Columbus Dispatch: With time, Big Ten baseball can thrive here

Friday, May 22, 2009 3:13 AM
By Bob Hunter

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

After first-round games of the Big Ten baseball tournament attracted literally hundreds of spectators to Huntington Park on Wednesday, one of the lucky few in attendance offered a blunt assessment.

"You have to be realistic," he said. "It is what it is. It's college baseball. It's Big Ten college baseball."

The conversation had long since ended when my brain caught up to the discussion.

Exactly. College baseball is a terrific product. Many of these guys will sign pro contracts. Some of them will play in the major leagues. The college game draws huge crowds in many places in the South, even if it's mostly a rumor in much of the Midwest.

Maybe an event such as this -- a televised tournament in a downtown setting in a classy triple-A ballpark -- will cause more people to realize it. Maybe eventually things will start to change.

Some might think it's silly that the Purdue-Michigan State game yesterday was played in a 10,000-seat stadium before a crowd of 609. I don't. I think if the Big Ten decides to continue playing the tournament here -- and right now, this is just a one-year trial -- interest will gradually build.

Many of the adventurous who took in these games will go home and tell their friends about their experience. Local companies might realize what a terrific event this is and buy tickets for their employees. In three or four years, that lunchtime Purdue-Michigan State game might draw 1,609. In five years, it might draw 2,609.

It might not sound impressive, but what are the chances of that happening if the game is played on a campus stadium at Penn State or Minnesota or even Ohio State? Under the previous format, that's what happened. The Big Ten champion played host to the tournament, regardless of whether its home park is a beautiful facility or a cow pasture.

"Right now, I've been very, very, very impressed," Purdue coach Doug Schreiber said. "And I'm even more happy for our players because they're able to play in a first-class facility and they're getting treated first class."

If I were a Big Ten coach, I would be as excited as Schreiber is, especially if the conference decides to extend its stay here. Think a coach might not use this beautiful new ballpark as part of his recruiting pitch? Finish in the top six in the league, son, and you'll get a chance to play in a post season tournament in the park in these pictures. You don't have to play in the SEC or Big 12. Big Ten baseball is first class.

Let's be honest. This is going to take some work. In the Midwest, you can't just throw open the doors for a college baseball game and expect the seats to fill up. Local officials can hope Ohio State gets the No. 1 seed as it did this year and hence gets to play a night game that draws a huge crowd. They can hope the Buckeyes are always playing in the championship game Saturday or Sunday. Or they can work hard to make sure the games draw no matter who is playing.

"Every day we're taking notes," Greater Columbus Sports Commission executive director Linda Logan said. "We charged for the practice day, just based on what some of the other conferences are doing, but we won't do that next year, if there is a next year. Another thing we may look at is lunchtime games. Could we sell tickets by the (day) instead of by games? We're looking at all options. We want people here."

Last night, there were lots of people there for the Ohio State-Illinois game. Someday, with a little patience and plenty of promotion, lots of people may be there for all of the games.

Big Ten baseball can't afford to let this experiment die after just one season.

It is what it is, just as that fan said. But what it is can change.

Bob Hunter is a sports columnist for The Dispatch