Penders Gets It

[the Q]

The weather is the biggest thing against northeast baseball. It's too cold to play up here for half the season. If the season started a month later, it would be a more natural fit. Still, CT loves a winner.

The games in DDP, and in Storrs once the new stadium is completed, will build interest. You can feel the momentum. (FWIW same is true with Hockey.)

This is why I think hockey has a chance to make it big. The weather is far less of a factor, and it's already in a major conference with a strong recruiting geographical location.

CT is a hockey state (if you believe NHL playoff tv ratings) and freaking Providence won a NC for christ sake (granted it was with a BU goalie who either had such mental blocks that he made Steve Blass and Chuck Knoblauch look normal, or was pulling a Neil O'Donnell in the SB).

 

[CL82]

This is why I think hockey has a chance to make it big. The weather is far less of a factor, and it's already in a major conference with a strong recruiting geographical location.

CT is a hockey state (if you believe NHL playoff tv ratings) and freaking Providence won a NC for christ sake (granted it was with a BU goalie who either had such mental blocks that he made Steve Blass and Chuck Knoblauch look normal, or was pulling a Neil O'Donnell in the SB).

Agree. There was great energy in the XL during the run this year. It reminded me of the Dream Season.

 

[Palatine]

Current MLB players by state of birth.

It's California then everyone else. Click on the state for the names of the players.

United States (665)

Alabama (12) Louisiana (12) Ohio (20)
Alaska (1) Maine (1) Oklahoma (16)
Arizona (9) Maryland (4) Oregon (5)
Arkansas (3) Massachusetts (9) Pennsylvania (21)
California (140) Michigan (3) Rhode Island (2)
Colorado (8) Minnesota (3) South Carolina (17)
Connecticut (7) Mississippi (11) South Dakota (1)
Delaware (3) Missouri (5) Tennessee (19)
Florida (88) Montana (0) Texas (60)
Georgia (36) Nebraska (3) Utah (0)
Hawaii (4) Nevada (14) Vermont (0)
Idaho (2) New Hampshire (0) Virginia (10)
Illinois (24) New Jersey (11) Washington (10)
Indiana (11) New Mexico (4) Washington, D.C. (2)
Iowa (5) New York (17) West Virginia (2)
Kansas (3) North Carolina (15) Wisconsin (1)
Kentucky (10) North Dakota (0) Wyoming (1)

Additional Countries / Territories

Aruba (1) Dominican Republic (86) Puerto Rico (22)
Australia (3) Germany (3) Saudi Arabia (1)
Brazil (2) Japan (8) South Africa (1)
Canada (6) Lithuania (1) South Korea (5)
China (1) Mexico (12) Taiwan (3)
Colombia (4) Netherlands (1) Venezuela (88)
Cuba (19) Nicaragua (3) Virgin Islands (1)
Curacao (5) Panama (2)

 

[Guapo]

Current MLB players by state of birth.

It's California then everyone else. Click on the state for the names of the players.

United States (665)

Alabama (12) Louisiana (12) Ohio (20)
Alaska (1) Maine (1) Oklahoma (16)
Arizona (9) Maryland (4) Oregon (5)
Arkansas (3) Massachusetts (9) Pennsylvania (21)
California (140) Michigan (3) Rhode Island (2)
Colorado (8) Minnesota (3) South Carolina (17)
Connecticut (7) Mississippi (11) South Dakota (1)
Delaware (3) Missouri (5) Tennessee (19)
Florida (88) Montana (0) Texas (60)
Georgia (36) Nebraska (3) Utah (0)
Hawaii (4) Nevada (14) Vermont (0)
Idaho (2) New Hampshire (0) Virginia (10)
Illinois (24) New Jersey (11) Washington (10)
Indiana (11) New Mexico (4) Washington, D.C. (2)
Iowa (5) New York (17) West Virginia (2)
Kansas (3) North Carolina (15) Wisconsin (1)
Kentucky (10) North Dakota (0) Wyoming (1)

Additional Countries / Territories

Aruba (1) Dominican Republic (86) Puerto Rico (22)
Australia (3) Germany (3) Saudi Arabia (1)
Brazil (2) Japan (8) South Africa (1)
Canada (6) Lithuania (1) South Korea (5)
China (1) Mexico (12) Taiwan (3)
Colombia (4) Netherlands (1) Venezuela (88)
Cuba (19) Nicaragua (3) Virgin Islands (1)
Curacao (5) Panama (2)

*Pushes glasses up on his nose begins speaking*

"Well, per capita.."

