Reasons to Love OSU Baseball

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Below is a Copy/Paste of a Comment I made yesterday on Reddit…
Thought it was worth a share, not to mention I’d love to hear your thoughts and additions to reasons why you love OSU baseball, as the season kicks off in less than 2 weeks.

Need a Favorite College Baseball Team - RePost from Reddit /r/collegebaseball

May I present to you Oklahoma State University Cowboys Baseball

“Middle America’s Favorite Team” - or at least that’s the slogan we’re going with.

2020 is the perfect time to become an OSU baseball fan because, in March, the gorgeous O’Brate Stadium opens in the Big 12 home-opening series against rival TCU.

Family is a common theme amongst the Cowboys Baseball Program… The Pokes have made the NCAA tourney each of the last seven seasons under OSU alum / Head Coach Josh Holliday, whose father - Tom, coached at Oklahoma State for 25 years.

Oh, and you might know some of our assistant coaches from their time in the MLB… Josh’s brother Matt Holliday had a great career in Colorado, Oakland, St. Louis and even played for your Yankees. Not to mention Robin Ventura, perhaps best known for getting [his daylights beat out by Nolan Ryan, but he also had a cup of coffee with your Yanks.

2020 should be a solid year for OSU, you won’t be jumping on the bandwagon of a Dominant or Elite-tier program, but the Cowboys are consistent winners. As they enter the pre-season ranked somewhere between the middle / bottom-half of the Top 25 of most every poll, and were picked to finish 2nd behind perennial power Texas Tech in a very competitive Big 12 Conference.

Oh, and last but not least, several baseball media outlets rave about OSU’s Orange and Black-clad uniforms, especially the throwbacks from the 1959 NCAA Championship Team. They’re simple enough, but the colors remind many of the SF Giants’ aesthetic.

As far as watch-ability, 24+ games will be broadcast on ESPN+ (which is pretty affordable at about $5/month).

What are other reasons that OSU baseball sticks out as one of the more loveable programs not only in the Big 12, but across the nation?

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Well, even if you aren’t the biggest fan of baseball you can enjoy the back half of the home slate in one of the true gems of college baseball. O’Brate Stadium is going to improve the fan experience ten fold. Allie P. will forever have a special place in my heart, but it was a bad place to watch baseball. I think OBS is the biggest draw for people who are casual fans of baseball and have no prior history of rooting for the team. The resources that OSU is pumping into the program is definitely a reason to love OSU baseball. The university cares about the tradition and the fans.

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I am going to have to whole heartedly disagree. A huge part of a baseball stadium IS the nostalgia and history… the way it makes you feel. I will miss APR a lot.

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For me who grew up going to games, I agree. My grandpa and I would spend the summers going to games all the time. I love the place dearly. For a random freshman who has never once followed OSU baseball ever and doesn’t understand the history of the game, there was nothing there that would make them want to come back. I don’t think APR did a very good job of educating new fans on the history within its walls either. Very little signage of past greats and memorable moments other than the tunnel that lead up to behind the plate seating. If you walked straight in and went to the bleachers down the left field line, you more or less saw nothing.

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I’ll never forget the summer before my freshman year watching a Regional game against Wichita State from the tailgate of some stranger’s pick-up truck just past Right Field. We either couldn’t afford tickets, or it was sold out (more likely).

OSU lost that game on a 9th inning GRAND SLAM that bounced off the RF foul pole, 10 yards in front of us. It was heart-breaking, but memorable nonetheless.

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Oh man, I think this was the Andy Oliver year where Frank pulled him under concerns he wouldn’t be eligible right? I was there if that was the one you are talking about.

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It would have been the 2008 season…
June 2nd.
Regional Championship Game.

OSU and Wichita State were tied at 7 entering the 9th.
Wichita State hit a grand slam in the top of the 9th and OSU couldn’t score in the bottom of the inning.

It was the final college game for Jordy Mercer.

Game Recap - 6/2/08: [https://goshockers.com/news/2008/6/2/1477033.aspx]

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Yep, that was the one. We always got the all-session tickets in those days. They won the opener and lost to Wichita State in their 2nd game. In the elimination game against TCU, Jordy gave up the lead as the closer in the top of the 9th and then hit a leadoff walk off bomb in the bottom of the 9th. That is probably my favorite memory ever at Allie P.

Then they lost to Wichita State in the finals. The ball that went off the pole was absolutely demolished.

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Yup. Lived in Bennett my Sophmore year in 99. Just walking to APR in my backyard to watch a game was awesome.

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I loved APR- grew up going to Tom Holliday/Frank Anderson Baseball camp many good memories. My college friends who didn’t have those memories though never really got into going to baseball games and only followed the season during the Big 12 tournament.

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I too lived in Bennett - could see the field from my dorm window…

On the rare occasion that I couldn’t make the game because I was busy studying I could still follow the games. That room’s view was worth every penny.

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