Questions Asked…Questions Answered…Why Baseball Matters…And What’s Coming On Press Pros

There’s a reason why it’s important that Press Pros is in Phoenix later this week, and trust me…enough of you have texted, emailed, and commented to ask.

Super Bowl Sunday, and man, does that jog my memory.  I watched the first one – January 15, 1967, in Los Angeles (Packers vs. the Chiefs) – and remember that the game came on with 15 minutes of pre-game hype.  That was it.

Tickets were $15 and my dad wondered who would spend $15 for a football game, and who would fly to California to see it?

Ah…good times!

To the present, someone at a recent Ohio State basketball game asked the question:  “Are there enough people interested in Ohio State baseball for you to cover it as much as you do?”

The college baseball season starts this week, and he’s not alone.  A lot of people ask.  Some, frankly, because baseball simply doesn’t feed the popular fan bias for high school football and basketball in Ohio.

“You’ve gotten too far from your roots,”  a reader in the Dayton area reminds me, at least twice a year!

“Don’t forget.  Football’s still your bread and butter,”  an Allen County reader told me during the Buckeyes’ national championship run.  Odd, given that we wrote more Buckeye coverage than any other local outlet in west-central Ohio.

And then, those who actually want to read about Ohio State, anything.

“How ’bout the Buckeyes?  Are you going to Arizona?”  said William McKinley, an assisted-care resident in Portsmouth and long-time supporter of this site.  “I’m anxious to read how they’re doing.”

There are those who will claim baseball bias, and I don’t shake my head at that.  I was there once, played, and wondered at the time – even then – why no one paid attention to college baseball, especially since Ohio State had won the national championship just five years before I got there.

It’s true that the OHSAA basketball tournaments are upon us this week, and there’s plenty of reason for local interest in them, as always.  Right here in the prime Press Pros market two of the top Division VII teams in the state – Russia, and Delphos St. John – will captivate fan interest for the next five weeks, until the conclusion in Dayton on March 21-22.

In Division VI boys, Marion Local and Tri-Village will both finish the regular season in the Top Ten, with Versailles likely to be included in the top twenty.

In the girls Division VII Fort Loramie will again have the focus, despite being bitten recently by the injury bug.  But they’ll have some familiar company with Waterford, Berlin Hiland, and locally…Covington, at 20-2 has quietly moved up to 6th in the latest Max Preps rankings.

In area Division VI girls, Marion Local, St. Henry, and Minster all occupy attention in the Max Preps top ten list.

But at the same time the college baseball kicks off this week when Ohio State travels to Phoenix to play Arizona State in a three-game series, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  We’ll be there, and frankly…with justification.

For the sake of popular appeal and interest, no fewer than six Ohio State baseball players from the past five years appeared in the major leagues during the 2024 season – Dominic Canzone (Seattle), Jack Neely (Cubs), Dillon Dingler (Tigers), Zach Dezenzo (Astros), and Ryan Feltner (Rockies).

As a business decision, more than 100,000 people annually log on at least once to read Ohio State baseball.  That amounts to .025% of Ohio State football readership, but as a visual…that amounts to Ohio Stadium full to capacity.  And, it serves an even more valuable service to the amateur baseball community, itself.

There are more opportunities to participate in college baseball (and softball) for the average high school athlete than with football and basketball combined.  I didn’t say scholarship opportunity, but with expanded revenue sharing through the NCAA. those opportunities will be expanded, proportionately, I’m sure.

But the real advantage, long-term, is for the student-athlete who can walk-on, participate with an NCAA program at any level for four years, and then have that experience on their future resume’.  Trust it, that gets attention from prospective employers after college who value competitiveness, the ability to work as a team, and to adapt to setbacks…get up and try again – more valuable than the next ten applicants who just have a degree.

If for no other reason, if you’re going to cover sports at the collegiate level why not promote that which provides an alternative competitive opportunity outside football and basketball…that otherwise goes unrecognized, and unreported.  And there are approximately 40,000 Ohio high school baseball and softball athletes who would benefit from the information.

You’ll also see additional new content in future weeks and months on Press Pros with this announcement of our collaboration with the Ohio Harness Horseman’s Association and the addition of standardbred racing coverage online.

Why is this significant?

For one, Ohio boasts one of the nation’s most enthusiastic and popular county fair circuits which annually attracts headline attention and interest for equine sports…a larger-than-you-realize demographic of fans outside that same spotlight for football and basketball.

“It’s a great opportunity for fair visitors to visit the barns, meet the horses, the drivers, and develop an interest in racing,”  says OHHA Executive Director, Frank Fraas.

Indeed, its another unique demographic of interest and a sport that gets no attention in mainstream media.

“There was a time when you could read the daily results from Scioto Downs in the Columbus Dispatch,”  adds Fraas.  “But no more.”

And, it’s another unique sports profiling opportunity for horse and driver, not unlike what exists for NASCAR and Thoroughbreds, with interest in that sport’s Triple Crown – the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness, and the Belmont Stakes.

With harness racing, you have two Triple Crowns…the Little Brown Jug, the Cane Pace, and the Messenger Stakes for pacing horses, and the Hambletonian, the Yonkers Trot, and the Kentucky Futurity for trotting horses.

But for now, one of the busiest months of the year as basketball and baseball collide, along with the additional challenge of seven divisions of basketball – not four – and travel unbeknownst with past tournaments.

With baseball, it’s simple.  Four hours and four minutes from Columbus to Phoenix.

If all goes well, of course.