@TPM posted:That's awesome. Keep us posted!
Where will he/you be?
On way to Centennial Park in Port Charlotte.
@Gunner Mack Jr. posted:On way to Centennial Park in Port Charlotte.
Other coast but really nice over in Port Charlotte. Have fun!
Going to have to wait until tomorrow to see my first full college game. Up 6-2 in top 4 the skies opened and rain for next two hours. The other team has to bus home 22 hours, so game called. Our pitcher got the ball and fired it in. His pace between pitches was amazing The other pitcher took 30-40-50 secs between pitches. Many time outs called. We should have been in the 6th inning when the rains came but it is what it is.
Welcome to Florida!
My freshman kid’s D3 team has started out the season 2-3.
He got his first college plate appearance today, pinch hitting in the 8th inning with 2 outs and a man on 2nd. He hit a hard ground ball in the Tony Gwynn hole that the 3B dove to his left, made the play, got up and threw him out by a half a step. You ain’t in high school anymore kid, these infielders can pick it. Super proud to see him get his first college at bat though…
@3and2Fastball posted:My freshman kid’s D3 team has started out the season 2-3.
He got his first college plate appearance today, pinch hitting in the 8th inning with 2 outs and a man on 2nd. He hit a hard ground ball in the Tony Gwynn hole that the 3B dove to his left, made the play, got up and threw him out by a half a step. You ain’t in high school anymore kid, these infielders can pick it. Super proud to see him get his first college at bat though…
Pick it and throw it. In high school there probably wouldn’t have been a throw. A high school kid likely wouldn’t have got to his feet fast enough. Had there been a throw it would have been late.
@3and2Fastball posted:My freshman kid’s D3 team has started out the season 2-3.
He got his first college plate appearance today, pinch hitting in the 8th inning with 2 outs and a man on 2nd. He hit a hard ground ball in the Tony Gwynn hole that the 3B dove to his left, made the play, got up and threw him out by a half a step. You ain’t in high school anymore kid, these infielders can pick it. Super proud to see him get his first college at bat though…
Been there done that. I would guess that 100pts of my kid's HS BA was on bunts, slow rollers and balls in the 6-3 hole that HS players rarely get outs from but college players, even D3, handle routinely.
Good luck to him hitting it where they ain't next time up.
After watching three games it was time for me to return to CT from Florida. After a 5 hour delay (mostly mechanical) I got home at 1:30AM! So of course today my son made his collegiate debut. Came in down 6-0 with a runner on and no out in 4th. He threw 3.1 innings striking out 4 and walking none (he’s usually good for a few of these) against 15th ranked D3 team. He did give up an ER. Runners on corners two out and guy steals second, throw goes to second and guy scores from third. Our catchers are money throwing out guys. Son needs to work on time to plate but NOT complaining at all. I wish I was there…. I am going to see if I can watch on video.
I follow a lot of college players. Some are having good seasons, some are having frustrating seasons: playing well but team is not, not playing much, playing up and down, battling injuries. Regardless, congrats to all for being part of the game of college baseball.
My kids D3 team has started out 4-6. Beat a Top 25 team, lost a few games against perceived lesser opponents. We’ll see how it shakes out. Conference games start this weekend. He’s backing up a couple of 5th year Seniors who are 3 year starters and career .300+ hitters at 3B/1B. Learning a lot, having fun, working hard, staying prepared. The fate of this year’s team will be decided by (isn’t this true with any Baseball team at any level?) the pitching depth.
@3and2Fastball posted:My kids D3 team has started out 4-6. Beat a Top 25 team, lost a few games against perceived lesser opponents. We’ll see how it shakes out. Conference games start this weekend. He’s backing up a couple of 5th year Seniors who are 3 year starters and career .300+ hitters at 3B/1B. Learning a lot, having fun, working hard, staying prepared. The fate of this year’s team will be decided by (isn’t this true with any Baseball team at any level?) the pitching depth.
As much as pitching depth how well they take of the ball on D will be huge. All solid D3 teams hit, the lineups are deeper then the pitchers even for the better teams. The teams that limit the most free bags will have pitching staffs that look deeper then they really are. Good luck.
Son pitched 1 inning this weekend. Our starters did so well bullpen guys only got 1 inning each and some not that much. Freshman starter had a perfect game through 5 until ball dropped in center field. Son's apartment mate was 104.8 on Sunday afternoon with 91 mph changeup. That should be illegal.
I think it IS illegal, except maybe in Montana, Wyoming, and Texas.
My son is a freshman RHP. His D3 team started out the season 3-4. Then they headed to Myrtle Beach for a week and have won 10 of their last 11 games, beating a top 25 team. Their bats have come alive. They opened their conference schedule this weekend, sweeping the team. They have 3 grad students and 3 seniors who are in the starting lineup. My son is struggling on the mound and has only pitched one inning and I'm not optimistic that he'll see the field again this year. But he says he's happy, likes his teammates and his grades are good. Winning helps. For me, it was great to be able to meet many of the players and their parents on the trip.