 

[Pudge]

This just points out how lackluster Ray Reid and UConn soccer has been.

We were one of the national powers. National Championship and regular appearances in the late rounds of the NCAA; a leader annually in attendance nationally. And poof ... he’s in quicksand. And the effort to market and outreach is just never near the Joe days. Miss that clipboard throwing Devil.

 

[freescooter]

After a good career including a national title, I think Ray has just lost the fire. Probably time to step aside.

As far as baseball goes, the college season isn’t really kind to Northeast teams but Penders is not buying any excuses and has consistently produced solid teams. Last year’s probably deserved a bid but lost out because it was a Northeastern club. I doubt it is ever a revenue producer but avrun to Omaha would certainly generate enthusiasm.

 

[Guapo]

For those who may be interested:

UConn baseball is up to #19

 

[huskymedic]

For those who may be interested:

UConn baseball is up to #19

For those who may be really interested: All college baseball polls tracked here.

 

[HuskyHawk]

After a good career including a national title, I think Ray has just lost the fire. Probably time to step aside.

As far as baseball goes, the college season isn’t really kind to Northeast teams but Penders is not buying any excuses and has consistently produced solid teams. Last year’s probably deserved a bid but lost out because it was a Northeastern club. I doubt it is ever a revenue producer but avrun to Omaha would certainly generate enthusiasm.

Agreed. UConn has squandered some of it's reputation in Soccer. Ray should move on.

On the baseball side, I think we perhaps misunderstand the "revenue" positive aspect of baseball. We can't sell enough tickets with our schedule to make that happen. What UConn getting to Omaha and being ranked much of the year can do is strengthen our case for the ACC. Now that would go a long way to improving our revenues right?

At this point, it's about positioning the athletic department well in the sports that matter most. Football 1, Basketball 2, and then baseball and soccer 3 and 4. I'd mention hockey, but it's outside the normal conference structure and we're already in an ideal situation (minus the lack of arena).

 

[businesslawyer]

What’s preventing UConn baseball from being a revenue sport is playing like 10 home games a year in a 2,000 seat stadium. Most of them in the cold of April and on weekday afternoons. The new stadium they’re planning will help them play more home games (lights and plowable fields). The games at DDP help build interest. If you’re a Sox fan they mention Barnes went to UConn about 40 times a season. There are advantages as well as roadblocks to UConn baseball becoming a powerhouse. The fact that they are even relevant is a miracle.

The size of the stadium isn't going to make it warmer outside. Lights aren't going to make someone want to sit through a baseball game in Connecticut at night in April.

Penders is over a period of time achieving more than any other school in the northeast/rust belt. I just have trouble seeing how much better he is going to be able to do. But I hope I'm wrong.

 

[Guapo]

The size of the stadium isn't going to make it warmer outside. Lights aren't going to make someone want to sit through a baseball game in Connecticut at night in April.

Penders is over a period of time achieving more than any other school in the northeast/rust belt. I just have trouble seeing how much better he is going to be able to do. But I hope I'm wrong.

My interest in the new stadium isn't that it'll increase the attendance (even though I do think there'll be a bump, at least when it first opens).

It's what it'll do for recruiting that is of most interest to me.

 

[freescooter]

UConn, BC and Maine were pretty good college baseball teams in the 70s. Maine up to the early 1980s and they have snow through 4th of July for heaven sakes. All three made the college World Series in that era. The thing that set Northeast baseball way back was the change in the academic calendar. A typical College calendar up to the mid-late 70s started in mid-late September, took a break for the holidays and finished first semester in mid-late January. 2nd semester started sometime in Feb and ended in mid-June. The college baseball season started early April (April break of 2 weeks was standard) with a “southern swing” usually to Florida for NE teams then a northern season that ran mid-April to mid June. It literally took 15 years for schools to adjust to the impact of this schedule change on the sport. The biggest changes were related to increased travel and various “tournament” neutral site events.

