Bri Teresi Makes An Incredible Putt, Talladega Weekend Is Off To A Hot Start & Cags Goes Deep Again!
I have a 12U practice to run in an hour, but I need to address the biggest sports story nobody is talking about right now
Thursday night, while trying to find an MLB game to watch with Screencaps Jr., I happened upon the Florida-Vandy game as the broadcasters were talking about Jac Cagliaone homering in seven straight games. My radar went off. We need to see this guy hit.
Then, Cags, as they call him, goes oppo (I've picked up some travel ball lingo just from watching TikTok and IG Reels) over Vandy's Green Monster for his eighth straight game with a home run.
Friday night, Cags was at it again.
Nine straight games with homers ties the all-time college record which was set in 2021 by Nevada's Tyler Bosetti. Yes, I'm shocked that record doesn't go back to the 1980s or 1990s when guys were roasting baseballs with Easton B5s.
And for those, like me, who haven't been paying attention to college baseball like our SEC brethren, Cags also pitches. He's like 6'5, 250 pounds, built like a sequoia and throws gas.
Did I mention he has first rounder hair?
They're calling him the Collegiate Shohei Ohtani.
If you don't have anything to do this afternoon, Cags is on the bump at 3 ET today on SEC Network. If you're at the bar, tell the general manager to turn it on, you need to see if college baseball history is made today in Nashville.
Baseball blackouts and kids creating their own backyard games
– Benny writes:
- Blackouts. If I am commissioner for a day, I will eliminate blackouts for eternity. It is absolutely infuriating to deal with. As a born Yooper who now lives in OK, I use MLB to watch the Tigers. Yet, I'm blacked out when they play the Rangers, Royals, and Astros. The outdated premise of blackouts forcing people to buy game tickets makes as much sense as a Biden speech. This last week, I couldn't watch the Tigers play the Rangers... IN Detroit. Stupid.
- I love hearing about your youth coaching. It's inspiring. I remember as a kid getting together at the local field playing all summer, outside of the Little League practices/games. We even played wiffleball in my friend's backyard. Had bases setup, the large maple tree in left was out "green monster", center field was Death Valley like old Tiger Stadium and right had a stacked woodpile. The ball had to land on top to be a HR. Even when there was just 2 of us, we devised a game using ghost runners and played 9 innings. We could use the big fat red bat once a game each, but had to switch hit. Our games always revolved around the Tigers games.
TNML. I just bought this house last fall, so it was a late season call up in getting league nights in. Now, entering my first full season, I have spent the spring overhauling the mulch beds, planting trees/plants/flowers. I also spent time battling a weed invasion, seeding/sodding troubled areas and learning Bermuda grass here in OK. I'm still a rookie fighting for a TNML roster spot, so I absorb all the tips, tricks, and advice from the SC community. Attached are pics from opening day (I moved opening day up to Wednesday this week to beat bad weather forecasted for the weekend, which didn't happen).
Thanks for your hard work keeping the SC community moving along. I also enjoy the new Womansplaining (Amber is a rock star), Gripe Report, & True Romance series. And of course Nightcaps as well. Sköl to the Outkick team!
Kinsey:
I would like to report that Screencaps Jr. and Screencaps the III take part in wiffleball games around here with neighborhood kids.
I want the Boomers to sit down for what I'm about to say: My kids go to the park down the street to play wiffleball and kickball with kids from around the neighborhood. I know the prevailing thought these days is that kids never get pickup games going.
Not here, Boomers!
Our neighborhood park holds pickup games IN A FIELD at least a couple of times per week.
Even Travel Ball Hardo Chris B. in Houston agrees it's hard to find baseball games on TV
- TBHCBiH writes:
Kids today consume baseball differently than we did as kids, just like everything else these days. TV is completely different for them. I agree with you that it can be hard to find the games. To watch Astros games in Houston we must have the new channel that’s now owned by the Astros & Rockets, after the previous network went belly up, and many TV services don’t have it. These "Regional Sports Networks" are certainly an issue, and I think that reckoning is coming. MLB definitely cares, but it’s not an easy fix. Some teams (Yankees & Dodgers to name a couple) make WAY more from their RSNs than most teams so getting them to agree to a national TV deal like the NFL isn’t easy.
