Joe Bubar's Blog

Ready to Start the Season in the Sun

2010-03-10T19:29:00.001-08:00

The season opener is just five days away. On Sunday, we will be traveling to Winter Haven and Auburndale, Florida for a four game stretch during Spring Break. So far we have only been able to practice indoors and we all can’t wait to go outside on a field. It will certainly be a relief once we step outside for the first time, dig our cleats into the dirt of the batter’s box and shield the sun with our gloves as we hover under a fly ball.

This year, the team is young but experienced. While that may seem like a paradox, it aptly describes the way in which this year, we will build on the past while moving towards a better future. We boast only two seniors: Co-captain Ari Glantz, who earned a spot on the All-Liberty League Honorable Mention team last season, and Co-Captain Adam Murphy, who will hold down centerfield for the third straight season. The rest of the squad consists of juniors and sophomores who have garnered significant playing time over the past two seasons, as well as freshmen looking to have an impact in the everyday lineup. Junior second baseman, Joe Castilla, and I will likely make up the right side of the infield. Last year we started a combined 69 games. Meanwhile, the left side of the infield is younger, as two freshmen, Mike Perrone and Conor Gallagher, could be the opening day starters at shortstop and third base, respectively. A sophomore and member of last season’s All-Liberty League Honorable Mention team, Sal Constanzo also returns to the lineup along with sophomores Joseph Coniglio and Liam Lee, both of whom hit over .300 during their freshmen seasons. Sophomore John MacGregor leads a corps of young, but experienced pitchers, which includes sophomore Scott Allen and Junior Daniel Berkowitz. All three pitchers combined for 21 games started last season.

Having to play our first game of the season before we have our first outdoor practice of the season is a disadvantage. Then again, this is the same game we have been playing all our lives and you just don’t forget how to play over the winter. This year, we have a team that can overcome obstacles like this and take this program to the next level.

Replacing Hope With Confidence

2010-02-11T06:50:00.001-08:00

Last week, Washington Post reporter Chico Harlan wrote that the Washington Nationals have replaced hope with confidence. “They are talking like a group confident, not hopeful, of being on the right path,” he wrote. When the first week of baseball practice started at 6 a.m. in the varsity weight room on Monday, it was evident that the same can be said about the Vassar Baseball team. There is less talk about what we hope to do this year and more about what we know we will do. In fact, there is less talking as a whole. Perhaps, that’s because confidence sounds different than hope. When a player is hopeful, he talks about what he wants to do in the upcoming season. When a player is confident, he shows what he is going to do by his actions in practice. Throughout this season’s practices it seems that we are more focused than ever.

During this past week, the theme of practice was fundamentals. After 6 a.m. lift on Monday we reconvened that evening in the Walker Field House for practice and although we went on to practice every day except Sunday, we have yet to field a ground ball and only hit live batting practice once. We worked on our swings off the tee, perfected our footwork in the field and conditioned. Throughout practice it has been clear that hope has been replaced with confidence. And with seven returning starters in the field and eight freshmen, we finally have the tools to back up that newfound confidence.

The Annual Alumni Game: Reliving the Glory

2009-10-08T12:01:00.000-07:00

Last week I wrote about how baseball is timeless: not only in the sense that the game is measured by innings rather than minutes, but also that it has the power to bring out the child within. There is no greater example of this than the annual Alumni Game. Last Saturday, Vassar baseball alumni from various generations gathered on Prentiss Field to recapture their college baseball days. The nostalgia for baseball was as thick as in Bruce Springsteen’s Glory Days: “I had a friend was a big baseball player… but all he kept talking about was glory days.”

A lot has changed about Vassar baseball since some of the alumni played (a new field, for example). But what hasn’t changed is a love for the game, for the Vassar baseball program, and for the school. These passions have persisted throughout all the generations of Vassar baseball. They are what keep the alumni coming back year after year.

Alfonso Lopez, a Vassar graduate of ’92 hit a screaming line drive, which I jumped up and snared out of the air, robbing him of a base hit, and perhaps, a chance to relive his glory days. (He proceeded to shout: “I know your dad!” which is true, though I didn’t know at the time or I would not have been so unkind as to get him out.) But I imagine that getting a base hit was not necessary for Alfonso to rekindle his glory days. Because Vassar baseball is about more than just one base hit here or there. It is about the camaraderie we form with our teammates and coaches. And perhaps, the alumni are still basking in their glory days when they come back and see all their old friends and teammates, and marvel at how far the program they left behind has grown.

Baseball Transcends Time In A 50 Inning Game

2009-10-01T17:12:00.000-07:00

Baseball is timeless. There is no set number of minutes to be played. A game could last nine innings or it could last 50, like it did last Saturday when we split into two teams and played a 50 inning game to raise money for our spring trip to Florida.

We began at 9 am. A pitching machine was rolled out to the mound and everybody on the team, including pitchers, came to the plate more than 20 times. We played different positions in the field; positions we had never played before but always dreamt about playing. Left-handed pitchers played shortstop and outfielders played infield. It was a day not only for us to raise money, but also recapture the youthful innocence of playing baseball.

Because, you see, baseball transcends time in another sense as well. As reclusive author Terrance Mann says in Field of Dreams, “The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game: it's a part of our past, Ray. It reminds of us of all that once was good and it could be again.”

Indeed, when we sit and watch a game at Wrigley Field on a warm July day in the year 2009, we may as well be watching the same game on that same July day in 1989. We can see our childhood heroes running those same 90 feet between bases that the players of today run. The game hasn’t changed. It has remained timeless. And it revitalizes the child within.

Fall Ball Is Our Spring Training

2009-09-24T06:33:00.001-07:00

Sometimes the first hit is the hardest hit for a batter to get. Whether it’s the first hit of the game, when you’re just getting your initial looks at the pitcher or the first of the season when you’re not quite comfortable at the plate yet. Or the first of a college career when you’re nervous and not quite sure what to expect.

Last Saturday, we played a double header exhibition against cross-town foe SUNY New Paltz. All the freshmen on the team that are primarily position players got their first college hits. It’s a sign that the program is growing, not only for this year, but for years to come. But the freshmen were not the only ones to write a new chapter in the book of their baseball careers. For us returning players, it’s time to turn the page and start fresh. The old adage about Spring Training is that teams renew themselves just as the plants come back to life after the cold winter. Fall ball is our Spring Training. The spirits of the players are high and new energy is flowing throughout the team. We’ve taken the first steps, we’ve gotten our first hits, and now it’s time for this team to reach the next level.

