Baseball & The 4th of July

Baseball and the 4th of July celebration has been a part of my entire adult life. From 1986 to 2021, I have spent 33 of those Independence Day celebrations on the baseball field. I have been a player during that time, a minor league coach, a major league coach. And this time, a coach in the newly reformed Appalachian League. This league is full of collegians from across the country. We will be involved with celebrations on three consecutive days. The Flyboys will be in Burlington, NC, Johnson City, Tn and of course, Pioneer Park in Greenville.

Lest not we forget that the fourth is Independence Day. The holiday marks the day in 1776 when the Second Continental Congress unanimously adopted the Declaration of Independence This signaled the official separation of the original thirteen colonies from Great Britain amid the Revolutionary War. While doing a little research it turns out that fireworks were used to celebrate the holiday in 1777. The first ever recorded Fourth of July party was held in Philadelphia, Pa., How many forefathers envisioned it, the celebration included illuminations, a parade, and explosions. President John Adams wrote that the date, (July 4,) will be celebrated by future generations with pomp, games and festivals. Early Americans brought fireworks with them to the New World and the quickly became a July 4th tradition.

Some of my best Independence Day celebrations were in Indianapolis. The AAA stadium, Victory Field, was packed each time Louisville played there. The streets were also lined with people. The fireworks, music and light show entertained thousands who come for the party. The 2021 celebrations started in Burlington, where the stadium was packed. The music with loud and lively. The crowd was entertained with on field promotions. The stadium was truly buzzing with energy. The Sock Puppet fans were loud and excited. The game cruised along for eight innings. The teams entered the final frame knotted at one run apiece. Then, the Puppets could not throw strikes. The game came to a crawl. The Boys had opened a five run lead when the skies opened up and without warning it flooded. It was a rain storm of Biblical proportions. The grounds crew raced to cover the field, the crowd hurried for cover. About the time the deluge slowed down the City made a good decision, they let the fire works loose, regardless of the end of the game. The fireworks show was spectacular and the fans enjoyed every minute of the illuminated rainy night sky. We were not able to complete the game after a long day, another good decision.

The second fireworks show was a July 3rd celebration in Johnson City. Last time we played in this stadium there weee fireworks of a different kind. Doughboys coaches were ejected, there were rowdy fans escorted from the stadium. I am hoping for a little more family and fan friendly crowd this time around. This game started out with a good pace, the Boys held an early 4-0 lead but the Doughboys fought back. Ryan Franklin, entered the game in the fifth inning with two men on base amd two others had scored. A huge strikeout ended the rally. The crowd was boisterous and and the excitement was high. But the Flyboys rolled out the dough winning the game by four. The fireworks show was stylish amd loud. The fans and players enjoyed the illuminated skies over Johnson City.

The final July 4, Independence Dsy celebration took place on the campus of historic Tusculum University. It was a great night. The crowd filled the seats like we have not witnessed before tonight. A nee attendance record was announced late in the game. The buzz of the crowd, the Star Spangled Banner, the smell of hamburgers, if this doesn’t get your blood pumping- something is definitely wrong with you. The Flyboys dominated the game, which was extremely long due to the frequency of base on balls by the City Doughboys. The game ended in odd fashion as we kicked five ground balls in the final frame. The stadium lights went out and the show began. Many Flyboys were joined on the field by close friends. The others joined arm in arm to admire the Independence Day celebration. It was a fantastic night. It is amazing how baseball brings people together,makes me proud to be involved.

Elizabethton Part Deaux

Elizabethton is a commuter trip for the Flyboys. The team boards the bus outside the home ballpark at 245 for the 50 minute trek. The walk from the clubhouse to the bus is uphill, probably 200 yards. By uphill I mean an estimated 15% grade, carrying my equipment bag, These old knees don’t appreciate it but hey, burning more calories. The team arrives one hour before the pregame routine begins. This arrival allows ample time for the players to get dressed into batting practice attire, receive treatment from the athletic trainer if needed as well. It also allows time for the staff to write and post hitting groups and to peruse the opposing team roster, stats, lineup, etc. The team caters a box lunch for the players and staff before and after the game. Without opening the box I know we are having a wrap, a bag of kettle chips, a fruit cup, tiny donut hole things and cinnamon butter dipping cup. I rarely eat it so I can’t say the quality. I am gluten intolerant and every day there is a flour tortilla staring at me. The catering group also delivers gallons of sweet tea and lemonade of sorts. The post game box meal is a variety but often has pasta so I leave mine on the table.

