Transcripts for the week of Feb. 15-21,
1999
Steve Seitnater
Wichita, KS
Q - "Will
the baseball games with Wichita State be broadcast on the internet?"
A - "Yes,
the games betweeen UH and Wichita State will be on the internet
provided the games do not conflict with any men's or women's basketball
games."
Jim Risser
Honolulu, HI
Q - "Hawaii
is such a beautiful place with so much natural green plants --
why don't we have a natural green grass instead of that ugly
green, dirt-stained carpet?"
A - "UH
has an AstroTurf field mostly due to the frequent Manoa Mists
and rains. Understand that the closest team is a 5-hour flight
away, which means big money for travel. If any games in a series
would be wiped out because of rain, a team would never come here
again because of the good possibility of getting rained out. The
AstroTurf is made of one of the best artificial materials available
and can drain a 5-gallon bucket of water in a couple of minutes."
Dean Yoshida.
Danville, CA
Q - "What
percentage of the players on the UH team are from the local high
schools."
A - "Usually
Head Coach Les Murakami has about 50-50 locals to Mainland players.
This season in 1999, there are 22 players or about 59% from Hawaii
and 15 or 41% from the Mainland.
Dustin Bohan
Calistoga, CA
Q - "When
looking at a pitcher, what is one of the key things a scout looks
at?"
A - "Some
of the keys that professional scouts look at in pitchers are:
arm strength, control, mechanics, size, coachable or attitude,
heritage or bloodline. Also, if a players is left-handed or right-handed
sometimes makes a huge difference."
Darrell Baker
Portland, OR
Q - "How
many new baseballs are used during a game?"
A - "UH
uses 2 to 3 dozen brand new baseballs for one game. If a ball
is fouled into the stands, the fan gets to keep it-something that
doesn't happen in other ballparks."
Patrick Kapoi
Honolulu, HI
Q - "Is
there a mercy clause in college baseball?"
A - "Yes,
there is a little known rule that has been recently implemented
into the NCAA Baseball Rules Book on page 49 of the 1999 manual.
It is Rule 5.7.b.4 under the heading Regulation Game and it states,
"by conference rule or by mutual consent before a contest
by the competing teams, a game may be stopped (ruled completed)
only after seven innings if one team is leading by at least 12
runs."
Gene Smith
Aloha, OR
Q - "I
saw where Curt Watanabe's #26 was added to the left field wall
before this year's alumni game. What other numbers, besides the
obvious #16, are honored there?"
A - "On
the left-field wall, there are five numbers honored. The two you
mentioned (i.e. #16 Tatsuno and #26 Watanabe). The other three
are #40 Randy Oyama (1985-88), #14 Gerald Ako (1974-77), and #10
Joey Estrella (1972-74).
Glenn M. Inouye
Honolulu, HI 96814
Q - "I
noticed that players are using a narrower barrel metal bat this
year. Does it meet NCAA "exit velocity," and How much
do wood bats cost and did the team crack any earlier in the year?"
A - "Yes,
the barrel is 2 5/8 maximum and it does NOT meet NCAA exit velocity
of 93 mph. That will try to be implemented next year. Through
the first nine games with wooden bats, about 16 total bats were
cracked."
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