Why does this site exist?

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Published on Thursday, 09 December 2004 17:00

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Because college baseball has a long off-season. :-)

I found that I was spending a lot of time using Google News and looking at the web sites of opposing teams to get information about the Thunderbirds, specifically about webcasts and how UBC alumni are doing in pro ball. Since I was looking up this stuff anyway, I thought it would be useful to share it with other people interested in the UBC baseball program.

Also, I was interested in getting more experience with web site content management systems. In developing this site, I experimented with several of them, including PostNuke and Plone. The original implementation of this site was with phpWebsite, but I switched it to Mambo Server late in 2004.

What is a "courtesy runner"?

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Published on Monday, 13 December 2004 17:00

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NAIA rules allow a team to use a pinch runner for the catcher whenever the catcher gets on base, but the catcher does not have to leave the game.

The purpose of the "courtesy runner" rule is to speed up the game. No, not because a lot of catchers don't run very fast. The idea is that the catcher can get back to the bench and put on his chest protector and shin guards, so that he is ready to go when the inning is over.

How many no-hitters has UBC had, and who pitched them?

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Published on Monday, 13 December 2004 17:00

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There have been four. Jeff Brewer got the first one on March 24, 2001, against Northwest Nazarene. The second one was by John Campbell, on April 21, 2001, against Eastern Oregon. Both were seven-inning games. The first nine-inning no-hitter was on May 5, 2005, against Corban (Western Baptist at the time). This one was a combined effort by Doug Grant, Andrew LaFleur, Ryan Ormerod, Pat Smith, and Jeff Tobin; Grant pitched the first five innings. The fourth no-hitter was by Mark Hardy on April 11, 2010 against Concordia-Portland, at Thunderbird Park, and this was a seven-inning game.

There is some irony in the absence of Jeff Francis from this list. Francis pitched a no-hitter for Class AA Visalia in 2003. He was on the receiving end of a no-hitter pitched by Michael Devaney of Concordia-Portland on April 20, 2002, at Nat Bailey Stadium. This was a seven-inning game. Jeff allowed two runs on four hits, but got stuck for the loss, one of only two that he had that season. Devaney is now in the Mets organization.

One other no-hitter has been pitched against UBC, and this one was nine innings. It was at Point Loma Nazarene on February 16, 2004, and Chris Hill pitched it.

Sheldon McDonald pitched a no-hitter for Team Canada at the Grand Forks International Tournament on September 1, 2010, against the Trail Orioles. This game was played with wood bats. McDonald came very close to a perfect game; the only baserunner he allowed was a hit batter in the fourth inning.

How does college baseball compare to Class A minor league baseball?

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Published on Monday, 13 December 2004 17:00

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If you look at the rosters of the Vancouver Canadians and the teams that visit them, you'll see that the majority of players were either playing college ball the previous spring, or are one year removed from college ball. The exceptions to this are usually from the Dominican Republic or elsewhere in Latin America.

UBC alum Jeff Francis actually had a lower ERA during his first year in single A than he had pitching for UBC earlier the same year. His explanation is, he was facing better hitters, but the infielders and outfielders behind him were making better defensive plays, so it pretty much evened out.

If you are a spectator at both UBC and Vancouver Canadians games, the difference you will notice (aside from the "courtesy runners") is speed. Unless you're a pitcher, you won't make it in pro baseball unless you can get around the base paths pretty quickly.