Requiem for GU Baseball Diamond

[RusskyHoya]

As Regents Hall moves into the internal buildout phase, The Hoya recalls the days when baseball was played on campus, replete with old quotes from a certain Hoya writer turned HoyaTalker.

Interestingly, Pete Wilk and various baseball alumni seem to think the move to Bethesda has not been a negative.

[Problem of Dog]

Obviously an on campus facility for baseball made no sense, and the upgrades that have been put in its place (if you can consider the MSF an upgrade) have been very, very impressive and well done.

But speaking of another coach that needs to be shown the door, Pete Wilk has long overstayed his welcome. He's almost universally disliked from what I've heard and his teams have been miserable for a long time.

[Jack]

Good to see they are putting the archives to use. Of course I can't find it online myself, but I think that column also might have predicted the eventual demise of the baseball program. I stand corrected on that - there it is, mediocre as ever.

[TBird41]

Apr 25, 2012 23:48:25 GMT -5 Problem of Dog said:

But speaking of another coach that needs to be shown the door, Pete Wilk has long overstayed his welcome. He's almost universally disliked from what I've heard and his teams have been miserable for a long time.

I tried out for the baseball team my freshman year. I didn't come close to making it (nor did I really have any chance to), but I distinctly remember everyone on the team hating Wilk.

Also, aren't we on probation b/c of Wilk's program?

[RusskyHoya]

Apr 26, 2012 9:23:12 GMT -5 TBird41 said:

Also, aren't we on probation b/c of Wilk's program?

Yep. I completely understand the rationale that DFW laid out:

Apr 19, 2012 9:50:49 GMT -5 DFW HOYA said:

As far back as there has been a full time coaching staff at Georgetown, ther is a certain bargain presented to coaches: you won't get the best facilities or not even the best salary, but you get to coach good students and you will get a supportive athletic department, win or lose, as long as you play by the rules. This is why a Pete Wilk or a Kevin Kelly has the ability to suffer through losing seasons that they would not get at other places.

Once that "as long as you play by the rules" thing no longer holds, though...

To be fair, it was a minor, self-reported transgression that had minimal if any impact. I think it's mostly a question of not believing we could do much better, so the benefits vs. the costs of upheaval are limited.

Georgetown doesn't fire coaches (or people period, really) often. Who was the last one, Esh? Benson, if he counts?

[CAHoya07]

I'm pretty sure we fired Benson.

Anyway, nice article. I specifically remember my first few weeks of freshman year playing light night wiffle ball games on Lot T, the baseball field shaped parking lot that the location was before the business school construction started. I'm pretty sure the scoreboard was still there. It's a shame, but I guess the business school building and the new Science building will provide more to the university as a whole.

I like the idea of finding a suitable collegiate baseball field closer to campus, possibly Arlington, and I think I had read an article about that in the past. Hopefully that gains some traction.

Nevertheless, I'm glad the baseball team is doing (relatively) better this year, but at some point, we have to ask the question: can Georgetown keep supporting 29 sports? I've been largely against cutting sports in the past, but over the years I've found myself coming back to this question. However, one thing's for sure: we definitely need to build the Athletic Training Facility for ALL Georgetown sports, not just basketball.

[HoyaNyr320]

Apr 26, 2012 12:27:06 GMT -5 CAHoya07 said:

I'm pretty sure we fired Benson.

Benson had what I'll call a "Petrino problem." Lets leave it at that.

[2ndRyan]

I don't know about the smell of Cracker Jack or popcorn wafting over the hilltop, but in the early Seventies on a soft April afternoon, it was nice to come out of class, sit on the grassy side of the bowl and watch a few innings or so. Crowds could grow to several hundred, far more, I suspect, than journey up the river now. I understand the space constraints that doomed on-campus baseball but the team and the game were a very agreeable part of campus life back then.

[Nevada Hoya]

Apr 26, 2012 15:20:37 GMT -5 HoyaNyr320 said:

Apr 26, 2012 12:27:06 GMT -5 CAHoya07 said:

I'm pretty sure we fired Benson.

Benson had what I'll call a "Petrino problem." Lets leave it at that.

Yes, I know. Quite a mess.

[hoyaatheart55]

If I can lead us to back to back CWS and a national title on MVP NCAA Baseball 07, then we should be able to field a halfway decent team ...It'd be nice to have another great major sports team besides basketball

[manilahoyafan]

Apr 27, 2012 14:47:09 GMT -5 2ndRyan said:

I don't know about the smell of Cracker Jack or popcorn wafting over the hilltop, but in the early Seventies on a soft April afternoon, it was nice to come out of class, sit on the grassy side of the bowl and watch a few innings or so. Crowds could grow to several hundred, far more, I suspect, than journey up the river now. I understand the space constraints that doomed on-campus baseball but the team and the game were a very agreeable part of campus life back then.

I pitched at GU in the late 70's. The grass bowl crowd was as organic as they come. It was a cross between being in a serious Div 1 game and playing an ultimate Frisbee game on Healy lawn with on-looking partiers(we could do that then).

Ken Kelly was a full-blown Editedbahg. It's been pretty much downhill from then. I wish I could send my son to play at GU, but it's a dead end. Sigh.

[Nevada Hoya]

Sept 25, 2013 9:20:17 GMT -5 manilahoyafan said:

I pitched at GU in the late 70's. The grass bowl crowd was as organic as they come. It was a cross between being in a serious Div 1 game and playing an ultimate Frisbee game on Healy lawn with on-looking partiers(we could do that then).

Ken Kelly was a full-blown Editedbahg. It's been pretty much downhill from then. I wish I could send my son to play at GU, but it's a dead end. Sigh.

I didn't know they played baseball in the Philippines.

[SSHoya]

Nevada, gotta wathc the Little League World Series, or if you ever have a chance to get to Williamsport, it's great fun. Saw LLWS in Williamsport back in 1984. Baseball is played everywhere these days. When overseas when my dad was posted to Hong Kong, we played baseball in the 1960s with the Brits and Hong Kongers, even. Not a whole lot played, but enough. I'd guess the Philippines have had baseball because of the US military presence since the Spanish-American War in 1898!

[Problem of Dog]

Sept 25, 2013 13:26:06 GMT -5 SSHoya said:

Nevada, gotta wathc the Little League World Series, or if you ever have a chance to get to Williamsport, it's great fun. Saw LLWS in Williamsport back in 1984. Baseball is played everywhere these days. When overseas when my dad was posted to Hong Kong, we played baseball in the 1960s with the Brits and Hong Kongers, even. Not a whole lot played, but enough. I'd guess the Philippines have had baseball because of the US military presence since the Spanish-American War in 1898!

A team from DC almost made it to Williamsport this year for the first time. Played on ESPN a few weeks back. I wonder if any of those kids knew Georgetown had a team.