1. sports
2. baseball

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photograph - ed sheahin/pressbox
210
06.15
LIKE THE PLAYERS, MANY MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
RADIO ANNOUNCERS ARE WAITING FOR THEIR CALL UP
BY STEVE JONES | PAGE 10
Issue 210 • 06.15.15
- table of contents COVER STORY
The Calling Of The Game..................................10
> Steve Jones
Like the players, many minor league baseball radio announcers are waiting for
their call up
SPECIAL SECTIONS
Calling A Triple Crown....................................34
FEATURE STORIES
Orioles Insider w/ Paul Folkemer.................... 14
Ravens Report w/ Joe Platania.......................... 18
Sports Interviews w/ Morgan Adsit...................20
Maryland Gaming w/ Bill Ordine......................37
Inside Golf w/ Owen Dawson.............................32
OUR NAME
SAYS IT ALL
COLUMNS
One Fan’s Opinion...........................................05
Upon Further Review...................................... 16
HS Then & Now................................................30
The Reality Check............................................40
>
Stan “The Fan” Charles
>
Jim Henneman
>
Keith Mills
> Glenn Clark
SECTIONS
Cheap Seats......................................................06
College...........................................................26
VOICES
Ricig’s World Of Sports....................................42
Fan On The Street............................................ 17
Community Beat...............................................38
MLC_2007_Branding_PB_AD.indd 1
june 2015 |
6/5/14 11:13 AM
| 3
Leading
off this unique baseball Father’s Day celebration, appropriately, is
Genesis. She was the first of the Mora quintuplets to be lifted out
of Gisel’s body during a cesarean section on July 28, 2001. In order, Genesis, Christian and
Rebekah were born at 7:10 a.m.; Matthew and Jada followed two minutes later.
Melvin had known for some time that there would be five -- and he had the usual father’s
concern, multiplied of course.
“How are you going to take care of them?” he said, remembering that at the time he was
not making all that much money, having arrived in Baltimore from the Mets with so-so major league credentials in the Mike Bordick trade exactly a year earlier. “After that, you hope
they’re all healthy.” ...
Because the quints were born more than two months premature, with Christian the largest at just an ounce over two pounds, they did not go home from the hospital until October.
That’s when Melvin and Gisel had a major quarrel.
“Melvin said he was going to play winter ball,” she said. “I was upset. People assume
that because he was in the majors he was making a lot of money. Melvin was not. We felt
we couldn’t afford to hire a nanny. His family was in Venezuela; mine was in New York.”
Melvin went off to Venezuela for winter ball.
“In the beginning of January,” she said, “I called him, completely freaked out. Our bank
account was at zero. He hadn’t been paid part of his salary in winter ball yet. He had me fly
down to Venezuela and gave me $10,000 in cash.”
To read this complete article and to check out more of what we’ve been talking about
during the past 10 years, visit PressBoxOnline.com/10years
Orioles’ Melvin Mora
dotes on his fabulous
family | page 10
• by ken denlinger
•
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ONE FAN’S OPINION
Times Have Changed, But MLB All-Star
Game Ballot Stuffing Is Still Wrong
Stan “The Fan” Charles
M
any times when I sit down
to write my monthly print
column for PressBox, I
have to wait for divine
intervention to come up
with a topic. That was not
the case this month, with
the mockery Kansas City
baseball supporters are making out of the
American League All-Star Game balloting.
Being part of an older generation does
come with terrible burdens. Well, maybe not
terrible burdens, but with experience and
wisdom, one can tell that a fish stinks and
must be tossed in the garbage. In the first AllStar Game voting tallies MLB released May
26, five Kansas City players appeared in the
starting lineup.
The “Fab Five,” as Kansas City saw it as
of May 26 (MLB updates the votes tallies every Monday), were shortstop Alcides Escobar,
third baseman Mike Moustakas, catcher Salvador Perez, center fielder Lorenzo Cain and
left fielder Alex Gordon. Two Royals players
were in second place at their respective positions as of May 26 -- first baseman Eric Hosmer trailed Miguel Cabrera, and designated
hitter Kendrys Morales trailed Nelson Cruz.
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4 |
| june 2015
MLB All-Star Ballot
To further demonstrate just how crazy
this vote was going, the outfield leader was
Cain, who was in front of reigning AL MVP
Mike Trout. Gordon (.251 batting average as
of June 9) was in third, ahead of Orioles center fielder Adam Jones, followed by Royals
right fielder Alex Rios, who returned to the
lineup May 30 after a six-week stint on the
disabled list.
I was blown away by the May 26 release of
the AL votes, but felt there was ample time
for the vast majority of baseball fans to right
these obvious wrongs. However, the trend is
going the opposite way now, with Hosmer
having moved in front of Cabrera and Morales moving in front of Cruz. Meanwhile,
Rios, who had one home run and eight RBIs
as of June 9, jumped in front of Jones for
fourth place.
This kind of chicanery is exactly what
cost baseball fans the right to vote on the
All-Star Game from 1958-1968. That was
because, in 1957, Cincinnati Reds fans received a little help from the Reds’ front office and The Cincinnati Enquirer, which
was already running filled-in ballots in its
Sunday edition. Ultimately, eight of the
team’s starters were voted into the game -second baseman Johnny Temple, shortstop
Roy McMillan, third baseman Don Hoak,
catcher Ed Bailey, and outfielders Frank
Robinson, Gus Bell and Wally Post. The
only position player not voted in thanks to
the Reds’ ballot-box stuffing was first baseman George Crowe, who was beaten out by
the St. Louis Cardinals’ Stan Musial.
This case of ballot-box stuffing was so blatant that former commissioner Ford Frick
ended up taking Bell and Post off the starting
team and replaced them with fellow outfielders Willie Mays and Hank Aaron. Bell did remain on the team as a reserve, but Post was
removed altogether.
During an age when teams campaign for
their players to be voted into the game, one
may feel it’s a bit disingenuous for a media
member to complain about this now. After all,
where was I when the Orioles urged to vote
“orange and often” during the last four seasons? Until now, there has been nothing rising to this level of cringe worthiness or such a
lack of propriety.
Now that this flagrant ballot-box stuffing has descended again to a shameful level,
and considering that home-field advantage
is determined by the outcome of the All-Star
Game, it’s time for baseball commissioner
Rob Manfred to step in, because in today’s
game, the actions of overzealous fans can
have serious consequences. Certainly, much
more is at stake in 2015 than when Frick
flexed his muscles in 1957.
What makes this latest episode so galling is that many Royals players have not
accomplished enough to warrant this kind
of praise. It would be different if this were
the Cardinals or Tigers, both of whom have
multiple veterans with proven track records.
Moustakas, for example, was trying to regroup and return to the majors last season
during a stint with the Omaha Storm Chasers (Kansas City’s Triple-A affiliate). And
now, as of June 8, he is about two million
votes better than Blue Jays third baseman
Josh Donaldson?
This sorry saga creates an opening for
Manfred. He knows the way home-field advantage is currently being determined for
the World Series is bad. However, he owes his
predecessor, Bud Selig, too much to dump
Selig’s initiative to spark interest in the AllStar Game.
But this Kansas City mockery allows Manfred to ditch the idea Selig hatched and cite
the credibility crisis the issue caused by this
new-fangled form of ballot stuffing.
It also allows Manfred the opportunity to
study and introduce some form of weighted
balloting that would bring players, managers and coaches into the mix during the long
term.
Kansas City and AL All-Star Game manager Ned Yost can’t be allowed to name righthander Jeremy Guthrie as his starting pitcher, right? 3600 Clipper Mill Road
- Suite 155 Baltimore, MD 21211
Phone: (410) 366-7272
Fax: (410) 366-7220
- PressBoxOnline.com Founder And Publisher Stan Charles
senior editorial adviser
Bill Ordine
Community Beat Editor
Jayne Charles
Editor
Kaitlyn Carr
assistant Editor
Justin Silberman
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Editorial consultant
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Account executives
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“inside PressBox”
Dave Laishley, executive producer
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Interns
Callie Caplan
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Kyle Melnick
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> Bradford Mills
Chairman of the board
Board of
Directors
This year marks PressBox’s 10th anniversary, and to commemorate the
milestone, PressBox is highlighting some of its past stories. The following is
an excerpt from “A Father’s Pride,” the cover story from June 14, 2007 about
Melvin Mora and his family, written by Ken Denlinger.
Money no longer is a serious concern, although Melvin, recalling a youth spent in poverty, remains frugal. Their house is elegant but homey. A statue of a right-handed batter
about three feet tall that Gisel found in Fort Lauderdale stands among flowers off to one
side, the only clue that the house was built on a ballplayer’s wages. ...
Melvin is a hands-on father. At 6:45 a.m. on school days when he is home, Melvin
arises, makes breakfast for Tatiana, packs her lunch and drives her to school. When he
returns, he does the same thing for the quints.
Off days are pleasantly hectic. On a recent Saturday before an O’s night game at Camden
Yards, he was on a baseball field with the boys at 9 a.m. At 10, he was at Tatiana’s game; at
11:30, he was with the other girls.
Except for something obvious, like Jada’s missing teeth, even friends find it difficult to
distinguish each of the quints, especially because Gisel tends to dress the girls and boys in
similar outfits. She and Melvin have no problems with identity.
“Genesis resembles Melvin and Melvin’s
sister in the face,” Gisel said. “Jada is very
- Jun e 14th 2007 athletic, very social, always smiling. ReBRO
bekah has what I call ‘sad puppy-dog eyes
BROOKS
20 ALL
OKS
ALL-STA
-STARS
RS SHI
SHINE
NE
to daddy.’ She kind of eats him up, so he
kind of favors her sometimes. Christian is
J.O.
RISH
REA
REA
24 PAR
DYDY
TOFOR
MAK
FOR
MOR
E MAR
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E
a lot bigger than Matthew. He is everything
E K
baseball. He’s got daddy’s body from the
vol ume 002 • issu e 024
neck down, has his batting stance. But
what Christian has in size, Matthew has in
personality. ...” “Melvin is very competitive,” Gisel said.
“He wants to be the best athlete. But
what’s the point in being such a great athlete when baseball is all said and done and
his kids would say: ‘My dad wasn’t there
for this, my dad didn’t take part in that?’
That’s what he really takes pride in.”
>
>
>
>
>
Stan Charles
John Coulson
John Shmerler
William L. Yerman
Scott Rifkin
PressBox is published monthly by Word Smith Media Ventures, LLC,
3600 Clipper Mill Road, Suite 155, Baltimore, Maryland 21211
(410-366-7272). Copyright 2014 by Word Smith Media Ventures,
LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced without the expressed written consent of the publisher.
PressBox is a free publication distributed every month on the 15th in
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Publishing Company, EngleOnline.com
june 2015 |
| 5
CHEAP SEATS
Paralympic Swimmers Achieve Greatness
Under Loyola Coach Brian Loeffler
I
courtesy of brian schneider
n the fall of 2007 at Loyola University,
a blind swimmer appeared in the doorway of head swimming coach Brian
Loeffler’s office. With his seeing-eye
dog, Taxi, at his side, freshman Philip Scholz asked the coach if he could
walk-on to the Greyhounds’ swimming
team.
“My first thought was, ‘Holy cow, How is this going
to work? I’ve got to give this kid an opportunity,’” Loeffler said.
One year later, Scholz competed for the U.S. Paralympic team in Beijing. As a Greyhound swimmer in
the backstroke, butterfly and freestyle events, he had
already broken 19 records in the American Paralympic
category as an S11 blind swimmer -- with “11” being the
most severe form of visual impairment.
“Philip really introduced me to Paralympic swimming,” Loeffler said. “I was able to coach him in the
2012 London games. I became a team leader. It was a
gift, and it’s made me a better coach -- trying to figure
how to maximize his strengths and get him through the
water.”
Loeffler has been the head coach of the Loyola swim
team since 1991. A local product, he grew up in Harford
County and took home economics with Debbie Phelps,
mother of legendary Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps,
in middle school. Loeffler swam at Calvert Hall and
what was then Loyola College.
For the Greyhounds, he swam in the butterfly, backstroke and individual medley events. He set several records, including the 400-yard and 400-meter relays. His
teams have performed exceptionally well, winning eight
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference titles (four men’s
and four women’s) in 20 years.
Loyola is gaining a reputation as a place for disabled
swimmers, and Loeffler is being sought to train them.
Among the athletes he is coaching are paralympians
Alyssa Gialamas and McKenzie Coan, who have joined
the women’s team as freshmen. They both will compete at the International Paralympic Committee World
Championships in Scotland July 13-19.
Gialamas suffers from arthrogryposis, a disease that
affects joints and muscles. Coan has broken more than
30 bones from a disease called osteogenesis imperfecta.
The condition makes her bones brittle, and she could
lose her hearing by the age of 20. Both have their sights
set on the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
“We’re expecting big things from Mac and Alyssa,”
Loeffler said.
Born with cerebral palsy, Cortney Jordan, a Paralympic gold medalist, is getting her master’s degree in
education at Loyola. She came to Loyola to train with
Loeffler.
In 2011, Loeffler received a call from the Commit
Foundation about Brad Snyder. The organization puts
wounded veterans back to work. Snyder was working at
a computer company in Baltimore, and wanted to know
if Loeffler could coach him in the pool as well.
Sure, he could.
Loeffler remembered his teams had competed
against Snyder when he swam for Navy. Snyder had
been blinded by a secondary device that went off in
Afghanistan while he was trying to carry two Afghan
Special Forces soldiers who veered off patrol and had
stepped on a land mine.
Snyder was in the pool five months later, and he
made the national team for London in 2012. He won a
gold medal on the one-year anniversary of losing his vision.
“I could talk to Brad forever,” Loeffler said. “He is an
amazingly powerful person.”
For these incredible athletes, Loeffler said it’s not
about feeling sorry for themselves.
“They don’t want any sympathy,” Loeffler said.
“They want to compete like everybody else.”
-- Dean Smith
Northeast’s Caroline
Schultz To Be Honored By
Pro Football Hall Of Fame
Caroline Schultz, a junior from Northeast High
School in Anne Arundel County, was selected as a finalist for the U.S. Army-Pro Football Hall of Fame Award
for Excellence March 10. The award goes through a
nationwide process and receives hundreds of applications.
Schultz is one of 20 student-athletes who will be
honored in Canton, Ohio, Aug. 8 during the NFL Hall of
Fame ceremonies. The U.S. Army-Pro Football Hall of
Fame Award for Excellence seeks to highlight studentathletes who excel academically, athletically and are
positive role models in their communities.
“Caroline was chosen, because she met the criteria
for excellence in athletics, academics and community
service. She also wrote a superb essay defining excellence,” George Veras, the executive vice president,
chief revenue officer and executive producer for the Pro
Football Hall of Fame, said in a statement.
At Northeast, Schultz is a member of the field hockey, lacrosse and unified bowling teams. She was inducted into the Northeast National Honor Society in May
2014, is in the Class of 2016 Scholars Program and is a
junior class officer. She also sings in the school’s vocal
ensemble.
“I really didn’t think much of it -- just another thing
I would apply for with all the scholarships for colleges I
have been applying to,” Schultz said. “When I found out
that I had been selected as a finalist, I thought it was
a mistake. I didn’t think I was going to get picked. I’m
viewing it as a really great opportunity.”
Schultz is also a member of the school’s Human Per-
formance Signature Program, a program that focuses
on bettering its members’ minds, bodies and souls.
“I really do strive to be better as an all-around person, whether if it is my physical, mental or spiritual
self,” Schultz said. “Doing the activities that go with
the Human Performance Signature Program really
does help me reach my accomplishments, because they
help me focus better.”
Schultz is active in different community service
programs, including the Young Consumer’s Program,
Archdiocese of Baltimore High School Leadership Institute, St. Jane Frances High School Leadership, St.
Jane Frances Summer Mission, Catholic Heart Work
Camp and the DARE to Care Foundation.
“I do my community service mostly through my
church. I don’t think there is really any better feeling that you can get unless you are helping someone,”
Schultz said. “It is just a pure, genuine feeling that I am
kind of addicted to.”
U.S. Army high school recruiter Staff Sgt. Matthew
Reardon brought the idea to Northeast to have a student apply for the award.
“Looking through the different potential candidates,
what really stood out about Caroline was the giant contribution that she has made to her community, and the
positivity that she brings to her local area,” Reardon
said.
“Finding out Caroline got selected was amazing. I
was in a meeting and got a phone call from someone in
the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and I thought it was a
joke at first. This is a huge nationwide process, and to
think that someone from the town of Pasadena, Maryland, was chosen over the hundreds of other applicants
is incredible.”
