About
This is a blog about the Case Western Reserve University Spartans baseball team. Since I am no longer able to be at more than a couple games per year due to working and living in Pittsburgh, there will be more game recaps and analysis posts than interviews and anything close to inside information. If the site grows, I may find a current student to help with that. I can promise my best coverage of Spartans baseball, from the perspective of someone who went to the school and wrote about them from 2006-2010.
About Me: George Jones
Current Bio: I am a 2010 graduate of Case Western Reserve, with a B.A. in economics. I covered the baseball team for four years for the athletics website, and for two years for The Observer. I currently hold a couple jobs as I work my way up in my field. I also write for Blitzburgh Blog, a Pittsburgh Steelers blog.
2010 Student Bio: I am an economics and statistics major here at Case Western Reserve, and I am also the president of the chess club and a writer and copy editor for The Observer. In addition, I am the official scorer for Spartan baseball home games. I feel my immersion with the team over the past couple of years makes me qualified to write for this blog.
Hello Mr. Jones,
My name is Shinichi Inoue, I am currently CWRU freshman majoring in Biology and Political Science. I am also the one of the new kids working for the Observer. I covered the football team during the first semester. Now in the second semester I have been assigned to write about the CWRU baseball team. I hope to get some input from you.
Looking forward to hear from you.
Sincerely,
Shinichi
Shinichi Inoue
March 1, 2011
Shinichi,
Thanks for your question! My advice would be:
1. When you interview the coach, use a tape recorder if at all possible. When I first interviewed Coach Englander, it was really hard for me to, on the fly, separate generalities from new insights that I’d rather put in the story. It’s better to record it, then go back and pick out the best quotes. That way you can devote your attention to what he’s actually saying and can ask follow up questions if necessary.
2. Go to as many home games as you can, and for games you can’t make it to, read the recaps and box scores on the athletics website. It’s a good way to find the moments and good performances of the week to ask the coach about, as well as to talk to the players about (email for players is fine if you or they can’t make the time, but interview the coach in person if at all possible).
2a. For example, here’s what I would ask the coach about the Averett/Guilford trip:
- They went 3-1, their best record for a VA/NC trip. Does that set a pattern for the season?
- What were his thoughts on Mullins setting the Case hit record?
- Bullpen management: What was his thought process in leaving Hora in to complete the first Averett game, despite giving up five runs in the seventh? Likewise, what about taking Boshinski and Smith out of the Guilford games?
3. Make sure to ask the coach and players about the upcoming games. Since it’s a weekly paper, people are arguably more interested in what’s coming up than what happened last week, but since the articles are usually about last week’s games, their thoughts on next week make for a good closing.
4. I’m not sure how much you know about baseball, but these are the stats to look at:
Season: Batters:
- Batting Average (Avg) gives the percentage of times at bat that result in a hit. Higher is better; .300 is good, .400 is great.
- On-base percentage (obp) gives the percentage of times up at the plate that result in a hit, walk, or hit by pitch, literally, the percent of times the batter reaches base. .350 is good, .450 is great.
- Slugging percentage (slg): Since a batter can advance more than one base on a hit, with a home run being four, this is basically batting average weighted by the number of bases advanced on each hit
- Runs batted in: I don’t particularly like this stat, but people use it. It is the number of times someone scores on a hit by that batter.
- Stolen bases: Once on base, a runner can attempt to advance to the next base at any time, with the risk that he’ll be tagged out. More is better, as it’s a measure of speed.
Pitchers
- Earned run average: The number of earned runs (runs not caused by a fielding error) a pitcher gives up per game
- Strikeouts/Walks: A good pitcher will have a lot of strikeouts and few walks.
- Win-loss record: A lot of people use it, so…a pitcher is credited with a loss if he gives up the lead and the team doesn’t get it back, he is credited with a win if he leaves with a lead and the team keeps the lead. Often, the best pitcher in the game doesn’t get credited with a win, and the worst doesn’t get a loss.
Game/Week: Look for the batters with the most hits and RBIs, anyone who got at least one home run, and the pitchers who gave up the least (or the most) earned runs to talk to or talk to Coach Englander about.
Hope this helps! Good luck with your writing!
George
gwjones7
March 2, 2011