 

[HawkHusky]

UCONN has an outstanding Olympic sports coaches. I disagree on Ray Reid stepping aside right now. Let's see how he recruits with the new facility (which he personally donated a total $350K towards).

 

[uconnbaseball]

I'd like to address several points made in this thread regarding Connecticut baseball.

1. UConn is at a natural disadvantage in recruiting compared to southern schools

UConn recruits MUCH better than you guys think. There has always been talent in Connecticut, Mass, Rhode Island, New York, etc. Just look at George Springer, Tim Cate, Anthony Kay, etc. Also, Penders isn't Edsall; he is consistently able to land recruits that big time programs want. He has two All Americans (Pat Winkel, Michael Burrows) coming in and some other very touted players as well. I would be surprised if next year's class wasn't rated in the Top 25, much like the 2013 class was.

The two biggest disadvantages to recruiting here are J.O. Christian Field (mercifully getting a big upgrade, so this will no longer be an issue soon), and fan apathy. If the 2nd problem holds the program back long term, fine: but it isn't a UConn baseball problem, it's a UConn fan problem. I just wanted to make that clear.

2. The bad weather is a huge disadvantage!!!

Why? If anything, it's a good thing for UConn. Southern schools in conference play respond very poorly to bad weather when they play in Storrs, and all those early season road games boosts our RPI and make the team battle tested for conference play. UConn and other Northern schools are typically rusty to start the year, but that effect only lasts for 1-2 weeks...not exactly a big deal.

Also, in regards to Southern schools rigging the sport...yea, the season should start and end later on in the year, but I don't think Florida and Texas are preoccupied trying to keep us down. In addition, we did host a regional as a 2 seed several years back! UConn, Indiana, and St. John's have all had Omaha caliber clubs over the past decade, and it is a combination of bad luck and close losses that have kept any from reaching Omaha.

3. I don't want to watch games in cold weather

I get skipping a midweek game vs. Fairfield due to weather, but really? 50 degree weather is gonna stop people from coming out to Hartford to watch a ranked UConn team take on the traditional baseball powerhouses in this conference? I went to the Friday game vs. Tulane and the crowd was depressing. There were some people at the game, sure (although there were much more for Saturday's game) but half the crowd took shelter from sprinkles in the terrace, killing whatever atmosphere we could have had. I see the weather excuse all the time for underwhelming home attendance, and I hate it more than anything.

In summary, UConn has some mild and overstated limitations that it has easily been able to overcome, and the last, and easily most difficult hurdle is getting apathetic UConn fans to actually care about this traditionally strong and currently ranked ballclub. End rant.

 

[CL82]

The two biggest disadvantages to recruiting here are J.O. Christian Field (mercifully getting a big upgrade, so this will no longer be an issue soon), and fan apathy.

And fixing the first will go a long way in helping to fix the second.

 

[dbmill]

This just points out how lackluster Ray Reid and UConn soccer has been.

We were one of the national powers. National Championship and regular appearances in the late rounds of the NCAA; a leader annually in attendance nationally. And poof ... he’s in quicksand. And the effort to market and outreach is just never near the Joe days. Miss that clipboard throwing Devil.

I can't believe I didn't find this thread a bit sooner.

In my mind, Ray Reid and Jim Penders are polar opposites of each other. Ray Reid may know a thing or two about soccer, but aside from the creation of the Goal Patrol and his efforts to get the new soccer facility built, from what I can tell he pretty much does nothing to promote the UConn soccer program. Try finding any information from his coaching staff about player injuries, for instance. Reid seems perfectly content to operate the program in secret. Meanwhile, Jim Penders and his athletic communications assistant and baseball broadcaster Chris Jones were made for each other. They are always creating interesting material and interviews for those of us that are interested in finding them. I really think they feed off of each other quite well.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

I can't believe I didn't find this thread a bit sooner.