Looking ahead to the summer, Schultz is excited about
the prospect of going to Ohio for the ceremonies associated with the award and the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
“Meeting the other finalists will be an exciting thing
wick eisenberg/pressbox
CHEAP SEATS
Caroline Schultz and
Staff Sgt. Matthew Reardon
Brian Loeffler
6 |
| june 2015
june 2015 |
| 7
CHEAP SEATS
-- Wick Eisenberg
Stevenson University
Becomes First
Division III Program
To Add Sand Volleyball
Sand volleyball is coming to the state of Maryland as
Stevenson University has become the first Division III
school to add the sport to its athletic program. Women’s
sand volleyball will be the 26th sport at the university.
The NCAA’s vote to add sand volleyball as a sponsored sport, combined with the addition of men’s ice
hockey to the athletic program, paved the way for the
breakthrough at Stevenson.
“We knew we were going to start men’s ice hockey,
and I believe in Title IX, and I believe the values of it,”
Stevenson athletic director Brett Adams said. “So, we
knew we were going to add a women’s sport, so the question was which would it be?”
Following the landslide vote in favor of creating one
national champion for sand volleyball in Division I, II
and III -- along with being accepted as a Division III
sport -- it was almost a no-brainer for Stevenson.
“As an athletic director representing Stevenson, that
told me that 400 athletic directors in Division III at least
liked the opportunity for any of us to add sand volleyball
as a sport,” Adams said. “That made a lot of sense for
us, because volleyball has been very good at Stevenson,
in particular women’s volleyball.”
The Mustangs’ women’s indoor volleyball program
has made the NCAA tournament in four consecutive
seasons. Current indoor women’s volleyball head coach
Dave Trumbo will now head both teams, bringing several of his indoor players over to the sand team for the
team’s first season. In the fall of 2016, Trumbo will bring
in his first sand volleyball recruiting class.
“I am super excited, because we are trying to take
both programs to a very high level,” Trumbo said. “We
feel like adding sand will definitely increase our level of
the indoor program, and we’re going to be able to recruit
some excellent dual-sport athletes that will take the indoor program to a higher level.”
Sand volleyball will be two-on-two competition, with
10 players competing in each match. There will be five
pairs competing, and the first school to win three of five
games will win the match. For an official NCAA season,
a team must compete on eight separate dates.
Trumbo is still in the process of working out the
schedule for the inaugural season. But the Mustangs are
planning on making two trips to Florida and will host a
pair of matches late in the season.
Since Stevenson is the first Division III school with
a sand volley program, all of the schools the Mustangs
play against will be either Division I or Division II
schools. However, based on the number of athletic directors who voted to make it an NCAA sponsored sport,
more schools will likely be adding sand volleyball in the
near future. As the first Division III school to add sand
volleyball, Trumbo hopes his team will have an advantage over other schools that eventually add the sport.
8 |
| june 2015
that time, though, I really get a good chance to feel out a
catcher’s strengths and weaknesses. It helps me understand what to work on with them.”
Straub also stressed the importance of his students
taking what they learn in the coaching clinics and building off of that on their own. He said coaches and parents
play a critical role in applying his teachings in practice
and game situations.
“There is enough time spent in instruction, training and
drills that the young catcher needs to continue on with that
long after the class,” Straub said. “It’s important that the
parents and coaches are part of the instruction and have a
tool to use with their kids after I’m out of the picture.”
One area Straub dedicates a large chunk of his clinics
to is pop time -- the time that elapses between the ball
hitting a catcher’s mitt to the time it takes a catcher to
throw to second base. According to Straub, the difference
between a high school and MLB catcher’s pop time is
about 0.6 seconds, with the major league average around
1.8 seconds.
Straub said pop time is the preeminent measurement
by which all catchers are judged.
“A catcher works every day to try and get quicker and
better on his throw to second base,” Straub said. “I try and
work with fundamentally sound catchers with their release
on their pop times, because that is where you can make an
impact on a kid very quickly. You can’t make much of any
impact on a kid’s throw or velocity -- that will happen over
time with practice, strength, size and mechanics.”
Straub has authored two books, “Catching4Kids -Small Targets” and “Advanced Catching Techniques,”
aimed at providing additional insight and nuisances to
everything that comes with catching.
“The books have been very well received,” Straub said.
“It is just another teaching tool I use to help work with all
the catchers.”
To satisfiy his passion for baseball, Straub said he
plans to continue offering his knowledge and experience
to others.
“The coaching of the kids continues to drive me since
I stopped playing some years ago,” Straub said. “I still
want to remain involved in the game as long as I can, and
coaching and working with these kids allows me to do so.”
“We’re just trying to get as good as we can and see
some improvement,” Trumbo said. “We feel like we’re
ahead of the curve, because we do feel like other Division
III schools will pick this up. We’ll be ahead of the curve
-- get a couple of seasons under our belt.”
As part of building the program, Stevenson will need
to add sand volleyball courts to its facilities. There are
currently no indoor sand volleyball courts in Maryland,
so this will be a challenge in the early stages of the program. Three courts are required for competition, and
Trumbo said Stevenson plans to build four sand volleyball courts in the athletic facility.
Once the program is established, Trumbo’s hope is
that adding the sport before other schools will transition into success on both the sand volleyball and indoor
volleyball circuits.
“Long-term, I think sand volleyball is going to take off
in Division III, and we want to be one of the top Division
III sand schools in the country,” Trumbo said. “Our goal
in the indoor program is to win a national championship, and we really feel like this will help us get there.”
Follow Chris on Twitter @Garmelo10
-- Chris Garman
Rick Straub Providing
Baltimore-Area Catchers
With Instruction
From the first time he stepped foot on a baseball diamond, Rick Straub knew his best chance of a prolonged
career would be at one of the least desirable positions
among young ballplayers.
Straub had always envisioned chasing down fly balls in
the outfield, but when no one volunteered to play catcher
during his first little league tryout, he quickly found his
niche behind the plate.
“To me, there seemed liked there were about 1,000
kids or so at the tryout when I was 7 or 8 years old, but
I’m sure there weren’t that many,” Straub said. “As I was
waiting for outfielders to be called, they called catchers.
Nobody moved, so I decided I was going to be a catcher
instead, because I knew I could make the team since nobody else wanted to be a catcher.”
Taking what he learned during more than 2,000 career games as an amateur and semipro backstop, Straub,
69, has applied that knowledge in his latest venture as a
catching instructor. Straub, who graduated from Milford
Mill in 1964, estimated that he has worked with more than
100 catchers ages 9-19 in the greater Baltimore area during the last several years.
A Charm City native, Straub previously coached with
the Baltimore Baseball Coalition, Bay Bridge Baseball
Academy, St. Frances Academy and the now-defunct
BATT Academy. He said he was inspired to work with
catchers after he noticed coaches were putting a lack of
emphasis on the position.
“What I realize, even to this day, is that catcher might
be the most important position on the field and on a
team, but it gets the least amount of time and attention,”
Straub said. “The position is just so much different than
everything else that happens on a baseball field. But because there is not as much time and expertise given to
the position, a lot of coaches at the lower levels just take
whatever they can find and throw them behind the plate.”
Straub hosts a variety of camps and clinics, ranging
from half-hour evaluations to individual coaching sessions
lasting about six hours. He acknowledged he developed a
strong rapport with his clients, and has seen noticeable
improvements the more time he has spent with them.
“It usually takes me between four and six hours to
go through a catching clinic class,” Straub said. “… In
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to do,” Schultz said. “I am curious to see what their
backgrounds are and what their stories are. Just to see
who wins overall and what their story is will be exciting.”
Schultz is in the process of figuring out which college she would like to attend after graduating from
Northeast.
“I want to become a youth minister and possibly go
into psychology,” Schultz said. “I feel my main focus and
purpose in life is to just help people, so that others may
have the best life possible.”
All Updated. All Relevant.
Rick Straub
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D.C. Sports. Period.
BY STEVE JONES
BEFORE THE ERA OF 24-HOUR TV CHANNELS
AND HUNDREDS OF PROGRAMMING CHOICES,
THE RADIO WAS THE GATEWAY TO THE WORLD.
LISTENERS TUNED IN FOR THE LATEST NEWS
AND THE NEW BEATLES RECORD.
And they listened to baseball.
Despite the ever-changing modes of
communication in modern society, there
are plenty of Americans who still listen to
baseball. A variety of voices at every level
of the game continue to paint a visual picture of the action for the listeners who are
away from the ballpark.
From the major league level to the
smaller minor league towns, those voices
keep the game alive for the generations
that remember the transistor radio, as well
as the young players who have just picked
up a ball and glove for the first time.
While they toil in different venues, baseball broadcasters share something special
with their audience: a love of the game that
was born in their youth and has stood the
test of time.
Radio broadcasts are especially valuable in minor league venues. The absence
of television coverage in most of these
smaller towns means the radio is still the
primary source of information for baseball
fans.
“The broadcasters play an invaluable
10 |
| june 2015
role in virtually every facet of the business,” said Pat O’Conner, the president
and chief executive officer of Minor League
Baseball. “From the fans’ perspective, it’s
still the best way to keep pace with what’s
going on. It’s the descriptive touch, the
ability to paint the picture for those who
can’t be there. The radio broadcaster gives
the game continuity. It’s not out of sight,
out of mind. Listeners are still going to be
there.”
BEGINNING THE DREAM
Eli Pearlstein spends his days and
nights in the same stadium where Hall of
Famer Willie Mays played his first minor
league game. The 2010 graduate of USC is
in his third year as the radio play-by-play
voice of the Hagerstown Suns, which began operating in 1981 and has served as
the Washington Nationals’ Single-A affiliate for the past eight seasons.
Unlike the spacious area in center field
where Mays once ran, Pearlstein operates
in a small, square press box that is attached to the top of the grandstand and
is accessible only by climbing a circular
metal staircase. But he has no complaints
about his vantage point from the 85-yearold stadium.
“Not many people get to say that this is
their office window,” Pearlstein said. “I get
to enjoy the fresh air for six hours a day
and watch some talented baseball players
go at it every night. You can’t beat that.”
Hagerstown isn’t Pearlstein’s first
broadcasting stop. At USC, he was a playby-play and color announcer for Trojan
baseball, football and basketball games on
the school’s student radio station.
After graduation, he landed a video
production internship with the Aberdeen IronBirds, the Baltimore Orioles’
short-season Single-A affiliate. His first
professional play-by-play opportunity
came with the Alexandria (Va.) Aces,
a collegiate summer baseball club. He
also voiced the Cal Ripken World Series.
Pearlstein eventually worked his way to
the Auburn (N.Y.) Doubledays, the Nationals’ short-season Single-A club, before coming to Hagerstown as the director of broadcasting/media relations in
April 2013.
Pearlstein has also worked at diversifying his resume. For the past five years, he
has been the voice of men’s and women’s
basketball broadcasts at the University of
the District of Columbia.
“The more sports you can put on your
resume makes you that much more appealing to potential employers,” said Pearlstein, who grew up in the Washington,
D.C., area and now lives in Bethesda, Md.
“If your goal is to eventually get to ESPN,
the type of play-by-play broadcasters that
they’re looking for are people who can call
not only the mainstream sports, but also
volleyball, lacrosse and soccer.”
Despite his experience with other
sports, Pearlstein is still enamored with
baseball.
“It definitely has a different rhythm
than the other sports,” said Pearlstein,
whose broadcasts are streamed through
the Internet on the team’s website, HagerstownSuns.com.
“You have to fill a lot of time with stats
and stories, but at a moment’s notice, you
need to stop what you’re talking about and
describe the action on the field. Basketball and hockey are action-packed all the
time, and you only have the chance to go
in-depth during a timeout or when a player
is at the free-throw line.”
A DIFFERENT VIEW
Geoff Arnold started his professional
baseball career as an umpire in the Gulf
Coast League. Eventually, he decided describing the action from the press box
was more appealing than calling balls and
strikes.
“I thought that by the time I got a shot
at Triple-A [umpiring], I might be 31 or 32
years old,” Arnold said.
So, Arnold moved from the field to the
press box. The lifelong Philadelphia sports
fan hasn’t regretted his decision.
“I had a good knowledge of baseball,”
Arnold said. “It’s the sport that I enjoyed
the most and grew up with, so it made the
most sense to do it. Baseball is an everyday
thing, and you get to travel with the team
and get to know the guys and hear their
stories.”
Now in his second season as the playby-play voice of the Single-A Frederick
Keys, Arnold is already at his third minor
league broadcasting stop. Following his
2010 graduation from Dickinson College,
the native of Berwyn, Pa., began his professional announcing career with the Frisco
(Texas) RoughRiders, the Texas Rangers’
Double-A affiliate.
He moved back east to work for the
Wilmington (Del.) Blue Rocks (Kansas
City Royals), then stayed in the Carolina
League with the Oriole-affiliated Keys.
“You have to have an easygoing, conversational style,” said Arnold, who is the football and basketball play-by-play voice for
McDaniel College and also broadcasts Frederick County high school games of the week.
“Listenability is the number one thing
for baseball, because people are welcoming you into their homes. You’re trying
to be like another family member to the
people who are listening to the broadcast.
And you need to have enough material to
inform people and teach them something
new.”
On a typical day, Arnold must not only
prepare for his broadcast on flagship station 1450 AM, The Source, he also has to
make time for his duties as the Keys’ public
relations manager. Despite many 12-plus
hour days, it’s still a labor of love for him.
“The biggest thing is that if guys get
so wrapped up in it, they’re not going to
sound as good; they’re not going to have
as much fun and they’ re not going to enjoy
the people around them,” Arnold said. “If
you’re relaxed and having a good time, you
might come up with references that you
might never have thought of before. Those
moments are the kinds of things that big
league decision-makers notice.”
Arnold realizes there are many factors
that can help him reach his goal of becoming a big league broadcaster.
“There’s no one blueprint that is going
to get you there,” Arnold said. “It’s a combination of a number of different things.
Some of it is how good you sound on the
air. But they also want to know what other
broadcasting you have done. That’s the
next step that I’m trying to take, to do
more television work and figure out some
way to get more exposure. Once you prove
that you can be on a bigger stage and not
flounder, you can move forward.”
MOVING UP
Adam Pohl comes from a musical family. He grew up playing the trumpet, and
his dad was a clarinetist in the U.S. Army
Band.
But Pohl found a different calling.
“I loved music, but my real passion was
sports,” Pohl said. “At my dad’s concerts
on the National Mall, I’d have my baseball
glove and would be playing catch while the
concert was going on.”
Now in his second season as the playby-play broadcaster for the Bowie Baysox,
Pohl has been rising through the ranks.
The University of North Carolina graduate
began his career with internships at the
Coastal Plains League and the UNC Tar
Heel Sports Network.
Pohl did play-by-play broadcasting with
minor league franchises in Burlington,
N.C., and Salem, Va., before joining the
Orioles’ organization in 2007 as the voice
of the Keys. In January 2014, Pohl made
the jump to the Double-A level when he accepted a similar position at Bowie.
Pohl was raised in Arlington, Va., and
became an Orioles fan at an early age. The
opportunity to work for the Orioles’ organization was inviting.
“It’s been really cool to be able to do this
in the organization that I grew up rooting
for,” said Pohl, who also serves as the Baysox corporate sponsorships account manager. “Not many people get to do that. If
you told me when I was a junior at UNC
just playing my trumpet that I was going
to have this position, I would not have believed it. I’m very fortunate.”
During his lengthy career in the broadcasting booth, Pohl has recognized the
importance of preparing for a one-man
broadcast.
“In baseball, you need to tell the story,”
Pohl said. “In a 3-2 game, I’m setting up
every pitch. If it’s a 10-2 game, I’m telling
stories. The story can be about [a player’s]
background or how they’re doing now. But
no matter what you do [on the air], I realized quickly that I needed to have something to say about everybody.”
While Pohl spends his nights announcing
Baysox games for flagship station WNAVAM in the press box at Prince George’s Stadium, he still keeps an eye on his eventual
goal. Pohl has witnessed the rise of several
current major league ballplayers through
the Orioles’ minor league system. Now, he
wants to tread the same path as catcher
Matt Wieters, third baseman Manny Machado and second baseman Jonathan Schoop.
“My ultimate dream is to be the Orioles’
radio announcer,” said Pohl, who is also
the play-by-play voice for Mount St. Mary’s
basketball games. “That would be incredible, but it’s easier said than done. I do almost 180 live broadcasts a year, so getting
more experience is not the key. It’s getting
the right opportunity.”
