Recently the Hewitt Sports
Network ran an article by a blogger cataloguing the 5 reasons he
misses ABL season. At the end of the article it asked the very obvious
question, “What do you miss about the ABL?” which can also be phrased this way,
“What are you most looking forward to about the coming ABL season?” So, I set
about making my own list, and here is what I’ve come up with.
1. When it’s not ABL season I miss… the Sounds of the Ballpark.
Call me a romantic, but what I love about Baseball is not the stats, and it is
not knowing how many RBI’s this player has, or what OBP means. For me it’s the
culture of all things baseball. So when it’s not ABL season, I miss the sounds,
I miss the live cracking sound of wood on ball. There is no sound like a well
hit fastball on a wooden bat. Yes, I readily accept that I can turn on OneHD 3
times per week and watch baseball, but no matter your audio visual set up, no
speakers can truly match the live sound of sitting in the bleachers and hearing
the song of a well hit baseball. When it’s not ABL season, I miss hearing the
ball come cracking of Mitch Dennings’ bat at BlueSox Stadium. And there are
other ballpark sounds too. I’m convinced even the most beautiful cathedrals of
Europe don’t have an Organ that can belt out a tune quite like that of a
Ballpark Organist. From the simple sounds of the chords that make up the rally
for cries of “CHARGE,” to the old-timey melody of “Take Me out to the Ballgame”
I love Ballpark organ noise. I love walk-up music too! I imagine what music
would pump me up as I step into the Batter’s Box (Side Note: In my dreams I
walk up to the intro to “My Hero” by the Foo Fighters), and I love seeing a
little of the home teams players personality shine through in their walk up
choices. Last season you could hear James Robbins, one of Sydney’s imports,
represent his home state of Washington, by his choice of proud Seattlite rapper
Macklemore. And you know Big Snell was on his way to the plate when Pearl Jam
came blaring from the speakers, perhaps a nod to his days in the Mariners
system? Who could forget that other famous ballpark sound… the heckler. From my
favourite spot in the 3rd base line stands, I used to laugh at some
of the remarks sent the way of whichever poor member of the opposing teams
coaching staff, who had to undertake the duties of 3rd base coach.
Especially Coach Fish from the Perth Heat… poor guy cops some really “Fishy”
puns, but its all part of the atmosphere that makes up a night at the ABL. When
it’s not ABL season, I miss all those sounds.
2. When it’s not ABL season I miss… the budding rivalries that are
being developed. When the ABL off-season is 3 times as long as the ABL
season it’s self, I feel like the rivalries that develop in-season lose a
little traction in the long off season. I can’t wait for them to be renewed
again. I know we’ve had state rivalries for a long time, across all sports, but
especially with the Claxton Shield’s tournament history, but even though the
ABL is only a few seasons old, and technically still in it’s infancy, I love
the rivalries the ABL is developing. I love the “Oh we’ll get them next time we
meet” attitude that comes with having the ABL as our own league, as opposed to
the Annual tournament that was the Claxton Shield. I love the reputation the
Perth Heat developed due to their consistent excellence in the first few
seasons, with one pundit on Twitter going as far as likening them to “The ABL
equivalent of the New York Yankees.” Who could forget the reputation the
Canberra Cavalry got when their roster of imports started to accomplish amazing
feats, prompting remarks of “Team America” and “Canberra Cavalry: Proudly
sponsored by the US Embassy” (Okay I made that last one up). On top of all
that, we have fiery personalities that fuel these rivalries (Please don’t tell
me Luke Hughes is not passionate about Perth Baseball), and great stories of
close calls (Remember that time the Blue Sox were robbed in Canberra!?) that
will continue to fuel the rivalries. Trust me, as much as I love Travis
Blackley when he’s pitching in MLB, the moment he’s back in a Melbourne Aces
uniform, he’s public enemy #1, and I haven’t forgotten his comments in a radio
interview a few seasons back where he said Sydney had the weakest pitching he’d
ever seen (Ox, Ando and the boys sure turned that one around last season…
Booyah!) So here, in this cold, baseball-less winter, I miss the rivalries that
the ABL is developing.
