Tiffani Amber Thiessen Drives Gen Xers Crazy With Her Artichoke Dip, Padres Fans Fighting & Grilled Shrimp!
I'm waiting for someone to tell me if this is a new normal for HS rec ball or an aberration
Screencaps the III had a big game last night against what might end up being the best hitting team in his league, but there was another game at the park that caught my attention.
Over on the high school field, one of the local summer high school rec teams (15-to-18 year olds) was playing a team wearing a variety of white shirts, including wife beaters, as their team jerseys.
Some of these guys were wearing hats. Some weren't wearing hats. The starting pitcher was chewing on what looked like a straw as he was pitching. The 3B, a lefty, had a full sleeve of tats down his right arm.
It was like something straight out of Eastbound and Down.
Part of me thought it was pathetic while the other side of my brain saw it as content and I couldn't stop watching because you had situations like the pitcher purposely getting into a pickle between 1st and 2nd for the fun of it and going headfirst into second wearing the wife beater shirt.
Look, I'm not some summer HS rec prude. I played in a Dayton, OH summer league with guys who I'm sure have spent time in jail since our playing days. My final summer, I played with guys who might've gone on to run catalytic converter theft rings.
But they were fine wearing shirt jerseys.
Were they nuts? 100%. But they still had a little respect for the game.
Have you ever seen anything like what I witnessed last night or is this the further degeneration of society?
EMAIL: JOE.KINSEY@OUTKICK.COM OR USE MY PERSONAL GMAIL
Here come the Wright State baseball fans who must've been reading Monday Screencaps
— Mike from Centerville declares Wright State the best college baseball program in Ohio & he has a point. The Raiders just beat Vandy in the regionals. Can another Ohio D1 team do that?
This is from a Wright State alum and big baseball fan. Growing up in Southwest Ohio during the Days of the Big Red Machine how couldn't anyone become a baseball fan? I can recite the great 8 starting lineup from memory, but can only name about 5 current Reds players and not sure of their spot in the batting order. Of course the Big Red Machine was decades ago and not many games were on TV so I listened to Marty & Joe on the radio (more on Joe below).
Anyhow, I had the opportunity to walk-on at Wright State back in the 80's when the they were still D II. At that time the Raiders played on a grass field in front of the University off of Colonel Glenn Highway. Not the best of fields and without an outfield fence, but better than the field I played on in high school with a fence. I chose not to walk-on figuring I probably wouldn't get much playing time and *thought* my energy would be better used hitting on coeds and getting laid. If I had walked on I may have gotten more action as the 1987 team lost in the semifinals of the D2 College World Series to Troy State, now Troy also of D I stature.
Hands down Wright State is the best college baseball program in Ohio. There's no room for argument. For a quarter of a century, it's been the crown jewel of collegiate baseball in Ohio. Since 2000 Wright State has been to more NCAA tournaments (10) than any other program in the state. Ohio State is shy by 1 appearance, but they haven't made the dance this decade. WSU has been to 3 Regional Finals since 2016.
Wright State has an all-time winning record vs all the other Ohio programs except vs BGSU, Kent, and OSU (21-27-1), but many of those losses occurred when WSU was still D II. In fact, I remember in 1987 when some buddies from Columbus called me and said they're coming to town to watch Ohio State play Wright State. I was surprised! Ohio State is coming to Fairborn to play a D II school on "not the best of field!" WSU swept the doubleheader.
The Ol' Left-Hander rounding third and heading for home, Joe Nuxhall, has an annual collegiate tournament named after him...Joe Nuxhall Classic. It's the same 4 teams every year (WSU, Xavier, UC, Miami). Wright State has won it more times than any other school. Including this year.
And that brings me to the 2025 tournament. For one, I was surprised UC made the tournament. I guess being in a P4 has it's advantages. I watched the WSU game Friday evening and the little misses wasn't happy with me. I was yelling at the TV. Who takes out a starting pitcher who's throwing a no-hitter??!! A no-hitter against the #1 seed! I get sick and tired of managers/coaches citing "the analytics told me..." It's a topic for another day, but what else are these people hearing in their head if they say "they analytics told me?"