2009-09-24T06:33:00.000-07:00

Eager for the New Season

2009-09-11T12:14:00.000-07:00

The Fall baseball season started at 5:30 am on Monday. It was supposed to start at 6 am, when we were to gather in the Varsity Weight Room for our first official team workout. But a half-hour earlier, we were already awake, standing outside the weight room, anxious and excited to start the season. The morning workout consisted of power-lifts, loud music, and team bonding. There is something about the weight room that seems to bring us together. Perhaps it is the common, but unspoken knowledge that we are all willing to work hard to improve on the years past. A team breakfast at the All Campus Dining Center and a mid-morning nap followed the workout and then it was time to reconvene at the most beautiful field in the conference for our afternoon practice.

The weight room may be where we get stronger as individuals, but the field is where we get stronger as a team. During intersquad scrimmages on Monday and Wednesday, it became clear that we have more options at different positions than we did during my previous two seasons. With eight new freshman and returning starters at every position in the field except one, there is competition for every starting job. Competition can bring out the best in players. It is human nature not to work as hard as you can when your job is secure, when there is nothing or nobody pushing you. That is not the case this year. With a team stacked with players at every position, it seems everybody is willing to work their hardest to win the starting job… even if it means showing up a half-hour early to 6 am team lifts.

Hail to the Seniors, All Teammates and Friends

2009-05-04T12:40:00.000-07:00

In a fitting end to his career, Senior Tyler Bellstrom pitched us to victory in our last game of the season on Sunday. For us underclassmen, there’s always next year. But for the seniors, Sunday, which was also Senior Day, marked their last collegiate baseball game. And it is only right to dedicate the last blog entry of the season to the seniors, who were great teammates and friends.

Tyler finished his career on a high note. He was a work-horse and innings eater all year long. He led the team with three wins and 61.1 innings pitched. The co-captain threw three complete games this year, including back-to-back complete games against Skidmore and Rochester. And against St. Lawrence on March 11, he threw eight innings while allowing just two earned runs in the victory.

Senior pitcher Jeremy Pollack started the first game of our final doubleheader on Sunday. He led the team this year with 15 appearances, proving to be the go-to-guy out of the bullpen in the middle innings. A finesse pitcher, Jeremy allowed just 12 walks in 46.2 innings pitched and had the best strike out to walk ratio on the team.

Senior John Snyder was a leader in the dugout and will always be remembered as commissioner of “Two Ball,” a fun game we play during warm-ups. He made four appearances out of the bullpen and one start this year.

The only graduating position player, Co-captain Zack Miller had his best season as a Brewer this year. He hit .291 with an on-base percentage of .375. He was the team leader in home runs and was 12 for 12 stealing bases this year. He scored 20 runs and drove in 14 RBIs. And he concluded his career by going a combined 2-5 with three RBIs in the doubleheader on Senior Day.

We will all miss the seniors deeply. But we still feel that as a team we have a bright future ahead of us. We underachieved this year. We were a much more talented team than in years past, as shown by the fact that our team batting average went up 23 points from last season’s average. But we weren’t able to put our talent together to win this year.

Still, there were some individual bright spots on a very young team. Three freshmen: Liam Lee, Joe Coniglio and Sal Costanzo hit above .300 this year and freshman pitcher John MacGregor held the lowest ERA on the team. Junior Ari Glantz had another strong offensive year as well, hitting .336.

On a personal level, this year had its ups and downs. Baseball has a strange knack of working out exactly opposite of how you expect. Going into the year, I was extremely confident with my hitting and less so with my fielding, switching positions for the first time. However, as the year wore on, I hit some slumps on the offensive end while my fielding kept improving. Although I was hot at the plate for the first half of the season, I did not end up hitting as well as I would have liked. But I was very proud of the way I played the glove in my first year at a new position and ended up leading all infielders in the Liberty League in fielding percentage.

My goal going into the off-season last year was to work hard and earn a starting spot. And I accomplished that goal, starting every game this season. And for that, I am grateful. Yet, there is still so much more I want to accomplish as an individual, but more importantly, as a team. And I can’t wait till next year.

Buddha Martin

2009-04-14T06:10:00.001-07:00

April 14

There is a new addition to the team. Major League’s Cuban slugger Pedro Cerrano had JoBu. Vassar baseball has Buddha Martin. Named after our head coach, Jon Martin, Buddha Martin is a miniature Buddha figurine that rocks shades and a prime spot in the dugout. Rub his stomach for good luck, talk to him when you’re in a slump or press the button on his back to hear a recording of freshman pitcher Race Bottini imitate the coach’s favorite phrase, “Act as if!” Buddha Martin is guaranteed to get your team wins or you’ll get your money back!

Buddha Martin came with us on our trip to St. Lawrence this past weekend for four games in two days. And although we came away with only one victory, we are playing good baseball! Had we limited one big inning here or there, each of those losses could have been victories. There is definitely a new team attitude. We run on to the field to start the game not thinking we are going to win, but rather, knowing we are going to win. We all know that Buddha Martin has no actual bearing on the outcome of the game but it acts as a symbol of all of us coming together to form a team and believing in one thing. This transformation won’t happen overnight. But as was apparent in our victory at SUNY Purchase and then our road trip up to St. Lawrence, and last night’s win over SUNY New Paltz, we are taking large steps in the right direction.

Staying Young: A Look at the Local Basketball Scene

2009-04-02T13:59:00.002-07:00

Just a few miles off the campus of Vassar College, Gene sits half-asleep on the bleachers along the baseline of the basketball court at Casperkill Health and Fitness Center. His hood covers his head and he rests his hands in the front pocket of his sweatshirt as he watches his two-year-old son, Evan struggle to dribble a ball.

“Wake up!” an older, white male with gray hair says and pats Gene on the thigh. “You look tired.”

“It’s my birthday, Bob,” Gene mumbles.

“Oh, happy birthday! How old are you?”

“Twenty-eight,” says Gene, his smooth, brown skin contrasting with Bob’s wrinkled face.

