College baseball is fun. Sure the pitchers are not fully developed as yet, but that translates into a lot of hits and a lot of action. College baseball already has a huge fan base. My Mom, for instance, is over 80 years old and knows every LSU player by his first name. She used to go to all the home games on campus and now she would not miss a game on TV for most anything.
The teams are very well coached these days and put on a very professional presentation, but it is the bubbling up spirit that prevails during the games that so touches the fans. Unlike the players in the majors, these guys can still crack a smile when they make a good play or strike out a batter. Not so much as in the ongoing women’s softball tournament, but they do exhibit a wonderful enthusiasm for the sport and the day that is positively contagious, even over the Internet.
At some point in the not too distant future we will be seeing lines up for college baseball just as today we see them for football and basketball. The sport is catching on rapidly and, as always follows, players will be seeking wagering options on first games in their area and later on to the regional and national finals when each conference determines its champion for the season followed by the hugely popular College World Series held each June in Omaha, Nebraska.
But good luck to the handicappers on this one, especially on the Over & Under. In one recent game on their way to the SEC Championship LSU scored 27 runs. In fact, in their last eight games the Tigers outscored their opponents 86-6. Who would have predicted that? apart from my Mom of course!
And all of that is only about Division I college baseball. There are at least two other divisions and literally hundreds of colligate baseball teams out there competing every springtime and all questing for their own league championships. There are, perhaps, more baseball teams on University and college campuses around the country than any other sport.
So the 68th Men’s College World Series, featuring the 64 Division I teams selected to compete, begins play on Friday June 14th at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha. The best of three finals start on Monday the 23rd and the CWS Title game will be played on Sunday the 25th.
Play Ball!