In my mind, Ray Reid and Jim Penders are polar opposites of each other. Ray Reid may know a thing or two about soccer, but aside from the creation of the Goal Patrol and his efforts to get the new soccer facility built, from what I can tell he pretty much does nothing to promote the UConn soccer program. Try finding any information from his coaching staff about player injuries, for instance. Reid seems perfectly content to operate the program in secret. Meanwhile, Jim Penders and his athletic communications assistant and baseball broadcaster Chris Jones were made for each other. They are always creating interesting material and interviews for those of us that are interested in finding them. I really think they feed off of each other quite well.

When I was growing up all the cool kids did Ray Reid soccer camp. The T-shirt’s were badges of honor. I dunno if that’s still around though.

 

[dbmill]

When I was growing up all the cool kids did Ray Reid soccer camp. The T-shirt’s were badges of honor. I dunno if that’s still around though.

Ray Reid's soccer camp is still around. Penders has a baseball camp as well. I suspect most college coaches have these camps to help them identify rising talent, and to make some money on the side as well.

Schedule – Ray Reid Soccer School

Jim Penders Connecticut Baseball School

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

Ray Reid's soccer camp is still around. Penders has a baseball camp as well. I suspect most college coaches have these camps to help them identify rising talent, and to make some money on the side as well.

Schedule – Ray Reid Soccer School

Jim Penders Connecticut Baseball School

I think I may have actually gone to Penders’ dad’s camp way back when at East Catholic. It was called Hilltop Baseball Clinic but I’m 99% sure Penders ran it.

 

[freescooter]

UC baseball. I think there are 2 different discussions going on. #1 is can baseball be a revenue sport. That one I’m pretty doubtful. Season is too short here and too much travel.
#2 can it be a successful program that competes nationally? Sure. Arguably its at least borderline now. I could imagine drawing a couple of thousand at Dunkin Donuts for a weekend series or two.

 

[dbmill]

The size of the stadium isn't going to make it warmer outside. Lights aren't going to make someone want to sit through a baseball game in Connecticut at night in April.

Penders is over a period of time achieving more than any other school in the northeast/rust belt. I just have trouble seeing how much better he is going to be able to do. But I hope I'm wrong.

I find it amazing that Coach Penders has done as well as he has at J.O. Christian considering just how outdated the place is. Currently there is very little in the way of creature comforts for either the fans or the members of the team. For instance, I find the idea of having running water and real bathrooms on site to be very appealing, but maybe that is just me. And I'm sure the players will like the idea of lights, a turf field, and a locker room that they can call home. The new baseball facility has got to be a help the program, as Penders has done so much with so little physical infrastructure.

 

[dbmill]

I'd like to address several points made in this thread regarding Connecticut baseball.

1. UConn is at a natural disadvantage in recruiting compared to southern schools

UConn recruits MUCH better than you guys think. There has always been talent in Connecticut, Mass, Rhode Island, New York, etc. Just look at George Springer, Tim Cate, Anthony Kay, etc. Also, Penders isn't Edsall; he is consistently able to land recruits that big time programs want. He has two All Americans (Pat Winkel, Michael Burrows) coming in and some other very touted players as well. I would be surprised if next year's class wasn't rated in the Top 25, much like the 2013 class was.

The two biggest disadvantages to recruiting here are J.O. Christian Field (mercifully getting a big upgrade, so this will no longer be an issue soon), and fan apathy. If the 2nd problem holds the program back long term, fine: but it isn't a UConn baseball problem, it's a UConn fan problem. I just wanted to make that clear.

Here's a link to all the UConn MLB draft picks during the Penders era.

http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/conn/sports/m-basebl/auto_pdf/2017-18/misc_non_event/98999.pdf

 

[MattMang23]

UConn is at a natural disadvantage in recruiting compared to southern schools

UConn recruits MUCH better than you guys think. There has always been talent in Connecticut, Mass, Rhode Island, New York, etc.

