MCC baseball just "won" their 7th straight conference championship. A big congrats to the players, coaches, and parents.

With zero people talking about it on this board and just a few attending the games, is Miles City just that apathetic?

Do they play with metal bats?

With zero people talking about it on this board and just a few attending the games, is Miles City just that apathetic?

Rather than assuming apathy, did you think that perhaps a lot of people don't enjoy baseball? I'm not one of them, however, most of the people I know do not. I have heard several times it is like watching paint dry. It is especially more difficult when most of the members of the team are not from Miles City, so even those who go to watch games solely to support local kids don't have a reason to attend.

Don't get me wrong. It is a shame, but not surprising.

Now, if it was football or basketball, it would be surprising.

They have not played with metal bats, yet. Their next tournament, to get into the NJCAA Div. II World Series, will be played with metal bats. Very few college teams, MSU-Billings is an exception, in our area play with metal bats.

Denise--The people you describe are not apathetic, just pathetic. Just kidding (sort of).

Maybe I'm the one who is missing the boat, but people in Miles City always seem to be craving something to do, yet apparently we all lead super busy lives? Hey, if you don't like baseball or sports in general, I understand (not really). What about the rest of you?

Many people in Miles City do have an affiliation to the college. You work there, have attended classes, have children who have attended classes there, etc. It could be a great social event, too. Almost all of the kids are Montana kids and there are local ties to Eastern Montana. This year, of course, no Miles City kids made an impact. But, that is a first for the program. Next year, there will again be two Miles City kids on the team.

To advance Pluto's point a bit, nearly every starting player for the Pioneers are Montana kids. The outfield goes Butte, Scobey, Florence and the infield goes Florence, Billings, Billings, Great Falls (and Polson) and the catcher is from Ronan. The four starting pitchers are from Belgrade, Scobey, Lewistown and Salt Lake City. The two main relievers are from Billings and Rupert, Idaho. So of the 15 guys that see consistent time, 13 are from Montana and many are from around the area.
I've never understood the argument that people don't support MCC because players aren't from around here. Look at UM or MSU. MCC has a far better percentage of Montana athletes than either of those, and most of the other schools. So I don't buy that argument.

As far as the metal bat thing, the MonDak Conference switched to wood bats the year after Patch died (although it was going to happen anyway, so it was of no relation to Patch's death.) So the Pioneers play their entire regular season with wood, and then switch to metal for the postseason tournaments. This seems to be the way a lot of Junior College, and even a couple NCAA, conferences have gone.

In the end, congrats to the Pioneers on their seventh straight MonDak regular season title, their sixth straight MonDak Tournament and their second straight Regional Tournament wins. (Although the second two were on technicalities, but we're counting it.)

Hey Slosh, thanks for chiming in. Please excuse my grandstanding moment. I support MCC because they represent the community of Miles City. I support the high school and middle school in the same fashion. It is not because my neighbor's son is the cornerback, or my coworker's daughter is the back-up point guard. Those types of things are just a bonus when they happen. I love sports, among other things, and take pride in our town.

In addition, I hope that my kids look up to these athletes as role models. Not because I think they are perfectly wonderful, but because they easily exhibit the traits that all of us imagine our own kids having. They have shown us the ability to set and realize goals, committed to hard work, and persevered. The players have done all of this while enjoying the comradeship of building something great.

As a fan, I have enjoyed watching the season unfold. It never gets routine, even though I always expect a championship out of them. How many sports teams can you say that about? I personally won't forget Phillip Perez taking the time to field ground balls with my sons for 20 minutes before a big game. I know my son won't forget. I guarantee that he is just as big of a superstar to my sons as Peyton Manning or Jack Prelutsky is to yours.

I just feel some of you have missed out, that's all. Again congrats to the Pioneers.

[This message has been edited by Pluto (edited 5/11/2007).]

After my earlier post, I got to thinking about how MCC compared to having Montana athletes with the other colleges and universities in the state. So, since it's Friday afternoon, and I'm bored. I looked at the rosters of all the athletic teams in the state (some had what I was looking for and some didn't, but I think I got a pretty good idea) and here are some interesting numbers. MCC has the highest concentration of Montana athletes in the state. Montana Tech is close, but after that it really isn't close.
MCC- 81% of athletes are Montanan (64-79)
Montana Tech- 78% (132-170)
Carroll College- 66% (118-158)
MSU-Northern- 65% (104-159)
Rocky- 59% (103-174)
UM-Western- 59% (69-117)
Dawson- 56% (33-59)
Montana State- Billings- 55% (100-183)
University of Great Falls- 48% (50-105)
Montana- 47% (142-301)
Montana State- 42% (123-293)
I don't know what I'm trying to prove, other than there is proof against the argument that MCC doesn't have local kids. Just thought it was interesting stuff.
(I got the roster information off each schools website)

This is all just a rough impression, but it doesn't seem like the Pioneers Baseball program is really pushed as much in the community (compared to say legion) Maybe I'm just not noticing, but I don't remember seeing any season schedules, like I usually do for other sports.

Or maybe it's the short (and awkward) spring schedule. I'm just never thinking about attending a baseball game in March or April. It seems like every year, when I start to think about going to a Pioneers game, the season is pretty much over.

Maybe we're just creatures of habit I guess.

[This message has been edited by Rick Kuchynka (edited 5/11/2007).]

I have to agree. One of the best parts of watching baseball is sitting out in the sweltering heat, subsisting on sunflower seeds and hot dogs. I guess it will just take a different mindset to enjoy the game in the cooler weather.

I'm always puzzled when someone says they wish there was more to do in this town. I wish we had more hours in the day to get done all of the things we would like to do (like more MCC games, not just baseball). It seems like we are always rushing from one thing to another.

It would have been nice to have the two more games this weekend, but I guess we'll just have to wait for the fall.