the program and the university in the best possible light, so we try to focus on the positive aspects rather than injuries, suspensions, etc., but we also realize that in order to have credibility with our constituents (i.e., fans) we sometimes have to provide the less positive side of things.
All things considered, I like how Ben handled the question. He at least recognized that folks out are becoming more media savvy and recognizing āspinā when they see it.
You can read the whole interview at IBR.