Illinois Baseball Report

I have a friend named Todd who is an umpire in Division III back east.  Whenever we get talking, the discussion always gets back to baseball and umpiring.  He knows I’m an Illinois baseball fan so I like to pump him with questions.  Sometimes they revolve around obscure rules and odd situations I may have [...]

Filed under: Feature on April 16th, 2011 | Leave a Comment! »

10.  A warm jacket.  Those early season games get pretty chilly. 9.  Money…but only if you want to get something from the concession stand.  Illini baseball games are free this year! 8.  Your Orange and Blue gear.  Wear it proud. 7.  Your voice.  Let the Illini players know you’re there! 6.  A glove.  Handy to [...]

Filed under: Feature on March 24th, 2011 | Leave a Comment! »

It seems like this Friday can’t come soon enough.  All these weeks of following the Illinois baseball team as they play in strange and far away places will soon come to an end as we get to see the good guys on the green grass… *ahem* field turf of Illinois Field here in Champaign, Illinois.  [...]

Filed under: Game Previews on March 23rd, 2011 | Leave a Comment! »

Shawn L emailed me wondering why I haven’t posted about this particular gem of news.  He’s right… it’s pretty significant. The gist of it is that the University of Illinois has announced that they will make admission to all of its ‘Olympic Sports’ free of charge. From the Illini press release: The University of Illinois [...]

Filed under: Announcements on January 24th, 2011 | Leave a Comment! »

After work today (yes, I worked on a Saturday), I crossed the cemetery that separates the U of I campus and the baseball field and got another look at the nearly completed clubhouse addition at Illinois Field.  While I was there, I shot some photos. As you can see, the construction fences are still up.  [...]

Filed under: Off Season Happenings on January 22nd, 2011 | Leave a Comment! »

Maybe it’s a little for this but Happy New Year!  It has been a couple weeks since I posted and I do apologize for that. One month from yesterday, the Illini baseball team will be playing in their first game of the 2011 season.  It’s hard to believe.  I remind baseball fans from here who [...]

Filed under: Blog Administration, Recruits on January 19th, 2011 | Leave a Comment! »

Willie Argo gets a hit in Game 2 of the 2009 Orange and Blue World Series I found out just today that the dates for the Orange and Blue World Series have been scheduled.  The team plans to play on October 4-6.  No times have been given but weekday O&B games in the past have [...]

Filed under: Off Season Happenings on September 23rd, 2010 | Leave a Comment! »

The clubhouse addition at Illinois Field is really taking shape now.  Here are some photos from today. From across the street:   A little closer:   From the west side: …and from the southeast. Share Tags: construction, illinois field Related posts Three things I learned from my umpire friend (0) Top Ten things to bring [...]

Filed under: Off Season Happenings on September 21st, 2010 | Leave a Comment! »

While I was out at Illinois Field today, I noticed they had made some discernable progress on the clubhouse renovation.  There are now walls!  Well, they’ve started on them, at least.  Here’s a view from the southeast side:     It gives us, and more importantly the players, a concrete (no pun intended) idea what [...]

Filed under: Off Season Happenings on September 9th, 2010 | Leave a Comment! »

I stopped by Illinois Field today after work to observe practice.  The team was still in individual workouts so I’ll hold off on posting photos for the time being.  Coach Snider tells me that full team practice will probably begin after Wednesday.  The players look good.  Specifically, Matt Dittman looks to be in good form [...]

Filed under: Off Season Happenings on August 30th, 2010 | Leave a Comment! »