2013 Season Opener Tales

[Majordave]

I had a pretty good, although longer than I would have liked, season opener on Sunday.  JUCO, Nebraska school playing at a Kansas school.  Warm, for this time of year- almost 50, sunny and extremely windy - gusts well above 30 mph and steady wind at around 20-25 all afternoon.  DH.  Partner had first plate which was a suspended game from day before in top of 3rd.  Nothing remarkable.  Pitching was spotty.  Defense was equally inadequate. Adventures in outfielding due to the wind.

Second game, my plate.  Broke out the black plate coat and wore a white mock turtle over the WV Gold CP.  Looked great.  Sort of a tuxedo look.  Both coaches and both catchers and an assistant complimented on the look.  I don't think JUCOs get to see many plate coats.

 

First pitch of my plate game, LH batter ropes a liner down the RF line.  Two man crew.  Partner goes out.  I chug-a-lug all the way to about ten feet from 2B and am waiting on the BR and get to bang him out due to a great throw by F9 and a quick tag by F6.  F9 was  A "REALLY" fast kid, freshman, from, get this, Hawaii!  Came all the way to Kansas to continue to play baseball.  Wow!

 

Only other interesting thing was a pop up that looked like an infield fly then wind got it and took it over LCF wall at about 350-375 feet.   Wind really took it's toll on the outfielders.  Some of the plays they tried to make looked like either the Bad News Bears or some scenes in Major League with two or three guys all converging and no one even touching the ball before it hits the ground.

 

Hawaiiian kid had two triples.  He's fast! (Kenny Mayne-ESPN) 

 

Home boys won in a come from behind in bottom of sixth when viisitors' pitching failed miserably.  My lineup card had six F1's subbed in during the 5th and 6th innings.  Last inning and a half took over an hour and a half to play.  

 

All in all a great start to 2013.  Called as many strikes as I could but no overpowering pitchers to "strike those MF'rs out" (Corbin Bernsen as Roger Dorn in Major League). Too much nibbling with 0-2 counts.  Why don't coaches/catchers call for fastballs on the corners with that count?  I WILL call them.  I have no problem ringing anyone up, ever.  But instead the pitchers (or the coaches/catchers/pitch callers) nibble and let batter even the count then have to groove one with 3-2 count for a hit. Or, the most hated of all baseball plays for me--the dreaded base on balls.

 

Two batters got hit with ball four (unintentional).  No coach or player arguments or issues. Fans were well behaved.  I think everyone was so glad to be out on a ball field with the sun and relative warmth in comparison to the previous week's cold that it was just all good for everyone.

 

Cheers.  Best wishes to all of you and your 2013 seasons.  NAIA DH tomorrow.  Hoping for some mo' better baseball.

 

DCT

[johnnyg08]

F2 got crossed up on a fastball from a kid that was probably popping about 83.

 

Took a shot straight to the Nutty Buddy.

 

Other than that, my first DH of 2013 went quite well.

[NCAAump2]

My DH today was washed out, so I get to wait 2 more weeks before my season opens.  UGH!

[Majordave]

Been a helluva a week and a day.  In the 8 day period of 10-17 FEB I had 8 games scheduled.  7 of the 8 were played.  Not a bad first week of the season.  Most were good games, well played and without incident.  This past Sunday was a three game NAIA date making up one of the two games cancelled for snow on Saturday and the two regularly scheduled Sunday games.  Temp at 10:00 for game one was 33 or so with light breeze.  By end of day is was almost 60 degrees.  Partner and I got all three games (7 innings each) done in 6.5 hours.  What a day!  Best first week of the college season I've ever had. 

[UMP45]

Been a helluva a week and a day.  In the 8 day period of 10-17 FEB I had 8 games scheduled.  7 of the 8 were played.  Not a bad first week of the season.  Most were good games, well played and without incident.  This past Sunday was a three game NAIA date making up one of the two games cancelled for snow on Saturday and the two regularly scheduled Sunday games.  Temp at 10:00 for game one was 33 or so with light breeze.  By end of day is was almost 60 degrees.  Partner and I got all three games (7 innings each) done in 6.5 hours.  What a day!  Best first week of the college season I've ever had. 

