Have you ever seen the movie Major League?
You know, the one where the Cleveland Indians go from last place and end up winning the division. It starred Charlie Sheen and Wesley Snipes and uh … well, it had those two in it for sure.
If you don’t know what movie I’m referring to, then you probably aren’t a baseball fan, and the rest of this column won’t make much sense anyway.
There is a portion near the middle of the movie when the Indians start to put the pieces together and begin winning ball games, when the Cleveland fans start to realize that their team isn’t so bad.
Nobody’s saying they are great, but people are beginning to see that the team isn’t as bad as they originally thought.
This brings me to the Saint Louis Billiken baseball team. A little over a month ago, as the college baseball season was just getting started, I urged students to go out to support our baseball team. There was little doubt that SLU wasn’t a College World Series-bound team, but I did think they were better than many others were willing to give them credit for. They had not won 20 games in a season for several years. A SLU pitcher hasn’t won more than four games in three seasons, and no player has had more than 46 runs batted in during that same span.
Conference USA coaches picked SLU to finish last in the conference this year.
The season is now a little more than half over. With 20 games remaining before the C-USA tournament, SLU’s record stands at 18-19. At first glance, this doesn’t look like anything to get excited about. However, consider the fact that six of those losses have come as a result of eight runs. SLU is nine runs away from being 21-11. They are a few lucky breaks away from being a good team. At home at the Billiken Sports Center, SLU has been close to unstoppable, racking up a 14-5 record. And SLU is tied for 5th place in C-USA, with a 7-8 record.
Which brings me back to the student fans. Do any of you exist? And if you do, where are you hiding? I will be the first to admit that I have not made it to every baseball game at SLU. However, the six or seven times I have gone to the ball field, I’m always disappointed at the turnout. I’m usually surrounded by parents, grandparents and a bunch of little kids. I watched the Billikens win one of their games against Tulane, which was ranked No. 15 in the nation at the time, and the visiting crowd’s attendance could have challenged our own.
There is no reason a baseball fan should not want to come out to see SLU play. You want to see good pitching? Ben Hutton has an earned run average under four. He was named C-USA pitcher of the week twice. He already has more wins than anyone on the team had last season.
You want to see big hitting? Mike Orrico is batting .381 with nine home runs and 46 runs batted in.
His RBI total puts him in the top five in the conference. He was named Conference USA hitter of the week earlier this season.
I’m not saying they are a great team. They do have a few problems. After the top three starters, there is not much quality depth on the pitching staff. Most of the guys coming out of the bullpen are young and still gaining experience. They will no doubt find more success as they develop. For now, SLU is still searching for a guy who can give them quality innings toward the end of a game. The team also seems to have mental lapses from time to time, committing errors at inopportune times. However, overall, the team goes out and plays good baseball almost every game.
These guys are going out and trying to give us reasons to show up and watch them.
This is a good team. This is a better team than their record seems to indicate. Now, why don’t we go out and give them a real crowd to play for?
We should, because these guys are better than we think.
