I have been a Rocket baseball fan for years. I think the time has come to re-evaluate whether the program should continue. We had a coaching change but apparently things appear to be getting worse! The games so far aren’t even close and it’s not like we’re playing the well established programs. Before we put money into new facilities we should consider bring back something that involves a cheaper investment.....like wrestling, and dropping baseball.

Unfortunately I almost agree. No offense and no pitching is a slightly bad combination. About 11 total runs in 5 games is rough when 6 came in one game.

The new coach should get more than 1 season and 5 games to make an impact but recruiting is tough when the program has no track record of success. This program peaked in ‘74- 75 with Coe and Mersch. Yikes - that’s over 45 years ago!!!

Frustrating.

(02-27-2021 09:15 PM)Somersetco Wrote:  I have been a Rocket baseball fan for years. I think the time has come to re-evaluate whether the program should continue. We had a coaching change but apparently things appear to be getting worse! The games so far aren’t even close and it’s not like we’re playing the well established programs. Before we put money into new facilities we should consider bring back something that involves a cheaper investment.....like wrestling, and dropping baseball.

Agree. No MAC championship ever!, in like 60 years. We don't have the facilities for wrestling. We need something cheap like lacrosse. Played on a football field. Build a locker room. Done.

Local baseball is WAY down. That's not helping when you have two D1 programs to feed. I think the bigger key to UT success is university involvement in inner city and surrounding baseball and more in-door off-season options to compete with schools below the Mason-Dixon. Football and other contact sports risk a hit from both the increased buzz about contact sports injuries (real or imagined) and this pandemic on the mind, so baseball IMO has a potential pool of athletes to attract in addition to getting in new ones. There are many empty diamonds in the city that used to be packed. Fill-em up and baseball program will improve.

I think most students lost interest when baseball moved off campus. That was a bad decision. Move it back, and things change. Seems like an important intangible to me.

MAC has sanctioned Lacross as a conference sport starting this season, although only for women so far.

(02-28-2021 12:19 PM)PTLROCK Wrote:  I think most students lost interest when baseball moved off campus. That was a bad decision. Move it back, and things change. Seems like an important intangible to me.

I was at the games on campus when the field was a two minute walk from Carter Hall which was full of students. On a warm, sunny spring day you might get 100 people. On a crummy day, common in spring, you might get a few friends and family. Same for softball. I was at games with 15 people watching Tami Johnston mow down the competition on the way to a MAC title.

(02-28-2021 01:08 PM)DetroitRocket Wrote:  

(02-28-2021 12:19 PM)PTLROCK Wrote:  I think most students lost interest when baseball moved off campus. That was a bad decision. Move it back, and things change. Seems like an important intangible to me.

I was at the games on campus when the field was a two minute walk from Carter Hall which was full of students. On a warm, sunny spring day you might get 100 people. On a crummy day, common in spring, you might get a few friends and family. Same for softball. I was at games with 15 people watching Tami Johnston mow down the competition on the way to a MAC title.

Exactly, I took up residence in good old Carter Hall, as well. My room faced the baseball stadium. I considered it a perk. LOL! It was great to take a study break and catch a game. Bring it back!

I don’t think, at this point, it’s all about student support. Like football and basketball most recruits look to being drafted and being on TV. Here in NJ that was the biggest reason Rutgers could never recruit because they were never on TV. Different story now with the Big Ten Network. I think the biggest problem with Toledo baseball is we can’t recruit. I haven’t looked lately but Kent always had a very good program and they had players on their roster from all over. Having one of the best pitching coaches didn’t hurt either. Over the past few years we had very few players in the MLB draft.

A couple things play into the baseball decline. like football, baseball is a sport that requires a large group of players, a field and organization to play. with less investment in general in youth sports, and less kids trying to participate (outside of soccer) you see less skill emerge than a generation or two ago when half the boys were on a little baseball team and HS had a robust jv program. the trend in youth sports outside of soccer is more toward elite competition and baseball is a sport you need a lot of kids to play a lot of the time to develop a good competitive environment.

secondly, unlike the south, east and west most of the Midwest hasn't had a lot of immigrants from the carribean, latin america, and korea where the youth baseball culture is still strong.

Drop baseball and add men's soccer. Renovate the north end of the Health Ed Building to add a couple new locker rooms. Pay to bring in a top coach with some of the budget saving from baseball and make sure the team is competitive from day 1.