HAPPY IN HARRISBURG
Terry Byrom joined the Double-A Harrisburg Senators in 2005, the same year
the major league franchise formerly known
as the Montreal Expos became the Washington Nationals. During his 11 seasons of
broadcasting at the Senators’ Metro Bank
Park, Byrom has had the pleasure of announcing the early career achievements
of several current members of the Washington Nationals, including first baseman
Ryan Zimmerman, shortstop Ian Desmond, outfielder Bryce Harper, pitcher
GEOFF ARNOLD
ADAM POHL
Stephen Strasburg and infielder Anthony
Rendon.
“Every single one of those guys came
through here,” Byrom said. “It’s fun to go
to a game [in D.C.] and say hello to those
guys.”
But he doesn’t have a burning desire to
follow them to the major leagues. Byrom
is happy with broadcasting the Senators’
games on flagship station WTKT-AM in
Pennsylvania’s capital city.
“If somebody called and said that they
wanted me to be a big-league broadcaster,
I certainly wouldn’t say no,” said the 52year old Byrom, who lives in Camp Hill, Pa.
“I just know realistically that, at my age,
it’s going to be pretty hard for a team to
hire me instead of hiring somebody who’s
30 years old.
“I love doing this, and the baseball is re-
ally good, because there are more players
who are moving toward their peak. But I’m
past thinking that going to the big leagues
would change my whole life.”
The native of Sacramento, Calif., became a San Francisco Giants fan while
listening to the legendary voices of Russ
Hodges, Lon Simmons and Al Michaels on
local broadcasts.
“Players came and went, and free agency came in,” Byrom said. “But the guys
that called the game were the eyes. I had
the transistor radio on when my folks
thought I had gone to bed. Once I figured
out I wasn’t going to be a player at this
level, I wanted to be a radio broadcaster. It
just took me a long time to get here.”
Byrom was 39 years old when he got his
first job in baseball. He had served
in the military in Operation Desert
june 2015 |
| 11
Storm and did administrative work for a
Sacramento law firm for seven years. He
also helped run a medical organization,
then did some sports broadcasting at the high school and
small college levels in Indiana
before being offered his first
minor league job with the Ogden (Utah) Raptors, which
was then the Milwaukee Brewers’ Rookie-level affiliate. He
moved on to the Fort Wayne
(Ind.) Wizards, the San Diego
Padres’ Single-A team before
coming to the Senators.
“What I enjoy most is being at the ballpark,” Byrom
said. “I’ll joke with friends in
California and Pennsylvania
that while they’re sitting in
traffic after getting off of work,
I’m watching batting practice.
That’s a pretty big deal for
me.”
ACHIEVING
THE DREAM
Gary Thorne has crafted
a diverse broadcasting career
that has taken him from hockey arenas
across North America to a modern-day
baseball stadium. During his 50 years in
the broadcasting business, the Baltimore
Orioles’ play-by-play voice on the MidAtlantic Sports Network has been mostly
identified with MLB and the NHL. But
ELI PEARLSTEIN
12 |
| june 2015
Thorne has also broadcast three Olympic
Games and the Little League World Series. On July 26, he will serve as the host
of baseball’s Hall of Fame induction day in
Cooperstown, N.Y., for the seventh time.
Thorne’s interest in pursuing a broadcasting career that has taken him all
around the world actually began when he
was a 6-year-old growing up in Maine.
“I’d go over to my grandmother’s house,
and we’d listen to games on the radio together,” said Thorne, the TV voice of the
Orioles since 2007.
Thorne began his broadcasting career
while he was still in high school, working
at a small station in Bangor, Maine. He
graduated from the University of Maine in
1970 with a degree in business, and three
years later, earned a law degree from his
alma mater. Thorne received a doctorate
in law from Georgetown in 1976, served
as an assistant district attorney in Bangor and was a member of the Army JAG
Corps.
But a law career couldn’t compete with
sports. Thorne was the voice for University
of Maine hockey games for nine seasons.
In 1984, he became the play-by-play announcer and director of broadcasting for
the Maine Guides, the Cleveland Indians’
Triple-A affiliate. He quickly moved to the
major leagues as the New York Mets’ radio
and television announcer.
“I grew up with baseball,” said Thorne,
who spent 13 years as the voice of the Mets.
“I played it and coached it, and I’ve always
loved the game.”
While Thorne has been primarily a tele-
vision broadcaster, he is partial to the radio.
“On TV, you’re restricted to the picture,”
Thorne said. “It is limiting, where radio is
expansive. Radio gives you the chance to
paint the picture and use a lot more artistry. I think that’s a treat.”
Thorne, who has earned five Emmy
Awards, feels his minor league baseball experience helped prepare him for the major
league positions that have followed.
“Doing minor league baseball has such
value, because you have to do everything,”
Thorne said. “At this [major league] level, you understand the range of jobs that
are being done behind you. At the minor
league level, you’re it.”
The minor league broadcast booth is
where Thorne started to build his memories.
“I’ve been lucky,” said Thorne, who has
also called play-by-play for the Chicago
White Sox and the NHL’s New Jersey Devils. “Game 7 [with the champion Mets] of
the 1986 World Series was a special memory. I’ve also had the opportunity to do
Game 7 of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Seeing those kids play in the Little League
World Series is always a treat. And the nofan day (White Sox-Orioles game at Oriole Park at Camden Yards April 29) was a
unique day that was just surreal. How can
you give due weight to all that was going
on at that time?”
Shed Some Light On Your Fantasy Baseball Decisions In 2015
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| 13
THE 15
mitch stringer/pressbox
ORIOLES INSIDER
Ubaldo Jimenez
Mechanical Tweaks Helping Ubaldo
Jimenez Bounce Back From Rough 2014
Paul Folkemer
F
or
Orioles
right-hander
Ubaldo
Jimenez, 2015 is shaping up to be a
season of redemption.
One year ago, Jimenez was a target of vitriol from Orioles fans after a
disappointing debut season with the
Birds. Signed to a four-year, $50 million contract Feb. 19, 2014 -- the largest contract the O’s
had ever given a free-agent pitcher -- Jimenez struggled
from day one. His control abandoned him, as he issued
the second-most walks in the American League (77) despite ranking 62nd in innings pitched (125.1). His walk
rate of 5.5 per nine innings was the highest of his career.
Things got so bleak for Jimenez that he was banished to the bullpen in August, making five appearances (three in relief) during the Orioles’ final 41 games of
the season. Even as the Birds erupted for their most
successful season in 17 years and cruised to the American League East crown, Jimenez was reduced to a bystander. He didn’t pitch during the Orioles’ American
League Division Series sweep of the Detroit Tigers, and
then he was left off the postseason roster during the
American League Championship Series.
It wasn’t the way Jimenez had envisioned starting
his Orioles career. On fan forums, he was dubbed a freeagent dud, an expensive mistake and a potential albatross on the Orioles’ payroll through 2017. Some fans
wanted him traded for a bag of baseballs if another
team would pick up some of his salary.
Heading into 2015 spring training camp at Sarasota, Fla., even the Orioles weren’t entirely sure what
Jimenez’s role on the team would be. With five other
incumbent starting pitchers returning to the club,
Jimenez would have to fight to earn a spot in the rota-
tion, or else find himself serving as an expensive mopup reliever.
Jimenez, 31, arrived at camp ready to do whatever
was needed to put his miserable 2014 season behind
him. His top priority was working with pitching coach
Dave Wallace and bullpen coach Dom Chiti to adjust
his mechanics, which had become overly complicated
during his first year with the Birds.
A new face was on hand to help with the process. On
March 4, the Orioles hired former major league pitcher
Ramon Martinez as special assignment pitching instructor. Martinez -- the older brother of newly minted
Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez -- enjoyed a 14-year career in the big leagues, winning 135 games and posting
a 3.67 career ERA. While a member of the Los Angeles
Dodgers from 1995-97, his pitching coach was Wallace.
Jimenez clicked right away with his countryman
Martinez.
“He’s been great,” Jimenez said. “He’s from the Dominican Republic. I saw him pitch a lot. He’s a smart
guy. He knows how to be a good teacher. He learned
from Dave, so they have a good chemistry. If you don’t
learn with them, you’re not going to learn with anybody
else.”
Martinez worked with Jimenez on making his mechanics more fluid and pounding the strike zone.
Jimenez’s improvement throughout the course of
spring training was evident. After walking five batters
in four innings during his first two starts in Grapefruit
League play, Jimenez issued a total of three free passes
during his final five outings, spanning 23 innings.
With Martinez’s help, Jimenez looked like a new
pitcher.
“Ramon Martinez being around has really helped
him,” Wallace said. “[He’s] attacking and staying on
the aggressive side and using his fastball, both fourseam and two-seam, and [knowing] when to throw it
and have confidence in it.”
Some O’s fans -- still soured by Jimenez’s 2014 season -- were skeptical he would be able to sustain his
success once he stopped facing spring training lineups
filled with minor leaguers and non-roster journeymen.
But when the regular season began, Jimenez carried
over his Sarasota success into Baltimore, pitching seven scoreless, one-hit innings against the Toronto Blue
Jays during his first start April 11. He struck out eight.
Jimenez didn’t stop there. He went 2-1 with a 1.59
ERA during four starts in April, jumping out to a significantly better start than in 2014, when he was 0-4 with a
6.59 ERA during the season’s first month.
By the end of his 10th start of 2015, Jimenez had a
3.12 ERA with 55 strikeouts and 16 walks in 57.2 innings.
He worked seven innings during five of those starts. At
the same point in 2014, his ERA was nearly two runs
higher (4.98), and he walked 28 batters in 56 innings
and had gone seven innings or more twice. In fact,
Jimenez already has more seven-inning starts in 2015
than he had during the entire 2014 season (three).
Catcher Caleb Joseph -- who caught each of
Jimenez’s first 10 starts this season -- has noticed a
night and day difference from the hurler who struggled
at the beginning of 2014.
“He’s got a lot of confidence,” Joseph said. “He made
an adjustment probably about a little over halfway
into last season with his hands. He kind of dropped
his hands and doesn’t go over his head anymore. So, I
think that’s helping him to be a little bit more consistent with his mechanics. [He’s] throwing his fastball for
strikes, especially to both sides of the plate.”
Jimenez is no longer a pitcher who can simply blow
the ball past hitters. During his early years with the
Colorado Rockies from 2007-10, Jimenez averaged more
than 95 mph on his fastball. That mark has dipped to
about 90 mph since Jimenez joined the Orioles.
Still, he’s finding other ways to get hitters out, relying more on movement than velocity.
“[He’s] predominantly a sinkerball pitcher now,” Joseph said. “Getting ahead [is] really important, [throwing] strike one, forcing a lot of weak contact. … With the
sinker, it’s going to move a lot more than your traditional four-seam. So, anytime I can tell him how it’s moving
-- hey, it’s moving more, or it’s moving less today -- we
can adjust where we start it.”
Joseph’s steady presence behind the plate has been
beneficial for Jimenez as well.
“He’s a great guy,” Jimenez said. “He’s smart back
there. He has a good target. He has soft hands. We have
a good chemistry. If I don’t like a pitch, he knows what’s
the next pitch that I’m going to throw.”
Ultimately, Jimenez’s prolonged success will likely
depend on his ability to maintain his mechanics. His
herky-jerky pitching motion of 2014 has been simplified
and streamlined, but Jimenez knows he needs to keep
his concentration to avoid falling back into bad habits.
“Every time I get on the mound, I’m thinking about
mechanics,” Jimenez said. “[I’m] trying to break my
arms a little bit quicker, staying back, staying tall.”
So far in 2015, the adjustments have worked. If his
hot start is a sign of things to come, Jimenez could live
up to the value of his hefty contract, and put his disappointing 2014 further behind him.
“It’s been nice,” Jimenez said. “Every time you go
into a new team and you don’t do what everybody’s expecting you to do, it doesn’t feel good. Last year, I was
disappointed. But that’s the great thing about baseball. Every day is a new day. Every year is a new year.
“You have to forget about what happened yesterday
and keep going. And that’s what I’ve been doing.”
Orioles right-hander Mike Wright burst onto
the major league scene with an outstanding debut for the Birds May 17. But he wasn’t the only
Oriole in club history to make a splash during his
first big league game. Here’s a chronological look
at 15 of the most memorable major league debuts
since the O’s arrived in Baltimore in 1954.
scattering seven hits and allowing no runs. He exited
with two runners aboard in the ninth, but reliever Tippy
Martinez induced a game-ending double play to seal
Ford’s 1-0 win.
RHP BOB MILACKI
(SEPT. 18, 1988)
At the tail end of a miserable season during
which the O’s went 54-107, Milacki provided at least one
game worth watching. During his debut, Milacki dominated the Detroit Tigers on the road, allowing one hit during
eight shutout innings. He walked four batters, but eliminated three of them on double plays. The following year,
Milacki became a key rotation member for the “Why Not?”
Birds’ surprising 1989 pennant chase.
3B BROOKS ROBINSON
(SEPT. 17, 1955)
Of the four Orioles Legends who started their
playing career with the O’s -- Robinson, right-hander Jim
Palmer, first baseman Eddie Murray and shortstop Cal
Ripken Jr. -- only Robinson had an especially memorable
debut. At the age of 18, Robinson joined the O’s near the
end of the 1955 season. During his first game, he went
2-for-4, contributing an RBI single to help the Orioles beat
the Washington Senators, 3-1. Those were the only two hits
Robinson recorded that year -- he went 0-for-18 afterward
-- but it’s safe to say his career turned out just fine.
RHP ANTHONY TELFORD
(AUG. 19, 1990)
RHP CHARLIE BEAMON
(SEPT. 26, 1956)
Only the most die-hard Orioles fans are likely
to recall Beamon, whose major league career was limited
to 27 games during the late 1950s. But his big league debut was one to remember. Pitching against the New York
Yankees, Beamon went the distance with a complete-game
shutout at Memorial Stadium, despite walking seven batters. He outdueled Yankees left-handed ace Whitey Ford,
who was vying for his 20th victory of the season, during a
game the O’s won, 1-0.
LHP DAVE MCNALLY
(SEPT. 26, 1962)
McNally -- who had four 20-win seasons, three
top-five Cy Young Award finishes and three All-Star selections as an Oriole -- set the tone for his sterling career in
Baltimore during his major league debut. Pitching against
the Kansas City Athletics at Memorial Stadium, the
19-year-old McNally spun a complete game shutout, retiring the last 17 batters he faced in winning a 3-0 decision.
He worked in perfect tandem with catcher Andy Etchebarren -- who was making his big league debut during that
same game.
C LARRY HANEY
(JULY 27, 1966)
Of the 182 position players to make their major
league debuts with the Orioles, only two have ever hit a
home run during their first game. The first to do it was
Haney, who blasted a two-run shot off the Cleveland Indians’ John O’Donoghue (who later became his Orioles
teammate). Haney fared pretty well behind the plate during his debut, too, catching a complete game victory by
McNally.
RHP TOM PHOEBUS
(SEPT. 15, 1966)
Phoebus became the third Oriole to begin his
major league career with a complete game shutout, beating the California Angels, 2-0, at Memorial Stadium. During his nine-inning gem, Phoebus had more strikeouts
(eight) than base runners allowed (six). Adding to the
special occasion was the fact that Phoebus was a hometown boy, born and raised in Baltimore as a rabid Orioles
fan before signing with the Birds as an amateur free agent
in 1960.
BEST
MLB DEBUTS
FOR ORIOLES PLAYERS
OF DON BAYLOR
(SEPT. 18, 1970)
Baylor made his mark with a heroic performance
against the Indians during his debut. In his first major
league at bat, he smacked a bases-loaded single to drive in
two runs. Ten innings later, he stepped to the plate with the
score tied, 3-3, in the bottom of the 11th, and he promptly
won it with an RBI single, becoming the only Oriole ever
to deliver a walk-off hit during his first major league game.
RHP JESSE JEFFERSON
(JUNE 23, 1973)
Several O’s starting pitchers have debuted by
pitching seven, eight or nine innings during their first big
league game. But Jefferson one-upped them all by debuting with a 10-inning complete game at Fenway Park in Boston. He held a 1-0 lead until two outs in the bottom of the
ninth, when Red Sox third baseman Rico Petrocelli tied
the game with a homer. Undaunted, Jefferson returned for
the 10th inning after the O’s got the lead back, finishing
what he started to seal the victory.
