Inside Team USA
Aug 11, 2002 | Baseball
Aug. 1, 2002
HAARLEM, The Netherlands - Team USA has arrived in Holland and we're ready to win our first tournament. The tournament is titled the Honkbal Tournament and it involves six teams. All six teams play each other and the championship is between the two teams that finish pool play with the best records. The tournament is spread out over 10 days which leaves us playing a game every other day unless of course there is a rainout. It's good to spread out the games to give our bodies some rest, but all the extra days in between games are unnecessary. We all miss home and are eager to pick up a pair tournament victories and head home. By no means is anyone going to mail it in now, though. Heck, we're over seas and there's no turning back so we might as well win. That's what we're here to do.
As we reach our destination in Amsterdam, we incur a different lifestyle. It's always nice to travel and experience different worlds, but I can honestly say Amsterdam is one like no other. Anything goes is the motto. The drinking age is really young, prostitution is legal and in the coffee shops they smoke more than just cigarettes. It sounds strange, and it may be a culture shock to many Americans, but it's just their way of life. And for us, we have to respect it, ignore all of the garbage, and just play baseball. We just need to find a field, stay focused, and not worry about anything else but taking care of business.
So we get here after a six hour flight from Newark, and everyone is exhausted. It's a six hour time difference from the East coast and jet lag definitely comes into play. In fact, it took almost an entire week before guys could sleep when they were supposed to be sleeping. For the most part, guys were going to sleep at 4 a.m. and waking up for breakfast at 9 a.m. After breakfast we'd go back to sleep until lunch which was usually served at 2 in the afternoon. By then, guys had acquired enough Z's to last them until 4 the next morning. It was rough for a while, and personally. I felt like I was wasting days by sleeping all day. But once we started playing games, everything started to fall into place.
First on the schedule was Chinese Taipei, and at last we we're ready to play. It had been five or six days since we last played so hopefully the bats wouldn't come out cold. We sent Kyle Sleeth to the mound in what turned out to be a pitcher's duel. The bats were a little cool, but we scratched and clawed for two runs and won 2-0. Taipei always has good teams. It seems like we've struggled with Asian pitching this summer, so we were happy to get out of that one with a victory. Next on the schedule was South Africa. We really didn't know what to expect, so we made sure we brought our A-game. South Africa isn't known for their baseball accomplishments, but a loss at this point would be tumultuous. Ridiculous may be a better word, but I think I'll use that one for the kind of tournament Eric Patterson was having. He had nearly three hits in every game during the tourney. As a team, our bats came to life in game two, and we threw up eight runs in a hurry. Once the whisper throughout the dugout got started about a 10-run rule, that was all she wrote. From there, it seemed like there was no way we could score again. Instead, we used the game as an opportunity to get some quality innings in from our relievers, finishing off South Africa 8-0.
Two games down and a 0.00 ERA for the staff. Next up was supposed to be Japan, but a little rainy weather put us on delay. While we were waiting for the rain to stop, things got a little exciting. In Holland, they had a loud sound system and they played excellent music. The fans would rant and rave throughout the entire game for no reason. I don't think they were cheering for either team. They just like to stand up, dance and make fools out of themselves. Well, some of our players decided to take center stage out in front of the dugout during the delay and they started dancing. The crowd got into it and they loved it. The whole place was standing up dancing and cheering on our players while the rain was pouring. We knew there was no way of playing so our coaches allowed the fiasco to carry on. We won the crowd that night, but that wasn't the victory we were looking for. The game against Japan was put off awaiting the make-up date.
The next night was the one we had all been waiting for. A United States versus Cuba game is as anticipated as the LSU vs. Tulane game, but certainly on a larger international scale. This is our real international competition. Cuba is determined to win the game no matter what, and that includes playing dirty. They slide in bases trying to take out your knees. They come back into bases on pickoffs with a forearm to your chest. Their favorite thing to do is stare you down in hopes of intimidating you. But all of that aside, it was time to step up and be men about the situation and let nothing bother you. If we stick together and play physical, the rest will take care of its self. The Cuban pitcher, who was not overpowering, gave up one run in the first on a single. After that, Brad Sullivan had all the room he needed to do his work, but of course, more runs would be nice. So we tacked on a few more, but not before Cuba tied the game at one apiece. After we took the lead 4-1, the Cuban team became desperate. With a runner on first and no outs the Cuban hitter bunted down the first base line. Sullivan fielded and tagged the runner rather hard. Maybe a little push, but remember, we have to be physical with guys to let them know whose in charge. Well, as Brad turned away to check the runner that was going to second on the bunt, the runner he tagged threw his helmet. The helmet was about a foot from Brad's head and the dugouts cleared. Nothing happened after that, mainly because warnings were issued, and the game ended 4-1, USA.
The next morning was our scheduled make-up game with Japan, and coming off of a big victory against Cuba, you would think we would have a little pep in our step. Little did we know this Japan team was ready to play. We scored early on a sacrifice fly and took the lead 1 - 0. After that its like we tried to coast through the rest of the game. But what do you know, a walk here, an error there and all of a sudden a big hit falls into place for the Japanese. That's the game of baseball for you. Now, we have our backs against the wall and we have to score a run in the ninth or we take our first loss. And so we did, our first loss in the Honkbal Tournament comes against Japan 2-1. Our record is now 3-1 heading into our last game of pool play against the Netherlands.
The stadium was packed and the fans were cheering, but this time they knew who they were cheering for...the Netherlands. The hometown favorite. Winning the crowd during the rainout no longer mattered for us, but we didn't need the crowd on our side to win. Or did we? This game was embarrassing. The strike zone for our pitchers was so small, it's better stated that there was no strike zone. If the Netherlands swung and missed, it was a strike. There was no called strikes. And it was the complete opposite when we batted. It was clearly visible that we were playing against the other team as well as all of the umpires. We took the upset 6-2, but that wasn't all we took. By losing the game, we took the Cubans out of contention for the championship. Instead, it would be the Netherlands as the No. 1 seed and us as the No. 2 seed.
In the championship game, revenge was the word of the day, and it would be sweet victory against the umpires as well. Granted, the other team has players all the way up to age 37, but so what. One guy played center field for the Yankees a few years back. Another guy just signed as a free agent for $800,000. The average age of their team was probably 26. But once again, as we're told day after day, "their players can't be that good." Just get the crowd out of the game early and it'll be an easy victory. Well, we did our part, but it almost came back to bite us in our rear end. We came out of the gates roaring and we scored five in the first. The crowd stopped cheering for the Netherlands. As an alternative they just cheered for no reason. It's a weird place I tell you. But the other team nicked away here and there with the help of some walks. But they scored two runs, and then another. We're up 5-3 now with a couple innings left. We have no luck at the plate. We are trying to ride out the five runs from the first, and then they score one more to make it 5-4 in the seventh. Now, the crowd is back in the game and they have time to make a stab at triumph. Huston Street, this year's College World Series MVP, takes the mound with about eight outs to get. And he does the job. Talk about coming through in a pressure situation. USA takes the Honkbal Tournament with a 5-4 win over the Netherlands. And after the game we celebrate and confetti goes flying. The crowd is all cheering. The medals are handed out and the monkey is off our back. But the moral of the story is...we were supposed to win and we did.
Now its off to the first ever Collegiate World Championship in Sicily. Thanks again for checking in and Roll Wave.