Both can be true, and, in my estimation, both are true. We are indeed at a disadvantage and we do, indeed, recruit well by and large. Don't confuse recruiting well with recruiting as well as most SEC or ACC schools. We don't recruit as well as them, and that's ok.

fan apathy. If the 2nd problem holds the program back long term, fine: but it isn't a UConn baseball problem, it's a UConn fan problem. I just wanted to make that clear.

Right. I think it's been established in this thread that we have a good team but the fans don't come out for them. It's a fan issue, and it's not the team's fault. Not sure who thinks fans aren't coming out because the team isn't good enough?

2. The bad weather is a huge disadvantage!!!

Why? If anything, it's a good thing for UConn. Southern schools in conference play respond very poorly to bad weather when they play in Storrs, and all those early season road games boosts our RPI and make the team battle tested for conference play. UConn and other Northern schools are typically rusty to start the year, but that effect only lasts for 1-2 weeks...not exactly a big deal.

That's probably all true, I'll defer to your judgment. But that's a player's or a coach's perspective. A fan's perspective is that it's cold and most of us aren't interested in college baseball enough to go sit in the weather conditions in CT in April.

I don't want to watch games in cold weather

I get skipping a midweek game vs. Fairfield due to weather, but really? 50 degree weather is gonna stop people from coming out to Hartford to watch a ranked UConn team take on the traditional baseball powerhouses in this conference?

Yes. It is. You don't think it should. But it does. By your own observation of the Tulane series, this is the case.

I actually agree with your sentiments, tbh, but it just feels like your point is that the obstacles that UConn faces in building a larger baseball fan base- which, frankly, is just the weather (the team is certainly plenty good enough and if games were played at night in 75 degrees I'm sure they'd draw better)- shouldn't exist just because in your opinion they shouldn't exist. The problem is they do exist. How do you fix them? Tough to fix snow in April.

 

[uconnbaseball]

UC baseball. I think there are 2 different discussions going on. #1 is can baseball be a revenue sport. That one I’m pretty doubtful. Season is too short here and too much travel.

We mine as well shoot for the stars. I agree it is very unlikely, though.

#2 can it be a successful program that competes nationally? Sure. Arguably its at least borderline now. I could imagine drawing a couple of thousand at Dunkin Donuts for a weekend series or two.

We can definitely compete nationally, and are doing so now. A supportive, energetic fanbase would do wonders for us in this regard. If friggin Indiana can average over 1,000 in attendance, we can too. The weather isn't exactly fantastic in Bloomimgton...

 

[LIUCHusky]

Both can be true, and, in my estimation, both are true. We are indeed at a disadvantage and we do, indeed, recruit well by and large. Don't confuse recruiting well with recruiting as well as most SEC or ACC schools. We don't recruit as well as them, and that's ok.



Right. I think it's been established in this thread that we have a good team but the fans don't come out for them. It's a fan issue, and it's not the team's fault. Not sure who thinks fans aren't coming out because the team isn't good enough?



That's probably all true, I'll defer to your judgment. But that's a player's or a coach's perspective. A fan's perspective is that it's cold and most of us aren't interested in college baseball enough to go sit in the weather conditions in CT in April.



Yes. It is. You don't think it should. But it does. By your own observation of the Tulane series, this is the case.

I actually agree with your sentiments, tbh, but it just feels like your point is that the obstacles that UConn faces in building a larger baseball fan base- which, frankly, is just the weather (the team is certainly plenty good enough and if games were played at night in 75 degrees I'm sure they'd draw better)- shouldn't exist just because in your opinion they shouldn't exist. The problem is they do exist. How do you fix them? Tough to fix snow in April.

We humans have short memories. This April has been tough regarding weather in CT. This April was far from typical. I believe the temperature was 10 degrees cooler for 20 plus days this April. Snow in April?
Not very often in CT. We are making it out to be a much bigger factor than it is. The biggest factor regarding UCONN Baseball attendance is the Storrs location which makes it very difficult for many to attend Mon.-Fri. mid afternoon games.