RHP DENNIS MARTINEZ
(SEPT. 14, 1976)
Although Martinez made 243 career starts for
the Orioles, his superb major league debut was actually a long relief appearance. After starting pitcher Ross
Grimsley and reliever Dave Pagan combined to give up
seven runs to the Tigers, Martinez entered in the fourth
inning and blanked Detroit the rest of the way, working 5.2
scoreless innings and striking out five. His sterling effort
allowed the O’s to come back from a 6-0 deficit and eventually win, 9-7.
RHP DAVE FORD
(SEPT. 2, 1978)
Ford, an Orioles first-round draft pick in 1975,
didn’t have a long major league career. But it started
out with a bang. Pitching against the Chicago White Sox
during his debut, Ford worked into the ninth inning,
Telford, like Milacki, limited his opponent to one
hit during his major league debut, pitching seven shutout
innings against the Oakland Athletics at Memorial Stadium. Telford didn’t exactly blow hitters away -- he didn’t
have any strikeouts -- but he cruised to victory regardless.
That debut was essentially the highlight of Telford’s Oriole career -- he ended up with a 5.12 ERA during parts of
three seasons with the Birds.
LHP CHRIS WATERS
(AUG. 5, 2008)
Sometimes, successful big league debuts emerge
out of nowhere from the most unexpected sources. Such
was the case with Waters, a so-so minor league journeyman whom the O’s called up in 2008 during the club’s
pitching-thin era. Waters promptly pitched the game of
his life in Anaheim, holding the Angels to one hit during
eight shutout innings, leading the O’s to a 3-0 win. Waters’
big league career lasted 16 games, but he’ll never forget his
first one.
3B MANNY MACHADO
(AUG. 9, 2012)
In the midst of a pennant race in 2012, the Orioles shocked fans by promoting Machado -- who was a
month removed from his 20th birthday -- straight from
Double-A Bowie to play third base, even though he’d been
exclusively a shortstop in the minors. The decision paid off
handsomely, beginning with Machado’s big league debut,
when he went 2-for-4 with a triple (albeit in a losing effort)
against the Kansas City Royals.
2B JONATHAN SCHOOP
(SEPT. 25, 2013)
Forty-seven years after Haney was the first
Oriole to homer during his major league debut, Schoop
became the second. He went 2-for-3 with a homer and
three runs scored against the Toronto Blue Jays, part of a
9-5 victory at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Schoop had
been on the Orioles’ bench for 10 days before making his
first appearance. When he got his chance, he made the
most of it.
RHP MIKE WRIGHT
(MAY 17, 2015)
The most recent entrant into the dazzling debuts club, Wright -- pressed into an emergency start when
scheduled starter Chris Tillman suffered back stiffness -took the ball and ran with it. Pitching against the Angels
at Camden Yards, Wright dominated for 7.1 scoreless innings, allowing four hits, striking out six batters and walking none. Relievers Brad Brach and Zach Britton combined with Wright for a 3-0 shutout.
[ paul folkemer | pressbox is available every month on the 15th ]
14 |
| june 2015
june 2015 |
| 15
Baseball Stats Aren’t
What They Used To Be
Jim Henneman
F
or the purpose of this first semester
report, I’m going to assume that everybody has heard the term “figures
lie and liars figure.”
Actually, since you’re reading this
section, I’m relatively certain you all
(that’s as opposed to y’all for my Texas
contingent -- and, yes, there are a few down that way)
have seen it here before. You don’t necessarily have to
believe it (there are even occasions when I wander from
that philosophy), but my point is: sometimes the numbers defy explanation.
That point was driven home, yet again, when I was
checking out the baseball section of the June 1 issue of
Sports Illustrated -- must reading for me every week.
However, when I discovered Washington Nationals
right-hander Stephen Strasburg had merely been unlucky during the season’s first two months, it confused
me, because looking at his numbers, I just presumed
he’d been lousy.
Granted, I was relying on “old-fashioned” statistics,
such as wins and losses, ERA, innings pitched -- things
that don’t seem to matter that much anymore, but
surely indicated Strasburg, the perpetual staff-ace-inwaiting, was having a tough spring. The numbers used
in Sports Illustrated’s assessment that Strasburg was a
good bet for a bounce-back second half, before he went
on the disabled list May 30, were basically based on one
statistic -- BABIP, batting average on balls in play for
the uniformed.
Those numbers reflected that when hitters weren’t
striking out, they were hitting .389 against Strasburg,
the highest mark of any pitcher in the major leagues
with at least 30 innings. That led to the inevitable conclusion that, despite an average of less than five innings
per start, Strasburg hadn’t been lousy at all, just unlucky.
At least that’s what the new age statistics, such as
BABIP, FIP (fielding independent pitching), xFIP (ex-
pected fielding independent pitching, based on the average FIP), would have you believe. Don’t even get me
started on QS (quality start).
I’m not here to preach those numbers are meaningless, or that only the “old-fashioned” ones make any
sense, but I’ve got a couple others I’d like to throw
out there just to balance the equation. Can we work
something like HDTTD (how did the team do) or
WWTSWYD (what was the score when you departed)
into the equation?
NUMBERS, IN TURN,
GENERALLY REFLECT
THE ATTITUDE TOWARD
PERFORMANCES OF THE
INDIVIDUALS INVOLVED,
AND THIS IS WHERE
FIGURES OFTEN
DON’T TELL THE
COMPLETE STORY.
Don’t tell me wins are insignificant when WAR (wins
above replacement) is the gauge by which all players
are judged. That seems a tad contradictory, especially
given the only statistic of any meaning is the one we
look at every day -- the standings, which reflect team
wins and losses. Those numbers, in turn, generally reflect the attitude toward performances of the individuals involved, and this is where figures often don’t tell
the complete story.
center fielder Adam Jones -- was the Orioles’ best player a year ago, despite having 338 plate appearances.
Pearce, who hit .293 with 21 homers and 49 RBIs a
year ago (I know, so old fashion), has been struggling
below .200 this year. When they decided not to go beyond three years for Cruz, the Orioles went all-in with
Pearce, counting on him as any everyday player, a gamble that hasn’t paid off to this point.
But, hey, if you want to buy into that BABIP theory,
the Orioles have a lot to look forward to during the last
three months of the season. It does work both ways -for pitcher and hitters, you understand.
So, before you write off anybody (pitchers or hitters)
as lousy, remember -- maybe they’ve just been unlucky.
It might be a stretch, however, because we know figures
can lie, and you get the point.
Jim Henneman can be reached at
[email protected].
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16 |
| june 2015
What’s The Most Annoying Fan Behavior At A Game?
PressBox asked a poll of readers a trending sports question. Their answers appear below.
Stan “The Fan” Charles posed a question on Facebook, asking
what fan behavior annoys you the most while you’re at a sporting event.
“
“
”“
The Wave. It’s the most ridiculous thing ever in a ballpark.
CRAIG HEIST
Fans dropping F-bombs in front of small children in the
bathrooms and in the seating area.
”
TOM MONTGOMERY
“
Talking on cell phones or just chatting it up and not watching
-- conversations that have nothing to do with the game.
”
DAVE FAIRALL
“
Fans who stand up and turn their backs to the action and
wave their arms to encourage others to stand up, too. Who put
these guys in charge of pushing the pep?
”
“
The “Hey-let-me-show-you-my-fantasy-team-score” fan.
I’m here to watch two real teams, not the one you made up in
your basement.
”
ADAM MCCALLISTER
“
A fan who is in the middle of the aisle and gets up over and
over again to go to the concourse.
“
”
WAYNE M. SHORTER
“
I’ve got two. Neighbors talking on the phone (it’s even
more infuriating watching the nimrods on my TV waving to
their buddies at home while yakking on the cell phone). ... My
other is having the person in front of you stand up during a
non-eventful part of the game. Of course, you need to stand
up (or twist to the side to see around him/her) to see the
game, which creates a maddening ripple effect behind you as
everyone else has to adjust, too.
People who discuss, loudly, the intricacies of the game, but
are 100 percent incorrect in their synopsis.
KEVIN GEORGE
IRA MALIS
”
MICHELE PATSOS
“
The fan sitting behind you who thinks he is Howard Cosell
giving color commentary.
“
”
ALAN POTOTSKY
Booing your home team/players -- leave that for Philadelphia and New York.
”
PAUL REED JR.
“
People who have great seats and don’t pay attention to
the game. I’ve sat behind home plate a few times at Camden
Yards, and on occasion, I’ll see people in those same seats
reading a magazine or a book. Why pay good money for those
seats and use it for your reading time?
”
STEVEN HARZ
“
How about people that just won’t shut up -- cussing or not.
I know it isn’t a library, but why do the people behind me never
seem to shut up?
“
”“
“
Being over the top rude to fans of the opposing team. I
know, as a coach’s wife, my relationship with games and
sports are much different than the average fan. But I can’t
get over people who act like a team or game or sport is their
life and death, and they treat other fans terribly. Get a life.
GREG THYRL NELSON MORTGAGES
you answered
UPON FURTHER REVIEW
If you’re not buying into that theory by now, you might
as well head to the gaming section, because what I’m about
to tell you -- I might as well be honest about it -- seems
like a mathematical impossibility. For instance, would you
believe the difference in offensive contribution so far this
season between Chris Davis and Nelson Cruz is minimal?
I didn’t think so, but then it’s so “old school” who would?
The only reason this subject has come up, of course, is
because Cruz has put up numbers usually seen on pinball
machines, and it seems like every Orioles fan has asked,
“wouldn’t those numbers look good for the O’s right now?”
You’d have to say they would, but here’s another
question: “How good have those numbers from Cruz
looked in the Seattle lineup?” As of June 9, Cruz was
hitting .329 with 18 home runs and 39 RBIs. Meanwhile,
Davis, who in most assessments is having an extension
of last year’s falloff from his career year in 2013, had 12
home runs and 33 RBIs, despite batting .219.
This is not a suggestion that Davis has been anywhere near as productive as Cruz -- just that the statistical difference has been minimal, no doubt influenced
by second baseman Robinson Cano’s alarming drop off
from his days with the New York Yankees.
You could make a similar comparison between Nick
Markakis, hitting .294 with no home runs and 16 RBIs
for the Braves, and Travis Snider, batting .260 with one
home run and 12 RBIs in 91 less plate appearances for
the Orioles, as of June 9. The Orioles no doubt would
have a better record with Cruz and Markakis still here,
but the difference is so marginal that it’s doubtful it
would be more than a couple of games.
It’s easy to forget (though almost impossible to explain) that according to WAR, seemingly baseball’s adopted statistic, utility man Steve Pearce -- not Cruz or
we asked
FAN ON THE STREET
”
”
Drunks, which probably accounts for all of the above.
FRANK LUBER
Rude, arrogant, visiting fans. Welcome to our park/stadium, but remember whose house it is. You’re a guest -- behave
like one.
”
ANNE BOONE-SIMANSKI
“
”
“
”
Fans who are too busy taking selfies and get up when play
is in progress.
VINCE FIDUCCIA
Season-ticket holders who sell every game to the opposing
teams’ fans.
GEORGE PETRIDES JR.
“
Going to your seat and getting up from your seat in the
middle of an inning, play or drive (especially if you are in the
middle of a row and have to make 12 people move). There are
breaks for a reason. Use them.
The wave. Nothing says “I’m stupid” more than joining other stupids in flailing your arms in the air, distracting fans who
are actually interested in a tied game in the eighth inning.
I don’t mind most of the behaviors mentioned here. The
cussing and intoxication are usually a bit too much, but that’s
how sporting events have always been, and I think that lends
itself to the party. That being said, I just don’t see how rooting for the Steelers at a Ravens game can lead to a fight or
near-fight. I love sports and root hard for my teams (one of
them a fantasy team) and wouldn’t even think to fight or incite
someone rooting for the opponent. Like the sign says, ‘Don’t
be a jerk.’
DAVE KOWALEWSKI
ANDREW HOFFERBERT
ERIC GARFIELD
The fan who spills a drink behind you, and it flows under
the seat in front of them.
”
JILL DUDLEY COHEN
“
”
”
“
ANDY SNAKS
”
”
Want to participate in PressBox’s question of the month? Email Stan Charles at [email protected].
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| 17
RAVENS REPORT
Brandon Williams Will Be Key To
Ravens’ Belief In Defensive Line
Joe Platania
P
sabina moran/pressbox
laying football at a high
level takes enthusiasm,
emotion and passion.
On May 29, Ravens
nose tackle Brandon Williams harnessed all of
those elements when he
climbed to the karaoke
stage at the Ravens Roosts Convention in
Ocean City, Md., and sang Journey’s 1981 hit
“Don’t Stop Believing” for a raucous crowd of
approximately 2,000 purple-clad fans.
On the surface, it was simply a matter of
Brandon Williams
18 |
| june 2015
the 26-year-old Williams displaying typical
youthful enthusiasm in front of an audience
that was in the mood to be entertained.
But if one reads between the lines, one
could see those same fans would like Williams
to display that same kind of adrenaline rush
on the M&T Bank Stadium field this fall.
That’s because it will be needed more than
ever in the wake of perennial Pro Bowl teammate Haloti Ngata’s departure for the Detroit Lions in a March 10 trade. The Ravens
shipped 31-year-old Ngata and a seventhround pick to Detroit for a fourth-round pick
and a fifth-round pick.
“[The Ngata trade told] me I just have to
step up -- we have to do more,” said 6-foot-1,
335-pound Williams, the Ravens’ 2013 thirdround pick (94th overall). “I accept the challenge, willingly, to get out there and do everything I have to do to be my best player, be my
best self. And that goes for everybody else on
the defensive line.
“We don’t need anybody to be Haloti. We
just need everybody to be their best selves,
and we’ll be fine.”
Because of Ngata’s regular-season-ending
four-game suspension last season for testing
positive for Adderall, Baltimore already has
plenty of experience playing without him.
The Ravens won three of four games down
the stretch to nail down the franchise’s 10th
playoff berth in the last 15 years, tied for the
league’s fourth-most postseason appearances during that span.
The line helped the team post an NFL-record 19th straight season of allowing 4-or-fewer yards per rush, and stretched the team’s
current league-high streak of not allowing an
individual 100-yard rusher in 26 games.
That streak was nearly broken when
Houston running back Arian Foster (96
yards) and Cleveland running back Terrance
West (94) almost topped the century mark
against Baltimore last season. So, the Ravens
have tried to keep that momentum going during the offseason.
“I think Brandon Williams is probably as
good a nose tackle as there is in the league
right now,” general manager Ozzie Newsome
said. “We’ve got some good, young talent, but
we need to continue to add to it. You don’t
ever have too many good defensive linemen.”
The Ravens have indeed shown their desire to turn their defensive line into a younger,
deeper unit. Even though he is just entering
his third year, Williams’ experience is surpassed on the line only by ends DeAngelo Tyson (fourth season) and Chris Canty (12th).
The first move to get younger came when
the Ravens elevated Williams into a starting
role last year, and he ended up playing a career-high 16 games, with 14 of them as starts.
The Ravens have also re-signed other
young players, such as tackle Casey Walker
and ends Lawrence Guy and Steve Means;
brought back tackle Christo Bilukidi; allowed
Canty to return; drafted defensive tackle Carl
Davis in the third round, and cut loose underachieving nose tackle Terrence Cody.
Also, Tyson and tackle Timmy Jernigan
are returning, and injured ends Brent Urban
and Kapron Lewis-Moore are slated to come
back, making for a crowded training camp rotation along the defensive front.
Urban and Lewis-Moore’s inclusion into
the scheme could have the same effect as it
did on Williams, who played a defensive linehigh 524 snaps one season after getting on the
field for seven games during his rookie year.
In 2013, Williams played in a unit-low 8 per-
cent of the snaps, but he showed the kind of
first- to second-year progression usually desired of highly touted prospects.
“It worked for me to feel the play,” Williams
said. “But also, the year when I was not really
playing that much definitely helped me the
most, because I was around the plays a lot
more, and I was focusing a lot more on just
knowing the plays.
“Then, once my second year came, and I
had that starting role, I felt a lot more comfortable in how I play, what calls were going
to be made. And I knew more of not what
kind of play it was, but more of what can they
do to me in this play. So, I was not thinking
about what should I do, but what they can do
to me.”
The unique part of Williams’ 2014 season
was that opponents didn’t have much of an
opportunity to do anything to him.
There were plenty of occasions last season
when the Ravens, in an effort to get as many
different defensive backs and pass rushers
on the field as possible, didn’t even need Williams to cross the white line.