Losses are piling up at an astounding rate. Lineup is extremely young, sometimes starting 7 freshman. Many close games but seem to find creative ways to end up losing. Hopefully, the boys aren’t getting discouraged since conference play is essentially a new season.
@PitchingFan posted:Son pitched 1 inning this weekend. Our starters did so well bullpen guys only got 1 inning each and some not that much. Freshman starter had a perfect game through 5 until ball dropped in center field. Son's apartment mate was 104.8 on Sunday afternoon with 91 mph changeup. That should be illegal.
That earned him a slot on MLB's home page today.
It is truly amazing to watch. He throws it effortless. He is not one of those guys who looks like he is throwing out of his shoes. I just wonder how much the human body can handle. He may become the highest closer drafted. Some are saying if he holds us through the season he may be first pick overall and never see a day in minor league. If you remember, he is not the first one throwing those types of numbers from UT during the Frank Anderson time. Garrett Crochet jumped to the majors after being drafted by Chicago and was 100 plus almost every pitch that year from the left side. People wonder why Chase Burns would turn down first round money to come to UT and Anderson is the reason.
@PitchingFan posted:I just wonder how much the human body can handle.
That's what keeps Mets fans up at night.
I have been watching NE D3 ball, and let me say I am disappointed, I was expecting better. players can hit, but they sure can't field for jack.
@HSDad22 posted:I have been watching NE D3 ball, and let me say I am disappointed, I was expecting better. players can hit, but they sure can't field for jack.
The field conditions suck in the spring for northeast teams playing on grass. Hard, almost frozen fields make for some awful bounces. Even in late spring the fields aren’t all that great. The high school field my son played on in southeastern PA was in better condition than most college fields in New England. BC would be the exception. Harvard’s infield was worse than his high school.
From raising my kids mostly In PA and now living in MA and ME … When it’s 50 in PA it’s 40 in MA and 30 in ME/NH.
We moved from Southern CA when my kids were little. In February of my daughter’s soph year of high school we did a softball visit to Boston College. It was twenty and windy. Walking across the parking lot my daughter turned to me and said, “What were you thinking when you moved us from California? Does any of this remind you of UC Santa Barbara?”
RJM
We lived in Santa Barbara for 11 years. Cisco Kid my neighbor and friend.
My daughter is a graduate from UCSB. Played "handball" at the YMCA.
Great area and ocean.
Bob
@Consultant posted:RJM
We lived in Santa Barbara for 11 years. Cisco Kid my neighbor and friend.
My daughter is a graduate from UCSB. Played "handball" at the YMCA.
Great area and ocean.
Bob.
When my daughter was born we lived in Redondo. We moved to Agoura Hills when she was two. My business was there. We lived there when my son was born. We had a SB Zoo membership. We did a lot more kid stuff in Santa Barbara than other directions.
Field conditions. Yep, the D3’s in the upper Midwest is similarly challenged. Tomorrow’s game rescheduled for early April
@HSDad22 posted:I have been watching NE D3 ball, and let me say I am disappointed, I was expecting better. players can hit, but they sure can't field for jack.
It's not the conditions. Look at the pitching stats of a D3 conference and compare runs to earned runs. In decent good-weather D3 conferences like the SCIAC and the SAA, 21-24% of the runs are unearned (SCAC was lower at 17%).
I was curious about other levels, so I looked at two P5s, a mid-major, and a D2 conference - all their numbers were similar to each other, 16-18% of the runs are unearned. Actually I was somewhat surprised it was so high.
Mind you, all these numbers are just for the league-leading pitchers whose stats are posted.
Stats don’t necessarily consider routine plays that are not made. Son pitched in a game where back to back infield pop ups landed untouched, scored as rbi singles. Ground balls that are briefly bobbled, runner beats the throw and are scored as hits. Then there’s the dreaded Bermuda Triangle between the infield and OF.
Oh sure, I'm not wedded to stats, and I know they're not always accurate when errors are concerned. But in larger samples, they should show trends. It was pointed out to me that I should have looked at fielding percentages (I guess I was thinking of it in terms of a pitcher). So I did.
Average current conference fielding percentages are: P5s .971, mid-major .957, D2 .955, and D3s between .961 and .944. They don't exactly correlate to the unearned runs.
Anyway, I don't pretend to be scientific about this, although I would be interested if someone is.
I was just thinking out loud, so to speak.
https://community.hsbaseballwe...07#73810226247901607
Completely agree. I was watching MLB pre season and a Rockies outfielder completely lost the ball in the sub. It hit off his wrist. They counted it as a hit and not an error.
