Fall Ball Is Our Spring Training

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.

Eager for the New Season

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.