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.

Boyce Cox Field

The Flyboys make their first trip of the season to Bristol, Tennessee. Bristol, Virginia is right across the state line. Odd, in my opinion, but who cares what I think. . The bus pulls up and we exit the Flyboy’s iron lung and walk toward the field. I honestly break out in laughter as we get close to the right field line. They have a chain link fence in the outfield, something I have not seen since going to my son’s high school games. The field itself is rather bland. The bullpen is somewhat of a disappointment. This area along with the game mound is important to a pitching coach. It is where my pitchers practice and perform.

Boyce Cox Field opened in 1969 after conversion from it’s prior existence as a football field. The ballpark has three main components, none of which seem to match. This includes grandstands behind the 3rd base dugout which belong to the baseball stadium. There are aluminum bleachers behind the first base side of the field. The seating behind home is a combination of concrete seating and bleacher seats. These were once closed due for safety purposes. The narrow press box sits well behind home plate. There is a small deck for cheesy hecklers off set and behind the third base side seating. A stand alone, small concession stand is also on the third base side, up on a slight hill behind the bleachers. Many fans on these two night brought their own chairs and spread out on the berm on the third base side of the field. Stadium journey.com writes that the field struggles to meet the minimum requirements set forth by MLB. The stadium is run by a non profit group and all jobs there are handled by volunteers. It is a labor of love for the folks there

The series should be a good one. Bristol holds a half game lead over the Boys after winning four consecutive games. Game one was a dominant performance turned in by Bryce Mayer. The young RHP worked four innings, striking out eight batters of the thirteen that he faced. The Boys from the bullpen close out the victory, allowing just one run over the final five frames. Another double digit strike out night for the pitching staff. Greenville completes the sweep in game two of the series in an entertaining 14-7 win. The Boys outscored Bristol 7-0 over the last three innings of the game Connor Harris, a right handed pitcher attending George Washington University turned in another stellar start. Connor has outstanding command of a late moving fastball. The bullpen uncharacteristically coughed up six runs. Zane Robbins, affectionately nicknamed, Big Country, came in to save the day. He struck out five batters over the two and two-thirds innings, including punching out the last three hitters of the game on his power hook down in the zone. The offensive pounded out fifteen hits including six for extra bases. This was definitely a team win with everyone contributing. It will be a happy bus ride back to Tusculum after the exciting victory. The Flyboys are home for the next four days before a day off and a long five day road trip.

Invasion of the River Turtles

The River Turtles of Pulaski pulled in to town donned in their emerald green uni’s for a weekend contest against the Flyboys of Greenville, Tennessee. Pulaski is in Virginia. The town was named after a Count Casimir Pulaski, a Revolutionary war hero from Poland. The population of the town is around 10,000. According to Trip Advisor the number one attraction is Calfee Park, which is summer home to the River Turtles. Pulaski first hosted professional baseball back in 1942. The city has hosted young players from the Brooklyn Dodgers to the New York Yankees, most recently. Calfee park was built in 1935 as part of the New Deal enacted by President Franklin Roosevelt. This historic ballpark has been used for horse shows, fairs, concerts, exhibitions and of course, baseball. The park was renovated in 1999. Calfee park has been added to the National and State Historic Landmarks Registry.

The River Turtles own one of the leagues most potent offenses. This should be quite the weekend matchup. The Flyboys pitching staff holds the Turtles down in game one, allowing just five hits and two runs. The pitching staff, which currently leads the league in strikeouts, struck out 14 in this game while issuing only one walk. The offense made the most of their eight hits and five walks. The highlight of this game was young RHP, Austin Troesser. He absolutely dominated the opposition, striking out five of the six hitters he faced. He was one pitch away from an immaculate innings, when with an 0-2 count he allowed a broken bat grounder to second base. He went on the fan the side in the fifth inning for extra measure. This was a far cry from his last outing where he needed thirty pitches to get three outs. Today, he needed 19, for two outstanding innings of work. Game two of the series did not go as planned. We dropped a 6-4 decision to the River Turtles. This game we simply did not make the pitches or plays to win the game. The first batter of the game bunted back to the pitcher who flubbed ground ball for an error to start the game. As a matter of fact, the leadoff hitter was on base four times in seven innings today. Why is that a big deal? The averages tell us that pitchers, E,R.A( earned run average) is 8.54 with a runner on first base and no outs. On the other hand, with one out and no one on base, the pitchers’ E.R.A. falls to 3.54. Five runs difference is noteworthy and as a pitcher and catcher we need to know how important keeping the leadoff hitter off base is for winning baseball.

