Imagine being the only baseball team in town for years, and then one day getting pushed aside by the arrival of a corporately funded, more popular squad.
Then consider losing a significant chunk of your fundraising and having the new team in town take your hats, jerseys and identity.
Well, that’s precisely what happened to the University’s club baseball team two years ago when the University reinstated its Division I baseball program.
Understandably, many players on the club team were less than thrilled.
“A lot of guys were looking at it kind of negatively on our team, kind of like it was going to take us over,” club senior pitcher and outfielder Cameron Gaulke said.
But not all the club players were dreading the newly formed varsity team. Some saw an opportunity to take their game to a higher level.
“When I first found out I was actually pretty excited,” senior outfielder Corey Johnson said. “I had known other schools and programs that had Division I teams, and they’ve given club players a shot.”
But to date, no club players at the University have earned that opportunity. While it still remains a possibility in the future, the varsity team over-recruits as it is, so it would take a near-flawless performance by a club player at a tryout to make varsity.
Still, not much actually changed on the field for the club team with the reinstatement of the Division I team. If anything, the presence of the varsity squad has only served to raise the level of competition within the club squad.
“Some of their players that got recruited to come player here (on the varsity team) but got cut would come and play on our team,” Johnson said. “They’ve been such a great asset.”
Instead, the ramifications from the varsity team’s reinstatement have mostly been felt off the diamond.
“It put kind of a big dent in our fundraising,” Johnson said. “Being the only baseball team, we were allowed to sell Oregon baseball hats and T-shirts and things of that nature. Once the varsity team came around, we had to stop doing that. From an economic standpoint, it kind of hurt.”
In fact, the loss of fundraising revenue has been so significant that some on the club worry about its future existence.
“In the future, you might see the end of the club team if they don’t try to get us involved,” senior pitcher Evan Coller said.
One way to do that while keeping a clear distance between the varsity and club teams would be designating the club team as a quasi-junior varsity squad.
Although there wouldn’t be an official relationship between the two squads, allowing more club players to make the transition to varsity, helping with club fundraising, and sharing facilities could go a long ways toward ensuring the club’s future success.
“I feel like they (could) use the club team as a place for players who are interested in the program to develop their skills,” Coller said. “I think that would be the most ideal situation both to continue the club team and for (varsity), who wants to have players around.”
Beyond the financial implications though, the club team had to deal with the varsity squad literally taking the club’s identity.
“When the Division I team got reinstated, we had to change our uniforms, change our hats, everything like that,” Coller said. “So that was difficult.”
But even with the added challenges the varsity squad presents for the club team, you won’t find too many club players complaining about their experiences on the club.
“(Joining the club team was) probably the best decision I made throughout the last four years,” Johnson said. “It’s just such a great environment and it’s the type of family where I’ll talk to these people for the rest of my life.”
And when it comes down to it, most of the players on the club team are supportive of the varsity squad. After all, no matter what level of baseball is being played, a Duck is still a Duck.
“I honestly want them to be successful and I want the entire school to be successful in anything they do,” Gaulke said. “I’m going to root for anyone who has an Oregon logo on their chest out on the sports field.”
Still, the three seniors do have one last goal to accomplish before they graduate: earn a trip to Fort Myers, Fla., to play in the club baseball College World Series for the third time in four years.
Johnson believes the Ducks have the talent and mindset to do so.
“I definitely think we do,” he said. “We have a lot of great young guys this year. As long as we keep working hard, I think we have just as good a shot as we did our first couple years to win a World Series.”
And for a senior class that has endured its fair share of ups and downs over the past four seasons, nothing would be better than doing just that.
“The perfect way (to end my career) would definitely be to get to Florida,” Johnson said. “I mean, there’s nothing better than winning (the regional playoffs) and getting 10 days in Florida and going to the World Series. That would definitely be my dream to end this year.”
As well as a fitting way to cap the careers of Gaulke, Coller and Johnson — three seniors who gave blood, sweat and tears to the club baseball team for four long years.
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