When I first arrived in Brooklyn, I felt alone, unfamiliar and, yes, even a little scared. I had left the comfort of a small rural college town and a job where I knew my position and my responsibilities. Brooklyn was almost the complete opposite.
My first couple of days here, I programmed almost everything into my phone so I knew what I was supposed to do. I’m not kidding when I say I even programmed what time I was going to eat breakfast. Having a routine was comforting because it gave me a sense of purpose. In an unfamiliar city writing on a brand new assignment, familiarity and repetition are like gold.
It is the same idea for a baseball player who has moved from the same type of familiar college town and the knowledge of where he fits into the team and is now in completely unfamiliar territory.
The only familiar aspect of their lives that was supposed to stay the same — baseball — also changed. Instead of being the kings of their campus, they now found themselves on the bottom rung of a ladder that seemed to extend forever. They played against the best of the best. And the pearly gates of playing in the big leagues were miles away, armored behind the seemingly impenetrable letter A.
That’s why establishing a routine in baseball is so important. A whiteboard in the middle of the locker room tells the team what time busses leave from the apartment. Daily practice and game times help establish a rhythm. But when everything else has been set, it all comes down to how the players get into their own routine.
The Cyclones started off the season in erratic fashion. They could not establish a winning rhythm, rarely ever winning more than two games in a row before finding themselves on the other side of the box score. Many of the players were similar, recording a great night of batting 1.000 one night, and then striking out all four times at the plate the next.
But that all changed during the last week of July. The players found a winning groove, putting up five quick wins and finding a way to win close games. They also found out how to reach a higher level of offensive production during the first week of August, scoring 35 runs in just five games. The batting order no longer was in a state of flux and the players know when they are batting and are more familiar with their responsibilities.
Jared King, fresh out of Kansas State University, which couldn’t be more rural despite the city’s name, Manhattan, has also seen a change in rhythm and the team’s chemistry. King has been one of the most consistent hitters on the roster. He attributes the newly found success to finally finding the offensive groove.
“It takes a little bit of time just to get everyone feeling good not only physically but mentally,” he said. “Everyone’s starting to come around and feel good at the plate and the results are showing.”
I have also found my routine in Brooklyn. I don’t have to look at my schedule to know when I’m going to eat my Fruity Pebbles, but I know where I’m supposed to be and what I’m supposed to be doing.
The Cyclones players and I know how good it feels to get into a rhythm. Now it’s time for the home stretch where we put it all together.
Scott Hansen, an intern from Brigham Young University, will be comparing his life to those of the Cyclones all season long.