Williams’ snap count -- the third-highest
among AFC North defensive linemen, trailing
only Cincinnati’s Geno Atkins and Domata
Peko -- took up 50.6 percent of the team’s total
number of defensive plays (1,034), keeping his
young, athletic frame fresh throughout the
season.
Williams has missed three career games
due to a toe injury, so his relatively good health
should keep him in the front of the team’s
plans in a 2015 campaign that will see it face
many bruising-yet-versatile running backs,
such as Pittsburgh’s Le’Veon Bell, Kansas
City’s Jamaal Charles, Cincinnati’s Giovani
Bernard and Seattle’s Marshawn Lynch.
One thing that has set Williams apart is
his quick feet, a trait that made Ngata one of
the best at his trade since his 2006 introduction to the league. During the offseason, Williams made sure he didn’t lose his own lateral
quickness, with Ngata’s help.
If anything, Williams’ enthusiasm and
passion prompted strength and conditioning
coach Bob Rogucki to slow him down.
“Sometimes, [a player] can overdo it and
do too much,” Rogucki said. “What we try to
do, is if they’re going to do extra work, we try
to get them to do it on the day that they’ve
trained that body part.
“[Let’s] say we did an upper-body movement today and they want to come back and
do more, we say, ‘All right, you can do limited
to no more than maybe two more sets. But
do not begin to do legs, because we have legs
tomorrow.’”
In the quick-changing NFL world, tomorrow comes quickly, and Williams could
figuratively use his legs to get leverage for a
new contract after his rookie deal -- which
contains a nominal cap hit of about $700,000
and $800,000 next season -- runs out after
2016.
But Newsome and the front office, as usual, want to show just as much enthusiasm for
getting ahead of the curve.
“We’ve always felt the best time to get a fair
deal for the player and for the organization is
to attack it a year ahead,” Newsome said.
If the brass attacks a new contract the way
Williams took to the microphone in Ocean
City, fans won’t have to stop believing in the
Ravens’ young defensive line, not to mention
Williams’ prominent role in it.
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SpOrts
iNterView
s
with Morgan Ad
sit
MAXX WILLIAMS
RAVENS TIGHT END
T
he Baltimore Ravens made an aggressive move in the
2015 NFL Draft when they traded up three spots during
the second round to grab University of Minnesota tight end
Maxx Williams with the 55th overall pick. Williams was
graded as the best tight end in this year’s draft, and the
Ravens have high hopes for him this season. With Dennis
Pitta’s future unknown and Owen Daniels having signed
with Denver as a free agent this offseason, Williams will
have the opportunity to land the starting role by the start
of training camp.
MA: Former Ravens tight end Owen Daniels is in Denver. Dennis Pitta is coming
off his second hip injury. Offensive coordinator Marc Trestman said you’re going
to have to earn it, but do you kind of see maybe a little open slate that you would
like to grab?
MW: Definitely, I want to come in and start right away. That’s what everyone
strives for -- to be the best. But I know I have to come in here with respect and
show them that I belong here, and I should have a spot. That’s what you do. You
come in right away, and you work hard and good things will happen.
CHRONIC RHINITIS
RESEARCH STUDY
MA: Being a vertical threat, no disrespect to your school and your quarterback
that you had in college, but it’s a different game. And now, you have Joe Flacco.
Do your eyes light up when you see that?
MW: Definitely, Joe Flacco is one of the best quarterbacks in the game right now,
and how can you not be excited for that opportunity? Yes, you say quarterback
in college, but [Minnesota quarterback] Mitch [Leidner] is a great guy, and if I
had to go to war, it would be with Mitch. He’s the toughest kid I know. He works
harder than anybody I know. Just really having that opportunity now to come into
the league with a great quarterback and compete for a championship each year,
it’s an opportunity of a lifetime.
The Baltimore Early Phase Unit, located at
Harbor Hospital in Baltimore, MD is currently seeking
volunteers to participate in a clinical research trial
to evaluate a new investigational medication.
MA: We know you’re a third generation of the NFL, but just the athletic background of your family -- has that prepared you for this moment?
MW: It definitely has, but, really, you can’t be prepared as much as you can until
you experience it yourself. So, really, it’s nice to have my dad back there and my
mom to kind of lean on, knowing my dad went through it. But, really, he told me,
when you experience it, you’re going to have bad days and good days, but always
remember the next day is a new day, and you go to work then again.
• You have Chronic Rhinitis
• Healthy Males & Females
MA: Maxx, two X’s, explain that for me. I’ m sure you’ve gotten it your whole life.
MW: I’m not a Maxwell or anything like that. I’m just Maxx, so my parents wanted
• Nicotine-Free
the second “X,” so people know it’s kind of Maxx only, and they said it would be
kind of unique throwing on the second “X.”
• Ages 18 - 55
• BMI 18.5- 32
The study involves one
screening visit, one in-house
stay of 6 days / 5 nights.
If you qualify and complete
the study you may receive
up to $2,000 in compensation.
For more information,
please visit our website
www.PAREXEL.com/baltimore
or contact us toll free at
1-800-797-2448.
Please reference the
Chronic Rhinitis study.
© 2014 PAREXEL International Corporation. All rights reserved.
Morgan Adsit: Congratulations, welcome to the NFL and the Baltimore Ravens.
How does it feel?
Maxx Williams:
This is just something you strive your whole life for. This is all
I’ve ever dreamed about -- just being like my dad, [former New York Giants center
from 1989-1999]. Having the opportunity to go pro, and when finally that phone
rang, it was, like, ‘Wow,’ it became a reality real quick. Now, it’s, like, I’m here, looking around, and it’s, like, I’m in Baltimore, and I was just in Minnesota, like, last
night. It’s just crazy.
MA: It is. .... What is the whirlwind like of being a draft-able talent and everything you go through -- from when your season ends to the combine, to meeting
with teams, to not knowing on draft day?
MW: It’s crazy to think about. All of a sudden, it was the combine. All of a sudden,
it was pro-scout day, and all of a sudden, it was draft day. It was like everything
you worked for your whole life was finally turning into a reality. And it was the
whole waiting game, waiting for your phone to ring, and I was lucky enough to
finally get my name called.
iPhone users
scan QR code
to download
MA:
How much of a reality did you think the Ravens would be? You met with
them at the combine, but did you have any idea?
MW: My agent told me it was a good possibility, because they said they needed a
tight end. And it was really kind of a matter of who wanted me the most and what
team I would fit with. And I feel comfortable here, and, obviously, I feel like I can
help them out, and I’m ready to go to work.
MA: They jumped up to get you, and the Steelers have been rumored to say
that you were stolen from them. What is it like, though, to have a team really desire that position and your talent?
MW: It was awesome to see them trade up for me, because it shows they
really wanted me. That’s awesome to think about -- knowing that they
wanted you that bad, and really it’s kind of an honor to get out of there
and show them what I can do.
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MA:
20 |
| june 2015
Maxx Williams
Watch Morgan Adsit on “Sports Unlimited” on Fox 45 Baltimore, at
5:30 p.m., 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. weekdays and at 10 p.m. weekends.
Follow Morgan on Twitter: @MorganAdsit.
sabina moran/pressbox
During the combine, obviously, and then meeting with teams, and
when all the reviews come out about a player, did you pay attention to
your strengths and agree to your strengths, and what makes you the player
that you are?
MW: For me, when all that stuff came out, you read it, but I didn’t really pay much
attention to it, because, really, I know who I am as a person. And I know what my
strengths are, and I know what I need to work on the most. For me, I just kind of
kept to myself and my family and kind of stayed away from everything leading up,
knowing I did everything I could. And at that point, it’s all in everyone else’s hands.
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june 2015 |
| 21
sabina moran/pressbox
THE PRESS OF BUSINESS
Amid Controversy, Gold Cup
Returns To Baltimore
Alexander C. Lee
W
ith FIFA currently mired in a scandal
that has led to the arrest of seven of
the organization’s officials, it’s easy to
forget there are still critical international matches to be played this summer. In fact, two of them take place at
M&T Bank Stadium July 18, as Baltimore will play host to the CONCACAF Gold Cup quarterfinals for the second time.
CONCACAF -- soccer’s governing body for North
America, Central America and the Caribbean -- is right
smack in the middle of this corruption case. The organization’s president, Jeffrey Webb, was one of the
officials arrested, and the Gold Cup, which helps determine CONCACAF’s Confederations Cup entrant, is
among the competitions being investigated.
But fear not, Baltimore soccer fans. According to
CONCACAF, the show will go on. “CONCACAF continues to operate in the ordinary course of business, hosting all of its upcoming tournaments in a successful and
timely manner, including the 2015 CONCACAF Gold
Cup,” the confederation said in a statement released
May 27 after the story broke.
That assurance should come as a relief to interna-
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24 |
| june 2015
tional soccer diehards in the greater Baltimore area,
more than 70,000 of whom packed M&T Bank Stadium
in July 2013 to see Honduras edge Costa Rica, 1-0, and
the U.S. throttle El Salvador, 5-1. If all goes according to
plan for the U.S., it should find itself in Baltimore once
again for the first match of the tournament’s knockout
round.
“We are potentially aligned to have the U.S.,” said
Terry Hasseltine, the executive director of Maryland
Sports. “But if they have a bad tournament, we might
get Mexico, which would not be a bad thing. But at the
end of the day, Team USA -- when it comes to national
pride -- is far more marketable.”
Hasseltine would know, as he is front and center
in all efforts to bring what he calls “mega-events” to
Baltimore. The two quarterfinals July 18, which are
scheduled for 5:30 p.m. and 8 p.m., will include both
the Group A winner and runner-up. Group A consists
of the U.S., Panama, Haiti and Honduras, making the
U.S. a near-lock to land in Charm City.
The 2013 Gold Cup presented a similar scenario.
Only about 26,000 tickets were sold to the event before
eventual-champion U.S. clinched a spot in one of the
Baltimore-based quarterfinals. Within 48 hours, the
total number skyrocketed beyond 60,000 and topped
70,000 by game time, according to Hasseltine. Should
history repeat itself, the city will be in for quite a weekend.
Hasseltine projects the Gold Cup infused more than
$10 million into the Baltimore economy and brought
nearly 100,000 people to the city for that July 2013 weekend. Both of those figures could grow this time around,
Hasseltine said.
First, this edition will take place on a Saturday, po-
tentially enticing more out-of-towners to make a weekend out of the event. Furthermore, Baltimore will be
better equipped to cater to the tastes of the soccer fanatics.
“The biggest takeaway was that it has a very rabid
fan following, and that we have to open up our complex
earlier here at Camden Yards,” Hasseltine said. “The
one thing we learned last time is that fans want to come
hours, and I mean hours, before the matches start -not just a few hours like we do for NFL games.”
As of now, Hasseltine believes the parking lots will
open at 8 a.m., and the venue will also open early, giving
fans ample opportunity to get comfortable and enjoy
the litany of food and beverage options the stadium has
to offer. It should also deter the type of traffic issues
that plagued the 2013 event, which resulted in backedup highways and gridlock in the city. All of these developments should mean good things for Baltimore’s
bottom line.
The passion for soccer in this area should come as
no surprise. According to Nielsen ratings, the Baltimore market ranked among the top 10 markets in TV
in the 2010 and 2014 World Cups. The city supported the
Baltimore Bays and Comets (outdoor), and the Baltimore Blast (indoor) has been around since 1980.
“As a lifelong Baltimore guy, I know our area has had
a passion for soccer for a longtime,” said Kevin Healey,
who has guided the Blast to five indoor championships
in 14 years as general manager and head coach. “We take
a lot of pride in the tradition that we have in the game,
with championships at the college level, the youth level
and the pro level. I think it’s a product of our history. I
think we’ve grown and developed the sport.”
Beyond the weekend-long economic boom the city’s
hotels, restaurants and watering holes experience, the
Gold Cup also brings a unique level of exposure to the
city.
“There’s a huge social impact,” Hasseltine said.
“Look at the matchups last time. They were all on Fox
Sports. We had exposure from a media standpoint all
over that brought the spotlight onto Baltimore and our
capability of hosting.
“It was a unique environment. In one match, we saw
people wearing their El Salvadorian jerseys, and in between games, they flipped them inside out, and they
became Honduran jerseys. They were supporting Central America and their location. It was really unique
and a fun environment to watch.”
Making sure that soccer’s international spotlight
shines brightly on the city is one of Hasseltine’s current
focuses.
It started in 2009, when he brought A.C. Milan and
Chelsea to M&T Bank Stadium. Two years later, Baltimore won the rights to a Gold Cup quarterfinal, but ultimately had to pass due to a conflict with a U2 concert.
After July 18, the city will have two Gold Cups under
its belt, which might give it the standing to secure a
role in the U.S.-based Copa America in 2016, a tournament that will include 10 South American teams and
six from the CONCACAF region. But ultimately, there
is a bigger endgame in play.
“We’ve built a brand,” Hasseltine said. “We’ve built
integrity in the type of events we’re pursuing in soccer. So, year in and year out, we’re getting high-quality matches. When the U.S. is ready to pursue another
World Cup bid opportunity, it is about keeping our venue and our city front of mind with the Federation that
we’re equipped to host mega-matches.”
The World Cup in Baltimore; now that is exciting.
Let’s just hope international soccer can clean itself up
by then.
COLLEGE NOTEBOOK
COLLEGE NOTEBOOK
Maryland Baseball Standout Mike
Shawaryn Leading Terps To New Heights
Steve Jones
D
Maryland Women’s Lacrosse Run
Reminiscent Of Past Terps Teams
Steve Jones
T
hroughout its 41-year
history, the University
of Maryland women’s
lacrosse team has been
a major factor in the
growing popularity of
the sport. The Terps began playing in 1974, when the expansion
of women’s athletics was in its infancy.
They ruled the game from the mid-1990s
through the early-2000s, winning seven
straight NCAA titles.
Maryland has recently reminded the
college lacrosse world of its enduring excellence. On May 24, the Terps won their
second consecutive national championship and 12th overall by holding off longtime rival North Carolina, 9-8, during a
tightly contested title game.
“All season long, they were getting everybody’s best game,” head coach Cathy
Reese said. “We went through a rough
spot in our season, and the loss to Ohio
State [in the Big Ten tournament] woke
us up. We were down by three goals at
the half [of the title game], but kept
fighting back and found a way to win
against a great team in North Carolina.
26 |
| june 2015
That showed [our] mental toughness,
[our] ability to stay in the moment.”
Maryland midfielder Taylor Cummings, the most dominant player in collegiate lacrosse, repeated as the Tewaaraton Award winner. Cummings totaled 63
goals, 37 assists, 143 draw controls, and
36 caused turnovers during Maryland’s
championship season and earned firstteam Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse
College Association All-America honors
for the third straight year. During her
senior season, Cummings could become
the first women’s player to win the nation’s top lacrosse award three times.
“Taylor does it all,” Reese said. “She’s
dominant in the middle of the field and
always gives us her best. She’s determined, competitive and a great teammate, which is more important than
anything else.”
While Cummings is in position to
make history in 2016, her team still has a
ways to go to match the seven consecutive championships Maryland earned a
generation ago. Under the direction of
head coach Cindy Timchal and assistant coach Gary Gait, that golden era
of Maryland women’s lacrosse produced
a 140-5 record that included undefeated
seasons in 1995, 1996, 1999 and 2001.
During
that
time,
Maryland
pro-
duced some of the best players in its history. Jen Adams, now the head coach at
Loyola University, was a four-time AllAmerican from 1998-2001 and the winner of the first Tewaaraton Award. Adams, who still holds the school’s career
records for goals (267), assists (178) and
points (445), was a three-time National
Player of the Year. Adams’ teammates
included Allison Comito and Quinn Carney, who each totaled 265 points in four
seasons.
Kelly Amonte Hiller accumulated 187
goals and 319 points during her Maryland
years from 1993-96 and earned National
Player of the Year awards in 1995 (Defensive) and 1996 (Offensive). Four other
Maryland players during that sevenyear period earned national awards: Liz
Downing Monte (Defensive Player, 1996),
Sarah Forbes (Offensive Player, 1997),
Tonia Porras (Defensive Player, 2000)
and Alex Kahoe (Goalkeeper, 2000).
But Maryland’s recent national title
winners match up well with those championship squads. During the 2015 campaign, the Terps completed their third
title-winning season in six years with a
21-1 record. Maryland has won 44 of 46
games during the last two seasons.
Reese has a unique perspective on the
two eras of excellence. She was a twotime All-American for the Terps’ from
1995-98, and has coached the current
squad to consecutive titles.