I actually think that given the growth of soccer you would see pretty decent crowds and student turnout at games.

(02-28-2021 09:01 PM)Nick from Ohio Wrote:  Drop baseball and add men's soccer. Renovate the north end of the Health Ed Building to add a couple new locker rooms. Pay to bring in a top coach with some of the budget saving from baseball and make sure the team is competitive from day 1.

I actually think that given the growth of soccer you would see pretty decent crowds and student turnout at games.

i'm a baseball guy. i played every spring and summer from age 10 till the end of high school. i used to go to the rockets games when they were on campus. i vastly prefer going to a baseball game than a soccer game (although i get the world cup, that is fun). still, nick from ohio (is there just 1?) is probably right. soccer would resonate more on campus. especially if you had a good team. baseball is a fairly expensive sport to maintain. soccer isn't cheap either but you could do it well for the cost of baseball. and you could probably continue to spend a fraction to maintain a club or non-scholarship baseball team or league and work with a public or private partner to maintain existing baseball fields and facilities and make them shared use for youth, semi-pro, training, whatever... you could use the new women's hotmer field by fetterman or put a pitch in almost anywhere on campus (did i say that right?) i think condensing of athletics and programs into the core of campus is better now so universities like ut that have mostly been distanced learning begin to rebuild a campus environment and community with fewer students (and probably reduced funding).

Recommending abandoning this program early in year two of this coach is ridiculous. The program was an incredible dumpster fire when he got here and he is still dealing with mostly the guys that he was left with. Most summer baseball programs were abandoned due to COVID. Give the guy some time I think he deserves it.

Should UT have a lacrosse, men's track or even kickball...err soccer. Maybe. But I don't think we should be cutting a sport that we have just hired a new coach to lead. With as bad as this program was in the previous regime we owe the guy that.

(03-01-2021 09:26 AM)indianasniff Wrote:  Recommending abandoning this program early in year two of this coach is ridiculous. The program was an incredible dumpster fire when he got here and he is still dealing with mostly the guys that he was left with. Most summer baseball programs were abandoned due to COVID. Give the guy some time I think he deserves it.

Should UT have a lacrosse, men's track or even kickball...err soccer. Maybe. But I don't think we should be cutting a sport that we have just hired a new coach to lead. With as bad as this program was in the previous regime we owe the guy that.

This is year 60+.

About the soccer field. My understanding is that it's undersized because it's crammed inside the track. Apparently barely legal. Might work for women, but for faster, bigger men would cause problems with play and be a deterrent to recruiting.

Zero MAC championships. Zero investments. Zero interest from me.

I promise if UT builds a nice, Division 1 facility on campus, fans will start to show up. I know I will. Until then, I can go watch my high school play at a much nicer facility.

(03-01-2021 11:38 AM)DetroitRocket Wrote:  

(03-01-2021 09:26 AM)indianasniff Wrote:  Recommending abandoning this program early in year two of this coach is ridiculous. The program was an incredible dumpster fire when he got here and he is still dealing with mostly the guys that he was left with. Most summer baseball programs were abandoned due to COVID. Give the guy some time I think he deserves it.

Should UT have a lacrosse, men's track or even kickball...err soccer. Maybe. But I don't think we should be cutting a sport that we have just hired a new coach to lead. With as bad as this program was in the previous regime we owe the guy that.

This is year 60+.

About the soccer field. My understanding is that it's undersized because it's crammed inside the track. Apparently barely legal. Might work for women, but for faster, bigger men would cause problems with play and be a deterrent to recruiting.

You kinda make it sound like it is 20% smaller or something. The field size rules are the same for men and women and the smallest legal size is only 5 yards different from the optimum. I don't recall precisely the size of Hotmer, but I do believe it is on the smaller side of the official size range. At least 2 MAC men's teams play on fields inside of tracks.

True that the best MAC men's teams have high-level, natural turf, dedicated soccer stadiums, but those are not cheap to build or maintain as I understand it. And UT would be opening themselves up to Title IX issues if they claimed Hotmer was good enough for the women, but not for a men's team.

I'm with the OP. I'm a UT baseball fan, and was excited for new facilities. But we are just plan bad. And get almost no fans outside of family. Could probably add men's soccer and wrestling with the free scholarships

I wish we had hockey and baseball is my favorite sport. The Dion Tansel and Achter team had promise. I dont blame mid level recruits not wanting to play 4 years at Scott Park. Sadly without a new facility there is no chance at a revival.