Times change, people come, and people go…all reasons why Press Pros has not traveled with Buckeyes baseball through the first six weeks of the season, as some of you have written to ask.
With the Buckeyes baseball team being in Minnesota this weekend, we have received some inquiries over why we’re not traveling with them to cover the games, as we’ve done for the past twelve years.
VPP, in Versailles, Ohio, proudly sponsors Buckeye baseball on Press Pros Magazine.com.
I’m sure some of you have noticed during the first six weeks of the season, that along with the Buckeyes’ improved play of late…we write about them now from home, especially road games, as opposed to on site – largely out of concerns over time, efficiency, and sadly…personal security.
It has nothing to do with baseball, or their record, or a change in our priorities over baseball. It’s just that times change, people come, and people go. And when it happens, the priorities don’t always remain constant.
To be more specific, when we began covering Ohio State baseball in 2014 our good friend and former Reds beat writer Greg Hoard was the anchor of that coverage. As good as there ever was in writing about the sport of baseball, Hoard was retired from a career with the Cincinnati Enquirer and Cincinnati television where he was the sports anchor at Channel 19 for many years after leaving the Enquirer.
A former college baseball player himself at Hanover College, in Indiana, Hoard loved hanging around the college game and literally elevated coverage of the Buckeyes and Big Ten baseball to that which most would have associated with the major leagues.
People noticed, the work became novel, and in time a popular read over the next ten seasons for dyed-in-the-wool OSU fans, even some who NEVER came to Bill Davis Stadium. And at that time the original Buckeye Diamond Club – Bill Wells and other founding pillars – helped support the coverage from both Bill Davis and on the road when the team traveled.
Former Reds beat writer Greg Hoard and I covered the Buckeyes together for ten years, between 2013 and 2022. He made coverage of college baseball on Press Pros an art form.
When Greg Beals was fired as coach in 2022, Bill Mosiello and the new coaching staff came on board with a different priority about the Diamond Club and its funding priorities, and eventually eliminated it altogether between the 2023 and ’24 seasons. With that, a significant amount of Press Pros coverage disappeared, as well as funding from other independent sources with Ohio State connections – some who viewed the decision to can baseball’s unofficial booster group as akin to throwing the baby out with the bath water.
Mosiello left after the 2024 season, Justin Haire was hired as head coach prior to the 2025 season, and during that time of transition there has become a new Diamond Club, but without the influence of Bill Wells and others with a broader view of college baseball.
Along with this, the Big Ten added West Coast schools like Southern Cal, UCLA, Oregon, and Washington, which made travel more inconvenient, time-consuming, and as you might expect…inefficient. Because to go to the West Coast for a three-game series means a four-day commitment – or more – given the current situation with TSA and airports.
In a different sense, as a result of some of the social issues of the country over the last two years, travel to urban areas like Minneapolis, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Seattle simply became less secure, and an issue that had to be considered in a manner like never before.
Hoard and I occasionally traveled on the Ohio State charter flights, and sometimes stayed in the same hotels with the team. And depending on the occasion, rode the team bus to and from the ballpark for convenience.
But with Greg’s passing, the past two years I’ve traveled by myself, renting cars for ground transportation, and yes…I’ve become increasingly aware that Los Angeles and Minneapolis are places you don’t want to make a wrong turn when you’re driving by yourself. I don’t mind the evening news, but I don’t want to be the evening headlines, if you know what I mean.
When Jeff Gilbert and I covered the Rose Bowl two years ago we were part of approximately a hundred media people there as a group to cover the game. But a bellman at the official media hotel, downtown, still cautioned us not to walk alone more than a block in any direction from the front door of the Sheraton.
When we traveled to Chicago last spring to cover the series with Northwestern at Wrigley Field, we were accompanied by friends from nearby Evanston and Napierville, who knew the lay of the land. Last week, a college freshman from Loyola University, in Chicago, lost her life watching the northern lights on the lakefront, and she was part of a group.
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In Minneapolis, within a five-minute drive from the Minnesota campus, the images of civil unrest over the past four years and this past winter are still evident – another place you don’t want to be by yourself. Earlier this past winter it was suggested that I travel as part of the official baseball group. But that did not come to fruition.
Publisher Sonny Fulks writes OHSAA and Ohio State sports for Press Pros Magazine.com.
The answer, of course, is to stay at home and watch the game on the Big Ten Network. Save time, save money, and beyond that…you just don’t know!
That said, we do travel to places like Bloomington, West Lafayette, East Lansing and Iowa City where there’s people we’ve known for years, and people who are expecting us when we get there. And we’re still the only outlet that travels as much as we do to cover baseball in the Big Ten.
Glass half full, when we aren’t on the road we’ll focus more this spring on area high schools – Versailles, St. Henry, Minster, Tipp City, Troy, Vandalia, etc. – in order to continue our support and prioritization of community amateur baseball. And yes, it’s nice to see so many local people you know that are there for the same reason as you.
As for the Buckeyes, I believe in the process of the rebuild, and delight in seeing young players like Gavin Kuzniewski, Mason Eckelman, and Lee Ellis take those next steps towards their future in baseball.
Do I miss Greg Hoard? Like you wouldn’t believe – more than you can ever imagine, as well as how things – the times – used to be. Thankfully, Bill Davis Stadium still feels like home.
But it’s different…walking in and not seeing him (Hoard) sitting there, wearing that Oakland cap and Kenyon College hoodie has taken some time.
And now you know.
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