Buckeye Nine: Big Ten Tournament, the exclamation point on a great season

As rock band Carolina Liar in their top 100 hit Show Me What I'm Looking For in the chorus belts "Oh lord I’ve been waiting for you.... show me what I'm looking for," no truer words can reflect the 2009 Big Ten baseball season.


Hardball fans around the Midwest have waited far too long for a spring such as one the one this Big Ten baseball season provided. The last four days at Huntington Park was the crowning event, a summation if you will, of two months in which the Big Ten saw the red-headed step child of the "big three" sports finally find a home at the family dinner table with welcomed arms. Even if baseball is still a foot shorter and 40 pounds lighter than its big brother's basketball and football, baseball hit a growth spurt and hopefully that gap narrows and narrows in the upcoming years.

The season started with Michigan and Indiana receiving the accolades, praise, and attention, with expectations of the Big Ten to produce another ho-hum season, one which would not receive any national merit. I mean we're talking Big Ten, northern baseball, a joke compared to the south and west and the power conferences of the ACC, PAC-10, SEC right? Oh boy where those expectations wrong.

It was not Indiana, nor Michigan who week after week could be found in the baseball polls and various rankings. After the first weekend Ohio State went the entire year being ranked by at least one publication. The Buckeyes were not alone either. Illinois and Minnesota spent considerable teams in the top 30s of numerous publications. In fact the preseason favorite Wolverines would wind up being overwhelmed, limping to a 9-15 conference record, finishing 7th after back-to-back-to-back Big Ten conference championships.

Indiana after a slow start in non-conference play went through the Big Ten at a blistering pace. The Hoosiers finished Big Ten play with an 16-7 record, that's winning 70% of your games folks. The mindblower, that winning percentage only allowed the Hoosiers to finish THIRD in the conference as Minnesota went 17-6, and conference champion Ohio State 18-6. Oh and for good measure, Illinois made it four teams that finished within 2 games of first with a 16-8 record. The Illini won 2 of every 3 games and finished fourth. Remarkable.

Not only did the conference see its championship come down to the last day of the regular season, it had individual performances that rival and its probable top any performances the Big Ten has seen in decades. The run of brilliance started Michigan State's Nolan Moody as he would no-hit Northwestern on April 2nd. Moody's no-hitter was the first Big Ten game played in McLane stadium in East Lansing. What's better than a no-hitter? Two no hitters. The second conference no-hitter came courtesy Alex Wimmer's as the Buckeye would no-hit Michigan on May 4th in a 6-0 victory over the arch-rival Wolverines.

Not to take anything away from Moody as his performance, no not at all that is an incredible feat and needs not undermined. However the Wimmer's no-hitter had a special meaning to it.

-Unlike the Moody no-no, the Wimmer's performance was captured live on the Big Ten Network. And replayed again, and again, and again over the next few days. This was HUGE. Obviously Ohio State-Michigan regardless of sport has a certain ring no other rivalries have sorry IU-Purdue, Northwestern-Illinois, etc. People around the nation caught a glimpse at the talent the Big Ten has.

-The attention Wimmers received from national media members like Aaron Fitt, Kendal Rogers, and Eric Sorenson further put Ohio State and the Big Ten into the limelight and brought attention to the conference.

-It solidified Ohio State as a team that can truly beat any in the nation. The Bucks had a high ranking but not many had seen them or really paid attention to them.

-Lastly it would kickstart a heated competition and race for the Big Ten Pitcher of the Year with Indiana's Eric Arnett who at the time had a sub-2.00 ERA and seemingly was throwing complete games in every start making opposing schools look like high school JV teams. The two shared Big Ten pitcher of the week honors for the weekend of April 9th as they before threw complete games, striking out 11 in the process. This wouldn't be the only award they would share.

Also in the string of incredible individual performances Minnesota's Derek McCallum belt 6 home runs and 20 RBI in a single week. That is some players entire year. Over the last two weekends Ohio State's Justin Miller carried the Buckeyes to the conference championship hitting .576 going 15-for-26 being the only conference player to receive back-to-back Big Ten Player of the Week honors. Amazing performance were seemingly produced weekly by Illinois' Brandon Wikoff and Willie Argo, or Indiana's Alex Dickerson, Josh Phegley, Michigan's Chris Fetter or Ryan LaMarre, Purdue with Brandon Haveman and Dan Black. Week after week a different star in the Big Ten would step up and put on a show.

The Big Ten will litter All American lists over the next few weeks. With co-Big Ten Pitchers of the Year Arnett and Wimmers leading the way, Phegley, Burkhart, McCallum, Fetter, Wikoff, Dickerson, and Ohio State's Jake Hale surely to be included. Not even mentioned have been the amazing season's by Michigan State's Eric Roof, Ohio State's Ryan Dew, Illinois' Dominic Altobelli, Indiana's Kipp Schultz and Matt Bashore.