3. When it’s not ABL season I miss…Aussie Baseball. Growing up, we
used to travel down from my home in Gosford to watch my cousin Chris pitch in
the Claxton Shield. This was after the old ABL had long since been abandoned
and the Claxton Shield was a one week tournament, so it wasn’t really like you
could get too entrenched in baseball fanaticism. Each year when it was held at
Blacktown I would make the annual pilgrimage down to get my small fix of
baseball. Imagine then my joy when it was announced that the tournament was
being expanded to a league of our very own. More than just a week of state
baseball, we would get our own league again, we could have a team to invest in!
I remember the first season, merchandise was still under way, and everyone
would wear whatever MLB gear they had to the ballpark. Now as the seasons go by
and we get more than a week of top quality baseball, I see more and more Blue
Sox gear on the fans and I think it’s great. So even though we have our own
league, and we get more baseball than we used to, it’s still a long off-season,
and I simply just miss that hard running, no nonsense, slug above your weight
brand of Aussie baseball when the ABL isn’t on.
4. When it’s not ABL season I miss… following the journey. One of
my favourite parts of each season is dragging my friends along to the ballpark
in hopes of converting them. Part of that involves sitting in the stands and telling
them about the journey some of the players have taken or are taking. “Oh that’s Brad Thomas. He used to be a
relief pitcher for the Detroit Tigers in the Majors.” “That guys in the St
Louis minor league system, he’s looking to make the jump to AA next year” “Oh
last year we had this Outfielder named Brandon Barnes and he went on make it to
the show with the Houston Astros!” “This guy here is Denning, he just got cut
from the Red Sox, so he’s looking to get a new contract.” It’s the joy of the
journey, the joy of seeing young talent on the rise, and hoping one day you’ll
get to look back and say, “Remember when we saw him patrolling centrefield at
Blacktown? Look at him now!” It’s the silent respect for the player on the down
side of his career, “Hey that’s Koo, he’s still got a cannon for an arm!”
Whether it’s young players looking to make a name, and climb the ranks, or
older players just enjoying one more go around, the ABL has it all, and when it’s
the off season, I really miss watching that journey.
5. When it’s not ABL season I miss… Chris Oxspring. Let me just say
that if the Sydney Blue Sox decided to erect a statue in his honour and rename
the stadium to “Chris Oxspring Stadium” I wouldn’t be against it at all. Chris
Oxspring is everything I love about the Blue Sox, hardwork, determination,
never giving in. The man they call Ox is everything we love about Aussie
baseball. He encapsulates that never give up attitude, the fall and get back up
way we like to think of as purely Australian. Even after his MLB stint, when
many said he was past it, he came back, dominant as ever and is still having
another go around in the Korean Pro leagues and pitching against the best in
the world for Team Australia in the WBC. I still remember going to games in the
inaugural ABL season with my friend Jenny (a Rangers fan, born and raised in
Texas) and hearing her Texan drawl cheer, “C’mon Ox”. All those hopeless
baseball fans had to start somewhere. People don’t just become a suffering Cubs
fans, something draws them to it, something that makes them follow a team like the
Cubs year in and year out. It’s the same for any team, you get a taste and that’s
where it starts, then you’re hooked. For me, my Blue Sox fanaticism started on those
warm summer evenings, cheering from the stands for Ox. He will forever be etched
in Blue Sox folklore (I’m sure I will forever ask, “Why didn’t they start Ox
over Thomas in game 2 of the finals verses the Heat?? They ended up pulling
Thomas and Ox salvaged what he could, but the damage was done! Folklore!) The pages
of Blue Sox history will speak of his amazing feats (Strike out record anyone?)
If he ever retires (Which I refuse to believe will ever happen!) it will be a
sad day indeed. In this long, dark ABL off season, I miss Chris Oxspring,
because Chris Oxspring IS the Blue Sox, he IS Australian baseball.
So that's what I miss about ABL season... and the new season is too far away!!! MLB on tv is good, but live baseball is better!
