Gunderson was a capital G gangster. My brother, who was a great ball player, tried out for that team as a walk on and didn't make it. We are offensively loaded this year. That's a tough way to win, but it's possible. Depending on questionable arms will always bring you down though. Leaning heavily on our coach. Nobody is Pat Casey.
Pat Casey could recruit and had good rotations. But it’s the players out there performing or not. In baseball there’s only so many buttons the coach can push. The players got to perform. side note: I played a Babe Ruth all star tournament against Beaverton when I was 14. Our coaches kept telling us about this little shortstop who was really good. Game time comes and this short little scrawny guy who had all the mannerisms like he was a big leaguer was on that Beaverton team and he killed it going like 5-5 with a homer. (We actually won the game though) He was web gems the whole game too. Then he got to OSU and then the big leagues. Kid could play.
I don’t think this is so much that Vanderbilt is so impressive as it is the answer why NM State stayed with their pitcher last night. They have nobody on the mound that can stay out of trouble.
It's always fun to play against someone that is just on another level and you can tell they're going somewhere. My brother played with Darwin growing up.. I played against Jordan Pratt in high school when he played at Central. 6'4" pumping heat, that was interesting to face.
I was a few years older but good friends with Greg Peavey’s (who played at OSU) sister. That kid was insanely good as a high school player. In fact I think he was top 10 in the nation as a high schooler but then just had a so-so college career and never made the bigs. I was a straight fastball hitter when I played. The harder you threw the harder I hit it. As soon as guys started developing good off speed stuff I started struggling. Dang, now I’m feeling nostalgic about my baseball days
I was always looking for the hanging pitch. I was a catcher, so I had a good feel for when someone was about to make a mistake. On that note, all these people that say baseball is boring, try siting behind the plate for 7 innings, basically orchestrating the game.
I played catcher in little league that was the extent. I could never get a good feel for the position and all the gear. But had mad respect for those who played it and their creaky knees. I played 3rd base mainly. I had a strong arm and was put there at a young age and learned to love it. I also was a relief pitcher in high school. Come in for a couple innings and throw my junk. For not being able to hit the junk I enjoyed throwing it. Me and my brother worked for years to master this knuckle curve after watching a special about Mike Mussina throwing it. It finally became an effective pitch for me when I got a little older. My younger brother had more accolades in baseball then I did. He’s about 5 inches taller and threw a low 90’s fastball. He played JC. Now is a struggling musician. You get the gist…
Calling and taking every pitch was what drew me to catching. I couldn't be a fly on the wall in the outfield, that just wasn't going to work. I'd rather sacrifice my body behind the dish. I'm going to call you HotCornerMick from now on. In my head at least. Throwing junk is one of my favorite things about baseball. What can you do with a ball to make it move? I used to throw knucks back to the pitcher and to second, just for fun.
Big day coming up. Really nice shot coming up being well rested playing a team that will have to play a double. Side note- Ducks are playing Louisville this morning in the losers bracket. Big challenge for the ducks. Tough to win out after dropping the first game.