“Those teams [from 1995-2001] were
super tough and found ways to win,” Reese said. “You have to appreciate how
hard Cindy and Gary worked with them.”
But the sport has changed. The expansion of women’s lacrosse to areas
across the nation has led to a much larger NCAA tournament field.
“The growth of the game has been crazy,” said Reese, who also guided the 2010
Terps to the NCAA title. “I didn’t start
playing until the seventh grade, but players are starting much earlier now. There
was a six-team NCAA tournament in my
freshman year, and the top two seeds got
a bye right into the Final Four. Now, you
have a 26-team tournament with schools
from all over, like Notre Dame, Stanford
and Florida.”
It’s never been more difficult to win
an NCAA title. There are more talented
players to go around, and the byes to
championship weekend are gone.
“To even be in a position to compete
for a national championship is incredible,” Reese said. “The back-to-back titles are something that we’ll always be
proud of. We have players coming back
who have had tremendous success in
this program, and it should be another
fun year.” courtesy of maryland athletics
courtesy of greg fiume/maryland athletics
uring his first two seasons at the University
of Maryland, Mike Shawaryn
accomplished
more than any pitcher
in school history. The
sophomore right-hander, who led head coach John Szefc’s
squad to a school-record 42 wins and its
second consecutive berth in the NCAA
Super Regionals this season, established
Maryland marks for career victories (24)
and single-season wins (13) in 2015. On
the way to a 13-2 record and a 1.71 ERA,
Shawaryn also set the Maryland singleseason record for strikeouts with 138.
But he’d prefer to focus on his team’s
achievements, rather than his own record-setting efforts.
“It’s great to get back-to-back regional titles under our belt,” Shawaryn
said. “It’s kind of a culture change, and
we’re ready to keep this rolling for years
to come.”
Mike Shawaryn
Maryland vanquished Ole Miss and
defeated tournament No. 1 seed UCLA
twice to win the Los Angeles Regional.
But the Terps’ season ended with a 4224 record after consecutive losses to Virginia in the best-of-three Charlottesville
Super Regional.
Shawaryn was a first-team All-American selection by Collegiate Baseball
Magazine, the first Terp to earn such
an honor since the 2002 season. The native of Carneys Point, N.J., was also a
unanimous All-Big Ten choice this season after leading the conference in wins,
strikeouts and innings pitched. Shawaryn was a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award and the Dick Howser
Award, which are presented to the nation’s top college player. During the summer of 2015, he will become the second
Maryland player to compete for the USA
Baseball Collegiate National Team.
His sophomore season was a strong
follow-up to one of the best first years of
any Maryland pitcher. During the 2014
campaign, Shawaryn posted an 11-4 record with a 3.12 ERA. He struck out 72
hitters while walking 24, as the Terps
went 40-23 and reached the NCAA Super
Regionals for the first time.
“Last season gave me the confidence
that I could get the job done,” Shawaryn
said. “When I go out there, I’m not trying to do too much. I’m just trying to
pitch within myself. I trust in my stuff,
because I was able to do it last year.”
Shawaryn’s evolution into an elite collegiate pitcher has impressed Maryland
associate head coach Jim Belanger.
“A big part of his success last year was
his mental makeup, more than his stuff,”
said Belanger, who is also the Terps’
pitching coach. “This year, his stuff has
started to catch up. His breaking ball
has developed, and his fastball has gotten better. And his slider has become a
quality pitch for him. I think that’s a big
reason why his strikeout numbers have
risen from last year.
“Mike’s just a winner. He’s extremely
competitive and extremely humble. He is
the master of minimizing things, and he
never gives up the big inning. If there’s a
bases-loaded situation with nobody out,
they’re probably going to score one run,
but that’s it. He always keeps you in the
game.”
With the 2014 graduation of Jake
Stinnett, Shawaryn became the ace
of the Maryland pitching staff. But he
doesn’t feel any additional pressure.
“As a college baseball player and a person who wants to continue [in the pros],
you want that pressure,” Shawaryn said.
“If you’re not able to handle it, you won’t
be able to get to the next level.”
Shawaryn seems destined to reach
that next level. Following his senior season at Gloucester Catholic High School,
Shawaryn was chosen by the Kansas
City Royals in the 32nd round of the
2013 MLB Draft. But the 6-foot-3 righthander isn’t thinking beyond his junior
season with a Maryland team that will
graduate two players and should be a
national contender again.
“Next year, I’m going to pitch for a
regional title, another Super Regional
and get us to Omaha [site of the College
World Series],” Shawaryn said. “I have
35 brothers on this team, and I want to
win it for them, for Szefc, Belanger and
the whole coaching staff. [The pros] will
happen later down the road. Right now, I
just want to do it for Maryland.”
Output On: June 08, 2015 1:03 PM
High-Resolution PDF - PRINT READY
COLLEGE NOTEBOOK
Behind Coach Bob Mumma, UMBC
Baseball Completes Turnaround Season
Steve Jones
courtesy of gail burton
courtesy of gail burton
B
Bob Mumma
ob Mumma must have
wondered when it would
ever get better.
The UMBC baseball
program had languished
for more than a decade,
enduring its worst stretch
since the Retrievers started playing the sport
in 1967. When Bob Mumma took over for longtime head coach John Jancuska after the
2011 season, the Retrievers had endured nine
straight losing campaigns.
“I wanted to re-establish some pride in
the program and get back to competing for
championships on an annual basis,” Mumma
said. “We needed to work hard and be excited
about playing baseball.”
The losing streak grew to 12 seasons by
2014. But Mumma could see the turnaround
in progress. One year after the Retrievers
finished with a 17-29 record, UMBC ended its
lengthy losing skein. The Retrievers, buoyed
by a 13-game winning streak, completed the
2015 season with a 34-20 record and 13-10
conference mark. The squad’s 34 wins were
the second most in the 48-year history of the
UMBC program, behind the single-season record of 37 set by the 1992 team.
“It was a complete team,” said Mumma,
who was a UMBC catcher from 1990-92 before being drafted by the Chicago White Sox.
“Guys would come off the bench and get big
hits. Our upperclassmen proved to be great
leaders. Last year, I thought we had a better ball club than our record showed. I don’t
know that we expected a 13-game winning
streak and 34 wins this season, but I thought
we’d be pretty good.”
The Retrievers were a tough foe in the
America East tournament. UMBC recorded
the first two wins in its conference tournament history, defeating Maine and Hartford
to reach the league championship game. The
Retrievers took an early seven-run lead, but
eventually bowed to top-seeded Stony Brook,
16-11, May 23.
“No one had been in big games before,”
Mumma said. “But they were very loose and
played well in the tournament. We just have to
find a way to be one or two plays better next
season.”
Can the Retrievers build on their impressive campaign and realistically expect to win
a conference title and reach their first NCAA
tournament since 2001 next spring?
The future certainly looks promising.
The Retrievers will lose two impact players to graduation, senior shortstop Vince
Corbi (.297 batting average and 36 RBIs)
and senior right fielder Jake Barnes (.278,
five home runs and 35 RBIs). They will welcome back five players who were consistent
at the plate, led by junior outfielder Nick
Naumann (.352 and 31 RBIs). Junior first
baseman Anthony Gatto (.309 and four
home runs), sophomore center fielder Andrew Casali (.315 and 42 RBIs), freshman
designated hitter Jamie Switalski (.307) and
sophomore catcher Hunter Dolshun (.293)
rounded out a quality Retrievers lineup.
UMBC’s best arms will also be back. Junior right-hander Conrad Wozniak (4-1 with
a 1.48 ERA), freshman right-hander Matt
Chanin (5-2 with a 1.96 ERA) and right-handed closer Denis Mikush (4-2 with six saves)
gave the Retrievers a spark on the hill.
“It was fun to watch this group come together,” Mumma said. “I was excited for the
senior class to go out this way, because that’s
something that they’ll remember forever.”
Mumma is not only upbeat about the future of his program, but also sees the possibility that more than one team from the America
East could qualify for an NCAA tournament
bid. The league, which has been represented
by either Stony Brook or Binghamton during
seven of the last eight NCAAs, is getting better in Mumma’s view.
“I’m a firm believer that the best teams
in [the] America East are as good as the top
teams in the Colonial Athletic Association
and the Big South,” Mumma said. “I’m not
sure that our league gets the same amount of
respect, but America East teams have done
well in the [NCAA] tournament.”
A deep and experienced Retrievers squad
should be in the running for a conference title
next spring. Mumma understands the bar
has been raised for his program.
“The expectation is to get back to the
championship game and win it,” said Mumma, whose 42 home runs are the most in program history. “Sometimes, staying there is
harder than getting there, but I’m really excited about what’s going on here.”
stevenson University hAs ADDeD
Women’s sAnD
volleybAll
(spring 2016)
stevenson becomes
the first Division iii
athletic program to
offer sand volleyball
to its student-athletes
with an inaugural season
scheduled for spring 2016.
AnD
men’s ice
hockey
(Winter 2016-17)
men’s ice hockey is
stevenson’s 27th ncAA
Division iii sport. effective
with its inaugural season in
2016-17, stevenson will be a
member of the ecAc men’s
West ice hockey league.
For more information, call 443-394-9379
WWW.GomUstAnGsPorts.com
GomUstAnGsPorts
stevenson mUstAnGs
june 2015 |
| 29
HIGH SCHOOL THEN & NOW
After 10 Years, Keith Mills
Says Goodbye To PressBox
Keith Mills
G
oodbye and thank you.
Goodbye to all the readers of PressBox,
and thank you to a gentleman who gave
me a second chance.
This is my last story for PressBox.
The demands of my job at WBAL have
changed. Unfortunately, I am unable to
devote the time needed to write the high school column that
has been a regular part of PressBox since it started 10 years
ago. It’s also been a big part of my life, ever since Stan “The
Fan” Charles stood firm and strong in his support of me
when others did not.
And how about 10 years for PressBox. Ten years of providing news, features, perspective and opinions to Baltimore
sports fans.
Well done.
A little more than 10 years ago, Charles approached me
about being part of his new venture, which has evolved into a
widely read and highly respected source of Baltimore sports
information and entertainment. It has also led to a weekly
television show on Channel 2/WMAR. I was both intrigued
by the idea and honored he would include me in the original
group of writers and contributors, which included one of my
heroes growing up -- the legendary Jim Henneman.
And then, I got arrested, lost my job at Channel 2, entered
rehab for a narcotic pain medication drug addiction and
was scrambling to rebound from a humiliating phase of my
life that I will live with forever. Through it all, Charles never
blinked, and when I came out of the fog and started to put
my life back together, he stood by his offer to have me join
PressBox.
It was a gesture of friendship and support I will never
forget.
That age-old cliché of “you find out who your true friends
are during times of trouble” is true. And when I battled my
drug addiction, many people I thought were my friends
bailed on me, quickly.
Many, though, did not, including a handful of friends I had
made through my career at both Channel 2 and Channel 13/
WJZ, who never wavered when I looked to put my professional life back together. Among them were my close friend and
mentor, Scott Garceau then of Channel 2, Baltimore attorney Ron Shapiro, John Maroon of Maroon Public Relations,
Nestor Aparicio of WNST, 1570 AM, Ravens senior vice president of public and community relations Kevin Byrne, Orioles
owner Peter Angelos, WBAL-AM, 1090’s, Ed Kiernan, Jeff
Beauchamp, Mark Miller, Michelle Butt and Jordan Wertlieb
and Charles.
While WBAL allowed me to resume a broadcasting career
that began in August of 1980, Charles and PressBox allowed
me to get back to my roots -- covering high school sports. My
first job in the business was at the Baltimore-News American with John Steadman. I was 18 years old in 1975 and had
just graduated high school when I was hired by Steadman
as a weekend copy boy. Eventually, under the guidance of
Frank Lynch, Mike Marlow and Jack Gibbons, I was allowed
to assist Marlow in covering prep sports for the paper, a labor
of love that remains one of the highlights of my professional
career.
The lessons learned during that time have lasted to this
day, and the friendships nurtured, both among the boys and
girls who played the games and the men and women who
30 |
| june 2015
coached them, have lasted a lifetime.
Charles allowed me to get back to the core of what I love.
During the last 10 years, I’ve had the chance to document
some of the great moments in Baltimore high school sports
history, in addition to some truly inspiring stories. Kevin
Lingerman overcame a rare form of cancer at the age of 6
to lead Calvert Hall’s baseball team to the MIAA A Conference championship and earn Baltimore Sun Player of the
Year honors in 2007. Mary Ella Marion overcame breast cancer and returned to coach the Mercy girls’ varsity basketball
team.
Van Brooks was paralyzed in 2004 while playing football
for Loyola Blakefield and now inspires others through the
Safe Alternative Foundation. Rayna Dubose, a tremendous
girls’ basketball player at Oakland Mills in Columbia, Md.,
overcame a near-deadly bacterial disease in 2002 to motivate
a generation of high school and college athletes.
The Sherry Shootout at Bryn Mawr has annually supported a variety of causes, including the Fisher House at Walter Reed Medical Center and the Gilchrist Hospice Center.
The One Love Foundation was started in 2010 to honor
Yeardley Love, the former Notre Dame Prep and University
of Virginia lacrosse player who was tragically murdered earlier that year.
One Love now educates young people on the dangers of
domestic violence. A group of Yeardley’s former teammates
kept her spirit alive by winning the women’s MidAtlantic
Spring Club Lacrosse championship in May on the turf that
carries her name -- Yeardley Love Field at Notre Dame Prep.
And, of course, there’s the coaches and athletic directors,
too many to mention, and too valuable to ignore, who inspire
their players daily.
Tina Lockett and Dana Johnson are two young ladies I
covered when they were playing at Dunbar and Western, respectively, and they are now running the Douglass and Dunbar athletic programs, respectively. Longtime Boys’ Latin
lacrosse head coach Bob Shriver and Park School boys’ lacrosse head coach Lucky Mallonee are retiring after a combined 80 years of coaching, teaching and helping turn boys
into young men. Obie Barnes, Mike Baker, Tim McMullen,
Bernie Walter, Mark Amatucci and Chuck Markiewicz have
all stepped down from coaching during the last 10 years after
sensational Hall of Fame careers.
There’s also Bob Wade, still mentoring me as the coordinator of athletics for Baltimore City Public Schools.
I got to watch Cal Ripken Jr. coach his son, Ryan, at Gilman and see Gilman beat DeMatha in football. I got to see
Vince Bagli watch his grandson, Ben, call a football game at
St. Paul’s and Justin Fratantuono, a young man I coached at
Cardinal Gibbons, graduate from the Naval Academy in May.
The community said goodbye this year to a pair of coaching icons -- longtime Loyola Blakefield basketball head coach
Jerry Savage and longtime Calvert Hall soccer head coach
Bill Karpovich.
Meanwhile, the McDonogh girls’ lacrosse team from 201015, the 2013-14 City College boys’ basketball team and 2008
Dunbar football team all stood out by overcoming the odds
to achieve perfect seasons.
The City College Black Knights, led by Timmy Bond,
Omari George and Kamau Stokes and head coach Daryl
Wade, finished the 2014 basketball season 27-0 and won the
school’s third state championship.
On May 10 at Stevenson University, McDonogh beat Roland
Park, 15-14, to win its seventh straight Interscholastic Athletic
Association of Maryland A Conference girls’ lacrosse championship and run its winning streak to a national-record 133
games. The streak began April 13, 2009, when the Eagles beat
Winters Mill, 15-13. The team has featured some of the finest
players in the area’s history during that time, including Taylor
Cummings, Steff Holmes, Megan Whittle and Casey Pepperman, all of whom now play for the University of Maryland.
The 2008 Dunbar football team capped its undefeated
season with a 20-19 victory against Fort Hill to win the sixth
of its nine state championships. How the Poets won that
game remains the greatest finish to a high school sporting
event I’ve ever seen. Trailing, 19-12, with 1:27 remaining and
no timeouts, Dunbar faced a fourth-and-7 from its 12-yard
line. Eleven plays later, the Poets cut the lead to one after
Jonathan Perry connected with Sean Farr for a touchdown.
Tavon Austin then won the game with a successful two-point
conversion run that triggered a wild celebration at M&T
Bank Stadium Dec. 6, 2008.
And it was athletes like Austin, who grew up playing in
the Northwood Pop Warner football program and is entering
his third season with the St. Louis Rams, who have made the
journey that much more rewarding.