The majority of our pitchers and catchers have their pitches called from the dugout by the head coach or pitching coach while in college. So, many of them do not have a great “feel” for calling the game. This league is about development, so the young men are on their own during the game. Many times, I may ask after the inning ” what were you thinking when you threw this pitch in a certain situation?) This is a great way to learn. One gets good judgement from experience and experience comes from bad judgement. In today’s game, I took a lot of notes. My notes are written on the lineup card where the last out of the innings is posted and what the opposing hitters do each at bat. I also makes notes on attempted bunts and stolen bases attempted. We also note the count in which these events occurred. In this game we did not attack or execute pitches on the 1-1 counts. I know we wrote about the importance of this pivotal count. We also did a poor job of reacting to what we see from the hitter. I will give a few examples. The first pitch of the at bat is a fastball on the outside part of the plate, strike one looking. The next pitch is a changeup up, that the hitters chases out of the strike zone. What would you throw the next pitch? We chose to throw a fastball in the middle of the plate for a no ball and two strike, 2 out double that scored a run. If we react to the previous swing of the hitter, we make him chase another pitch out of the strike zone. There is rarely a set up pitch, the pitcher should throw every pitch with the intent to get the batter out. Bad location hurts the pitcher more than bad selection, on most nights. We also chose to repeat in the zone breaking balls for a long double off the wall. Let me explain. First pitch of the at bat, curve in the dirt, ball one. Second pitch, another curve this time for a called strike. What are my options here? We chose to throw another curve ball, this time a little higher in the strike zone. Bad choice but a time to learn, not because of the result. Repeating off speed pitches in the strike zone gives the hitters a very good chance to time the pitch and measure the break. Please, remember in the strike zone to under the strike zone, often works. We also threw another hitter a 2-1 fastball that the left handed batter hit over the third base dugout He was late on this fastball in a hitter advantage count. When we see the hitter is late, we move the ball closer to the batter or we elevate the ball closer to him But we chose to throw a high slider which the batter laced into left center field. Another, time to learn- for the pitcher and catcher. My last rant, which is pitching 101 Every 0-1 count should not a breaking ball in the dirt. This is an advantage count for the pitcher which is a great time to work inside to inside off the plate. The catcher and pitcher need to on the same page with this strategy. So, communication with pitcher and catcher is crucial. They should talk between each inning to bounce ideas off one another and get feedback from each other on the next inning.

The Boys are off tomorrow and I am headed to Cary for a steak dinner. Enjoy every breath! LG Flyboys.

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

Opening Day – Appy Style

I attended seven opening days in Major League Baseball amd there is nothing like it. I also was in uniform for twenty six in the minor league opening nights but never one in the Appalachian League. On this day, the Flyboys of Greenville travel to Elizabethton,Tn. It is a commuter trip, meaning we drive to the city, play and return home after the game. This field in Elizabethton is the smallest in all of minor league baseball There are three sets of grandstands, each very different from the other. The clubhouse is “ dusty”,the playing surface is adequate for this league. The scoreboard does not work, almost like the season has snuck up on the fine folks there. The mounds are flat -both game and bullpen. This ballpark sits on the Watauga River. The Watauga runs from Grandfather Mountain in North Carolina into Eastern Tennessee. The river that rubs aside the ballpark is beautiful

The game is nearly underway. A former player of mine is the manager for newly coined River Riders. The attendance is sparse, the excitement and energy from the players is not. The teams, battle for nine innings. Some sloppy play from time to time but expected as each team had one workout before opening day. Let not one forget, these excitable players are collegians not paid professionals. Intensity, hustle and effort spilled out from initial pitch to last swing of the bat. The Flyboys fall in the season opener by one run. The men played hard, tomorrow is a new day and I can’t wait to be a part of it.

Meeting The Flyboys

The inaugural season for the USA Baseball and MLB run Appalachian League starts one day after reporting day. The day before our first and only preseason workout we board a bus headed to East Tennessee State University baseball stadium. The team has 16 pitchers to begin the season. I have researched the players on the roster. I am trying to learn as much as I can about each athlete before meeting them in person.

The teamed donned these sweet Appy league tee shirts and shorts on this warm, muggy Tennessee afternoon. I have roster in hand so that I can learn the names of the players as quickly as possible. Oh man did we make a blunder the initial day. We wore the shirts with no numbers on the back. After a team briefing from the manager, coaches, medical team and USA Baseball personnel, I can get my first sit down with the pitchers.

I have learned over the years how short the attention span of us males can be- well limited. So, I am going to be loud, to the point, make it light, informative and humorous to break up the conversation. The most glaring issue is who is this guy talking, me. So an introduction of my playing and coaching history is the leadoff hitter. Secondly is finding out who is ready to pitch the next day. By the end of the workout I announced who will toe the rubber the first two days of the season. It did make me feel uncomfortable asking a pitcher who is in the middle of throwing a bullpen , “ what is your name again”. Well, we made it through the first day despite not knowing anyone’s name. In professional baseball the coaches are called by their first name, not coach. But these kids call me coach, which on the inside makes me smile. Coach is the second greatest moniker, next to Dad!! Tomorrow, is a commuter trip to play in Elizabethton, Tn. A new adventure, a new city and a new league kicks it out tomorrow.

Interview with Mister Mack

youtube.com/watch

Velocity Camp Highlights

Teaching young athletes arm care and proper throwing techniques