Noticing a trend in college baseball this season. More and more teams going to the wristbands on pitchers to call pitches. Not a fan. Not sure why, but it just annoys the heck out of me after a pitcher looks in for signs, then has to look at his wrist band for a few seconds before he starts his wind up or starts his move to the set position from the stretch. At least the wristbands are a little bit better than the belt buckle holder with the signs. I can't watch a Miami game as the pitcher has to look down at his belt every single pitch. Just not a fan of all this wrist band signaling. I am okay with fielders wearing wrist bands that show where to play each player or the catcher wearing one to get the pitch call from the coach and then relaying it to the pitcher the old fashion way. Just leave the pitchers out of it.
When you are having a rough day this is what happens. Rundown gone wrong. What you do not see at the end is the original hitter went all the way to second and hubg him out to dry and they did not run him back. Rough weekend for USC.
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@PitchingFan posted:Son pitched 1 inning this weekend. Our starters did so well bullpen guys only got 1 inning each and some not that much. Freshman starter had a perfect game through 5 until ball dropped in center field. Son's apartment mate was 104.8 on Sunday afternoon with 91 mph changeup. That should be illegal.
My son was invited to Walters State for a visit and individual workout earlier this week. The flamethrower mentioned several times in this thread is a Knoxville, TN kid who went to Walters State along with his twin brother Zach. The way I recall hearing the story from someone on staff about the brothers is that both threw hard but accuracy was an issue. Ben appears to have figured out enough of the accuracy thing for now. Cant recall where brother Zach is but he was unable to throw as hard as Ben.
Walters brings in 18 or so kids a year and redshirts about 15 of them. Ben did not pitch in 2019 (freshman year), then pitched a year (2020...Covid year everyone got back), and then transferred and got a medical redshirt his first year at Tennessee. So now a Redshirt Junior...I imagine if he stays healthy he will be an early 1st rounder. What a series of ups and downs for him in college. Hope it stays up as it would be fascinating to see him go from draft to MLB club.
@anotherparent posted:It's not the conditions. Look at the pitching stats of a D3 conference and compare runs to earned runs. In decent good-weather D3 conferences like the SCIAC and the SAA, 21-24% of the runs are unearned (SCAC was lower at 17%).
I was curious about other levels, so I looked at two P5s, a mid-major, and a D2 conference - all their numbers were similar to each other, 16-18% of the runs are unearned. Actually I was somewhat surprised it was so high.
Mind you, all these numbers are just for the league-leading pitchers whose stats are posted.
Yes, agree, it's not the conditions, most of the games I've watched were turf fields or were spring break games south. I also think there are a lot of 3rd and 1st basemen who are playing out of their normal position just to get the bat in the lineup... I wish coaches would have a better understanding that these are very specific skill positions and not just anyone can be put there. But then again I don't think anyone unless you're left handed practices position specific skills anymore at those positions, they certainly don't spend the time teaching it. Too many goalies at third and at first nobody knows how to stretch or work below he ball. Also lots of throwing yips so far, especially second basemen. I will be kind and maybe chalk it up to early season... when conference games start I'll re-evaluate.
@PitchingFan posted:When you are having a rough day this is what happens. Rundown gone wrong. What you do not see at the end is the original hitter went all the way to second and hubg him out to dry and they did not run him back. Rough weekend for USC.
That's what you can do if you have elite 6.19 speed...
Seth Stephenson has elite speed that has caused professional scouts to take notice. He has been clocked running the 60-yard dash as fast as 6.19 seconds. (per Baseball Prospect Journal)
D3 kid’s game rained out yesterday. 3 conference games this weekend, with temps predicted in the mid 40’s
@3and2Fastball if it makes you feel any better the Notre Dame/Northwestern mid-week game got cancelled this week because...they couldn't find a bus driver...??? WTH.... lots of joking in our household about it with one daughter an ND grad and the other one in her last year at Northwestern (99.99% sure is going to do a COVID extra year after sitting out most of her sr yr with a back injury). Also 36 degrees in Evanston and 42 in South Bend right now. It would be so nice if they could push back the start of college baseball by a month...!!
Wow, @PTWood, just… wow!
@HSDad22 posted:I have been watching NE D3 ball, and let me say I am disappointed, I was expecting better. players can hit, but they sure can't field for jack.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bv...utm_medium=copy_link
Prepare to be even more disappointed. This is D1 baseball. Yes that is a D1 field
Typical “showcase” backhand by the SS. His eyes left the ball one second before it hit his glove, one additional step he could have fielded with both hands and squared up on his throw.
Bob
@PABaseball posted:https://www.instagram.com/p/Bv...utm_medium=copy_link
Prepare to be even more disappointed. This is D1 baseball. Yes that is a D1 field
Not that this is great. But isn’t this the same field?
jesus there is enough foul territory to land a plane. those site lines must suck to say nothing of the hitters getting screwed.