College Baseball at Sunken Diamond

For a variety of reasons, college baseball never really caught on as a mainstream sport in the U.S.  Unlike NCAA football and basketball, where the link to professional athletics is direct and clear and where college programs are seen as the top feeders into the NFL and NBA, respectively, there's a big gap between NCAA and Major League Baseball.  As a result, college baseball is more like lacrosse or soccer than like football or basketball - it's not often covered by major media outlets, it's not a significant revenue driver and it's not a priority for athletic departments.  Instead, college baseball is a true amateur's game.

Just because the players are amateurs, though, doesn't mean they aren't really good, as I learned in person at the Stanford vs. Cal game at Klein Field at Sunken Diamond yesterday.  With perfect temperatures and barely a cloud in the sky, it was another fantastic day for baseball.  A few friends and I made the short walk across the Stanford campus just in time for the first pitch, and enjoyed a high-quality baseball game.  The players (particular the pitchers) were a lot better than I expected them to be, given the fact that there are so many levels of minor league professional baseball between college ball and the Major Leagues (not to mention all of the international leagues that also feed into MLB).  Of course, Stanford and the Pac-10 are known for fielding competitive baseball teams, but nonetheless I was pleased with the quality of play.

The weather was perfect for Stanford and Cal at Sunken Diamond.

Most people, if they know anything at all about college baseball, associate the game with the offensive explosion that often accompanies metal bats.  This year, however, bat specifications for NCAA baseball have been changed dramatically, and as a result the college game more closely resembles the wooden bat version of the sport that MLB and MiLB fans are used to.  While Stanford scored a bunch of runs off of the Cal pitchers, the Cardinal strung together line drive base hits rather than attack the Golden Bears with a barrage of homers.  In the bottom half of the innings, Stanford pitching made the Cal hitters put the ball in play and, with the exception of one three-run homerun, kept the ball in the park.

As for Stanford's baseball stadium, it was what I would expect a college park to be like.  I only have Princeton's field to compare it to, but overall I thought it was more than adequate for a college baseball team.  While the physical playing field was average (the outfield wall could use a touch-up, but the new scoreboard was a nice touch), the seats surrounding the field were well-positioned and well-maintained.  And while there were a decent number of fans in attendance given the odd Monday at 5:30 PM local start time, we were easily able to grab great seats midway down the first baseline and had a perfect view of a pretty good baseball game.  Given the speed of the college game, the quality play and the great Palo Alto-area weather, even a casual fan will definitely enjoy spending a gorgeous afternoon at Stanford's Sunken Diamond.

LED scoreboard, good.  Covered chain-link outfield fence, bad.