I haven't witnessed a Big Ten season with as many stars and gaudy performances on a consistent basis. The talent in the Big Ten is starting to build and people are starting to recognize that. Though stars like Arnett, Bashore, Phegley, Hale, and McCallum are expected to be drafted and move on, Dickerson, Burkhart, and Wimmers are underclassmen just scratching the surface and will return.

Amazing performances, great teams, and a heated battle for the conference crown would be more than enough to make the season special. Not so fast my friends. For the first time since 1994 the Big Ten went to a pre-determined site for the conference tournament, and it'll probably be another 15 seasons before they make a change to that format.

Taking place at brand new Huntington Park in downtown Columbus, Ohio. The Big Ten hosted a conference tournament that surpasses anything the conference has seen to date. To be quite honest, the actual games let a lot to be desired, only one game, Ohio State-Illinois had any sense of drama and that ended with a Ohio State 3-run victory. Indiana scorched the field tallying 47 runs in 4 games, allowed just 10.

The Hoosiers secured a berth in the NCAA tournament, a field that will see three Big Ten schools competing. That ties the most teams the Big Ten will see in a NCAA Regional, the last time occurring in 2007, that courtesy 6th seed Ohio State winning the Big Ten Tournament and gaining the auto-bid otherwise it would not have occurred.

The 2009 NCAA tournament will see three 3 Big Ten schools with better than solid chances of making noise and further putting the Big Ten on the college baseball map. By all means a 4th Big Ten team, Illinois should be in the field, but the numbers will unfortunately leave the Illini out of the mix. That is a team that did travel down to top-5 LSU and take 2/3 against the Tigers in the Bayou and deserves a bid, but that's an argument for a different day. Ohio State's Bob Todd echoed my thoughts saying “I really believe that, as you take a look at the Big Ten Conference, that we have four teams that are very deserving (of an NCAA Tournament berth), and Illinois is one of those teams.”

After a 2008 season with 1 regional team, 3 is more than a step in the right direction.

Back to the tournament.

The 2009 Big Ten Baseball Tournament drew a total of 12,219 fans over a four-day period, marking the conference’s highest overall attendance number in at least the past decade. The previous high in that span was 6,728, set in 1999 when Ohio State hosted the tournament at Bill Davis Stadium. The single-day high for the 2009 event was 4,575, set on Thursday, marking the largest total in at least the past decade. The single-day mark exceeds the previous high of 3,012, also set in 1999. To better look into the record books will probably show very few tournaments put more butts in seats than this one.

Outside of just the attendance, the operation was ran at a first class rate. Big Ten official, Huntington Park, and the Greater Columbus Sports Commission official did not miss one aspect in putting on the event. Media was treat exceptionally. Fans witnessed baseball in a beautiful, amazing ball park. In large part due to the hometown Buckeyes, the atmosphere and excitement in the air was alive and well during the primetime Thursday and Friday games. The collective joy and anticipation from Hoosier nation made Saturday's lack of attendance fairly moot.

Day after day coaches and players would rave about their experience and what the tournament felt like.

In a brief statement after being eliminated in a tough loss, Purdue's Brandon Haveman would say about the tournament “The facilities are really nice. The playing field was really nice. I had a great time." His sentiments were not alone.

Ohio State's Cory Kovanda also after elimination would say “It was exciting. It was a new atmosphere for us, a different atmosphere than Bill Davis. Of course it was great to see all the Ohio State fans out there, but that was real fun.”

Indiana's Kipp Schultz would say the following at the conclusion of the tournament “From the facilities and everything else to how we were treated by staff, I certainly can’t imagine a conference tournament that was run better than this one.”

Each head coach after their last game made it an issue to thank the Big Ten, Huntington Park, and the Greater Columbus Sports Commission for the show they put on. Be it Purdue's Doug Schreiber, Indiana's Tracy Smith, Minnesota's John Anderson, Michigan State's Jake Boss Jr., Illinois Dan Hartleb, and Ohio State's Bob Todd, there was a genuine and honest appreciation and wow effect of the tournament.

Every game was played lived on the Big Ten Network and replayed throughout the day. Though the shining moments from an audience perspective would have been the two evening games with Ohio State playing drawing 4,000+, each game showed the Big Ten's step in the right direction. The Big Ten will probably not see 3 of it's schools in the Omaha field of 8 at the College World Series, but its not ridiculous for a team to dream of such a trip and to achieve it. A spectacular season, a spectacular tournament and spectacular goals are alive and well in the Big Ten. That folks is what I've been looking for, and oh lord I've been waiting for it.



The Buckeye Nine would like to thank everyone for their support of Ohio State an Big Ten Baseball and hopes the Big Ten can truly grow from this season.

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

The B9 sits down with the Greater Columbus Sports Commission

With the Big Ten Tournament coming to Columbus next week in partnership of the Big Ten and the Greater Columbus Sports Commission, the Buckeye Nine was able to catch up with Linda Logan the executive director of the GCSC to ask a few questions about the upcoming tournament.

