Florida Atlantic University Athletics
Diamond Diary by Kevin Cooney
4/17/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 17, 2002
Well, Friday night begins the most interesting and exciting stretch of our season. We will play the other three Florida A-Sun Conference schools over the next three weekends. If that wasn't enough, on Wednesday we play Miami. My feeling is that this is the beginning of many important and exciting games that we hope culminates in Omaha.
Half the conference schedule has been played, and we are 15-0, UCF is 13-2, and Stetson is 13-3. Two of Stetson's conference games have been rained out and will not be played. The conference rules allow three consecutive days to play a scheduled series. If you can't complete the series, the games are gone. The standings are based on winning percentage, so this could work against Stetson should they be tied in the loss column with someone at the end of the season.
Now don't get me wrong, it feels great to be undefeated at this point. The bad part is that we only have a two game lead and another full half to go. The fact that the top four clubs all play each other over the next three weeks is actually good. At least the suspense might not be dragged out too long. It's possible that the dust could settle and the championship would be close to wrapped up by that point. I hope so.
It's times like this that I wish I was on the farm, feeling a lot less anxiety. But the other side of that thought is that I don't know how else I could feel so alive and excited. This weekend is why we all do what we do in order to play baseball.
The 2002 FAU Baseball team is rapidly becoming one of my favorites. Yeah, they've won 25 straight, are second in the nation in wins, and undefeated in our conference. What's not to like? Plenty. Just ask guys who have coached for a while. Winning teams aren't always made up of kids you enjoy being around. This club is different. Not many teams would be given a day off today with Friday looming so large. These guys don't worry us. Well not much. They always seem ready to play and have handled this season and its difficulties, successes, and challenges very well. They make coaching fun.
THE ROOKIE
This was a movie that I didn't want to see. I am an emotional person and I was afraid that there would be aspects that might hit too close to home. I was right.
Baseball gets a lot of sappy press about it being such a special game. A game that defines a country. A game that bonds a father and a son. A game that, more than any other epitomozes the American Dream . I believe all those things. I didn't really want to see it all on a big screen. I have lived all those aspects for as long as I can remember.
A father's relationship to his young son, the way his job prevents him from seeing the special moments in a young player's life, the young player practicing alone by throwing a ball against a wall, the guy that's coaching high school kids because his arm betrayed him and shattered his dream, the young son, who thinks his Dad and his team are the greatest, who becomes a part of the team and celebrates and suffers with those kids who he won't be able to remember when he is 17 or 22, the wife who doesn't want him to hurt and wants to be supportive, but needs to be the voice of reason, and finally the supporter he needs, the father on the road because of his dream, who has to help with homework over the phone and misses more than he could ever know by his absence, the athlete who gets a chance to be challenged, the coach who wants more for his players than just being good baseball players, the father who calls to tell his son of the great thing that has happened, the son who gets the chance to reconcile with the father at last, each of those have been a part of my life.
You should see it. I am sure for many of you it will be a great movie. For many it will hit real close to home. Either way, you'll get your money's worth.
Wish us luck, keep a good thought. It should be a great weekend!