“Yeah, well, I’m sure you feel like you’re 85.”

Just then, a short black man named Shane walks over – no, more like skips over – to the bleachers. He rolls up the sleeve of his green shirt that is tucked into his shorts and flexes his bicep.

“I’ve been workin’ out!” he exclaims between puffs of his asthma inhaler. “Can’t you tell? 30 years old and I look great, don’t I?”
Age is the theme of the 11-o’clock Friday basketball games. That’s when the most diverse group plays. In the morning, at 6:00 am, it is mostly older white males. On Sundays at 8:30 it is the cream of the crop, the younger, predominantly black players. But on Fridays at 11:00, age is no barrier. The courts at Casperkill are where the old come to feel young.

Although Shane is the smallest person the court, he has the largest mouth. “He’s a big mouth,” says Gene. “He’s the only one you’re going to hear on the court.”
With the score tied at 10 points apiece, Gene goes up against Shane one-on-one along the left side of the three-point arc. From the way his body moves with the ball, as if it were attached to his finger on a string, it’s clear Gene once had potential. He was offered a full scholarship to attend Canisius College in Buffalo, New York and play basketball. But when he was 18, he had a daughter, who is now six-years-old and had to stay close by to take care of her. He often wonders what would have happened if he hadn’t had his first child so young. “I might have went somewhere,” he says. He attended Dutchess Community College for two years but didn’t get along with the coach. Last year he played semi-pro basketball for the Connecticut Thunder Bolts in a league started just two years ago and got paid 150 dollars per game. (“It cost 100 dollars to try out,” he says). And now, he plays about twice a week at Casperkill whenever he has time off from his job in produce at Price Chopper.

Gene is one of the only players on the court as quick if not quicker than Shane. And with the score tied, Gene dribbles the ball between his legs, sneaks past Shane and is hit on the arm as he goes up for a layup. He calls, “Foul.”

Shane can’t believe it. He throws the ball in the air and shouts back. “How are you gonna call that a foul?” he asks. Before long, everybody on the court is arguing, shouting, and laughing at how they always argue and shout. This is why the games take so long. This is one of the reasons why you don’t want to lose. It’s winner-stays-on basketball and if you lose, it might be half-an-hour with all the pausing and yelling before you get back on the court.

Then, in walks Sunny. The 64-year old has on a bright yellow basketball jersey and it’s as though he literally wears his name on his sleeve.

“Sunny’s got on the oldest Lakers jersey there is,” someone jokes.

Sunny is like a general on the court. He stands at the top of the arc surveying his players and calling out orders. He rarely shoots and he rarely talks trash. But he doesn’t exactly keep his mouth shut either. “Go to work,” he says to one of his taller teammates, telling him post up on his defender. Sunny then feeds him the ball and when he turns around and sinks the short jump shot, Sunny takes credit. “You see, that’s ‘cuz you were right where I told you to be,” he says.

Sunny has lived in Poughkeepsie, NY since he moved there when he was 10 in 1955. He is a semi-retired patrol officer. (“I’m retired but I haven’t given them my memo yet,” he jokes. “So they’re still paying me.”) So he comes to play basketball at Casperkill every other day. He has been playing there since he was 21 and has been a member since the age of 40.

On the court, a player goes down. “Time out! Time out!” the other players shout as the injured player hops off the court and lies down. “It’s the Starberries he’s got on,” someone laughs, referencing the 15 dollar shoes put out by ex-NBA player Stephon Marbury, who wanted to make a pair of decent basketball sneakers that were also affordable.

After about ten minutes the injured player moves to the bleachers to ice his knee and sits by Sunny. His name is Spike and he too has been coming to Casperkill since he was 10 years old and used to watch his father play on the same court. “I should get a free pass,” he says.

Sunny and Spike begin to remember the days when these courts were where “anybody who could play” would come. People from all over upstate New York would come to these courts in the 1980s and 1990s. Even guys who were playing in college would come to Casperkill during the summer to play against some of the best local competition and keep in shape.

But that was when IBM owned the gym. Then the Marriot bought it. And now a company called Bright Horizons owns it. “And they’ve let it go to waste,” says Sunny. “Look, they got a hoop over there that isn’t but eight feet. They got one right here that’s about 9 feet.”

“The floor is slippery, I’m surprised I was able to catch myself when I did,” says Spike.

“You know why that is though?” asks Sunny. “It’s because they don’t wipe the floors until after we play. That doesn’t make any sense. Why do they wipe it after we play and not before? It aint the bus, it’s us.”

Indeed, this used to be one of the best places to play in New York, according to Sunny and Spike. And it was free as long as you knew somebody who worked at IBM. But now, “When you’re good here,” says Sunny, “You aint good anywhere else.”
He calls it the Poughkeepsie Syndrome: Being the best player in Poughkeepsie but not being able to hold your own against players who have been coached. “Here it’s all about shaking and baking,” Sunny says and moves his body like he’s dancing to salsa music. “There it’s all about getting the ball to the big man.”

Spike agrees. He’s played all over Upstate New York, the city and all the way down the coast to Washington, DC. “Everybody’s jumping out the gym. Everybody’s got handles,” he says, “You have to find a way to stand out.”

Suddenly and without saying a word, Gene who had been guarding Shane, runs off the court during one of the games. He sprints into the hallway where the water fountain is located and looks around frantically. “Gene!” someone shouts. “Gene, he’s right here! He’s right here.” The player points to the bleachers where Evan is curled up asleep in a pile of jackets. “He’s camouflaged.”

Even at a gym filled with 20-year-olds, Sunny, at age 64, seems like the youngest person there. “How old are you?” he asks, to which Spike replies that he is 38. Sunny laughs. And in his laugh are 64 years of life and no sign of stopping. It’s a laugh that could brighten the entire gym. It’s a laugh that could make you feel young.

Mohawks, Comebacks, and Spring Break

2009-03-25T08:17:00.000-07:00

March 25

After years of not having a home field to compete on, the coaches decided to make the most of our new baseball field during spring break. So this past break we stayed on campus to practice, improve our skills, and play seven games. After going home for the first four days of spring break to see my parents, eat some home-cooked meals, and recuperate from the first half of the second semester, we were back in Poughkeepsie for the remainder of the break.

