Boys host the State Liners

The Greenville Flyboys host the Bristol State Liners for a two game set at Pioneer Park on the campus of Historic Tusculum University. Bristol is an hour Northeast of G’ville. The city is home of the Bristol Motor Speedway. This track is one of the most popular on the NASCAR schedule mostly due of it’s distinct features. The popular track includes extraordinarily steep banking, an all concrete surface, two pit roads. The track is billed as “The world’s fastest half mile”. Thunder Valley, as it is sometimes called, highlights the city of Bristol, Tn. Not to be confused with Bristol, Va- a sister city across the state line. Oh, State Liners, now I get it.

We have good weather for the first time in a week. The Flyboys staff strikes out 15 but we drop this game to Bristol. We need to split the series Wednesday and we will send Greenville’s opening night starter, Bryce Mayer, to the hill. On this night Bryce dazzles through four innings. He strikes out a season high 9 batters. On the night the FlyBoyz pitching staff strikes out a season high 20 Bristol hitters in a one run nail biting victory . The art of pitching could be debated for days, especially in this age of social media pitching circles. But, the fact is, the pitcher needs to get ahead in the count, expand the strike zone and make the batter swing at his or her pitch. The act of getting ahead becomes more refined as the competition improves. Expand the zone doesn’t mean doing so in 0-1 and 1-1 counts but refers to when the pitcher is in favorable counts. The ability to measure ball spin and pitched ball movements has made it simpler for the pitcher to discover who he is as a pitcher. The pitchers and coaches here utilize Rapsodo and Trakman to enhance player development. These tools aid the catchers in calling the correct pitch in the correct location,as well.

Hitting philosophies have also changed in recent years. First pitch of the at bat swings have soared over the last view years. With that data also comes with chases of pitches out of the strike zone on the initial pitch. Remember how important getting ahead in the count is to the pitcher? First pitch of the at bat swings amd misses has also increased substantially. Hitters are trying to “do damage” but honestly the group is going about it the wrong way. This isn’t my opinion, look at the rising batter strikeouts and the descending batting averages.

Well, the Boys are off to begin a two game set at Elizabethton. Let’s see if they fixed the scoreboard. The team sits in first place currently but it is early in the season.

Home Opener in Greenville

One week after arriving at the Tusculum University campus the Flyboys of Greenville will have their home opener. The town of Greenville has a population of about 15,000 people. It was named after a civil war figure, Nathanael Greene. It is also the second oldest city in Tennessee. Pioneer Park sits on the campus of Tusculum University.

Greenville has a long history of Appalachian League baseball dating back to 1921. The team has partnered with the university for the baseball stadium which is the finest in the Appy League. The stadium was built in 2004 and is shared between the Tusculum Pioneers and the Flyboys Tusculum University is the second oldest college in the state of Tennessee( founded in 1794.The outside of the stadium is a nice brick wall facade and the concourse inside is wide, very spacious. Stadium capacity is about 2,600. There are even four luxurious rental suites to watch the game from up behind home plate. For player and fan alike. this stadium works well.

The home opener features an interdivisional game against the Doughboys of Johnson City. The initial game was a little chippy between the two collegian league teams. This was a back and forth battle with a lot of scoring opportunities early in the game. Our starting pitcher worked out of several jams and the bullpen held them down over the later innings of the game, The game was a little sloppy tonight. A constant drizzling rain did not help the quality of play. As the great Jim Hoff once stated, it generally is not the runs your starter gives up that beats you but the runs your bullpen gives up. That was the case tonight as the Flyboys out bullpenned the Doughboys. Fly Flyboys Fly. A robust fireworks show followed the game. Fans and players alike enjoyed a really good show. We go for the sweep in this two game set tomorrow night!

Flyboys – A True Story of Courage is a book written by James Bradley. This riveting book, Flyboys, is a story of war and horror but also courage and friendship. The story includes a Flyboy who escapes captivity, also a young Naval pilot named George W. Bush who later became president of The United States. The book details a World War II incident of the miserable execution and cannibalism of five of eight POWs held in the Pacific island of Chichi-jima. The author researched the Incidemt which was covered up by the Japanese government.

There is also a 2006 movie coined Flyboys. The story occurs around the time the U.S. entered World War I. Several American youths volunteered for the French military. Subsequently, they became the first fighter pilots and formed a squadron known as the Lafayette Escadrille. Their heroism and exploits have became legendary.

These Flyboys of Greenville are in reference to an old airfield at the site of the stadium where the city’s previous baseball players took the field.

