In keeping with tradition, the first game thread of the season includes the following opening soliloquy from Bull Durham as recited by Annie Savoy: I believe in the Church of Baseball. I've tried all the major religions and most of the minor ones. I've worshipped Buddha, Allah, Brahma, Vishnu, Siva, trees, mushrooms, and Isadora Duncan. I know things. For instance, there are 108 beads in a Catholic rosary and there are 108 stitches in a baseball. When I learned that, I gave Jesus a chance. But it just didn't work out between us. The Lord laid too much guilt on me. I prefer metaphysics to theology. I've tried them all, I really have. And the only church that truly feeds the soul day in, day out, is the Church of Baseball. Walt Whitman once said, "I see great things in baseball. It's our game, the American game. It will repair our losses and be a blessing to us." ------------------------------------------- Enough practice! Let’s do this! TV: SEC Network+ (on-line) Radio: WRUF 850 AM / 98.1 FM Listen Live - ESPN 98.1 FM / 850 AM WRUF Stats: StatBroadcast Live Stat Feed Weather: 66 Deg at the start and 62 at the finish. 3% chance of precip (that's a weatherman's "cover his butt" %). NE wind @ 9-11 = breeze in from center field. Starting Gator: #12 So RHP Peterson Starting Earl: #9 Sr RHP Rogers Go Gators!
We are back beaches! Let's GO GATORS! So it looks like Clemente is the Saturday guy and Coppola the Sunday guy to get things started. No. 10 Gators Await Opening Weekend Series vs. Air Force - Florida Gators
Game notes always light on opponent scouting, so: USAFA pitching is pitch-to-contact, preferably ground-ball contact, which is a pretty rational choice at 7000 feet of altitude at home. Friday night starter Dylan Rogers (Dylan Rogers College Leagues Statistics | Baseball-Reference.com) is just one example, with an ERA of 7.49 contrasting with less than 1.0 HR/9. RP Bo Brantingham is their best returning pitcher and we might well see him if a game is still close in the 5th or 6th: Bo Brantingham College & Amateur Leagues Statistics | Baseball-Reference.com. Should be an interesting test of approach for Gator hitters, particularly on Friday when the wind is coming in at somewhat more than a waft. CF Chase Spencer is the best opposing position player: Chase Spencer College & Amateur Leagues Statistics | Baseball-Reference.com -- he plays like a bunch of guys from UKy do. Overall, they try to win the same sort of game their pitchers try to throw, with only about 25 returning HR this year. Probably a good game to work on approach (pitch, don't just throw) for Gator pitchers as well.
Seems like every year we start off with a team that doesn't have a baseball reputation, and they always give us fits.
There is no better place on the internet than the Gatorgal UF baseball game thread. (Thanks again for never posting the score in the title, Gatorgal). This is truly the best corner on the internet, and I am excited for the season to begin! It looks like my son is going to be a student at UF, and I think I will be down there for Sunday's game, as he wants to tour the school. I tried to go to a game last year, but it ultimately got rained out. The last time I actually sat in the stands for a Gator baseball game was in the 1990s while I was in school. I can't wait to actually go to a Gator game again after all these years! I might have old man confusion here, so help me out. I think I asked about this before, but I cannot remember if it was answered a long time ago or if it was never answered. There was a player on the Gator roster in the mid to late 1990s. He would come to the plate and just concentrate on his bat at some point for several seconds. It was part of his routine. I remember that when he would come to the plate a small subset of fans would chant something like, "Grab the bat! Swing the bat! Beeeeee the bat (when he stared it down)" as he would go through his routine. If he were to get a walk, he would run hard to first base every time. He was a fun player to watch! Who was that guy??? He was a starter and was very good, if I remember correctly. Anyway, I am looking forward to the season and I will see everyone in Omaha later on in June.
Sorry I can’t help you with your question @lostgator as I didn’t move to Gainesville until 1999. However, the on-line rosters go back as far as 1996. Here’s the link 1996 Baseball Roster - Florida Gators Perhaps if you look through the names that will help?
Just a guess, but I think I remember David Eckstein running to first base after every walk. So maybe him? "In St. Louis, they know to never overlook Eckstein. What he lacks in height, he makes up for with pure ? I'm not even sure of the word for it. Heart? Gumption? Incredible will? It's the thing that makes him sprint for first base when he gets walked, when virtually every other player in the game just jogs. It's the thing that stretches him that crucial extra meter when he's diving for a ground ball. And it's the thing that had him pounding out hit after hit in Game 4 of the World Series, including the eventual game-winning RBI double." Let me tell you about David Eckstein - Taipei Times
Sorry I threadjacked the opening day game thread! I woke up this morning and looked at the 1996 roster that Gatorgal linked above. I am 90% sure I was thinking about Derek Nicholson as the player with the unique batting routine where he "became one" with the bat. I believe I asked this same question many years ago and it must have been answered because that name leaped off the page as the guy I was thinking of. David Eckstein was also on the team, so maybe I linked the two together in my mind over the years as far as the sprinting to first base detail. By the way, that 1996 team was pretty loaded. Look at that roster! I enjoyed my trip down Gator baseball memory lane, and thanks for the assistance. On to opening night!
Gator Line Up: #3 Jones CF #10 Shelton SS #6 Boser 3B #2 Evans RF #4 Kurland 2B #28 Heyman C #11 Lawson 1B #29 Donay DH #5 Cyr LF #12 Peterson SP
Air Force lineup #2 Oster 2B #12 Taylor LF #5 Adams 1B #10 Garrish DH #24 Zapp C #4 Peters RF #7 Thrush 3B #16 Niednagel SS #40 Bradshaw CF #9 Rogers SP