We practiced mostly on the turf field for the first few days leading up to our double-header against MIT, as the baseball field was still thawing after the cold winter. And as each day seemed to get progressively warmer, we could sense that baseball season was truly getting underway. But dropping both games to MIT showed us that we still had to shake the rust from the winter and start playing to our potential. As a reminder to play as a team with a never-say-die attitude, we decided to get team Mohawks. It was something the Tampa Bay Devil Rays did last season as they went from worst to first in their division. So we thought we would give it a try as well, at least during spring break, when most of the campus was away and wouldn’t see how ridiculous we looked.

Whether it was the Mohawks or the fact that we started feeding off each other’s intensity, our next game against Mt. St. Mary College featured one of the greatest comebacks I had ever been a part of. Down 10-0 heading into the fourth inning, we clawed our way back in the game by scoring three runs in the bottom of the fourth and four runs in the bottom of the fifth. But just as things started looking up, we surrendered another eight runs over the next two innings and failed to score on the offensive side. Heading into the eighth inning, the score was 18-7. But as the sky darkened in the bottom of the eighth, the hits became contagious. One after another, we crossed home plate, scoring ten runs and cutting the lead to one. After finally recording three outs, we sprinted on to the field to begin the ninth inning, but the umpires convened and called the game on account of darkness, spoiling our epic comeback.

It was disheartening, but we took from the game a sense that no matter how bad things get, we can always come back. It was this attitude that propelled us to our first Liberty League win of the season against Clarkson the next weekend, when we scored the winning run on a walk-off single. But after dropping the next three games to Clarkson, it appears that we will need to conjure up this never-say-die attitude once again.

Opening Day: Outside For the First Time

2009-03-04T10:52:00.000-08:00

March 4

There’s nothing quite like the feeling of opening day. It’s a combination of excitement and nervousness that kept me up the night before our season-opening double-header against Swarthmore, tossing and turning in bed for four hours, before I could finally fall asleep. And I wasn’t the only one. When I got on the bus Saturday at 7 am, I learned that the majority of players on the team couldn’t sleep either. Ah, the opening day jitters.

Perhaps contributing to this feeling was that these games marked the first time, because of weather, that we were able to play outside on a baseball field since the fall season ended. Talk about being thrown into the fire. During batting practice and pre-game warm-ups, the infielders tried to get a read on how the ball hops differently off the dirt as opposed to off the hard floor inside the Walker Field House while the outfielders took some of their first reads on fly-balls since the fall. Although at times we were a little rusty in the field, overall it was a good showing considering it was our first time outside. Even though we were used to playing inside, it’s still the same game we’ve been playing all our lives. We turned multiple double-plays at key moments in the games and hauled in some spectacular catches, one of which came from sophomore centerfielder Adam Murphy. Leading the second game by one run, Murphy tracked down a deep shot to the left-centerfield warning track and made an over-the-shoulder, falling catch.

At the start of the season it is expected that pitchers have an advantage over hitters, who haven’t faced real, live pitching outside since the fall. And on Saturday, the safe bet won. Senior pitcher Tyler Bellstrom kept us in the first game, allowing three earned runs over five innings. But we struggled, especially at the top of the order, to produce hits. Senior Zack Miller’s two hits and sophomore Devon Luongo’s three hits were some of the lone bright spots at the plate in the first game.

Our strong pitching continued in the second game, and we were able to pick up the bats as well to produce our first win of the season. In his first college start, freshman John MacGregor mowed down the Swarthmore bats, allowing just one run over during his complete-game outing. Pitching as though he had three years of experience under his belt, MacGregor showed an impressive amount of poise on the mound. At a critical point in the game - with us leading by two runs but with Swarthmore threatening to score with two runners on and the number three-hitter at the plate – MacGregor apparently struck the batter out and we all rushed off the field and into the dugout. But the umpire reversed the call, saying the hitter had foul-tipped the ball, and after a few minutes we were forced back onto the field where a hit surely would have cut the lead and turned momentum to Swarthmore’s side. But MacGregor was able to stay composed and induce a groundout. With our bats coming alive as well in the second game (seven of nine hitters had at least one hit) we grabbed our first win and ended the day with a split.

Personally for me, opening day had a little bit of everything. It was my first time ever playing first base in a non-exhibition game and I was happy with my performance in the field. Opening day also saw my first bloop hit fall between the shortstop, second baseman, and centerfielder and my first time getting picked-off. Even with mistakes and 30-degree weather included, being outside playing a game beats practicing inside any day.

But on Tuesday, after a storm dropped around five inches of snow on Poughkeepsie, we were back indoors. We have just less than two weeks until our home opener against MIT, which falls over spring break, and hopefully, we will be able to practice outdoors before then. Hopefully too, we will all be able to catch up on sleep.

Q & A With Mike Mattelson, Vassar Men's Tennis

2009-02-24T06:27:00.000-08:00

With three commanding wins to begin the spring season, the Vassar men’s tennis team is off to a soaring start. The Brewers shut out Baruch College on February 7, beat Manhattanville College 7-2 on February 14, and stomped over US Coast Guard Academy with another sweep last Saturday. Next Saturday, the team heads to Skidmore College for a rematch of last year’s Liberty League Championship, in which the Brewers lost, 6-3. Junior Mike Mattelson is undefeated so far at the number one singles position. Here is what he has to say on the season:

Q) What has been the key to success so far this season?
A) From what I can tell the thing that has been the most conducive to success on the court for us has been the effort everyone is putting in at practice. We are all working harder than ever right now and it's really showing in our results thus far. Everyone is determined to take back the Liberty League title from Skidmore. The reason we lost to them in the finals last year is because we weren't mentally tough and confident enough going in. The only way to be confident in the clutch moments is to be able to trust yourself to do what you know you're capable of. That will only happen through hard work and dedication in practice.

Q) Who do you look at as the key players on this year's squad? Have there been any that have played surprisingly well so far?
A) It's hard to pick out one or two guys as key players because every spot is so important for us. We have a smaller than ideal team so every person is so important…. This season really will be a complete team effort up and down the whole lineup. That being said, strong team morale is key and I would like to think that the reason we possess that is because of the leadership of our captain, Jeremy Rosen and our co-captain, myself. I take it upon myself to set a good example every day by working hard and having a positive attitude and I feel like that mentality has spread throughout the team. As far as guys who have been playing surprisingly well, I would have to say Shane Donahue. Last year he was near the bottom of our lineup, didn't start. After working hard over the summer and in France last semester abroad, he is not only starting for us, but winning convincingly in all his matches so far.