Historic Plane at Greenville Municipal Airport

Road Trip to Bluefield

The Flyboys made their first overnight road trip of the season. The 1-1 club loaded the team bus Saturday morning for the 146 mile trek from Greenville to Bluefield, Va. We will play a two game set against the Ridge Runners. The city of Bluefield sits along the Bluestone River and is home to Bluefield State College as well. The town has a population of about 5,000 and I think all of them were at a carnival that was snuggled up to the baseball stadium. The stadium is called Bowen Field. The park was originally built in 1939 during the Great Depression. It was renovated in 1975. It holds 3000 and the seats were once those of the Anaheim Angels. The backdrop here is rather unique, surrounded by trees.

I mentioned the carnival earlier and it was kind of nice to smell the delicious aroma of funnel cakes from the bullpen. The aroma of corn dogs and carnies was not that impressive, however. One could see the towering rides in the short distance and hear the screams of those who ventured on the carnival rides. Oh yea, the games. The Boys fell in the first game as the Bluefield team simply outslugged us. Over the course of a season one third of the games you out slug your opponent and one third they out slug your team. The difference is those remaining one third of games where the team who defends better and executes situational baseball wins. This is what championship teams do – they win a high percentage of close games. Game two of the series the Flyboys adjust on the fly, get it? Our scheduled started is suspended shortly before the first pitch. Readers, he did nothing evil but it is what it is. The the remainder of the pitching staff step it up and we shake hands and have a happy flight home. Wait, I mean bus ride. Home opener on Tuesday after a needed off day on Monday. LG Flyboys.

Travel Day

Being a baseball coach can have its challenges. One of them is leaving the comforts of home for the city of your current team.. I have lived in a lot of cities for baseball season. Let me list them, Sarasota, Tampa, Billings, Plant City, Greensboro, Cedar Rapids, St. Petersburg, South Charleston, Chattanooga, Hagerstown, Louisville, Cincinnati, Scottsdale, Goodyear, and now Greeneville, Tn. The drive this time was five hours and thanks to my guardian angel, uneventful. We arrived and reported to Tusculum University which would be home for the next 12 weeks.

I am the pitching coach for the newly formed Greenville Flyboys in the Appalachain League. The gear is legit and don’t forget I was in the major leagues for eight seasons. The first day is complete once you fill out paper work and of course, move in. The people here have set up housing for me , a four bedroom apartment, on campus. Yes, on campus housing for the first time since 1986, that is 35 years ago for those of you without calculators.

This place is mostly furnished, many I have had in the past, have not been. I also do not have to turn on the cable, because there is none. I didn’t have to put the power in my name or water, anything for that matter. I did bring in a suitcase full of clothes and shoes. The mandatory baseball bag and gear, duh. I also brought two boxes of food and cleaning supplies so I can make the transition easier. Having ready to eat food is healthy and money and time saving.

After one night there were some additions that were necessary to make the dorm apartment more ” home sweet home” like. It took me 24 hours to realize there wasn’t a stove!! No complaints, cause there aint no crying in baseball. I headed to the store and got creative! I found a George Foreman indoor grill and an Egg Bite Maker. Whaattt??? The Egg Bite Maker is a small appliance you plug in and make small egg “muffins”. Ill report back on whether it works well! I threw in an old school Mr. Coffee coffee maker and finished the shopping journey with purchases of a mattress pad, (the mattress is not a real mattress it’s more like a box) some area rugs, blankets, candles, Clorox and a mop! Now that the apartment was ready it was time to get some sleep and get ready for the first practive with The Flyboys!! Lets Go!

Another Summer of Baseball Awaits

A new adventure in around the corner. I will serve as a pitching coach in the newly former Appalachian League My new team has been coined, The Greenville Flyboys. The Appalachian League is and will be a summer collegiate baseball league that is part of the MLB and USA Baseball Prospect Pipeline, a pathway for amateur baseball players in the United States. The league will be an integral part of the identification and development process for USA Baseball Collegiate National Team and other national teams.

The Appy League is one of the longest running leagues in professional baseball history. It began originally began in 1911. This is a 10 team league. There will be a 54 game schedule. I and my partner, Road Momma will chronicle, unbiasedly, the daily happenings of The ” Appy League” life. The journey will begin on June 1st as I leave the comforts of Cary for the unknown( well, for me anyway).

I have worked a lot of leagues in the past 33 years but never this one. I have been to Princeton, WV as the Cincinnati Reds had a Rookie level team there years ago. Princeton is a member of the Appalachian League, by the way. This should be a fun season, very eye opening. Let’s don’t forget I was in the Major Leagues from 2012 to 2018. I see this as an opportunity. I have not been seen by the baseball community since 2019 and out of sight and out of mind as the saying goes. This will be a fun ride and I will keep you updated each day. Oh, the co-writer you ask, Road Momma. I will let her introduce herself. All as I can say is she has argued in front of the Supreme Court, ran the Disney Marathon and adopted an entire baseball team in 2019. Stay tuned.

Mack