Sunday August, 9, 2015
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 2015 Home Run Derby logo |  2015 All-Star Game logo |
 2015 National League logo  2015 Gateway ASG logo |  2015 American League logo  2015 Reserves logo |
Beginning this weekend, we will see a brand new format for the Gateway Baseball Club. Previously, each player represented a Major League team, and sides were chosen just before game-time. The new format shakes things up, and adds new dynamics to the season.
There are now teams of 3 players, who will always be together and will share a record all season long. Teams may be combined during a game, but their records will remain independent. A team must have at least 2 of it's 3 players present in order to record a win, and the absence of a team will result in a loss, as opposed to having no change to their record as was previously the case.
There is no doubt, this new format will add a sense of teamwork and cooperation, as well as insure a VERY exciting Postseason! See the new roster, organized by team, here.
There are now teams of 3 players, who will always be together and will share a record all season long. Teams may be combined during a game, but their records will remain independent. A team must have at least 2 of it's 3 players present in order to record a win, and the absence of a team will result in a loss, as opposed to having no change to their record as was previously the case.
There is no doubt, this new format will add a sense of teamwork and cooperation, as well as insure a VERY exciting Postseason! See the new roster, organized by team, here.
The 2015 Home Run Derby is in all-out planning mode, as official plans are expected to be completed soon. The new rules, however, are in place. The third annual Mid-Summer Classic will be the first to have a "wood bat only" rule. While this had been discussed in the past, only in the last couple of months was it officially decided on and put in place. This will also be the first year that the GBC will be expanding the number of hitters to 8, instead of the previous 6.
Gateway Baseball president and 2015 host Kyle Knisley weighed in on the decision to expand the Derby. "We made the decision to expand the roster to eight this year because there is so much competition, especially in the National League. Of course, you want to see everybody in the Derby, but the point is to have the very best home run hitters out there." This decision was made following a lengthy discussion among GBC organizers. "With the growth our club has seen, it just makes sense to grow the Derby as well. Making it to the Derby is supposed to be an exciting thing, so we don't want to make it too easy. At the same time, this is the goal, to see growth in the club, and to be able to get four of your best hitters from each league and still know that there are other guys that are great hitters that didn't make it."
Below are the official rules for the 2015 Home Run Derby. More details can be found here.
Gateway Baseball president and 2015 host Kyle Knisley weighed in on the decision to expand the Derby. "We made the decision to expand the roster to eight this year because there is so much competition, especially in the National League. Of course, you want to see everybody in the Derby, but the point is to have the very best home run hitters out there." This decision was made following a lengthy discussion among GBC organizers. "With the growth our club has seen, it just makes sense to grow the Derby as well. Making it to the Derby is supposed to be an exciting thing, so we don't want to make it too easy. At the same time, this is the goal, to see growth in the club, and to be able to get four of your best hitters from each league and still know that there are other guys that are great hitters that didn't make it."
Below are the official rules for the 2015 Home Run Derby. More details can be found here.
Home Run Derby Rules
The Home Run Derby consists of 8 of the Gateway Baseball Club's most powerful hitters (4 from each league), as voted on by "Gateway Nation." The Derby winner from the previous year is guaranteed a spot in the contest the following year. In addition, the winner of the 2015 Home Run Derby will also earn his league home field advantage in the 2015 GBC Championship.
Each player will supply their own pitcher. This can be a parent, sibling, friend, coach, or anybody the player chooses. Contestants will alternate by league (in order of least votes to most), with contestants from the hosts league filling the even numbered slots, providing a sort of "home field advantage." Hitters will compete in a traditional playoff system, in which the players with the most home runs advance to the next round, with the bottom half of the contestants being eliminated in each round. Each player gets 10 "outs" per round. In this event, any swing that does not result in a home run is considered an "out." Should a tie exist at the end of any round that affects the elimination of any player, the tied players enter a "swing-off", allowed only 5 swings, regardless of whether or not they are home runs. Should it remain tied, another "swing-off" takes place, this time allowing only 3 swings. If still tied, sudden death swings occur, with players alternating until one hits a home run. In this event, a batter from the league of the host will go first. If multiple players involved in a sudden death situation are from the same league, the player with more regular season home runs will go first. The home run count will be reset after each and every round. The player that continues on and hits the most home runs in the final round will be declared the winner. This year, only wood bats will be permitted.
Each player will supply their own pitcher. This can be a parent, sibling, friend, coach, or anybody the player chooses. Contestants will alternate by league (in order of least votes to most), with contestants from the hosts league filling the even numbered slots, providing a sort of "home field advantage." Hitters will compete in a traditional playoff system, in which the players with the most home runs advance to the next round, with the bottom half of the contestants being eliminated in each round. Each player gets 10 "outs" per round. In this event, any swing that does not result in a home run is considered an "out." Should a tie exist at the end of any round that affects the elimination of any player, the tied players enter a "swing-off", allowed only 5 swings, regardless of whether or not they are home runs. Should it remain tied, another "swing-off" takes place, this time allowing only 3 swings. If still tied, sudden death swings occur, with players alternating until one hits a home run. In this event, a batter from the league of the host will go first. If multiple players involved in a sudden death situation are from the same league, the player with more regular season home runs will go first. The home run count will be reset after each and every round. The player that continues on and hits the most home runs in the final round will be declared the winner. This year, only wood bats will be permitted.
