FSU Baseball: Get Out of the Cold!

RT Staff Note: On the heels of our post yesterday about the differences of Northern Climate Baseball versus Sun Belt Baseball, a story crops up in a Tallahassee TV web site about their bout with their version of cold weather. For the past month, all schools in the Norths top conferences like the Big East and Big 10 were experiencing sub zero temperatures...Yet Florida State players and coaches were complaining about their temperatures in the high 40's and 50's...IN JANUARY! Their early morning temps were still 30 or more degrees than Ann Arbor's high mid day temperature.

Now if a Florida player that is used to playing year round in a toasty climate is discouraged about the prospects of playing outdoors in 50 degree weather, what do you think a player in upstate New York is feeling right now in -5 degree weather. Many northern schools don't get to enjoy 50 degree weather on their home field until early to mid April?


Reporter: Phil Jean
WCTV Tallahassee, FL
FSU baseball may be a hot topic when it comes to favorites this college baseball season, but the players and coaches can seem to focus on only one thing - the cold.
FSU hitting coach Mike Martin, Jr. says, "We were talking about it this morning in our morning meeting about how we've all been here for a long time in Tallahassee, and to have a sustained cold snap like this is pretty bizarre. I'm tired of being cold."

FSU junior outfielder/pitcher Mike McGee adds, "I'm not a fan of the cold weather at all. I can't stand this. I mean it's okay to have this type of stuff for less than a week, but it's been like this since I've been back."

Since January 2, Tallahassee has started every day below freezing with temperatures off by 15-20 degrees from normal. With these frigid conditions, it's tough to loosen up.

FSU pitcher Sean Gilmartin says, "It's definitely tough to try to stay loose. Especially as a pitcher. You;re going out and throwing and then getting tight a little more when you sit down a little bit. Then, you have to try and go out to throw again, so it's tougher when you're pitching to go through this."

McGee adds, "It's really hard to get warm, and then once you are, warm, it's hard to figure out where your arm is at because a lot of time your muscles get kind of numb because it's so cold. So, a lot of times, it's even hard to tell if you're still tight or not because you're freezing, so you really don't know."

It may be freezing out there, but nothing can warm you up faster than the thought of playing in Omaha come June.