Q) What are your goals as a team?
A) Take back what we feel belongs in our possession: the Liberty League Championship!! That's our primary goal, but we also want to make it back to Nationals. Going last year for the first time in school history was a great experience, but we're looking to make an impact there this year, not just show up and be happy to be there. We've got a couple shots at redemption against teams we lost to last year, which is something to get fired up about for sure. I personally can't wait to put the crush down on Tufts after losing a devastating 5-4 decision to them last year.

Q) What are your personal goals?
A) Since freshman year, I've wanted to play in the National singles tournament in May. It's something that I have been working towards for the past two and a half years. Since playing competitively in juniors, I've always believed that I was capable of being really good, but I have lost to other guys that I felt I could have beaten…. When I came to college I really felt it was a chance for me to reach that next level that I've always known I could. With the help of my coach, Ki Kroll, as well as a lot of hard work, I feel like I'm so close to being a top D3 player. After I lost in the finals of ITAs in the Fall, a tournament where the winner gets All-American status, I have been even more determined to win. Entering into the bulk of the Spring Season, I believe that I can beat any player that I will face. While this does set me up for potential disappointment, I need to set high goals for myself to ensure that I continue to work hard and stay motivated. I want to make Nationals so badly. I figure if I don't lose a match I should have a pretty good shot of making the tournament. I will go into every match believing that I can win and hopefully I'll continue to have the success I desire.

Q) How has last year's loss in the championship affected what you guys want to accomplish this year?
A) It has only made us hungrier to win this year. Every match we play (and potentially win) is one step along the path for us to take back what's rightfully ours from Skidmore. We are so determined. We want it so badly. We are going to play them this Saturday (Feb. 28) for a dual match and we plan on making a big statement.

Respect the Game

2009-02-10T11:08:00.000-08:00

February 10

It’s baseball’s version of Watergate. And although we may not be asking “Where were you when Alex Rodriguez was caught?” I certainly will never forget.

It was during our Saturday morning practice and I was hitting off a tee, waiting for my turn in the batting cage. That’s when head coach Jon Martin relayed the news that he had received through a text message from a friend.

“A-Rod took ‘roids’!” he shouted across the gym.

Everyone seemed to stop what they were doing. Shouts of “I knew it,” “No way,” and even some expressions of joy from Red Sox fans echoed throughout the gym. But team loyalties aside, as we talked the rest of practice about A-Rod, we all agreed that it was bad for baseball. The phrase “respect the game” seems to get thrown around in baseball more than in any other sport. It’s why you don’t just walk on and off the field instead of hustling, it’s why you don’t throw the ball on the rubber when the manager makes a pitching change, and it’s why you don’t spit on the umpire after a bad call. It’s why you don’t bet on the game, it’s why you don’t throw the World Series and it’s why you don’t take steroids.

More than any other sport, baseball seems to be bigger than the individual player. It’s bigger than one game or one season even. Baseball has history. And its history forever looms over the present. It’s so natural to have a conversation about baseball that evolves into a comparison between a player of today and one of the past. How often do you hear questions like, “Who was a better fielder? Willy Mayes or Jim Edmonds?” or, “Who had a better arm? Roberto Clemente or Vlad Guerro?” Baseball has stood the test of time, and it this transcendence of time that separates baseball from any other sport.

Everyone on the Vassar squad loves baseball. It’s why we practice six days out of the week and twice on Saturdays. And, baseball has been good to us in return. Baseball has enabled me to travel to different states, even different countries to play in tournaments. It’s enabled me to meet some of my best friends and to build my character. And so we play on. And so, we respect the game. It’s the least we can do in return.

Mixing Snowy Weather and Spring Sports

2009-02-03T11:21:00.000-08:00

February 2

Four inches of snow fell last Wednesday, which could only mean one thing: the spring sports season had begun.

With the temperatures below freezing and the grass buried beneath the snow, spring sports teams started practicing last week but will be forced to do so inside the Walker Field House for quite a while. Spring training evokes all the images of a sunny day in Florida. But at Vassar, pre-season workouts begin and end with a trek through the snow.

There is nothing quite like the first day of practice: The nervousness about getting back into the groove, the excitement over playing the sport you love, and the confusion of seeing the ground covered in snow yet knowing that opening day is only one month away.

For me and the rest of my teammates on the baseball team, this season has a different feel and a different look from years past. While donning new, matching maroon practice gear, we boast a newfound confidence and high hopes for the upcoming year. The first few days consisted of taking ground balls in Walker Field House, hitting in the batting cage, conditioning, and talking of a successful season. We feel that we are going to surprise the other teams in the league. And it is this excitement about the season that keeps us motivated even while our field is covered in snow.

Surely it will get tough at some time in the upcoming weeks to stay focused during our indoor practices and to remind ourselves that we will be playing Swarthmore outside on March 1. But the temperatures have been rising, the snow has been melting and the first signs of spring weather are not too far off. And as a team, we feel that a winning season is not too far off either.

Fan Support Shows Its True Colors At Men's Volleyball

2009-01-25T12:12:00.001-08:00

At basketball games, the crowd is called the sixth man. At football games, it’s called the 12th man. And at a rematch of the Molten Division III National Invitational Championship between Vassar College and Springfield, it’s called the dress-up-crazy and scream-your-butt-off Vassar fan section.

With the bleachers of the Kenyon Hall Volleyball Court so packed that students were forced to stand with their toes barely out of bounds, Vassar seemed to have all the makings of a true fan section. But this is Vassar, and in typical anti-mainstream form, some students dressed up as video game characters, wore spandex from the 1980s or put fairy wings on their backs. Nevertheless, the crowd certainly made an impact.

The Brewers, seeking to avenge a 3-0 loss to Springfield in last year’s championship, held a 10-6 lead in the fifth and final set. Then, Springfield fought back and took five straight points from the Brewers to take an 11-10 advantage. And with the Brewers facing two match points, at the 13-14 and 14-15 marks, the crowd rose to its feet with deafening noise similar to that of Duke’s Cameron Indoor Stadium. And both times, the visitors faulted on the serve.