But back to kids… my son knows a lot about MLB, its players, etc but he very rarely actually watches a game. Our short attention span kids learn about it on social media. Mine follows a lot of InstaGram & TicTok accounts that show highlights, stats, etc. He also learns about the players by playing MLB The Show video game. Do I like this? Of course not. I’d much rather he sit down on the couch and watch the game with me. But that’s just not how kids do it these days, unfortunately. But don’t give up. Talk to your kids about big plays that you see while watching your local game, about great players that you see in highlights, etc. And if you really want to connect with them about the game, send them DMs of cool highlights. Ask them about their favorite players, and get them to send you DMs of cool things they’ve… interact with them in their world.
Kinsey:
Send them DMs of highlights? Screencaps Jr. is 11! He doesn't have an iPhone.
- Patrick C. in Perrysburg writes:
When I was a kid not only did I know the entire starting lineup for the Tigers, but we would also imitate the way they walked, threw and batted! Who could forget the way Willie Horton strolled to the plate and stood menacing in the batters box, or the perfectionism of Al Kaline!? Wear a hat like Denny McLain or come set on the mound like Mickey Lolich. Hell, I could stand in the batter’s box today like Dick McAullife! Games back then weren’t shown on TV as much as they are now, but we would study these guys and would call out their names during pick-up games. Baseball will eventually lose my generation and with us goes the love and passion for the sport. I’m not saying young kids today don’t have the desire to play baseball, they don’t seem connected to the game as we once were. MLB are you listening?
- Jim in San Diego writes:
Reed in Minnesota is on to something. Not sure how old he is, but I’m 62, and growing up the Reds were almost never on TV until they got to the playoffs. They also would get on the Game of the Week on a Saturday once in a while, particularly when they were good, but still – most of the time, we listened to Reds game on the radio.
I got a paper route when I was about 10, and the first thing I bought was a little portable transistor radio so I could listen to the games. If I missed a game, I’d pore over the Dayton Journal Herald the next morning, not only reading the game story, but the box score, too.
So your reaction that kids aren’t into MLB anyore because it’s hard to "watch" the games I think reinforces what Reed wrote: Times have changed. It seems like if kids can’t watch a game on TV, then that sport is not even on their radar. Which is why all the sports outside the NFL and NBA are struggling to stay relevant.
As far as where to live? Zone 5 has some of the most decent people on Earth (along with its fair share of "only in Ohio" knuckleheads), and the best spring and summer seasons.
Zone 9 has by far the most pleasant climate, and some of the most beautiful scenery, but the politicians are determined to make it an unlivable hellhole with ridiculous taxes, coddling of criminals, enabling of the homeless, and now eliminating local zoning so that developers can put oversized apartment buildings right int the middle of a a suburban neighborhood. Having the kids near family is important, but the kids themselves tend to move away as soon as they can.
This has to be one of the dumbest things I've seen out of fans in like 10 days
Patrick Mahomes has won as many Super Bowls as the Raiders franchise has won all-time and yet here we are with Raiders fans acting like morons in Cabo as Mahomes tries to get dinner with his wife.
It's true I can't stand her, but I have nothing against Mahomes even though he's tortured me as a Bengals fan.
My only concern here is that Mahomes and Brit Brit didn't ask for the private room or eat at a high-end place where jerkoff Raiders fans can't afford.
It's emails like this one that fuel me after a long week of work
- Tom writes:
Recently found Outkick, I listen to Clay on the radio. I truly enjoy your site. I am 72 this month, retired farmer, live on 3 acres with 3/4 acre of wildflowers and a dozen fruit trees in Illinois. My lawn is the only dirt I get to play with anymore. Love your TNML action. I don't think my flip phone will send any pics (not too computer savvy anyway), that said I enjoy the pics and community.
Just purchased the Polo and grey American T-shirt. Keep up the great job and mow on!
##################
That's like a shot of rocket fuel at 7:53 a.m. on a Saturday morning. Now I'm ready for the weekend. I'm ready to run a baseball practice. I'm ready to visit the rock store to buy edgers for Mrs. Screencaps. I'm ready to watch Cags go YARD in 10 straight games while throwing gas on the mound against a fired up Vandy team.
Tom just reminded me why I put in the reps and care so much about this column.
The sun is out, the birds are chirping and we're going to go have an incredible weekend.
Email: joekinsey@gmail.com