Sunday's elimination game was nerve-racking as well. There was some yelling at the TV in the 9th inning when the 1st WSU relief pitcher couldn't get the ball close to the strike zone. The misses had to go upstairs. I was surprised the coach stayed as long with the starting pitcher as he did so I guess he learned his lesson from Friday night. Stay with the hot hand. So, Wright State made the headlines in a positive way by taking out the overall #1 seed.
I feel good about the Raiders going 2-2 this past weekend and making national news. Going forward we've got to figure out a way to make it to a super regional.
— Wright State superfan Jason finally checked in:
Ouch, being called out in Screencaps feels a bit like being called into the principal's office. My apologies. I had every intention of emailing you at some point about MY Wright State Raiders knocking Vandy out of the tournament. I was hoping to do so after they advanced to the super regional so I had a little more to brag about. Still, a heck of an accomplishment to send the #1 national seed home and something those guys will always remember.
The basketball program catching a stray was hurtful. We have been to the tournament twice in the last 8 seasons! Not great by any means, but not awful.
Keep up the great work!
Your reader contributions have risen to a level that surpasses my writing abilities but I'm still a daily reader.
— Brandon C. in Pinckney, MI knows Wright State baseball:
Read your Screencaps note on Wright State baseball. Helluva thing they did. I remember when I first moved down to Dayton area in the early 2000s, I was fresh off continuing to play high level semipro ball from my time at Univ of Michigan Ann Arbor adult leagues and played in the Dayton area adult leagues as a mid 20 something.
At that time, all the Wright St guys that didn't go play Cape Cod wood bat in the summer played in that Dayton area league and it was awesome quality baseball. Guys that frequently threw in the upper 80s / low 90s, and excellent hitters. Drew in players from Indy area, Cincy area, Columbus area.
Still a crazy good baseball area in general. Surprised they knocked off Vandy, but that Dayton area produced an inordinate number of high-end mid-major class players, so guess not surprised?
In any case huge deal and they'll celebrate it on Col Glenn Hwy, either at Tutys or Kings Table or Marion's.
Masters application season
— Cody reminds everyone:
I just wanted to give a friendly reminder that The Masters drawing has opened. Also, if you are selected, do they charge you right away or do you have the option not to purchase?
Kinsey:
- Monday morning, I reminded my text group to apply. Not one of them thanked me for my service.
- Cody, if The Masters selects your application and you refuse to pay them, I'm going to block you from reading Screencaps. Not purchasing is not an option, Corey. PAY THE MONEY. IF YOU NEED A LOAN, WE CAN TALK. DO NOT REFUSE TO BUY ANY TICKET THE MASTERS COMMITTEE BESTOWS UPON YOU. PLEASE.
Things that happen during sports broadcasts cause you to go berserk
— Chris in NC says:
Showing guys standing on the driving range (not even hitting balls) when there is tons of action happening on the course!
And a radio pet peeve: Love listening to baseball but drives me crazy when you can hear something happening in the game (crack of the bat) and the announcer refuses to acknowledge what just happened on the field until he finishes his story about the 1979 World Series!
— Todd Z. tells me:
Joe, for those of us that are hearing impaired the fact they continue to let crowd noise drown out the announcers in live games is infuriating. It's even more so in the fact the closed captioning cannot quite keep up with the pace of play.
Kinsey:
Lack of audio levels from broadcast mics is also a problem for those of us who can hear. I can't remember an exact situation where this has been a problem, but Todd Z. is right on this one. I need the board ops to get their act together. Raise those mic levels.
— Pete in Perrysburg checks in:
How networks overlay the "strike zone" for baseball games.
It is infuriating how badly the umpires call this (catchers framing and just plain missing the call).
I understand they are human and make mistakes but c'mon man!
Bring on the robot overlords.