The pregame routine on the road is fairly consistent. Stretch, run and throw followed by batting practice. We divide the position players into three groups of four hitters. Each group hits for 12-15 before rotating back to the field. The batting practice is thrown by the coaches. The hitters have a strict daily routine, that’s announced before the hitting starts. While one group is hitting the other players are working on defense. The infielders take ground balls hit by the fungo hitter and make throws to 1st base or 2nd base. This is a great time to gauge how the infield plays, fast, slow, true or bumpy. Each park has different grass and the clay can be hard as concrete or damp and smooth. Outfielders can play balls off the bat. This is a time to test the wind, the grass , the warning track and to see how balls bounce of the outfield wall. Pitchers during this time help shag the balls. They might have bucket duty, which is where the batted balls are thrown and placed in the large plastic bucket. The bucket of balls is used to replenish the balls thrown by the coach. Generally when one gets near the bottom of throwing balls a yell of “Balls” can be heard around the diamond.

The starting pitchers and I usually head out 45 minutes before the game. Pre game routines have become more elaborate and involved than they were a decade ago. The starting pitcher generally goes through a total body warmup. We never want to use the throwing arm to warm up the back and legs. The majority of pitchers use weighted balls( heavier than a baseball) to warm up. The hurlers usually throws these against a sturdy wall. Exercise bands that clip to a chain link fence are also used and are a great way to get the throwing arm warmed up to compete. The pitchers need a good pre game routine, a precise one. Some of my guys start throwing at 20 minutes before the game and some are 22 or 17 minutes. So the coach needs to know the time of day and the scheduled time of the first pitch of the game. The pitcher warms up with the starting catcher in the outfield so the pitcher can long toss some to get maximally lubed up. Long toss means, to me, over 90 feet. Some pitchers toss to 150 feet, others out to 200 feet. The average pitcher throws for 8-9 minutes in the outfield before heading to the mound. The number of throws in that time period is 32-35 throws. The pitcher and catcher then walk to the bullpen mound to prep for the game. The pitchers works on each of his pitches from the windup as well as the stretch. Most pitchers need to be reminded to throw from the stretch but truth is 50% of pitches in a game are made with runners on base. A good bullpen routine is 30-36 pitches thrown. Most of the kids here throw much less than that but they will learn. The pitcher wants to give himself a five minute break between finishing up in the bullpen before the game starts, There is that time thing again, time management and starting pitching is a must for creating a fantastic routine. Routines lead to consistency.

Game one of this series saw the Flyboys fall in the last inning. We did battle back to tie the game in the top of the 9th. Too many wasted opportunities in the game to come out victorious. The pitching staff had no walks in this contest for the first time all season. The Flyboys also had 12 strikeouts. Two throwing errors gave the River Riders the extra bases to win, 3-2. Game two of the series was all Flyboys. The pitching staff was dominant. The Boyz from Eastern Michigan combined for 7 innings, 1 hit and 9 strikeouts. I look forward to watching the pitching future of Russo and Wagoner. Overall we allowed 3 singles in the game and 2 of those were not hits but the official score keeper loves the home town team. The Greenville Flyboys head home for a weekend series with the Turtles, who have a potent lineup. For now, it is post game shower, skip the non GF meal and drive back to Tusculum for a cerveza and gluten free chips and salsa. diggity!

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.

Johnson City Doughboys

Most of the towns in the Appalachian League I have not visited before the 2021 baseball season. Johnson City is one a previously “ stopped by.” In the winter of 1995 I was driving back home from a Celebtation of Life in Birmingham and there was an epic snow storm that closed Interstate 81. Two feet of snow fell that day. My two year daughter and I got one of the last hotel rooms in town. There was a grocery store across the street that miraculously stayed open.

