By: Tommy Richards
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all Staters will be treated equal.
Stater Code No. 2: No one Stater is more important than any other.
Do the freshmen in our program get smacked with doing the tedious jobs that nobody else wants to? Absolutely…about 25 percent of the time, just like every other class of guys on the team. From the Friday night guy to the equipment manager, if you are running with the Staters, you get respect in our book.
The commitment level of the different classes has never been questioned; we all enjoy putting in the hours at the field and in the weight room working on our game. But perhaps the susceptibility to volunteer for cleaning or community service projects that can take the place of valued downtime is put more on the shoulders of the freshmen class in conventional settings.
We have placed an emphasis on a more equitable workload in such facets, making the respect level visible throughout the entire program—though the freshmen do spend more time searching for the box of breaking balls (even collegiate athletes? Unreal.) and pondering how their bullpen on the bus is going to treat them.
Fall was a success. Newcomers were introduced to the program and hit the ground running. The work was put in and the chemistry that defines a close team has been set in motion. The seniors can attest to the idea that the road looking forward is a lot longer than the road looking back.
Time flies when you’re having fun.
Notable Moments of Fall:
The Sheriff lost some John Wayne, old-man strength points when a bee sting sent him out of practice for a day. But he made those points back up with the lumberjack costume that he sported for our costume scrimmage.
I guess being allergic to bees is actually a big deal.
Our mound crew came in second place in the intramural softball league on campus. We thought we could lock up a title for them by heckling the other team in the last game, but that quickly turned into hasty arguments between allies when our dudes couldn’t make plays.
The second-place finish is actually not as surprising as the fact that Turtle, our veteran of the field crew, successfully came across as a gentleman to a member of the opposite sex. He told me to throw this in (just so people don’t think I’m hating on my guy).
Good for you, Turt, but I’ll believe it when I see it.
Honorable Stater of the Month:
Eric Church has stolen the hearts of most every Stater, which makes him the Honorable Stater of the Month, and leading candidate for Honorable Stater of the Year. A trip to the clubhouse is not complete without a roof sitting and Eric Church laying down some tracks for enjoyability.
The team dog is still holding up his end of the deal. According to our numbers, new faces at the clubhouse are at an all-time high.
Unfortunately, so is the suspicion of our realtor.
With the completion of fall ball earlier this month, we have been searching for some hobbies to occupy our extra hours in the day.
Master chefs, remote control helicopter pilots, ping-pong tournaments, and the occasional potluck are some of the many reoccurring activities that have been taking place at the clubhouse in recent days. And I think we can all say that we have a newfound respect for Everybody Loves Raymond.
-Tommy Richards
