Nothing signals summer more than the sound of a wooden bat making contact with a baseball. The crack of the bat recalls many summer nights when thousands around the nation travel to ballparks to watch their hometown team. The freshly cut grass of the outfield under a blue sky is the perfect setting to take in a baseball game, and here in Eugene we do it with the best of them.
It is slightly ironic that over 20 years ago the University of Oregon cut the baseball program because the city of Eugene has a rich baseball history. The Eugene Emeralds, a single-A short-season minor-league team of the San Diego Padres, have played here since 1969. The team’s home is historic Civic Stadium, a depression-era ballpark that was built in 1938.
The nostalgic feeling of watching a game at Civic Stadium is comparable to seeing a game at McArthur Court. The structure is in various states of disrepair, from peeling paint to warped wooden seats in the general admission sections. There is also a slight dip where the grass meets the infield dirt at shortstop, but none of these things take away from the experience because the view from the seats is spectacular.
Like much of minor league baseball, fans fall in love with a team or the game rather than individual players. Because of the high turnover rate with players moving up in the farm system, it’s hard to keep track of one athlete for an extended period of time. This brings baseball back to its roots when the game was about the game and not the players. A fan can go out to a game on any given night and not know a single player on the field, but still enjoy it.
This season’s version of the Eugene Emeralds (9-17) has gotten off to a rocky start. Currently tied for last place in the Northwest League with the Vancouver Canadians, the Ems had an eight-game losing streak before beating the Boise Hawks on Friday.
The Emeralds opened up 2008 on the road in Boise, Idaho, to play the Hawks and took three of five games in the opening series. From there the Ems came home to take on the Spokane Indians, but they lost four of five. Their roadtrip continued in Canada, where they won a three-game series with the Canadians 2-1.
Then the trouble started. Eugene dropped two of three against the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes, then lost all five games against the Indians in Spokane and the first two of this past weekend’s series with the Hawks.
In interviews with the Register Guard, first baseman Robbie Blauer said the team has actually played some good baseball that hasn’t translated into wins.
“It’s not that we were playing terrible, we just weren’t catching breaks,” he said. “Finally we’ve gotten two good pitching performances and gotten some good hits. It obviously was in the back of our mind, but each day is a new day. It’s definitely nice to get that out of (our mind) though. It’s a lot more fun winning.”
Center fielder and leadoff hitter Dan Robertson agreed. He said that although excuses cannot be made, the first part of the season has been tough.
“We’ve been trying to figure things out,” he said. “But things just aren’t going our way. I do know this, I hate to lose.”
Thankfully, lefty Geoff Vandel from Columbus, Ga., finally ended the eight-game skid on Friday, going five innings without allowing a run. With the support of Blauer’s 3-for-4, three-RBI performance from the plate, the Emeralds won 4-1. The team came back the following night to win 10-6 as well.
With success also comes call-ups. There are a few individuals on the roster who will likely be making the trip to one of the single-A long-season teams or even to double-A. Among them are outfielders Dan Robertson and Sawyer Carroll and pitchers Vandel, Tyson Bagley and Rob Musgrave.
Robertson, a recent graduate from Oregon State, has given pitchers in the Northwest League trouble, posting a .343 average. Carroll has also batted well, and with a .299 average, both he and Robertson rank in the top 20 in hitting in the league.
From the mound, the Emeralds are sixth in the league in ERA, but Vandel, Bagley and Musgrave all have ERAs lower than three runs. Vandel, a starting pitcher, is 1-1 with and ERA of 2.82 in five starts. He also boasts a strikeouts-to-walks ratio of 19 to five in 22 innings of work.
Bagley is a middle reliever, and his ERA of 1.72 through Saturday is a major reason why he won’t be in Eugene for long. In 15 innings of relief he has struck out 23 batters. Musgrave, who has an ERA of 2.30 and a strikeouts-to-walks ratio of 20 to three, earned the loss against Boise yesterday.
The Emeralds wrapped up their series with the Hawks yesterday, but they are back in town Thursday to begin a week-long homestand. Their three-game series with the Canadians, preceding a five-game series with the Tri-City Dust Devils, will give fans lots of chances to take the trip to Civic Stadium and take in a game with a gigantic “Slugger Dog” and an ice-cold beer.
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