What do you think of this year's changes? Let us know in the comments below!
Players, fans, and Power With A Purpose donors can all agree that the 2015 season has started slow in term of offense. 5 games into the season, the club has a single home run, and that took place in the first inning on Opening Day (2 others occured, but by non-regular season players).
For some, this slow start seems unusual. Collectively, this is the slowest start to a season offensively since the club's inception in 2013. For others, though, this is on pace with every other season. 2014 NL Champion Kyle Knisley is no stranger to slow starts. Last season, he recorded his first home run of the season on July 5, a mere 7 days before the Home Run Derby. He would finish the season with 6 (second most in the club), with an additional 4 during the Postseason, thanks largely to a surge at the end of the season.
It may be impossible to blame the lack of offensive flair on the hitters, however, because it's not only home runs that are down. A majority of the runs this season have either been scored via walk, or the runner that scored was put on base by walking. There is clear evidence that it could be the pitching, not the batting, that is struggling so far this season. Corey Knisley is widely considered the ace of the Gateway crew, and even he has seemed to have a slower start this year than in the past, losing one game by walking in the winning run. Even he has had more success than others, though. Last week, Chris Bequette and Joe Baker both found themselves in sticky situations, with Bequette allowing 4 runs in the first inning (largely due to walks), and Baker walking the bases loaded and shrinking a three-run lead to one before escaping the inning with bases loaded, barely leaving the lead intact.
The club will hope to turn things around tonight and end the "power outage", but only time will tell.
For some, this slow start seems unusual. Collectively, this is the slowest start to a season offensively since the club's inception in 2013. For others, though, this is on pace with every other season. 2014 NL Champion Kyle Knisley is no stranger to slow starts. Last season, he recorded his first home run of the season on July 5, a mere 7 days before the Home Run Derby. He would finish the season with 6 (second most in the club), with an additional 4 during the Postseason, thanks largely to a surge at the end of the season.
It may be impossible to blame the lack of offensive flair on the hitters, however, because it's not only home runs that are down. A majority of the runs this season have either been scored via walk, or the runner that scored was put on base by walking. There is clear evidence that it could be the pitching, not the batting, that is struggling so far this season. Corey Knisley is widely considered the ace of the Gateway crew, and even he has seemed to have a slower start this year than in the past, losing one game by walking in the winning run. Even he has had more success than others, though. Last week, Chris Bequette and Joe Baker both found themselves in sticky situations, with Bequette allowing 4 runs in the first inning (largely due to walks), and Baker walking the bases loaded and shrinking a three-run lead to one before escaping the inning with bases loaded, barely leaving the lead intact.
The club will hope to turn things around tonight and end the "power outage", but only time will tell.
The rain couldn't keep the GBC from playing Sunday! Heck, they even embraced the muddy conditions...
A few years ago three men sneaked into the abandoned Astrodome in Houston, and they’re just now releasing photos from their adventure.
The sports complex, which KHOU-TV reports is “dubbed The Eighth Wonder Of The World,” has been empty since 2008.
“After making it in through a gap in the fence, we were stunned to find out that we snuck in on led straight onto the field,” the user going by astrdome713 wrote on Imgur. “It’s kind of hard to tell, but you can see that all of the lights were on in the main hallways which we thought was strange, but definitely helped us explore!”
He added that he and his buddies weren’t there to vandalize or steal anything on the property but just “to see how the ol’ dome was doing!”
Take a look at the images from their journey here!
Joe Stinebaker, spokesman for the Harris County judge, told KHOU that people caught breaking into the Astrodome will be prosecuted. He also warned of the structure’s “inherent danger” in its current state.
In December, there was a new proposal for how to repurpose the Astrodome, which was named a national treasure in 2013, according to the Houston Chronicle. This plan suggested turning the structure into an indoor park complete with zip lines.
It’s not the first time plans have been pitched to reuse the Astrodome. According to a recent article by Smithsonian Magazine, “[t]he Astrodome isn’t saved — but somehow it isn’t gone. It’s the perfect avatar of its time, big enough to hold our space age optimism and allay our space age fears.”
Story courtesy of TheBlaze
The sports complex, which KHOU-TV reports is “dubbed The Eighth Wonder Of The World,” has been empty since 2008.
“After making it in through a gap in the fence, we were stunned to find out that we snuck in on led straight onto the field,” the user going by astrdome713 wrote on Imgur. “It’s kind of hard to tell, but you can see that all of the lights were on in the main hallways which we thought was strange, but definitely helped us explore!”
He added that he and his buddies weren’t there to vandalize or steal anything on the property but just “to see how the ol’ dome was doing!”
Take a look at the images from their journey here!
Joe Stinebaker, spokesman for the Harris County judge, told KHOU that people caught breaking into the Astrodome will be prosecuted. He also warned of the structure’s “inherent danger” in its current state.
In December, there was a new proposal for how to repurpose the Astrodome, which was named a national treasure in 2013, according to the Houston Chronicle. This plan suggested turning the structure into an indoor park complete with zip lines.
It’s not the first time plans have been pitched to reuse the Astrodome. According to a recent article by Smithsonian Magazine, “[t]he Astrodome isn’t saved — but somehow it isn’t gone. It’s the perfect avatar of its time, big enough to hold our space age optimism and allay our space age fears.”
Story courtesy of TheBlaze
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