Until then, I don't need to see how badly they do their jobs.
The No Mow May assholes have found my report on the Venezuelan crack house-looking properties in New Jersey
Here's what I wrote and I will stand by every single word in this post.
— Tyler (perfect name for a No Mow May asshole) emails:
What the actual f--k (Ed. note: Tyler used the full word; I am editing it out because we're an f-bomb-free column) is wrong with you
Your perspective on the world is so broken how does grass equate to a Venezuelan crack house?
You gotta be a sick deranged boomer to beleive something like this
Kinsey:
- I'm not a Boomer
- If you let your grass grow three-feet high and live like a total pig, then you are indeed living in houses that emulate Venezuelan crack houses. I'm pretty sure I used Venezuelan fentanyl houses, but either one works. You could switch out Venezuela for any third world country; Or, pick any group living like total pigs like white trash people. Take your pick, Tyler.
- I'm thankful Tyler isn't my neighbor since it sounds like he's an apologist for people who live like total pigs.
- I wish Tyler nothing but the best of luck as he supports the biggest pigs in society. Just don't move in next to me.
The state of Texas high school graduations and dressing like you're not a total degenerate
— Travel Ball Hardo Chris B. in Houston went to a massive graduation in Houston and reports:
I went to my nephew's graduation at NRG Stadium this weekend and wow what an experience. 900+ graduates. I don't know how to measure the crowd, but it was certainly over 5000 and maybe 8000-9000 in attendance. I counted a total of 12 attendee men wearing jackets, and 2 of those were my ex bro in law & I.
Some people were dressed like they were going out to the club. Not my scene but at least they were dressed up. Many were dressed for a work out with shorts & sneakers. Some with their pants falling down and their underwear showing. And alot with custom tshirts proudly sporting their relationship to a graduate.
I really don't know what I expected, but it was alot.
I have never heard of LSU Shreveport, and I only live ~4 hours from there, but congrats to them. I don't know anything about NAIA, but it appears to be a bunch of 4-year universities.
So to your question as to where the high school kids will go to play, the answer is a whole lot of them go to junior colleges. I think there is still a major adjustment occurring with MiLB getting way smaller, D1 rosters shedding their Covid expansions and of course NIL & the transfer portal.
Unless you're a superstar player, opportunities at major programs don't exist. They don't want an inexperienced / immature / skinny 18-19 year old when they can get 20-21 year olds that have been playing higher level ball for a while. And it's a cutthroat business.
Just this weekend my son's HS teammate & friend had his offer pulled by a big 4-year college.
I didn't know they could do that after National Signing Day but apparently it happens all the time. This kid has graduated and had been committed for over a year, and now in June he is scrambling to figure out where he will play ball & go to school in August. They did him dirty, and apparently what happened to him is not at all unusual.
Robotic bartenders haven't gotten any faster
Lee D. wanted me to see this one.
The only benefit to the robot bartenders is that they don't seem interested in roofie-ing customers. Otherwise, this vibe isn't the greatest. Plus, the service is…shall we say…too robotic.
Which brings me to my next observation…
How long until the robot companies figure out how to turn sex dolls into robotic bartenders?
The summer of 2025 in Rome
— Owen from Dunwoody, GA emails:
Been a while since I’ve emailed. Was waiting for the right time. I’m in Italy with the family and the content is Bellisimo as they say in these parts. All from Rome - hanging meat, a flower truck bed for Mrs SC, and the Fiat with a leather suitcase strapped to the back.
We’re making our way south and will send updates as items of interest pop up.
##################
And with that, let's get this first Tuesday in June rolling. The sun is sorta out thanks to Canadian wildfire smoke. It's going to be 85 degrees. We have more baseball and you can smell summer wafting through the HQ windows.
Summer is here and it has my full attention.
Let's go hammer out another day of work and/or retirement. Let's give out best effort and then cut loose a half-hour early to enjoy life.
Go get after it.
Email: joe.kinsey@outkick.com or use my personal Gmail