2014 CWS

[1972Shocker]

Texas' C.J Hinojosa, who entered the game with one home run in 231 at-bats this year, broke a 115-inning CWS homerless streak (stretching back to June 21, 2013) with a seventh-inning blast off the top of the wall behind the left-field bullpen.

The Longhorn's Chad Hollingsworth threw 8 1/3 shutout innings in his second start of the season to lead Texas to a 1-0 win Wednesday against UC Irvine, knocking the Anteaters out of the CWS.

I sure hope the lower-seam baseball that they will use next year will boost the power numbers and scoring in College baseball as least moderately.

[SPEShockAlum]

Hinojosa is light hitting and Hollingsworth is light throwing. He touched 69-85 mph while I was watching him last night.

[Cdizzle]

(stretching back to June 21, 2103)

When am I???

I sure hope the lower-seam baseball that they will use next year will boost the power numbers and scoring in College baseball as least moderately.

It's partially the baseball. When it comes to the CWS, it has a lot to do with letting Creighton design the field. They can't hit home runs, so they designed a park where no one else can either. If the new seams don't fix it next year, I have to believe ESPN and the CWS will make them bring the walls in considerably.

[Play Angry]

I think you're right. Watching 19-10 championship games fifteen years ago was kind of painful, but now the pendulum has swung too far in the other direction. There have been a ton of 1-0 and 2-1 games this postseason. While most diehards can still enjoy these, it does nothing to grow the fanbase and boost ratings.

[WuShock16]

It doesn't help that the stadium is pointed the wrong direction. As I understand, most baseball stadiums are pointed to where left field is in northern part of the stadium. When you get those warm summer winds blowing from the south, well-hit balls will be pushed out to the fence for home runs. TD Ameritrade has left field on the east side of the park. If a left-handed stud hits the bejeezus out of a ball to right field, that warm air from the south will push the ball back into the field for loud outs. I also don't like seeing 21-14 baseball games, but if a guy hits the ball on the screws for quality home run contact, he should be rewarded for it.

[Cdizzle]

It doesn't help that the stadium is pointed the wrong direction. As I understand, most baseball stadiums are pointed to where left field is in northern part of the stadium. When you get those warm summer winds blowing from the south, well-hit balls will be pushed out to the fence for home runs. TD Ameritrade has left field on the east side of the park. If a left-handed stud hits the bejeezus out of a ball to right field, that warm air from the south will push the ball back into the field for loud outs. I also don't like seeing 21-14 baseball games, but if a guy hits the ball on the screws for quality home run contact, he should be rewarded for it.

I blame Creighton, and the CWS for granting a 25-year deal without proper oversight/influence. They'll bring the walls in. That park is stupid. It would be stupid as a MLB park.

[MoValley John]

I blame Creighton, and the CWS for granting a 25-year deal without proper oversight/influence. They'll bring the walls in. That park is stupid. It would be stupid as a MLB park.

While hating and blaming Creighton and Omaha is a long treasured sport on Shockernet, in the case of the stadium design and its orientation to downtown, neither Creighton nor Omaha had much say at all. This was an NCAA deal start to finish. For the sake of politics, Omaha created the design, in reality, Omaha rubber stamped the NCAA plan in order to secure a 25 year deal. The NCAA basically told Omaha "Here is what we want, here is where we want it and if you don't give it to us, we will leave." The caveat was the 25 year contract. If Omaha balked, the thing was moving to Orlando.

[pogo]

Orlando? If you were going to play the games in the Winter then it would be fine. Late June in Orlando would be like a steam bath.

[MoValley John]

[

Orlando? If you were going to play the games in the Winter then it would be fine. Late June in Orlando would be like a steam bath.

Believe it or not, yes Orlando, among other cities. Orlando wanted it bad and lives and dies tourism and wanted the CWS. The NCAA wants money. Here is the long and short of how TD Ameritrade Park really came to be. Rosenblatt, for all of those that found it historic and whatnot, was a complete dump. Furthermore, the NCAA had zero control over what happened an inch off of Rosenblatt property. Therefore, there were beer tents, party houses, pirated shirt and hat vendors, everything. NCAA wanted out. FOr three or four years prior to the big contract negotiations, trhe NCAA invited several cities in to Omaha to showcase the CWS and guage interest. Two cities with the most interest were Minneapolis and Orlando. The NCAA was skittish about moving the CWS as it could fail in other cities, but used the interest from other cities as leverage.

The Omaha Royals were the first victims. The Omaha Royals had a small lease at Rosenblatt, plus, they controlled all concessions. Concession sales during the CWS is enough to make any minor league team profitable regardless if they sell a single game ticket or a beer at their own games. The O-Royals were not going to get the sweetheart concession deal at the new NCAA stadium, the Royals were in trouble and started chirping about needing a new, intimate stadium or they would leave town. The Royals began their fight long before any of the NCAA stadium talk had been made public. The city of Omaha, trying to keep both the NCAA happy and the O-Royals happy, presented a standard, 10,000 minor league stadium, which had the ability to expand to 30,000 during the CWS. This made the Royals happy, but eventually they found out that the city was not going to grant them the same concession deal. Now the Royals were mad, but still negotiating. That changed when the NCAA rejected the city's plan. The NCAA presented the city with a rendering nearly exactly as TD Ameritrade looks, they told the city that this is the type of stadium they wanted and that other cities had already offered to build (Orlando). The city adopted this plan and began working on plans to build it where Rosenblatt was. At the same time, the Omaha Royals announced that they were leaving town. They ended up in Papllion...

Rosenblatt was the planned site until the NCAA told Omaha officials that because of parking issues, as well as the inability to control alcohol sales and unlicensed vendors, they wanted the stadium built on what was one of the Qwest Center's parking lots. Not a jab at Wichita's arena, but the arena in Omaha has several parking lots. In fact, prior to building the baseball stadium, there was more on site parking than the arena could ever need. Most people would think that would be a no brainer, but the local arena is not privately run, but managed by an appointed board (MECA). MECA board members get bonuses based on profitibility of the arena. Parking fits into the equation and the excess parking was rented out, guaranteeing board members a nice paycheck. MECA threatened to sue the city- the same city that appointed them to the board and paid them. Eventually, the MECA deal was reworked to avoid litigation and the site was chosen. The NCAA awarded Omaha a 25 year lease and Mayor Mike Fahey was given all credit. Credit he really didn't deserve. Prior to building, the NCAA asked if the park could be rotated as to look better on TV and offer better pedestrian control to and from the stadium. As with everything else, the change was rubber stamped.

That is really how it happened. There is so much more to this, and it is ugly, but the stadium, and its orientation to downtown, was all the brainchild of the NCAA.

[Awesome Sauce Malone]

on of these years m going to make it to a CWS. I should have went before my son got full throttled into baseball. Now with my daughter getting into softball it might not happen.

Besides, the idea of eating cheetos drinking a beer and watching midget porn at @MoValley John: s house is whats really enticing.

[pogo]

I believe the PC term is "little people porn" but then again that might raise flags at the NSA

[MoValley John]

Nope. Little and porn don't work. Midget porn works, but never use any form of the word little when discussing porn.

[1972Shocker]

Orlando? If you were going to play the games in the Winter then it would be fine. Late June in Orlando would be like a steam bath.

With rain or thunder showers just about every afternoon.