BROADCAST INFO: Emmy-winning broadcaster Ross Porter, who had a 28-year career announcing Los Angeles Dodger games from 1977-2004, will be calling the action on the live audio stream for the CSUN games vs. BYU. Veteran BYU radio broadcaster Brent Norton returns for his 27th year mic-side calling Cougar baseball, starting with the four-game series in Hawaii.
TELECAST INFO: The SEC TV Network will broadcast the March 2 BYU game at Auburn. Also marked on the schedule for telecasts on www.BYUCougars.com are five road games on the Pac-12 Network at Utah, Cal, Stanford and Arizona. BYUtv will telecast a dozen games from Provo.
ST. GEORGE PRACTICES: BYU's baseball team had two practices the first weekend of February in St. George, taking advantage of better weather, natural grass and a familiar clime on the road in preparation for a month full of road trips.
IN ALLEYS, DOWN THE LINES: Dimensions changed on the remodeled Larry H. Miller Field , which now features turf everywhere. Down the lines it is 347 feet in left and 343 in right, 380 in the left-center alley, 388 right-center and 402 to the centerfield fence. The height of the fences is now in the left field corner at 14 feet, tapering down to the original 12 feet for most of the outfield wall, and then 10 feet in right field.
ATTENDING FIRST PITCH DINNER: Among the former BYU baseball players who attended last month’s fifth-annual First Pitch Dinner were: Tim Anderson, Cortland Andrews, Michel Bergeron, Jeff Bills, Anthony Bingham, Casey Cloward, Paul Cluff, Taylor Cole, Gary Cooper, Cameron Coughlan, Tyler Dabo, David Decker, Brad Eagar, Ryan Freeman, Jacob Hannemann, Paul Jacinto, Wally Joyner, Bronson Larsen, Adam Law, Mike Littlewood, Blair Lucas, Bob Noel, Marc Oslund, Tyler Perry, James Platt, Gary Pullins, Bryce Searle, John Sinclair, Mark Smith, Mike Staffieri, Jeremy Thomas, Mike Willes, and former coaches Glen Tuckett and Vernon Law.
JOYNER TELLS OF GOING 0-FOR-4: At last month’s First Pitch Dinner, former BYU All-American Wally Joyner told of how he went 0-for-four, just not on the same day. First, when he came to Provo in 1980 and reported in with BYU Coach Gary Pullins. Pullins mistook Joyner’s well-built older brother, instead of the scrawny 6-foot-1, 165-pound Wally as the prized Cougar recruit. Second, when Joyner reported to his first Major League assignment at an Arizona airport, the man from the Angels didn't recognize him after passing each other several times. Third, he arrived early and left late for the first practice with the Angels, being mistaken as an autograph-seeking little boy when he was summoned to see the secretary of the general manager to pick up a per diem check. Fourth, in the shower he met Reggie Jackson and was mistaken by him for being a pitcher or a line-drive hitter. First impressions aren't always what they seem, but desire and confidence are the difference. Joyner then shared how he was privileged to play with one-handed pitcher Jim Abbott.
GUTHRIE BACK IN ACTION: Former BYU pitcher Jeremy Guthrie was recently called as a mission president to serve for three years, starting this July, in the Texas Houston South Mission. Guthrie pitched for BYU as a freshman in 1998 before transferring to Stanford after serving a mission to Spain. Guthrie was the keynote speaker at BYU’s annual First Pitch Dinner in 2014. Guthrie had a 13-year career in the Major Leagues from 2004-2017 with the Cleveland Indians, Baltimore Orioles, Colorado Rockies, Kansas City Royals and Washington Nationals. For more on Guthrie's call, see this link.
CHRISTMAS MISSIONARY PHONE CALLS: Here are brief Christmas reports regarding Bryan Call, Jackson Cluff, Danny Gelalich, and Easton Walker, all of whom are due home before next season.
Infielder Bryan Call is serving in Taiwan where he phoned home on Christmas Day to his parents who spoke with him on Christmas Eve in California. Elder Call teased that he has been mistaken for Seth Curry, but did ask his parents to send him basketball shoes to replace his worn-out pair. His mother also sent him his favorite Mike and Ike candy, but the package was overweight and she had to remove some packs. He had an occasion to pass by a couple universities in Taiwain where he got to hit a couple of baseballs. His grandfather Garth Hall, a former BYU football coach, just returned in January from being a mission president in Nauvoo, Illinois. Elder Call’s younger brother is being recruited by CSUN, so the Call family will see the Cougars play at Northridge.
Infielder Jackson Cluff has served in several Georgia communities around Atlanta, first in Cedartown, then in Jonesboro where he spent eight months traveling the whole mission and now in Kennesaw. He went by the university baseball field at Kennesaw State and spoke with some of their players who remembered playing against the Cougars last season. He has been diligent in swinging the bat on Mondays in a church cultural hall, using a net and tee his father Paul sent to him. Cluff sent a video of some of those sessions to Coach Littlewood. On his Christmas phone call with his family, he requested more of “Mom’s homemade granola” be sent to him. Two weeks later, all two pounds of that granola had been devoured in Georgia. His sister tried to talk him into getting an early release to attend her high school graduation the end of May, but Elder Cluff told her, “No, I signed up to serve 730 days and I plan on serving all 730 days.” Cluff’s father, a former Cougar All-American, shares weekly email with the parents of Elders Call, Gelalich and Walker (these three will be rooming together after their missions along with BYU basketball player Connor Harding).
Outfielder Danny Gelalich has served in Corpus Christi, Mission, Laredo and Edinburg in the Texas McAllen Mission. He ended up not being affected much by Hurricane Harvey and now dreams in Spanish. In addition to talking with his parents in the Christmas phone call, he spoke with both of his brothers. Brother Matt, who just finished his eligibility at Pepperdine, is now helping some with BYU’s baseball team as he works on some prerequisites for dental school at the University of Pacific in San Francisco, starting in July. Brother Jeff will soon be reporting to Spring Training with the Chicago White Sox organization. Elder Gelalich plays soccer more than baseball because his mission president played in Mexico. BYU’s team will be doing a fireside on Feb. 18 at the stake center (2645 Amherst St, La Verne, California) near the Gelalich home.
Pitcher Easton Walker asked that his parents mail more Rolaids so he could better cope with food in Peru. His parents had sent him whiffle ball equipment reminiscent of his backyard days facing his older brothers in Utah, but his Latino mates still prefer to play soccer. Walker, who is due home in June, doesn’t use laser lights like other missionaries to fend off wild dogs because his aim is good enough with rocks.