Olympians Michael Phelps (Towson High), and Matt
Centrowitz (Broadneck); current MLB players Gavin Floyd,
Mark Teixeira and Steve Clevenger; the army of local NBA
players led by Carmelo Anthony and Rudy Gay, the Fuller
brothers of the NFL (Vince, Corey and Kyle), Arundel’s Kyle
Beckerman of the U.S. National soccer team, and Cummings
have gone from Baltimore high school superstars to the top
of their sports, either professionally or collegiately, since
PressBox started.
Cummings is the answer to a question I get all the time.
Who is the best all-round high school girls’ athlete I’ve ever
seen in Baltimore? There are actually two -- Cummings and
Mandy White of Dulaney.
White was a member of the vaunted North Baltimore
Aquatic Club championship women’s swim team during the
early-to-mid 1990s. From 1992-94, she won 13 individual cross
country and track state championships for head coach Bob
Dean. In the fall of 1993, she also won a national prep cross
country championship before moving on to Stanford, where
she ran track and cross country and was also a member of
the school’s nationally-ranked swim team.
Cummings was an extraordinary three-sport athlete
at McDonogh, leading the Eagles to IAAM A Conference
championships in soccer, basketball and lacrosse. She just
completed her junior year at Maryland, where she led the
Terps to a second straight national lacrosse championship
and won her second straight Tewaarton Award, given to best
player in college lacrosse.
White and Cummings are both part of a special fraternity
of Baltimore high school athletes, but so are their coaches.
And there may be no more valuable member of a community now than a high school coach. They teach, mentor and
educate student-athletes at a time when the external pressure on kids is greater than ever. Pressure to get a college
scholarship. Pressure to live up to the often over-inflated expectations of their parents. And pressure to simply perform
at a high level.
I have used a lot of words and headlines during the past 10
years urging the parents of high school athletes to take a step
back and just let the kids play. It became almost a mission
of mine since I got back into coaching at Cardinal Gibbons
in 2007 and saw firsthand the enormous toll that unrealistic
expectations can place on a young athlete.
The reasons are simple. There are not as many college
scholarships available as most parents think. The next level
is much more difficult and competitive than even most players realize, and most are simply just not good enough.
But in no way should that diminish the value of the high
school athletic experience. I was fortunate enough to play for
some tremendous coaches and fantastic men growing up in
Brooklyn Park. To have been able to document prep sports
in Baltimore during the last 10 years has been both humbling
and satisfying.
And for that, I thank both the readers and PressBox staff.
And I certainly thank my great friend for so many years,
Stan Charles. salutes Baltimore City graduating
seniors and their teachers
for the 2014-15 academic year!
Brought to you by: Baltimore Teachers Union
baltimoreteachers.org
INSIDE GOLF
How To Hit Short Wedges
Owen Dawson
T
hroughout the years, I
have seen some great
ball-strikers
struggle
with their short wedges. You would think it
would be an easier shot,
but most average golfers -- and even some good ball-strikers
-- struggle with this part of the game.
On occasion, you might have seen a PGA
Tour player stick the club in the ground
and “chili dip/chunk it.” This isn’t hard to
do if you’re misusing the bounce (angle
on the bottom of the club), and if the
grain of the grass is growing toward you.
So, why is this shot such a struggle for
most golfers?
I would say one of the primary reasons
most golfers struggle with short-pitch
shots is because they are only comfortable with the full-swing motion. When
was the last time you went to the driving
range and watched anyone spend an hour
hitting 10-, 20- and 30-yard pitch shots?
Not too often, I bet. The fact is that most
average golfers don’t practice learning
what a shorter swing feels like, so when
it comes time to hit a shot that calls for a
shorter swing, they usually revert to their
normal full swing and decelerate to the
ball, hitting, most likely, a poor shot.
The second reason players might
struggle is because their club head gets
closed in the backswing, and is then
swung too much to the inside of the target line. This scenario is probably the No.
1 killer of short pitches.
The third reason is because most golfers try to hit pitches like they hit their
chip shots. They lean the handle of the
club forward as they hit the ball. Chipping and pitching are different techniques. A forward-leaning handle at address position for shots that are longer
than a short chip could possibly lead to
chunked shots.
Lastly, tension is often too high in
the hands and arms to allow the bounce
of the club to interact with the turf correctly. Tension in the hands and arms is
the No. 1 reason players will blade a shot
across the green.
Remember, full-swing shots are power shots, and short pitches are weaker
shots.
Pitch shots are not mini full swings.
The kinematic sequence (the order of
body part movements) of how the body
moves on a longer pitch and full swing is
primarily:
1. The lower body moves fastest to start
downswing, then the torso moves as
the lower body slows down.
2. The torso slows down and the arms accelerate.
3. The arms slow and the club-head accelerates into ball.
In the short pitch shot, the sequence
is reversed completely:
1. Club head moves first
2. Arms follow
3. Chest turns to support arms
4. Hips turn slightly after the ball is hit
5. Flat-footed at the finish, with most of
your weight in your left side
So, how can we create a weaker shot?
Sixty percent of
your weight should
be on your left side,
with your nose in
front of the ball.
Keep your weight
on your left side for
the entire swing.
2. Narrow your stance
with your left foot
flared. A slightly
open stance is fine.
3. For a right-handed
golfer, use a stronger left hand (more
right rotated on
grip) and a weaker
1.
1
4
right hand (on top of grip).
4. Short backswings (Try a 9 o’clock leftarm position at the top of your swing with
little wrist hinge or wrist set)
5. Toe of the club should be pointing to sky
(no closed face)
6. Low-tension swing (Tension is often high with
players who struggle with short wedges.
7. The kinematic sequence has to be different.
We can’t drive the legs in the downswing
to start. Let gravity work on the club head
and allow it to fall under the ball as you
turn your torso to target.
8. This will help utilize the bounce on the bottom of the wedge.
9. The club should bruise the ground when
swung correctly (no digging).
10. Your lower body should stay quiet, with
your right heel staying on ground at finish.
The next time you go out to practice, try to
work some of these key points into your setup
and swing, and your short-pitch shots should
start to improve.
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32 |
| june 2015
june 2015 |
| 33
GLENN CLARK RADIO
INTERVIEW OF THE MONTH
Larry Collmus On Calling The Belmont
‘It Was The Coolest Thing Ever’
Callie Caplan
W
hen Larry Collmus was a high school
student at Mount St. Joseph in the
1980s, he practiced calling horse races
in the cafeteria. His classmates would
give him a copy of The Baltimore Sun,
and he would make up calls based on
the printed results from the previous
day.
The Baltimore native got his start calling horse races as an announcer at the Bowie Race Track, and 30
years and one day after his first call in 1985, Collmus
became the voice behind American Pharoah’s Triple
Crown-sealing victory at the Belmont Stakes June 6.
“Being a part of that scene, even though I was six
stories up in a glass-enclosed booth, it was just raucous, and you could hear the crowd going absolutely
crazy,” Collmus said June 8 on Glenn Clark Radio. “And
it was a wall of sound from the time the horses got to
the gate to at least 10 minutes after the race. It just
never stopped, and it was the coolest thing ever.”
Before Collmus could take part in celebrating the
first Triple Crown winner in 37 years, however, he prepared to deliver his take on the longer distance race in
a calm, concise manner.
Before the event, he talked with his two NBC analysts, Hall of Fame jockey Jerry Bailey and Randy Moss,
to get an idea of what to potentially expect for the call.
On the day of the race, he took deep breaths as the
horses approached the starting gate. And for nearly the
entire first mile of the mile-and-a-half race, he tried to
give a “very descriptive, not over the top call” to keep
the spotlight on the moment, not himself.
“You better believe I was nervous,” Collmus said.
“It’s a moment that no one has seen in 37 years, and
you don’t want to screw it up. You want to be able to
get it right.”
Collmus already had experience calling Triple Crown
hopefuls, though. He broadcasted the Belmont in 2014,
when California Chrome finished fourth in his bid for
the trifecta.
Still, Collmus didn’t rely on past calls during this
year’s Belmont. He had written down notes on what to
say, and although he didn’t use them during the moment, his call mirrored his pre-race ideas.
“I had thought of, ‘The 37-year wait is over. American
Pharoah is finally the one. American Pharoah has won
the Triple Crown,’… like a million times,” Collmus said.
“I just was able to do it without looking at the sheet in
front of me and reading it. … I just wanted to be able to
deliver it the right way.”
Collmus hopes the excitement generated from American Pharoah’s win and the end of the Triple Crown
drought will increase people’s interest in the sport of
horse racing.
“It is definitely going to be something that will keep
us in the spotlight for a while, and hopefully will create
fans that just had a passing interest that may, in fact,
get into the game more,” Collmus said.
But whether the sport’s popularity does benefit from
American Pharoah’s feat, Collmus’ call will always be
associated with the historic moment in Belmont Park.
“When the horses start running, that’s my element,”
Collmus said. “I haven’t come back off that high yet.”
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Bill Ordine
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Baltimore Sports. Period.
orse racing in Maryland seems fated
to exist in an endless state of uncertainty.
These days, the worry isn’t that the
Preakness Stakes, the largest singleday annual event in Maryland, may
move to another state.
Instead, the question is whether the Preakness will
remain at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore or travel
south to its sister track, Laurel Park, in Anne Arundel
County. And there’s a second possible change to ponder -- whether the Preakness will remain the third Saturday in May or move to a Sunday.
Those were the sensitive issues Maryland Jockey
Club general manager Sal Sinatra tried to discuss as
tactfully as he could during Preakness Day at Pimlico
May 16, when American Pharoah won the second jewel
in racing’s Triple Crown on a sloppy rain-soaked track. The Maryland Jockey Club operates thoroughbred
tracks and the Preakness Stakes, but it is part of a larger corporate entity, the Stronach Group, based in Canada. The possibility of the Preakness moving to a more
suburban setting and, indeed, the viability of Pimlico
itself are two elements in a multi-faceted dilemma facing the Stronach Group, which is led by its 82-year-old
founder, Frank Stronach, an auto parts magnate and
avid horseracing enthusiast.
As anyone who has visited either Pimlico or Laurel
knows, both tracks are lacking in the amenities paying
customers have come to expect in any modern sports
venue, whether it’s a football stadium, baseball park,
indoor arena or race track.
When the water pressure at Pimlico went on the fritz
during the latest Preakness Day and huge sections of
the grandstand suffered out-of-order toilets, it was considered par for the course by many of the 131,680 fans
who were inconvenienced. There’s a palpable sense of
resignation among many Preakness-goers that Pimlico is simply a venerable, historically rich (if decrepit)
racetrack they just have to put up with on that one special day a year. It’s sort of like an eccentric relative you
only see at Thanksgiving. And some folks even find Old
Hilltop’s quirkiness kind of endearing.
But for the Maryland Jockey Club to staunch the red
ink it has been bleeding during the last several years,
there will have to be changes. Those changes mean cost
savings in some areas while deciding how to best spend
the money needed to improve both tracks.
Sinatra, in a radio interview after the Preakness,
said the Maryland Jockey Club has been losing $3 million to $6 million per year for the last six to eight years.
Hired Nov. 22, 2014 from the racetrack attached to Parx
Casino in suburban Philadelphia, Sinatra said it’s his
mandate to turn around the financial picture. How he
does that will depend entirely on the decisions made
within the Stronach Group sometime this year.
To re-do Pimlico would require what amounts to
tearing down the facility and rebuilding. Sinatra tossed
out a round figure of $500 million to get the job done.
On the other hand, Laurel has good structural bones,
Sinatra said, and the Maryland Jockey Club can spend
half that amount and have, in the end, a “palace.”
So, where does the Stronach Group and the Maryland Jockey Club put their cash?
If one takes a bean counter’s view, the decision is
obvious. It’s Laurel.
But racing tradition and civic responsibility would
dictate that the big race stays at Pimlico Race Course,
where it has been run continuously since 1909 and for a
good many years during the 19th century as well.
So, this is going to be a tough call.
Sinatra has said it many times: “Frank [Stronach]
wants to do something special in Maryland.”
Stronach has already invested heavily in Gulfstream
Park in South Florida and at Santa Anita Park in
Southern California.
Gulfstream, in particular, reflects Stronach’s philosophy of an integrated racing destination that incorporates elements of retail, dining, entertainment and
even residential into a racing “village.”
In Maryland, that can only happen at Laurel, because that facility encompasses more than double the
real estate Pimlico’s hemmed-in 125 acres occupy.
Once built and operating, an integrated facility with
dining, entrainment and shopping (plus year-round simulcasting to go along with live racing) has the potential to provide a relatively robust return on investment
365 days a year; not just on the 110 to 115 or so days each
year there is live racing at Laurel.
And what about Pimlico?
Sinatra is admittedly a horseracing traditionalist.
His ultimate boss, Frank Stronach, is also an oldschool racing guy.
Moving the Preakness from Saturday to Sunday may
be a relatively easy move to make. It gives Sinatra a
crack at a more lucrative three-day racing festival that
he keeps mentioning with Black-Eyed Susan Day on
a Saturday and the Preakness Stakes on a Sunday.
But moving the Preakness to Laurel is a tough one
for everyone. The pushback from the racing community at large
will be big.
And the resistance from both the city of Baltimore,
but more importantly from the state government in Annapolis, Md., will be far more substantial.
Gov. Larry Hogan has already stated he wants the
Preakness in Baltimore.
A reasonable guess is that Stronach and Co. will say something to the effect of, “Well, can you help us keep it there?”
Horse racing interests can’t say such a thing too
loudly or too insistently, because the racing industry already gets a healthy slice of slot machine revenues from
the state’s five casinos. And it would be a fair guess to
presume more than a few legislators in Annapolis are
tired of the horse racing industry with its hand out. Yet, if that’s what it takes -- meaning some help in
some way -- to keep the race from being shifted from
one Maryland location to another, some negotiating
and diplomacy may be in order.
Sinatra has suggested a boutique meet at Pimlico
similar to one held at Keeneland in Kentucky. That
would be a meet of a few weeks with the Preakness nestled in the schedule.
But a question lingers: If Stronach spends, say, $250
million on a Laurel Park renovation, can he resist putting his marquee race in his best venue?
When it comes to Maryland racing, it always seems
there are more questions than answers.
VISIT PRESSBOXONLINE.COM
june 2015 |
| 37
COMMUNITY BEAT
COMMUNITY BEAT
PRESENTED BY
Unitas Stadium. This tight-knit community event will bring
together athletes, doctors, cancer survivors and those who
care about ending prostate cancer. The goal is to find a cure
for prostate cancer by funding research and providing free
testing and education. Visit zerobaltimore.org to register.
SEPT. 20 -- GET READY, GET SET,
GET FIT
WALKS/RACES
JUNE 21 -- KEEP PUNCHING 5K
This 5K run/walk and one-mile walk starting at CCBC
The race starts at the Goucher College Track Complex at
Essex Campus at 8 a.m. will benefit the Baltimore County
8 a.m. and will benefit Keep Punching Inc., which strives to
Department of Aging Programs for Seniors. Visit getready-
support patients, health-care providers, and researchers in
getsetgetfit5k.com to register.
their fight to prevent and eradicate brain cancer. To register, visit active.com/towson-md/running/distance-runningraces/keep-punching-5k-1-mile-walk-and-kids-races-2015.
JUNE 21 -- GBMC FATHER’S DAY 5K
GBMC Healthcare will host the Father’s Day 5K and one-
OCT. 17 -- BALTIMORE RUNNING
FESTIVAL
Registration is open for the Baltimore Running Festival
-- choose from five distances through the Inner Harbor and
surrounding areas. Visit thebaltimoremarathon.com.
NEGRO LEAGUES BASEBALL
YOUTH RUGBY
SUMMER DRAG RACING
Visit the Hubert V. Simmons Museum of Negro Leagues
Maryland Exiles Youth Rugby is looking for players for the
Visit Maryland International Raceway most weekends
Baseball at the Owings Mills Metro Center. The muse-
upcoming spring season. Experience is not required. The team
through November. Visit mirockracing.com for more dates.
um is named after Bert Simmons, who played for the
is open to all players attending high school or middle school
Baltimore Elite Giants. It is open 1 p.m.-5:30 p.m. Sunday;
in Maryland and to students enrolled in GED or home school
9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday; and 9 a.m.-9 p.m.
programs. Those interested can visit meetup.com/md-rugby.
Friday and Saturday. Admission is free.