This is certainly not to take anything away from Vassar’s AVCA 2008 All-American duo of seniors Phil Tully and John Kessenich, which tallied 20 kills to go along with 19 digs and 53 assists> Nor the three other Brewers who hit double figures in kills: Sophomore Evan Fredericksen had 13, seniors Greg Maier Steve and Steve Micucci each added 12. It is only to point out the benefit of having a crowd that truly gives its team a home court advantage.

Not often does one see a team (Vassar) applaud its fans for their support after a loss, unless it’s the last game of a season. And it is even less common to see the visiting team (Springfield) applaud the home team’s crowd. But such was the case on Friday. And with players from both teams waving to the crowd and giving thanks for being able to play in such a unique environment, Vassar students, spandex and all, let out one last cheer and showed just how unique they really are.

Dressing up does have its place in sports. Just look at the National Football League where grown men put on wigs and pig noses, dress like Ms. Piggy and call themselves The Hoggets while cheering for the Washington Redskins. However here's some food for thought from where I sit: What separates those fans from that of Vassar is that they have been there even during losing seasons.

Let’s just hope that the Vassar fan section will be cheering even if they aren’t watching a nationally ranked team.

The Joy of Victory, the Agony of Defeat: A Busy Weekend in Vassar Athletics

2008-11-24T11:00:00.000-08:00

November 24

It was a busy weekend for athletics on campus as Vassar College hosted both the Liberty League Squash Championships and the Seven Sisters Women’s Basketball Classic. It was also a weekend of mixed emotions as Vassar athletes and coaches felt both the agony of defeat and the joy of victory. It is the nature of sports to make us feel for our teams as if we were the ones on the court. We feel for women’s basketball head coach Luke M. Ruppel as he jumps up and down along the baseline and gives Tiger Woods-like fist pumps, trying to will his team to its first victory of the season, and his first as a Vassar head coach. And we feel for Jane Parker who, after nine years at the helm of the women’s squash program, finally got her first Liberty League title this past weekend.

The women’s squash team ended the weekend on a joyous note, winning the program’s first ever Liberty League title after defeating William Smith and St. Lawrence. The fact that the women won the title on their home court only added to the moment. On the opposite end, the women’s basketball team suffered a heartbreaking loss to Wellesley College on Saturday to open the Seven Sisters Classic. With seconds left in the game, sophomore Carolyn Crampton swooped in the paint to grab an offensive rebound and scored a layup as the buzzer sounded, forcing overtime. Though her heroics gave the Brewers momentum heading into overtime, they were unable to overcome a hot-shooting Wellesley squad that did not miss in the extra period, a bitter ending to a game in which the Brewers erased an 11-point second half deficit.

A Conversation With Coach Bu-terno

2008-11-18T06:28:00.000-08:00

Friday night lights came to Vassar. The intramural touch football one-day tournament was held Friday beneath a light drizzle that glistened under the stadium lights of the turf field at Prentiss. Team Menergy, composed of about ten of my teammates on the Vassar baseball team, went undefeated and won the tourney for the second straight year. Because I had sprained my ankle a few weeks before, I was not able to compete. So, I became Coach Joe-Buterno. On the sideline, motivating his team to victory dressed in a shirt and tie and a lollipop in his mouth ala the Coach of Dallas Carter in the movie “Friday Night Lights,” was Coach Joe Bu-terno. I caught up with Coach Bu-terno after the game, his championship t-shirt drenched from the celebratory water-cooler dump.

Joe Bubar: Coach, congrats on your victory. How does it feel?

Coach Bu-terno: It feels great. We fought hard. We never gave up. We left it all out there on that field. Those were tough teams we had to face. But we had heart and we showed that out there. It was a grudge match. It was sloppy at times. But a wins a win.

Joe Bubar: Any other sports clichés you want to throw out?

Coach Bu-terno: Sometimes the ball just doesn’t bounce your way. Wait, no, that one doesn’t apply.

Joe Bubar: Coach, you have no prior coaching experience whatsoever, you’ve never played a down of organized football in your life and yet you were able to lead your team to victory. How did you do it?

Coach Bu-terno: I’ve watched enough sports movies to know that coaching is all about motivating your players. Gene Hackman in “Hoosiers,” Billy Bob-Thorton in “Friday Night Lights,” Denzel Washington in “Remember the Titans.” You think those guys have prior coaching experience? No. But you know what they all have in common? They all lead their teams to victory. It’s all about dressing the part and acting the part. Make your guys think you know what you’re talking about even if you have no clue.

Joe Bubar: And act the part you did. It’s been said that your speech before the first playoff game could be heard from the Senior Town Houses. What did you say to your team?

Coach Bu-terno: I wrote a speech before the tournament. I took a little from “Any given Sunday” and little from my idol Joe Paterno. I took a couple words here and mixed them with a few words there. I basically told them that it hurt me to know that I couldn’t be out on the field playing with them because of my ankle. And I wanted them to put me in their hearts when they were playing.

Joe Bubar: Coach, how did you become so good?

Coach Bu-terno: Success doesn't come easy. Except for me. I'm a natural.

Joe Bubar: How are you able to stay so humble?
Coach Bu-terno: I’ll be honest. When you’re this good, it’s tough.

Joe Bubar: So what’s next? Are you going to play next year when your ankle is healed or do you think you’re more valuable as a coach?

Coach Bu-terno: I’m not sure yet. I want to talk it over with my family first. I’m thinking about retiring, but then coming out of retirement and demanding a record-setting contract or a trade. That rout seems to be fashionable right now after what Brett Favre did, so that’s what I’m leaning towards doing.

The Past Meets the Present, Alumni Game '08

2008-10-06T06:30:00.000-07:00

October 5

Past and present met on Prentiss Field yesterday. And the future looks bright.

We played Vassar baseball alumni Saturday in the traditional alumni game. From the Vassar graduates who played last year to the alumni who started the baseball program, everyone marveled at the field as they walked into the dugout. You could tell they were proud of the direction the program was taking.

It’s important to look back and see all the generations of Vassar baseball. It’s important to see where the program started and where it is now. And it’s important to keep looking toward the future and where this program could be very soon.

