Friday Favorites – For the Love of the Game
If you have been following along at all you undoubtedly know that today is a very important day….opening day for college baseball! I found this and thought it was perfect.
Being that opening weekend so often coincides with Valentines Day this quote also seems appropriate!
I thought I would share some of my college baseball favorites today since it is the sport that will consume me, excite me, overwhelm me and most certainly have me pacing a few times from now through June.
I love this time every year when the hype starts. Preseason rankings are out which is exciting but means little more than there is much still left to be earned. I still enjoy reading about the teams and all the promising college athletes. Based on information found at ScholarshipsStats.com only 11.5% of high school baseball players move on to play college baseball with those playing at a D1 college being only 2.1%. These kids have put in a lot of work to make dreams come true.
The TCU baseball season kicks off with the First Pitch Banquet and Alumni game which was held last weekend. It’s always so exciting to me when they release the videos each season. They typically have one that is for promo to be played before each game and one which is more motivational. Here is this years video and I thought it was so awesome!
And here was last years video which included MLB player Matt Carpenter who is a former Frog.
Where do I start here….the players are what make the game of baseball so interesting. Baseball players can be somewhat superstitious. I have never seen Riley leave the mound without hoping over the baseline on the way back to the dugout. And oh my goodness the little routine he goes through before coming in to pitch is so specific. I would be able to identify most of the players on the team just by some quirky move they have. The pitchers all have some little mound routine they do after every pitch or every out that is just so unique and the batters are the same as they settle in at the plate. Do I even need to mention their hair….whether it is facial hair or growing out their hair it is just so fun to see what they come up with. Sometimes it is driven by a winning streak, sometimes it is driven by trying to get some mojo back but always, always it is entertaining. There are seriously countless articles out there on “the best hair/facial hair in college baseball”. Riley loves his “chops” but he still has rather blonde facial hair. Last year a student was sitting behind me speculating whether or not he had dyed it….well of course he did! So it was hilarious when this showed up on twitter the next day.
In regionals the Horned Frogs actually had a game against Sam Houston State that stretched 22 innings…yep that’s more than 2 full games in one very long night. At some point one of the players tossed all of the bats out of the dugout and they performed a little ritual on the field.
And then you always have the rally hat.
My all time favorite college baseball memory is definitely the last pitch of the Super Regionals in 2014. I am not sure how I did not pass out from holding my breath. Riley always, always seems to want to make the game just a tad more exciting than it needs to be! Being the mom of a closer is tough.
Summer of 2013 Riley played for the USA National Team and seeing him on the mound to close out a game and hearing the crowd chanting USA, USA as they were about to sweep Cuba is definitely high on the list.
Game 2 of the College World Series when we watched these boys fight 15 innings. They came up short but there was nothing left on the field which always makes for a great game and proud fans. This was a crazy play at home…crazy.
We really do try not to over indulge on all the ballpark food but often times the healthier snacks I pack just don’t hold us over. Did you know baseball games can take a really long time?? Carly Jo always says “I just wish there was a time limit like in football”. I digress….and back to the food. As a closer, when Riley comes in to pitch it is usually in a do or die type situation. That makes for a nervous mom and the best thing for my nerves is shelling peanuts. I go through a lot of peanuts and pistachios during the season. Here are just a few other faves.
Snowcones are a must once it gets hot here in Texas!
And don’t judge but I may occasionally sneak in a Sonic drink which may contain vodka (allegedly).
And then sometimes I run across something fabulous like this at a ballpark and I just can’t walk away. Pretty much if there are some homemade potato chips I’m in.
Not going to lie…somewhere along the road there will also be some of those nasty fake cheese nachos loaded with jalepenos too! Thankfully the coaches wife teaches a spin class in Fort Worth on Saturday mornings so hopefully I can catch a few of those!
My favorite addition for this season is my new cuff from Farmgirl Paints. I purchased my first cuff last Fall and knew when she opened her shop last week I had to have one with my favorite saying….bonus that she had one in purple!
I will likely be dressed in layers as the games in the Spring may start at 75 and end in the 50’s once the sun goes down. My jeans and converse will definitely be staples and I will likely also layer up with some leggings and tunics when appropriate. While not exactly TCU colors in this picture this is a good idea of how I will be dressing. I typically have scarves with some pops of purple too.
And once it really warms up I will break out the J. Crew shorts (4″ inch are my fave) and some cute tops. This is an actual outfit I wore to the Texas series last year.
And I found this cute little dress in the Fall which will be perfect once things warm up.
I’ll leave you with this one last thing. I hope to do a longer post about this in the future but I will let you know that while I am obviously so proud of Riley’s accomplishments on the field he continues to make me more proud off the field. He shared this news article earlier that ran today and it was the first time I read it. I think he is still just a little shocked at how others see him. He has worked very hard to become the player he is but you have no idea how hard he has worked to become the man he is becoming. His talent was a gift from God and I’m so glad he is taking it seriously. If you wish you can read the article here.
Playball…Go Frogs! #ToadtoOmaha
Find the fun linkups I’m participating in today here!