COCKEYSVILLE RECREATION
Visit cockeysvillereccouncil.org or call 410-887-7734 for
updates about baseball registration for the Cockeysville
CENTRAL MARYLAND SOCCER
Mail-in team registrations for the CMSA Travel Fall
Saturday and Fall Sunday League end July 31. The league
JUNE 20 -- NIGHTHAWKS
parking, which is past the softball field and reptile house.
Passion at 4 p.m. at Paul Laurence Dunbar High, 1400
Visit md-discgolf.com for more information.
Orleans St. Visit baltimorenighthawks.com.
The Charm City Roller Girls’ upcoming bouts will be held
ated through US Club Soccer, and the Soccer Association
Baltimore metropolitan area by educating and mentoring
ADULT BASEBALL
at Clarence “Du” Burns Arena, 3100 Boston St. Visit charm-
urban youth with targeted programs for improved health,
Join the Eastern Baltimore County over-40 baseball league,
for Youth and competition is available for both boys and
cityrollergirls.com.
fitness and nutrition. Visit bmorefit.org for details.
which plays with wood bats on 90-foot diamonds. Players of
girls leagues U8 through U14 and dual age U16 and U18.
all skill levels are encouraged to visit over40baseball.org or
Registration information and forms are available on the
JOIN THE RAVENS’ BAND VOLLEYBALL
call Mike Lockett at 410-446-0443. main index page of cmsasoccer.com. Or email scorenews@
Become part of the Baltimore Ravens’ game-day experience
Did you know Baltimore has a beach? Baltimore Beach
by joining Baltimore’s Marching Ravens. Visit baltimorera-
Volleyball has seven sand courts right in the Inner Harbor,
vens.com/marchingravens.
and registration is now open for individuals and teams in
aol.com for more information.
MASON-DIXON UMPIRES ASSOCIATION
The MDUA is looking for new high school baseball umpires in
WOMEN’S TACKLE FOOTBALL
Baltimore. No experience is necessary. Email Mike Connors
The Baltimore Burn is recruiting female athletes who
at [email protected] or call 410-653-7307.
want to play tackle football. Visit baltimoreburnfootball.
LACROSSE/SQUASH
Charles St. There will also be a special 50th anniversary
event -- a community health fair from 7 a.m.-noon. Visit
SOCCER/RUGBY
OTHER ACTIVITIES
JUNE 19 -- MID-ATLANTIC BOYS’
LACROSSE SHOWDOWN
JUNE 21 -- FISHING TRIP
Team registrations are open for the Father’s Day Weekend
poles provided. Call 410-887-2503 or visit cromwellvalleypark.org.
Spend Father’s Day fishing at the Loch Raven Reservoir, bait and
AUG. 1 -- CASEY CARES 5K
JUNE 20 -- BAYSOX 1K BEER RUN
JULY 7 -- GOLD CUP SOCCER
Lacrosse Showdown to all boys’ travel and club lacrosse
Lace up your running shoes and mark your calendars for
Enjoy some exercise before the Baysox game at the 1K Beer
The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean
teams in the U12-U17 age levels. Applications are available
NOV. 7 -- BULL & OYSTER ROAST
the Casey Cares 5K at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. You’ll
Run June 20. Participants will run three laps around Prince
Association Football (CONCACAF) will hold the Gold Cup,
at usamateursports.com.
Proceeds will benefit the John W. Brick Mental Health
be running to help a critically ill child. The 3.1-mile run/walk
George’s Stadium’s warning track and receive a 12-ounce
the official national team championship of the region, fea-
course will begin and end at Camden Yards, and will also
can of Bud Light at the end of each lap. The winner will be
turing the best players from the confederation. Games will
include refreshments and T-shirts. Teams and families are
able to throw out the ceremonial first pitch before the game.
be played at M&T Bank Stadium and includes the region’s
encouraged to register. Visit caseycaresfoundation.org for
Pre-registration is required for this event, which is limited
current top 12 national teams. For tickets, visit concacaf.
more information and to register.
to the first 100 individuals to sign up. Visit Baysox.com or
com/Tickets.
SQUASH
SquashWise provides incentives for middle school students
Foundation. The event is scheduled to take place at the
Timonium State Fairgrounds from 6-10 p.m. Visit brickbodies.com to purchase tickets.
to excel academically, athletically and socially, as well as
compete in local and national squash tournaments. No
CAR RACING
squash experience is necessary to become a tutor. Visit bal-
Enjoy car racing with a dose of adrenaline in a safe and legal envi-
CELTIC SOCCER CLUB
timoresquashwise.org to make your tax-deductible dona-
ronment all summer long. Visit mirdrag.com or call 301-884-9833.
This unique point-to-point race Sept. 5 will take runners
JULY 11 -- BASEBALL CARD SHOW
Tryouts for the Celtic Soccer Club are for boys ages 6-18 and
tion. To make equipment donations and/or become a volun-
down historic Charles Street, now a national scenic byway,
A sports card and memorabilia show to benefit Monsignor
girls 6-12. Registration and information are available at bal-
teer tutor, email [email protected].
and end at Power Plant Live!. A portion of the proceeds
Slade Catholic School will be held at Monsignor Slade
timoreceltic.com.
from the race will benefit the Children’s Heart Program at
Catholic School in Glen Burnie from 8 a.m.-2:30 p.m. July 11
the University of Maryland Children’s Hospital. Visit char-
and Aug. 8. For more details, call Leo at 443-416-6447.
BALTIMORE JCC YOUTH SOCCER
LEAGUE
JULY 18 -- BOWIE BAYSOX
Player registrations are now being accepted for the JCC
Watch the Baysox pay tribute to the ladies of the All-
Northwest Youth Soccer League through August. The league
Celebrate the kickoff of the Ravens’ 2015 season and benefit the
American Girls Professional Baseball League with ceremo-
will begin play on Sundays in mid-September and will con-
JULY 20 -- FIRE COMPANY GOLF
House of Ruth and One Love Foundation at the Ravens 5K and
nies throughout the night, followed by fireworks. There will
clude in mid-November. The league will offer 4-, 5- and 6-year-
Pikesville’s Station 32 will hold its annual golf tournament at
Kids Fun Run. Both races will cross the finish line on the field at
be meet-and-greet opportunities with former AAGPBL play-
old clinic competition with competitive league play for the
Suburban Country Club in Pikesville July 20. Visit pvfd32.org
M&T Bank Stadium, with the Kids Fun Run beginning at 6:15
ers, plus women from other local sports leagues and teams.
dual age groupings of U8 and U10. To register, email rchin-
or call 410-486-2668, ext. 5, to register or get more information.
p.m. and the 5K beginning at 7 p.m. Participants and spectators
Call 301-805-6000 or visit baysox.com.
[email protected] or call Rebecca Chinsky at 410-559-3542.
races. The tailgate will feature live music, photo opportunities
JULY 31 -- CRAB CLAW CLASSIC
MIGHTY KICKS PUP LEAGUE
A nine-hole event played with three clubs will be held at his-
and light refreshments. Visit BaltimoreRavens.com/5K.
Registration is open for the 13th annual Mid-Atlantic High
The Pup League provides year-round soccer training for
toric Carroll Park Golf Course. The use of only three clubs
School Baseball Classic (Crab Claw Classic) for JV and var-
boys and girls of all abilities ages 2-18. It’s designed to build
forces golfers to be creative and invent shots, especially
sity players at Joe Cannon Stadium. Visit diamondrecruit-
motor skills, self-confidence and basic techniques. Ongoing
around the greens. This event puts a major emphasis on
ing.com to register.
programs are available around Baltimore. Visit mighty-
shot making, club selection and making the most of limited
kicksbaltimore.com for more information.
resources. Proceeds benefit First Tee of Baltimore. Call
KICKBALL
240-273-GOLF (4653) or visit 3clubclassic2015.ezevent.com.
To participate in co-ed adult kickball around Baltimore,
lesst12.com to register.
SEPT. 9 -- RAVENS 5K
can partake in a free tailgate on the Gate A plaza following the
SEPT. 12 -- NUN RUN
Little Sisters of the Poor’s inaugural Nun Run 5K and onemile fun run and walk are scheduled for Sept. 12 at the
BICYCLE REPAIR
At a cooperative bicycle shop, visitors can work on a donated bike, use tools to fix a broken bike or buy ready-to-ride
secondhand bikes. Volunteer staff will provide assistance.
Visit velocipedebikeproject.org for details.
GOLF
AUG. 29 -- THREE CLUB CLASSIC
MARYLAND OFFICIALS CLUB
Interested in becoming a high school swimming official in the
Baltimore-Anne Arundel area? Experience as a competitive
swimmer or coach at the high school, college or masters level -- or
prior experience officiating -- is strongly preferred. Email [email protected] or call Mike Connors at 410-653-7307.
HOMESCHOOL SPORTS
Baltimore-area homeschooled boys and girls in grades 6-12
interested in playing interscholastic sports can register for
the 2015 school season. Email [email protected] for
more information and to register.
Cathedral of Mary Our Queen, 5200 N. Charles St. Visit little-
MEN’S/CO-ED SLOW-PITCH SOFTBALL
sistersofthepoorbaltimore.org/index.php/news-events/292-
The Lutherville-Timonium Rec Council has opened registra-
RUGBY
nun-run-2015 to register.
tion for the fall slow-pitch softball program at Reisterstown
The Baltimore-Chesapeake Rugby Club, the region’s only
MEN’S GOLF
Regional Park, which runs from mid-August to early
Division I men’s rugby club, is looking for experienced play-
Fox Hollow Men’s Golf Club in Timonium has friendly compe-
TRACK AND FIELD
November. Men’s leagues are Monday and Wednesday eve-
ers or those new to the game. Email baltimorechesapeak-
tition at tournaments every other Saturday through October.
The Andover Apaches Youth Sports Organization has open
Register for the Cancer Challenge 10K, 5K and one-mile fun
nings. E-mail [email protected] or call 443-847-
[email protected] or visit baltimorerugby.net for more
All skill levels are welcome. Visit foxhollowmensgolfclub.org
enrollment for track and field. Call 410-859-3939 or visit
walk, which will be Sept. 20 at Towson University’s Johnny
1072 for additional registration details.
information.
for information and membership application.
sports.bluesombrero.com/apaches.
SEPT. 20 -- ZERO PROSTATE
38 |
| june 2015
BALTIMORE FITNESS ACADEMY
second weekend in November. The league is USSF affili-
Recreation Center.
starting at 8 a.m. at the GBMC campus, located at 6545 N.
call 301-805-6000.
summer. For the first tee, follow signs for Maryland Zoo
JULY 11 -- CHARM CITY ROLLER GIRLS
Unit (NICU). Registrations begin at 6:30 a.m., with the race
SEPT. 5 -- CHARLES STREET 12
Local disc golf courses are open for play throughout the
The Baltimore Nighthawks will take on the Pittsburgh
com or call head coach Jon Randall at 443-897-1192.
BASEBALL/SOFTBALL
DISC GOLF
will begin the weekend after Labor Day and conclude the
mile Fun Walk to benefit GBMC’s Neonatal Intensive Care
gbmc.org/5k or call 443-849-2407.
FOOTBALL
visit kickball-baltimore.com for locations and dates.
BMoreFit’s goal is to reduce childhood obesity in the
men’s, women’s, and coed twos, fours and sixes beach volleyball leagues, beginner to expert levels. Leagues will run at
Baltimore Beach (Rash Field) in the Inner Harbor SundayFriday evenings starting in April and include a 10-week session.
For more information or to register, go to baltimorebeach.com.
BABE RUTH MUSEUM
The improved Babe Ruth Birthplace opened its doors June
12. Ruth’s legacy shaped the sports and American life we
live now. Consider making a tax-deductible donation to this
project. Visit donatenow.networkforgood.org/mdsports or
call 410-727-1539 x3012.
• LIST YOUR •
UPCOMING EVENT
send the date,
time, location,
contact information
and details by:
PHONE
410-366-7272 ext. 115
ONLINE
pressboxonline.com/
community
MAIL
pressbox
3600 clipper mill rd.
suite 155
baltimore, md 21211
attn: community beat
PressBox reserves the right to edit
submissions for grammar and accuracy.
june 2015 |
| 39
THE REALITY CHECK
‘OH’ Say Can You See
That Baltimore Pride?
Glenn Clark
I
was in school when
the Orioles played the
Cleveland Indians to
christen Oriole Park at
Camden Yards April 6,
1992. My first opportunity to see the majestic
new ballpark didn’t come until later that
year, when my father surprised me with
a pair of tickets.
This was the summer of the Olympic basketball “Dream Team.” I was so
swept up in national pride that it would
have made the hosts at Fox News blush.
I made sure to memorize every word of
the national anthem, even if I never really quite understood what a rampart was
and why anyone would choose to watch
one when they could be watching Mike
Devereaux patrol center field.
So, when the moment came, I stood
up and loudly hollered every word of
the song. Well, I did until the rest of the
crowd threw me completely off my game.
You see, as I was belting out the word
“o’er” and wondering why it was necessary to trim a four-letter word down to
three, the rest of the crowd was behind
me. They had been caught on another
part of the song.
From that day forward, I was an “OH”
kid.
When the national anthem was played
on a tape player at Chapel Hill Elementary’s fifth grade assembly, you better
believe I made my teachers shake their
collective heads when I let out my exclamation in the song’s final stanza.
But something happened to me in
adulthood. I found myself worried more
and more that perhaps those people who
accused Baltimoreans of disrespecting
the country during the anthem might
have validity to their claims.
One of the louder critics of Baltimore’s
anthem tradition is columnist Mike Wise.
In 2012, Wise wrote for The Washington
Post, and with at least a dash of cheeki-
ness, he suggested “here’s wishing famine and pestilence comes to all their tailgates” of the “OH” supporters.
Wise at least made a slight claim of
relationship to the “Star-Spangled Banner’s” lyrical author, former Maryland
poet Francis Scott Key. In trying to base
my own opinion, I set out to speak to
someone who could make a claim much
more direct.
Suzanne Key Boyle Hermann lives in
Morristown, N.J., but she is originally
from Baltimore. As Hermann explained
to me, she is a second cousin -- four times
removed -- from Key. Hermann has made
a number of appearances in recent years
on behalf of the family and suggested no
issue with the city’s tradition.
“I don’t think that loses the reverence
of the song,” Hermann said. “I think if
people are signing it … as long as it’s not
desecrating it, what’s wrong with it?”
I had no real answer to Hermann’s
query. But the anthem certainly doesn’t
belong to the lineage of a poet alone.
David W. Peters was deployed to Iraq
in 2006 during his service with the U.S.
Marine Corps. He grew up just past the
Maryland state line in Pennsylvania and
was once a member of the Junior Orioles
Dugout Club.
As a minister now living in Texas, I
expected Peters’ response to the topic to
be a bit more defensive of the song and
the country, and not nearly as accepting
of those who shout “OH!”
“I love it,” Peters said. “It fits with the
song. It enhances the song rather than
detracts from it. It is a game, not a memorial service in a church.”
The strange thing is that the more
current and former military members I
talked to, the harder it was to find anyone who suggested the exclamation was
even remotely offensive.
I even expected more resistance when
I brought up the typical Baltimore defense that the national anthem is “our
song,” because “Defence of Fort McHenry” was written in Baltimore and about
an event that occurred in Baltimore.
“Claiming it as your song is good,
too,” Peters said. “It’s all of ours’ song,
and Baltimore folks know that. But it
was written just a few clicks away in the
harbor.”
Hermann agreed.
“I’m glad they’re proud of it, but it
is the national anthem, so declared
in the U.S. Congress,” Hermann said.
“But Baltimore has a special claim,
because Fort McHenry is there, and
I’m glad they feel a kinship. And after all, the Keys were from Maryland.”
Is it “our” song? No. The national anthem no more belongs to us than it does
those in North Dakota or even Pittsburgh. Yes, Joe Flacco, even Pittsburgh.
But we do have a kinship, and it is one
more significant part of our city’s history
that is worth recognizing.
So, I’m back on board, Baltimore.
And, “OH!” yeah, have a happy Fourth
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EVERY
SUNDAY
at
10:30 a.m.
—
—
BALTIMORE SPORTS.
PERIOD.
PRESENTED BY:
Show segments available at PressBoxOnline.com
40 |
| june 2015
Your 24-hour a day
access to great sports radio
Streamed Live:
10 a.m.-noon, Monday-Friday
Podcast: Anytime you want it!
GlennClarkRadio.com
BROUGHT TO YOU BY
june 2015 |
| 41
42 |
| june 2015
ALOHATOURNAMENTS.COM
410-25-ALOHA(25642) | [email protected]
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