Gimenez's Road to the Regional: Part 1

Jesse Sherman

This is Part one of a three-part series following one of the lead broadcasters for Cornell Big Red baseball.

Having the opportunity to call Cornell Baseball games this past year was truly a dream come true for me.  I got the idea when I visited Cornell for Cornell Days and had no idea just how far the experience would take me, especially not in my first year of putting things together.  To be honest, I had done my homework. I knew Cornell’s baseball team had struggled the last few years, and was the worst team in the Ivy League in 2011.  Because of that, I assumed I’d be broadcasting for the worst team in the Ivy League in 2012, but they surprised the hell out of me, and gave me a gift that not many aspiring broadcasters are able to attain in their first year on the job.  That gift, was a trip to an NCAA Regional.

When Chris Cruz blasted his record breaking 12^thhomerun of the season in the bottom of the 11^th inning of game 3 to win the Ivy League Championship Series, I knew that no matter what, I had to follow the Big Red to their second NCAA Regional in over a hundred years of existence as a program.  History was being made and I knew I wanted to be a part of it and most importantly, I wanted the team to get the coverage they had fought for all year long and deserved so much.  After a month of planning and coordinating, I was getting off the plane at Ithaca/Tompkins airport, back in Ithaca just a week after returning home from the spring semester. 

It was Monday May 28 at 11:45 which meant that ESPN’s College Baseball Regional Selection show was going to start in fifteen minutes.  I had taken a risk flying to Ithaca before we had been placed in a regional.  There was a chance that the Big Red would be traveling to the University of Miami, which is just 15 minutes away from my home, but I had been offered a chance to travel with the team, and I didn’t want to pass it up, even if it meant getting on a plane and flying right back to where I came from.  So as you can imagine, I was pretty anxious to find out where we were headed.  I got a cab to pick up my car at the RPCC parking lot, looked down at my watch and saw that it was already past noon.  I was set to meet the team at Buffalo Wild Wings for the selection show so I jumped in my car and hauled down Buffalo St. Fortunately, I made it before the big announcement.  I remember walking into the restaurant and seeing the whole team huddled in a private room anxiously watching the TV screens and realizing just how amazing this experience must be for all of them.  I took my place next to Brandon Thomas, a friend and our contact in Athletic Communications, and pitching coach, Scott Marsh, to watch the show. 

It was hilarious to watch as each host school popped up on the screen and immediately you could tell whether or not the players wanted to make the trip to that location.  When a Florida or California school went off the board without the Big Red getting their number called, there was a groan of frustration, and when Little Rock, Arkansas went off the board, there was cheering.  We had been sitting there for quite awhile and we all had our predictions.  I thought we were going to Houston and coach Scott Marsh had called UNC Chapel Hill from the beginning. All of a sudden UNC came up on the screen and very quickly it was announced that the Big Red were making the trip to Chapel Hill.  The player’s were happy with this selection, and not at all intimidated at the prospects of having to face the sixth ranked team in the country. I had played baseball myself in Miami, considered playing in college at the D3 level, and knew many players who had either been drafted or gone on to play college baseball.  Of all my teammates, in fact, of all the players who had come through my middle/high school during my seven years there, I was the first to make it to an NCAA Regional, and if it was humanly possible, I felt just as excited as the guys in uniform. 

The next few days were a whirlwind of excitement.  Tuesday was media day which brought many local media groups to Hoy Field to interview the Big Red players.  Naturally, as a member of the media, I was in attendance and got to hear what guys like Rick Marks and Kellen Urbon were saying about the upcoming regional. The consensus among the team was that after playing again each other for over a month, they were ready to face an actual opponent, even if that meant going head-to-head with the Tar Heels.  I was overwhelmed by the sense of confidence the team had and that confidence would remain throughout the next few days.  They may not have convinced the rest of the country, but they had me convinced that they could beat anyone. 

The next day I got to travel on my first privately chartered team jet, which is just as cool as it sounds.  We were flying on a 737 with a full crew and only about a third of the plane filled.  It was one of the most relaxed flight I’ve ever been on. I spread myself out and started putting together my notes for the upcoming games.  Before we took off, Brian Billigen, the senior leader on the team played the role of stewardess, walking up and down the aisle handing out pretzels.  It was a hilarious sight, the Big Red Center Fielder and eventual Arizona Diamondback signee handing out pretzels to his coaches, teammates, and a random freshman broadcaster.   When we arrived at the hotel, I met up with my color guy Jesse Sherman, and the intense preparation began.

For two days, Jesse and I looked through every piece of information we could get our hands on.  I looked through all of my files on the team, wrote notes on each player based on interviews I had listened to, crunched numbers, looked at splits, and everything in between.  I wanted to know the UNC Tar Heels better than anyone else so I even called a few contacts who had seen Tar Heel players in the Cape Cod summer league to get more perspective.   Between Jesse, Brandon, and I, we had talked about every possible scenario that could occur and were trying to play head coach and figure out how the pitchers would be used.  I think I had closer Kellen Urbon starting a game in four different scenarios, which goes to show you how crazy we got with our analysis of the team. The preparation was grueling. It felt like a week had gone by and it had only been a day and a half, but when you're waiting for the biggest game of your life in the booth, time seems to slow down.

It was incredibly special to stay with the team in the team hotel, you get to have certain priceless interactions with players in the elevator or riding to the stadium on the team bus that allows you an entrance into their minds and thought process.  That coupled with all of our preparation, left me armed with much to talk about on the air the next day.

Check out Part 2 next week!