BOISE, Idaho -- The day has finally arrived.
Today marks the home opener for the Boise Hawks and let me tell you I thought the day would never come. While many of you baseball fans have been basking in watching, scouting, reporting, critiquing, analyzing, and tweeting about every player, transaction, and terrible decision and/or fantastic spin move by a team manager, I’ve just been over here staring gravely at the countdown for short-season ball to start.
And yes, today that number reads zero and it has never looked more stunning.
The Boise Hawks are moving into their second season as a Colorado Rockies affiliate, previously being affiliated with the Chicago Cubs. The club's 2015 Northwest League record was 30-46. You don’t have to be a math wiz to see that the Hawks lost -- a lot. Last season was comprised of inconsistencies of streaks; with losing streaks consuming the majority. Toward the middle-to-end of August there was a solid effort resulting in wins, but it was too late to salvage their record.
This past weekend the Hawks opened 2016 against the Eugene Emeralds in Oregon and left for a long bus ride with a 1-2 record. On Saturday and Sunday night, both games went into extra innings with the Hawks finally coming out ahead on the final night and avoiding the sweep. Each game got progressively better, which shows that while they may not have found their niche yet, the Hawks are on the right path. You never want to hit your peak performance or have your highest batting average at the beginning of the season, otherwise you’ll find yourself in a slump when you can’t consistently perform at your ultimate best.
So, now you’re asking, "what does the 2015 season have to do with the upcoming season?" Well, not a whole lot to be honest. With seven players returning, some shifts in the coaching staff, and the arrival of 28 new players (three of whom were among the Rockies' top five picks in the 2016 draft), there is always room for improvement.
Although the Hawks may have had a rocky season (no pun intended) last year, they did tie for the highest batting average in the Northwest League with a .261 clip. Former hitting coach -- and new manager for the team -- Andy Gonzalez was asked how this season was going to look during Boise's media day.
"We have a good pitching staff with the guys that I know already and the position players," Gonzalez told reporters. "We got good players and we’ve got 12 new guys so that’s kinda half the team so we’re going to play the way the guys will show up to play, other than the Rockies way is being aggressive and running hard all the time hustling." Gonzalez is confident in his new role this year to lead the team.
First pitch is scheduled for 7:15 pm MT against the visiting Salem-Keizer Volcanoes. Tune in and listen on BoiseHawks.com.