Johnson City is a commuter trip for the Flyboys. It is only 33 miles East of Greenville. Johnson City, Tn is known for it’s many outdoor activities. Winged Deer Park, Buffalo Mtn.Park provide everything from disc golf to boating. The Gray Fossil Site and Musuem sits east of town and has mastodon fossil there.

The Doughnoys is a unique team name. Indelibly tied to Americans “Doughboys” became the most enduring nickname for troops of the American Expeditionary Forces. These men traversed the Atlantic to join war weary Allied armies fighting on the Western Fromt during World War I. The Western front was the main theater of war during the First World War. These men also fought in Mexico where they were covered by the wind blown white dust in the desert. Thus, Doughboys.

Game one of the series was delayed 90 minutes to previous rain. This is unusual only because the infield is turf. However, there are holes in the mound tarp, which is clay. Flex seal, anyone? The game did start at 8:30 and was then postponed at 8:36 due to another down pour. You may think I made the time up but i did not. A great coach writes down the time a delay begins because if your pitcher sits for too long, the risk for injury substantially increases if he were to te-enter the game. Injuries doomed my pitching career and I refuse to put my pitchers in harm’s way.

The Flyboys out slug their opponents in the completion of the suspended game, 15-6. Game two of this doubleheader starts roughly 30 minutes after the first game. I witnessed one of the most dominant outings by a pitcher I have ever seen. Cam Wagoner struck out the first 8 hitters of the game. His day ended in spectacular fashion, striking oit 11 of the 12 hitters he faced. Our next pitcher, Mason Turner struck out all three he faced. That’s 14 of 15. Two additional relievers finished the first No Hitter for the Greenville Flyboys! To say the least I am proud of the way these Boys attacked and completed the No No.

Bring on the Axemen

The first home stand of the season ends with a two game set with the Kingsport Axemen. Yes, the Flyboys vs. the Axemen, sounds like a potential Netflix pilot. Kingsport is in Tennessee. It is 43 miles North, North East of Greenville. The city of Kingsport derived it’s name from the simplification of “King’s Port” which was the name given to the area by the early pioneers. The Long Island of the Holston River has a vast and rich history. It is a National Historic Landmark. It was the home of the sacred Cherokee council and a treaty site as well.

The previous night saw the Flyboys play an extremely sloppy game. We made several errors in the field and a couple of mental mistakes as well. The opposition was sloppy as well but were much sloppier. Pitching truly makes the world go around. On this night the Greenville pitching was not it’s sharpest. The staff worked behind in the count too often. Our goal for first pitch strikes is 60%. We did not come close to that expectation tonight. Early in the count, the pitcher needs to be aggressive. One of the first two pitches needs to be a strike 80% of the time. Tonight’s pitchers had several two ball and no strike counts, which is a recipe for disastrous performance. 69% of strike outs begin with strike one. Over 70% of walks begin with ball one.

Another emphasis for the Flyboys hurlers is to win the one ball, one strike counts. This is the largest swing count in baseball when it comes to offensive production. When the count moves to 2 balls and 1 strike, the hitters historically hit over .400. This a very high average, if you did not know. When the counts moves to 1 ball and 2 strikes, the hiiter’s batting average falls to under .180. This is a low output for the hitter. Those numbers make the 1-1 the largest “swing”‘count in baseball.

On this night we executed pitch after pitch. Our starting pitcher,

Conner Harris, pitched five innings and only threw 49 pitches. He averaged less than 10 pitches inning. The average pitch count per inning at this level is 19 pitches. So,’he had an absurdly efficient outing. He set the tone. We had two relief pitchers finish the game. We attacked the opposing hitters early in the count, we dominated the 1-1 counts. For the night the Flyboy pitches only threw 95 pitches in 9’innimgs. A great night for this pitching coach. We won a tightly contested game, 1-0. Game two of this series was postponed due to heavy rain. So technically we won our first series. Off to play in Johnson City tomorrow.

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.