As I stood on first base after singling, one of the alumni said, “You guys look good. You have a really strong offense.” It’s a good feeling knowing that when we put on the Vassar uniform, we are not just representing ourselves and the school, but we are representing all those who played baseball at Vassar before us, the ones who started the program, helped build the field, and got us to where we are today.

But I’m not going to lie: it felt good to beat the alumni. Although most of them hadn’t played competitive baseball in years, it was nice to come out on top, put some crooked numbers on the scoreboard and show them that this program is getting better and better each year.

Saturday was also the last day of the fall season. It was important to end the fall on a high note personally and as a team. Going 4-5 at the plate and winning by a substantial margin will be nice to take into the winter. But although the practices with the coaches have ended, baseball doesn’t stop. We are still going to be lifting, throwing, and hitting on a regular basis all offseason.

Seeing all the ex-baseball players on the field Saturday was inspiring but nostalgic. Most, if not all, of us will stop playing competitive baseball after we graduate. Playing baseball has always been a part of my life and it’s hard to put into words what it will mean when I have to give it up. Perhaps the words won’t come until it’s time. So for now I am inspired to work hard in the offseason so that when I do have to give up playing ball, I can do so without regrets; without asking myself “what if I did this or what if I did that?”

But for the most part, the alumni game was exciting and fun. And hopefully looking into the Vassar baseball past propels us into the future.

Proving Yogi Right

2008-10-02T14:40:00.000-07:00

October 1

Yogi Berra once said, “You can’t think and hit at the same time.”

Today, I tried to prove Yogi wrong.

We played an intersquad scrimmage in practice today and I wanted to be conscious of what I was thinking at the plate during my at-bats. That was my first mistake. If it’s true that you can’t think and hit at the same time, then you definitely can’t think about what you’re thinking and hit at the same time.

I walked up to the plate for my first at bat expecting a fastball. Look for a fastball up, I told myself. What did I get? First pitch: slider down and away. Okay, I thought, now he’s definitely coming with a fastball with this next pitch. I guessed right. The pitcher came with a fastball but for some reason I couldn’t pull the trigger. My mind and body weren’t working in sync. Now I’m in a hole, I thought. With two strikes I spread my feet and choked up on the bat. Think fastball, I thought, and adjust to the curve. The pitcher threw an inside curve and I pulled it on the ground to the second baseman for the ground out.

Perhaps I shouldn’t have been so stubborn, but how often do you have the chance to prove a hall of famer wrong? So, for one more at bat I wanted to go up there conscious about what I was thinking at the plate. Of course, once again, I worked myself into a hole. I stepped out of the batter’s box. This time I wasn’t going to think at the plate. Don’t think, I told myself, just adjust this time. Clear your head. I dug in, spread my feet and choked up on the bat. The pitcher threw an inside fastball and I sent the outfielders chasing after the ball in the right-center field gap. You win Yogi, I thought to myself as I stood on second with a double. You were right.

The Craziness That Is Baseball

2008-09-27T13:21:00.000-07:00

Every morning, we wake up and go through the same routine: take a shower, brush your teeth, shave, get dressed, eat breakfast, read the paper, and go to work. But somehow, even though you’ve gone through your morning routine countless times, something still doesn’t go your way. You spill coffee on your shirt, or you lock your keys in the car.

It’s the same with baseball. You have your routine in the batter’s box: Step out, look at the sign, check the fielders’ positioning, fix your batting gloves, adjust your helmet, take a practice swing and step up to the plate. But you see, in a baseball game, you can do everything right and you still won’t win. Sometimes it’s the hardest hit ball that gets caught.

Then again, you can do everything wrong and still come out a hero. Last year, I entered a game to pitch with the team winning by one run. I inherited runners on first and second with one out. I walked the first batter on four pitches to load the bases. Then I hit the next batter with a pitch to force in the tying run. On the next pitch, I induced an inning-ending double play. In the bottom of the inning the team rallied at the plate to take the lead for good. I was credited with the win. My stat line looked something like this: W, IP: 0.2, BB: 1, HBP: 1, ER: 1. The worst pitching performance I can remember produced my first college win.

That’s baseball.

Baseball is having an alumni, who pitched some of the best games in your school’s history, yet never picked up a win in his four years, send a text message to your teammate after a game like that saying: “Bubar got a win?!”

Maybe baseball just can’t be figured out no matter how much you play. No two baseball games are alike. No matter how consistent you are, no matter how perfect you replicate the way you bend down to field a grounder, the ball doesn’t bounce the same way every time. Sometimes the ball kicks up off a pebble in the dirt and hits you right in the mouth. And all you can say is: “That’s life.”

Dugout Antics

2008-09-24T06:46:00.000-07:00

Walking into the dugout early before practice is like walking into a comedy club. My teammates are scattered on the steps of the dugout, the bench, and even the floor. Anywhere where you can get a seat for the open-mic show.

We talk mostly about baseball. The coaches tell stories of players they once coached or played against. Everyone laughs and chimes in like war vets looking back and sharing stories. There are some serious stories, but most are funny. We impersonate players who played on the team last year and remember funny bus rides.

Then somebody comes up to you and tells you that he heard someone mentioned your name at dinner the other night. “Who was it?” you ask. And they respond, “Flip Wilson!” And flip your hat off your head.

The coaches shout out that it’s time for warm-ups. And although practice just then officially starts, it has really been going on for much longer.

A New Era

2008-09-22T07:43:00.000-07:00

September 20

What an exciting day! Saturday started with the opening ceremony for the new Prentiss Field complex and culminated with a double-header scrimmage against SUNY New Paltz. Although, we had our own games to focus on, it felt like Saturday was about more than just baseball. It was about Vassar athletics as a whole. With soccer and field hockey games on the fields next to the baseball diamond and alums surveying the beautiful new complex, it was clear that Saturday was the beginning of a new era.

What was most striking was that it was apparent even to the opponents that Vassar was on the rise. After reaching second base on a passed ball, the SUNY New Paltz shortstop said to me, “This is a beautiful field. It must be great for your program!”

