Sandlot Baseball Logs – 09.2024
The Drag got to play three fresh, fresh teams in an eight-day stretch.
All three teams bring a fun group to sandlot and we’re all happy to have them aboard.
Recaps below.
9.8.24 – Austin Drag vs. White Rock Mudbugs – Norbuck Park – 11am
Instagram post about the game.
Baseball is always better than “not baseball.” And the White Rock Mudbugs made baseball happen on this beautiful day. But, as we learned, Dallas sandlot, for the most part, is largely unofficiated.
I’ve previously written before that, be it pickup basketball, volleyball, or even the many years I played ultimate frisbee – self-officiated sports aren’t foreign to me. But baseball is different.
Regardless, we played ball. We had a great time. Norbuck Park was pretty darn nice. The Mudbugs were were good hosts and the weather couldn’t have been better.
The Mudbugs cycled through a series of pitchers all with their different styles and that made for unique looks each time up to bat.
The Drag took a nine-player skeleton crew up to Dallas and that allowed many of our Dragsters who aren’t accustomed to playing all nine innings, to gaming the entire way. And you know what? They were incredible. Tyler and Driver made an impact both offensively and defensively and it was exciting seeing them excel.
Final score —
Drag = beers
Mudbugs = pizza
9.7.24 – Austin Drag vs. Dallas Sheeple – Churchill Park – 11am
Instagram post about the game.
This game was something.
Most of the Dragsters leisurely arrived coming direct from Austin that morning between 10:15am-10:40am. The Sheeple were able to find one of the Sheeple’s fathers to call balls and strikes for the game and, for that, we were grateful. As one of our catchers has phrased it, “Hell no, I don’t want to ump and catch at the same time. This is a recreational day off for me, I don’t to deal with both teams giving me shit.”
With a Sheeple dad as the man in blue, the game proceeded.
Keith was on the hill. Braden made plays at short. The lineup chugged and churned though.
Around the sixth, the Sheeple offered us some outstanding beers during our warmups and, coincidentally or not, the Sheeple mounted a good rally or two after that.
As it was, both teams had a good time. The weather couldn’t have been better and the post-game was even more fun as most of the Sheeple and Drag went to The Libertine and eventually a tiki joint.
Final score —
Drag = steak sandwiches
Sheeple = tiki drinks
Shout out to Brian Morris for leading the post-game hang.
Way to make Libertine, Swizzle, and Lakewood Landing happen.
We had a blast!
8.31.24 – Red Bluff Cruiser vs. Austin Drag @ Govalle – 7pm
Instagram post about the game.
Right around his birthday, Keith was determined to go the distance on the hill and prove to Father Time that he aint done yet. He consistently threw strikes and only ran into a whiff of trouble a few times.
Our lineup kept the order moving and the defense, for the most part, was fairly sharp.
The Cruisers are a good group that are definitely finding their form, they bring the energy, and have talent for days.
Final score —
Drag = whiskey whiskey whiskey
Cruisers = bikes and bikes and bikes
Quick observations that aren’t really that important, but hell, they’re worth having a conversation about. Having just completed three consecutive games vs. “fresh” teams – the Sheeple and Mudbugs are in their second season, the Cruisers are in their first – here are some friendly points.
Many new teams (and sometimes not-so-new-teams) often have an infielder or two who, while playing defense, will stand on or near the bag regardless of whether or not there’s a chance that they’ll be involved in the play. This can turn running the bases into a goofy American Ninja Warrior-like obstacle course (especially if the defender has some size to them).
Watch any instructional video on baserunning (or any real games) and you’ll hear terms like, “catch the inside part of the bag” while making your turns. Regardless if it’s inside the bag or right on top of the dang thing, it’s hard running the bases when there’s a position player just kind of meandering on top of, or very near, the base.
Not a big deal. Moving on.
I previously wrote about dekes and fake tags.
We saw a few of them over the past few weekends.
They are legal at the college and pro-level. And depending on how/when they’re implemented, they sometimes come with the penalty of “baseball justice” (being thrown at). For safety reasons, they are generally illegal in high-school (or lower-level) competition and ruled as interference.
Nothing contentious took place across the past three games – just some simple notes to point out to newcomers. Can’t wait to play these teams again.