It’s here – Bob Burrows Night! (Wednesday, June 5)
The idea from Bob Burrows night came on a calm Sunday afternoon this April at Johnnie’s Bar, following the annual Fish open tryout at Field of Dreams across the street. Each year, we have a prospective players reach out to us through the website (fishbaseball.org), and we work those guys out at FOD. Notable players that have come to us over the years from this process include current infielders Andy Metcalf and Matt Bacon, pitchers Rick Wells and Luke Meier, and a kid named Tanner Homme who played two career games. (Heckuva nice guy though!)
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This year, running into Bob just after tryouts finished, we mentioned that there didn’t seem to be any “keepers” that we at FOD that day – turned out to be a catch and release type of day. Bob joked, “Well, I should have tried out.” The collective eyebrows at the table raised, and the idea for Bob Burrows night was born.
We’re looking forward to Bob’s reflections on the night in an upcoming issue of the Journal. We’re happy to have fun with this tonight for a few reasons. First, if you’ve met Bob, he’s about the nicest, most genuine person you’ll find. There are people as nice and genuine, but not moreso. What Bob has done for our local sports scene over the years is top notch. If you played any competitive sports at the high school level, you probably remember the first time you saw your name in the newspaper and how that felt. What’s impressive is that he covers all sports with the same enthusiasm and zeal – I couldn’t guess which one is his favorite, other than saying “whichever one is in season.”
On a broader scale, what our local newspapers do for us as amateur baseball teams is so important. The reach of Facebook is only so far, and the media coverage is one of the things that separates us from beer league softball (no offense, many of us play that too!) and shows the community these games are being played at a high, competitve level. (Most days!)
So, Mr. Burrows, a tip of the cap to you from the Fish and from River Falls – no matter if you strike out tonight and hit a towering home run, you’re a larger than life hero to us.
Until next time, Go Fish!
The idea from Bob Burrows night came on a calm Sunday afternoon this April at Johnnie’s Bar, following the annual Fish open tryout at Field of Dreams across the street. Each year, we have a prospective players reach out to us through the website (fishbaseball.org), and we work those guys out at FOD. Notable players that have come to us over the years from this process include current infielders Andy Metcalf and Matt Bacon, pitchers Rick Wells and Luke Meier, and a kid named Tanner Homme who played two career games. (Heckuva nice guy though!)
(continued next page)
This year, running into Bob just after tryouts finished, we mentioned that there didn’t seem to be any “keepers” that we at FOD that day – turned out to be a catch and release type of day. Bob joked, “Well, I should have tried out.” The collective eyebrows at the table raised, and the idea for Bob Burrows night was born.
We’re looking forward to Bob’s reflections on the night in an upcoming issue of the Journal. We’re happy to have fun with this tonight for a few reasons. First, if you’ve met Bob, he’s about the nicest, most genuine person you’ll find. There are people as nice and genuine, but not moreso. What Bob has done for our local sports scene over the years is top notch. If you played any competitive sports at the high school level, you probably remember the first time you saw your name in the newspaper and how that felt. What’s impressive is that he covers all sports with the same enthusiasm and zeal – I couldn’t guess which one is his favorite, other than saying “whichever one is in season.”
On a broader scale, what our local newspapers do for us as amateur baseball teams is so important. The reach of Facebook is only so far, and the media coverage is one of the things that separates us from beer league softball (no offense, many of us play that too!) and shows the community these games are being played at a high, competitve level. (Most days!)
So, Mr. Burrows, a tip of the cap to you from the Fish and from River Falls – no matter if you strike out tonight and hit a towering home run, you’re a larger than life hero to us.
Until next time, Go Fish!
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