And we played like a team improving, as well. Our offense is exciting! We have 10 to 11 guys who can all hit in the top of the order. We sprayed line drives all over the field and it will be interesting to see how the lineup plays out during the season. Sophomore Joe Castilla hit a first inning homer (only the second ever at Prentiss Field) and sophomore David Ringold hit a double and triple. Our pitching was also solid with senior Tyler Bellstrom starting the first game.

I like to come to the field every day with a purpose, whether it’s working on my footwork in the field or taking the ball the opposite way at the plate. As a team, it looked like we came to the field Saturday with a purpose. We wanted to get the season off right and we definitely played well. Individually, I came to the field with the purpose of getting some experience in at first base and showing some power at the plate like I did near the end of my summer season.

I was very pleased with the way I played defense at first base. I got more comfortable at the position as the game went along, and my confidence in my ability to play the position is now where it needs to be going into the offseason. Although, I didn’t hit any extra-base hits on Saturday, I was able to get on base and score four times. Overall, I was pleased with the both the team’s performances and my performance. In a way it seems that the fall season culminated with our scrimmages yesterday, but in fact, we still have two more weeks of practice to go. It’s nice to use the scrimmage as a starting point, knowing that we played well and we will only get better.

Picking Up Speed

2008-09-18T09:16:00.000-07:00

September 18

The baseball diamond is where I can let everything go. For two or three hours during practice, I can put the stress of school work behind me and just play ball. On the field, nothing else matters but the game.

We are at the point now where things are starting to pick up on and off the field. It’s week two of baseball practice and week three of Vassar. And that means that the work load is starting to get heavier.

Sometimes it is hard to stay on top of my work. When I get back to my dorm room late after practice all I want to do is lie in bed and watch re-runs of “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” But I know that I can’t fall behind on my homework. Having practice every other day, for the most part, helps. It allows me time to catch up on reading assignments and rest. Time management is key to being a successful student athlete.

Things on the baseball field are also starting to pick up. Our arms are back up to playing speed after the summer- we long-tossed in practice today. And we have the routine down now. Everybody knows in which group they belong when and where. We are getting to know the new tryout members better each day and things are coming together nicely.

That being said, it’s not time to settle. We can’t stop here. Every day we either get better or we get worse. There is no staying the same.

Baseball's Forumula: Hard Work Will Pay Off

2008-09-12T14:27:00.000-07:00

A good friend of mine used to say, ‘This is a very simple game. You throw the ball, you catch the ball, you hit the ball. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains.’”

That, of course, is a quote from the 1988 baseball movie Bull Durham. And on a day like today, when practice is cut short after warm-ups because of rain, I think back to that line. I laugh every time I hear it because it is such an extreme understatement.

If you add it all up, I have probably played in over 700 baseball games. That’s if you include tee-ball, coach-pitch underhand, coach-pitch overhand, little league, travel team, middle school ball, high school ball, college ball, and summer ball. That means I have probably come to bat over 2000 times, fielded over 1500 ground balls, and thrown over 10,000 balls.

And I still can’t figure this game out.

But I try.

Today, as we huddled in the dugout to avoid the rain, coach asked us to think about our personal and team goals for the year. Obviously, as a team, we all want to improve on last year. As coach said, we can win 20 games this year. With the new class of freshman, we have much more depth on offense and in the bullpen. We have a lot of possibilities for moving guys around in the lineup and in the field. Personally, I would like to get more playing time this year, whether I’m playing first base, second base or anywhere else. I know that my playing time depends on how much work I put in this fall and in the winter offseason. This morning I woke up early for an optional lift at 8 a.m. and got to the field early to work on my footwork at first base.

I was extremely impressed when I arrived at the field for practice this afternoon. To my surprise about half the team was at the field 45 minutes early getting some cuts in the batting cage and throwing some balls around. There is definitely a baseball-oriented attitude on this year’s team. And that will make playing a lot easier.

Embracing Change

2008-09-11T06:40:00.000-07:00

September 8

In life, we change positions all the time. We change jobs. We change hair styles. We change addresses. Sometimes we fear the change. Sometimes we welcome it. Usually, we do a little of both.

The same holds true for changing positions in baseball. As I switch from primarily playing second base to playing some first base, I fear and welcome the change. I fear it because all I have known my whole life is middle infield. I look like a middle infielder; athletic and slender, as opposed to the big, slow stereotype of a first baseman. But I also welcome the change, for it could yield consistent playing time.

Maybe the coaches and I were on the same page. But for all I know, adding first base to my repertoire of positions was my teammates’ and my decision. I intend to work extra before practice this Friday and the days to come until I feel fully comfortable at the position. Sometimes, in life and in baseball, we must embrace change in order to grow as people and as ballplayers.

New Year, New Field, New Attitude

2008-09-09T06:30:00.000-07:00

September 8

Fall tryouts for the Vassar College baseball team started bright and early this morning. Before the sun rose, before the humidity settled over Poughkeepsie, and before the All Campus Dining Center opened for breakfast, we gathered in the Varsity weight room for a 6 a.m. team lift.

Already, there’s a noticeable difference in attitude this year than last year. The number of players trying out is way up and everyone, including the coaches, seems much more serious about taking Vassar baseball to the next level. Maybe that’s what carried us through our routine of bench press, squats, dead lifts, power cleans, lat pull downs and core exercises. This program can get a lot stronger as a team if we put in the effort to get stronger as individuals.

Signs of a progressing program were evident in the afternoon practice as well. After eating breakfast as a team, taking a nap, and going to class we convened on one of the nicest fields I have ever played on: Prentiss Field. Last year we played the second half of our home games on the new field before the dugouts, the scoreboard and the press box were finished. But with everything ready for use now, the pride in playing on a new, finished home field overshadowed our tiredness and soreness from this morning. Everybody, from the returning seniors to the numerous freshmen, seemed excited to play.

Tryouts began with a pro-style evaluation with a 60-yard dash and fielding evaluations for outfielders and infielders. Then, we broke off into teams and played an intersquad scrimmage. After playing in the Clark Griffith League, a premier college baseball league in the Washington, DC area, this summer, it was nice to test my skills against our own pitchers. Last year for Vassar, I mostly played designated hitter, second base and pitcher. But today I also played some first base and may be able to help the team by switching over there. Overall, it was an exciting, but tiring start to the fall season. I am sure I will wake up sore tomorrow, but with high hopes and expectations for the remainder of the year.