This is insane!

[Haid D' Salaami]

I had a No hitter in a DI game.. and it was my 1st no hitter.

[BalkHawk]

I had a No hitter in a DI game.. and it was my 1st no hitter.

we have a weiner.

[Stretch]

2 double headers snowed out...

[KyleUmp]

I had a pretty good, although longer than I would have liked, season opener on Sunday.  JUCO, Nebraska school playing at a Kansas school.  Warm, for this time of year- almost 50, sunny and extremely windy - gusts well above 30 mph and steady wind at around 20-25 all afternoon.  DH.  Partner had first plate which was a suspended game from day before in top of 3rd.  Nothing remarkable.  Pitching was spotty.  Defense was equally inadequate. Adventures in outfielding due to the wind.

Second game, my plate.  Broke out the black plate coat and wore a white mock turtle over the WV Gold CP.  Looked great.  Sort of a tuxedo look.  Both coaches and both catchers and an assistant complimented on the look.  I don't think JUCOs get to see many plate coats.

 

First pitch of my plate game, LH batter ropes a liner down the RF line.  Two man crew.  Partner goes out.  I chug-a-lug all the way to about ten feet from 2B and am waiting on the BR and get to bang him out due to a great throw by F9 and a quick tag by F6.  F9 was  A "REALLY" fast kid, freshman, from, get this, Hawaii!  Came all the way to Kansas to continue to play baseball.  Wow!

 

Only other interesting thing was a pop up that looked like an infield fly then wind got it and took it over LCF wall at about 350-375 feet.   Wind really took it's toll on the outfielders.  Some of the plays they tried to make looked like either the Bad News Bears or some scenes in Major League with two or three guys all converging and no one even touching the ball before it hits the ground.

 

Hawaiiian kid had two triples.  He's fast! (Kenny Mayne-ESPN) 

 

Home boys won in a come from behind in bottom of sixth when viisitors' pitching failed miserably.  My lineup card had six F1's subbed in during the 5th and 6th innings.  Last inning and a half took over an hour and a half to play.  

 

All in all a great start to 2013.  Called as many strikes as I could but no overpowering pitchers to "strike those MF'rs out" (Corbin Bernsen as Roger Dorn in Major League). Too much nibbling with 0-2 counts.  Why don't coaches/catchers call for fastballs on the corners with that count?  I WILL call them.  I have no problem ringing anyone up, ever.  But instead the pitchers (or the coaches/catchers/pitch callers) nibble and let batter even the count then have to groove one with 3-2 count for a hit. Or, the most hated of all baseball plays for me--the dreaded base on balls.

 

Two batters got hit with ball four (unintentional).  No coach or player arguments or issues. Fans were well behaved.  I think everyone was so glad to be out on a ball field with the sun and relative warmth in comparison to the previous week's cold that it was just all good for everyone.

 

Cheers.  Best wishes to all of you and your 2013 seasons.  NAIA DH tomorrow.  Hoping for some mo' better baseball.

 

DCT

 

Did you think that it was too much white showing? Do you have a pic, by chance? I'm curious.

[Majordave]

I didn't think so.  No one else said anything other than positive comments.  Partner was a D1 guy in past, had to scale back due to divorce, new job and receiving sole custody of his children, he liked it.  No pics are known by me.  I will check the host school and visitors websites just to see.

 

DCT

[DanB009]

Played in the snow. When coaches would make lineup changes my hands were shaking so bad because the win and anow had it below 30 that I had a hard time reading it. Fun games, everyone froze and the locker rooms under the stands had no heat. Had to change like a supermodel.

[Stretch]

6 games lost now because of the snow.