When I was two days old, I went to my very first baseball game. My brother was 10, and played for a little league team. After little league, he played travel ball, then for his middle school, then straight to varsity baseball in high school as a freshman. I spent my entire childhood playing under the bleachers, running after foul balls, spitting sunflower seeds, and getting adopted as each team’s little sister. He went off to play in college and at eight years old, I was totally convinced that my big brother would play in the major leagues. Unfortunately, he didn’t, but regardless because of him I have always loved baseball.
Last Friday, I went to the game against the University of Delaware with a few of my friends and I was beyond excited. It was sunny out, the beginning of my weekend, and the only thing missing was a bag of sunflower seeds to make the game perfect. But then I realized, that wasn’t the only thing missing. The “Towson” on the boys’ jerseys had been completely blacked out with duct tape. It was that morning President Maravene Loeschke had announced that men’s baseball and soccer had officially been cut. Seeing the name blacked out on the jerseys reminded me of the picture that the team took last semester, posted on the Save Towson Baseball page, of them wearing all black t-shirts in the weight room, to “show they are one family, and playing for each other.”
It absolutely broke my heart because these boys received the news only hours before the game and now here they were, out on the field. All last semester, I’m sure y’all remember that Freedom Square was a mess of multicolor chaotic graffiti asking the entirety of Towson University to save the baseball team. It was such a public plea for help, I even saw that a mother of one of the players brought a sign to an Orioles game and it was shown on national TV. That’s why I was so shocked when I heard a Delaware parent behind me say to his wife, “Look honey, look at their jerseys. They blacked out the Towson. Why would they do that?” as he stifled a laugh, like it was some kind of joke. I guess that’s when it hit me, that maybe this issue wasn’t as well advertised as I had initially thought and it had stayed within the boundaries of our 328-acre campus. I, like many other students, did my fair share of liking pictures on Facebook, retweeting tweets on Twitter, but I guess the effects weren’t as affective as we had all hoped.
In fact, after reading Keith Mills and Jon Parr’s article on the WBAL website it was obvious that the Facebook propaganda was the least amount of effort done to change this decision, which is saying a lot considering the Save Towson Baseball page has over 2,500 likes. Even Casper Wells, a Towson graduate who now plays for the Seattle Mariners tweeted on October 11, 2012 that he would do whatever he could to try and save the program. Several attempts were also made to contact President Loeschke, as well as the athletic director, Mike Waddell. The President didn’t even meet with the head coach of the baseball team, Mike Gottlieb. And after the announcement was made, she and Waddell were both unwilling to be interviewed by the media. There have been groups of parents, people who are willing to financially support the program, and even alumni trying to change the outcome and for every suggestion to help save it, there is an excuse made.
What is the truth for the reason the program is being cut? To be perfectly honest, I don’t think anyone really knows. Saving this program is for more reasons than just “hot guys in baseball pants” and even though their scholarships will still be honored, I doubt it’s all about the money too. It’s about not being able to play a game they love, the non-existent support they received from the faculty of this university, and the lack of professionalism in how this was handled. A three minute meeting called so late that more than half the team missed it, without even allowing their coach to be present, is absolutely ridiculous. A police escort suggesting that the team would react violently or even riot is offensive, and my heart goes out to the players and the families affected by this. The lack of respect shown is upsetting and I am embarrassed by the way this was handled.
I’m sure with all of the discrepancies finding their way to the surface, this will not be the end of the battle for Towson baseball and men’s soccer. And I hope with all my heart that the decision finds a better outcome. I encourage everyone to keep fighting. Just like it says on the Save Towson Baseball page, “One Tiger, One Fight, One Heart”.
Update: President Loeschke and other members of the Towson administration spoke with the Towerlight Wednesday. Read that article here.