Take me out to the ballgame…
Er, wait a minute. I’m in Oregon. Must’ve forgot.
Guess I’ll have to stick to the television to catch my daily highlights from the diamond.
Oops, forgot again. I don’t have cable.
Well, in a few weeks I will, and you can bet the television will be stuck on ESPN and ESPN2. And no, not because I’ll be watching highlights of the NBA Finals, golf, or even (gasp!) the World Cup.
Nope. Instead, the sound of metal will fill my apartment. Metal from the great state of Nebraska.
Nebraska?
Yeah, Nebraska. Omaha to be more exact. Omaha on June 14, amid 25,0000 spectators at Rosenblatt Stadium, while eight of the nation’s best duke it out in baseball heaven.
It’s college baseball time, baby!
Well-known schools such as Florida State, Miami, Stanford, and USC all have good chances of playing for a shot at an NCAA title. Two of those schools — Florida State and Miami — I despise, but who cares?
While the big boys are complaining about contracts, saying that $5 million a year isn’t enough, it’s refreshing to see the future stars of the game all at once. Roger Clemens once made it to Omaha. So did Mark McGwire, Lance Berkman and new phenom Mark Prior.
Take me out to the crowd…
There’s no tobacco, no alcohol, no steroids. Nothing but baseball in its purest, most simple form.
Better yet, the baseball groupies are still in college, and save for a few exceptions, aren’t middle-aged men spitting sunflower seeds into cups while sitting in front of the television watching eight hours of games because they feel obligated to after shelling out $150 for the season.
Whew!
Buy me some peanuts and cracker jacks…
The “established” players in the majors are crying about contracts, the owners want to lock them out, and the sport just can’t seem to right itself out.
But the NCAA, for all its shortcomings (you all haven’t forgotten the BCS, have you?), has got something good going with the College World Series.
It seems every season more and more people show up to baseball heaven, packing old Rosenblatt to the brim, and showing the rest of the world that baseball isn’t dead. These people appreciate the simplicity of the game at the college level.
They know that players like Clemson’s Khalil Greene (possibly a future Eugene Emerald) will be leaving the college ranks soon for the big lights of single-A baseball at all parts of the country, stuck in some places like the middle of Iowa in July. It’s akin to Freddie Jones jumping to the next level, playing in Medford, only to finally see the pros three years later.
I don’t care if I ever get back…
That said, there are things that need to be changed in the college game.
* First, change the “ping” of the bat to the “crack” of the bat. Aluminum bats just take away from the feel of the game. The pros have got it right when they use wood, especially when games like the 21-14 championship win by USC a few years ago are more frequent than 5-4 scores.
The metal bats do have a little significance because they are much different, giving the sense of the exclusive college feel. There’s just not enough exclusivity there to make metal worthwhile.
* The college level needs to market the game and its players with the same vigor as football. While there are no Joey Harringtons and David Carrs in baseball, there are players like Greene and Stanford’s Jeremy Guthrie who have quality futures in pro ball.
Why not get these guys some ad time and get the college game out there. The first step, though, would be to increase the game’s involvement with ESPN.
Currently, only the College World Series is televised by the media giant. Why not, instead of just televising the final round, get ESPN to show the finals of the Super Regionals and Regionals before the final eight converge on the small Nebraska city? There might not be much airtime during the week for games that most of the country doesn’t care about, but even tape-delay would get the job done.
Besides, there might be some people out there casually flipping through the channels disgusted with the pro game. They might settle on ESPN or ESPN2, watch these games, and realize how enjoyable baseball can still be.
* Create a collegiate all-star game. Football has it with the Blue-Gray game, and some games in collegiate basketball have the same feel.
But with most of the nation’s best in baseball spread across the country, choosing the best 60 or so would bring them together, allow them to get acquainted with one another, and ultimately allow them to show off their immense talent.
During the weeklong College World Series, the Friday before the Saturday championship game always seems to be an off-day. Why not bring the 60 best from schools that didn’t make the World Series and have them play an all-star game during prime time on TV that night. ESPN usually doesn’t air much during the summer that’s not related to the pro game, so this could be a rating’s booster.
However, despite some of its shortcomings, the game is still a viable solution to June doldrums when basketball and hockey have just ended their seasons, and pro baseball is still embroiled in its many, many problems.
Just take me out to Omaha.
E-mail sports reporter Hank Hager at [email protected].