Last night I hopped in my car and drove a whole 5 minutes to David Story Field in Longview, WA and covered a game featuring some of the top seniors in the region. It was a good game, especially defensively as the pitchers came out dealing.
While covering the game I was reminded of a number of things about high school baseball, college baseball, and the game in general.
The first thing that popped into my thoughts as I was watching the game is just how much players grow and develop once they step foot on a college campus. The players last night were talented, pitchers were hitting mid 80’s, hitters were finding gaps for doubles and triples, but I have no doubt in my mind that if these guys were facing seasoned college players they would not have had the success they were having.
That isn’t to say that they aren’t going to be good in college. The truth is just that the difference between a good high school player his Senior year and what he becomes by even his Sophomore year in college is dramatically different. The strength, the focus, and the knowledge is on a completely different level, and that is exactly how it should be. Honestly if you go to play college ball and you don’t get bigger, stronger, faster, and smarter then either you aren’t trying or you need to find a new school (most likely it’s the first reason).
The second thing I was reminded of is just how much of a gap there can be in talent even on the same team in high school. I covered some good high school teams this year, but even those teams I covered has stronger players and weaker players who helped fill up the rosters. That is just a part of high school baseball, especially for schools that are smaller and don’t have hundreds of athletes to choose from in each sport.
Even with the greater spread in talent at the high school level, it is still fun to cover. It can just be hard sometimes when you see what at times becomes a comedy of errors. Although I will say, last nights game was pretty error free, especially when you consider the guys hadn’t played with each other before, and in some cases just met guys last night.
The third thing I was reminded of last night is how much I enjoy talking with coaches and just being around the game. Knowing as many coaches as I do thanks to 9 Inning Know It All and now NW Baseball Report, it is really nice to walk into a field and see guys I know and just jump right into a conversation on what is going on.
I’ve realized that talking baseball with coaches is my form of gossip, and I love it.
The final thing I realized is that I just love being around the game. 2020 was a tough year, not even because of the virus as my family still had some great trips and did a lot last year, but because I missed baseball. The conversations, the sunshine and just the ability to smile and relax were missing. However, I’ve already covered more games in 2021 than I did all of last year and about to get into an extremely busy stretch, and I couldn’t be more excited.
P.S. Wood bats sound 1,000 times better than metal bats.
All game photos of the Area Senior All Star Game can be found by clicking here.