The mission of the Greater Columbus Sports Commission is to provide leadership, guidance and marketing expertise in attracting regional, national and international sporting events and activities to benefit Greater Columbus economically and socially. The Buckeye Nine would like to thank Ms. Logan and the GSCS for taking the time to answer a few questions.



B9: First tell us how exactly did the chance to host the Big Ten Tournament come about? Did you contact the Big Ten once Huntington Park was complete or in the works? Did the Big Ten reach out to Columbus and the Greater Columbus Sports Commission?

LL: Ken Schnacke (Clippers) & Linda Logan (GCSC) met with OSU Coach Bob Todd close to two years ago to discuss the possibility of bidding on the tournament. Linda Logan contacted the Big Ten. They were not going to open up a bidding process anytime soon. Ken & Linda began to do some homework on other major conference tournaments and traveled to Oklahoma City to see the Big 12 Tournament a year ago. (Logan used to work for the Big 8 in the 1980's during the period when they decided to go to OKCITY with their tournament). The GCSC and Clippers submitted a bid to the Big Ten. There were not guarantees that the Big Ten would consider the tourney bid without the formal bidding process. Administrators and Coaches had to agree to this request for a 3 year bid. There is more to the story, but in the end, they agreed to a one year pilot program.

B9: After the parties were in communication with one anyone, can you provide insight into what aspects about Columbus, Huntington Park, and the Arena District you really tried to promote and push to the Big Ten in the bid?

LL: We wanted to create a special environment for the student athletes and fans. We want to do those special touches that create a great tournament atmosphere...great hotels, restaurants, baseball movies at the Arena Grand, fantastic new ballpark, big league experience.


B9: I've seen advertising in print from the Columbus Dispatch, over the radio on WBNS, WTDA, etc, what approaches are you taking in promoting the event and what are you expecting in regards to attendance? Are you trying to target a particular age group? Is there an emphasis on family fun and bringing families downtown? Has there been a push to attract local college students?

LL: Limited budget; grassroots to baseball groups; corporate ask; local organizing committee with a volunteer sales forve, facebook, smiling & dialings, alumni & friends of Big Ten Schools

B9: Can you tell us a bit about how the idea came to have a different restaurant in the district be a bit of a headquarters for the 6 competing schools? And which establishments will be linked to which school?

LL: Big Ten Restaurants

(A corresponding Arena District establishment has been designated as a "base" for each of the 6 competing schools. Family, friends, alumni are encouraged to meet, eat, relax at the assigned host, the link provided by Linda list the 6 schools and businesses)

B9: In regards to the players and baseball programs of the 6 schools, what is the message or experience is at the forefront? Is there a "big league" feel you're trying to generate? Are there any special accommodations the programs will have that are atypical of college baseball?

LL: We want the athletes to walk from their hotel (Crowne Plaza) to the ballpark in their streetclothes and have their uniforms pressed and hanging in their lockers for that major league experience.

B9: If you could have the Big Ten, the fans, students, and programs leave Columbus with one impression, what ideally would you like that to be?

LL: We want to them to have a memorable experience that will last a lifetime.


Hopefully Linda's responses provides a bit of an insight into how the Tournament came to Columbus and what to expect next week. Also provided is the mission statement and list of goals the Big Ten and GCSC would like to achieve.

The mission of the Big Ten Local Organizing Committee is to sell tickets to the Big Ten Baseball Tournament, to raise awareness of the event and to provide outstanding hospitality to Big Ten officials, players and fans while showcasing Greater Columbus.

Goals to meet the mission statement are:

• Average 3,000 tickets each session of the eleven game tournament
• Produce the best Big Ten Baseball Tournament as recognized by athletes, coaches and fans
• Saturate market with event awareness and exposure
• Develop awareness, participation and support in Greater Columbus for the sport of baseball
• Leverage hosting of Big Ten Baseball Tournament to attract future high profile events




The GSCS will be having a special event taking place during the tournament.

Breakfast & Baseball

Get into the baseball mood before the game at the Arena Grand, located less than a block from Huntington Park. Come enjoy breakfast and a complimentary showing of the baseball classic The Natural before heading over to the tournament. Just show your tournament ticket at the door to get in FREE. The movie will play at 9:00 a.m. ET on both Thursday, May 21 and Friday, May 22. Please see the Arena Grand Web site for location: Arena Grand



Again thanks to Linda and the Greater Columbus Sports Commission for taking the time. Also check back to see the Big Ten POV and their answers to how Columbus became home for the 2009 BTT and other issues.

If possible please head out to Huntington Park next week, not only to support our Buckeyes but to support the city of Columbus as well as the Big Ten. It wouldn't hurt either if the Bucks could capture a Big Ten record 9th Big Ten Tournament Championship.