For the third consecutive season, I will be coming out to watch many Athens Drive baseball games. I’ve been a huge fan of baseball for my entire life, but I have always been very disappointed about the lack of support and fans that the baseball team receives. While sports like lacrosse and soccer generally have large turnouts, the baseball team often struggles to gain high attendance.

During my freshman year, I started attending Athens Drive baseball games after watching them win 15-6 against Cary in the first annual “Strike Out ALS” game. After watching Athens dominate late in the game, I developed an attachment to Athens Drive baseball that has continued to this day. I attended the Varsity baseball games for the rest of the season. Despite the fact the team didn’t perform very well that year (they finished with a record of 5-16), my attachment to Athens Drive baseball grew, and I became very close with the members of the team. The team’s performance would have likely been much better had some fans come out to support the team.

During my sophomore year, I took on a new role as the statistician for the JV baseball team, which my father, Jim Bahm, coached. I attended every game, kept score and reported the scores. I was especially disappointed with the lack of support the JV team received. Very few students from Athens showed up at the games. There was nobody even announcing most of the JV games last season. No national anthem was played at the games. Nonetheless, I attended every game throughout the entire season and watched the JV team struggle to a 5-13 record.

Now that I am a junior, I have chosen to take a different role for the baseball team. I now work as the PA announcer for all home Athens Drive baseball games as well as working the new scoreboard that was recently installed. I am attempting to bring more excitement to the baseball games, making them events that Athens Drive students will enjoy. Baseball deserves as much support as football because school spirit gives the team a winning attitude.

A major reason I have concluded to be the cause of the poor support for the baseball team is due to the fact that bat safety regulations make it nearly impossible to hit home runs. Over the past two seasons, no Athens Drive baseball player has hit a single home run in their home ballpark, due to the new bat standard. A few years ago, bats were more capable of hitting baseballs farther. Fortunately, the outfield fence was moved in 5-10 feet recently to allow for the stadium construction. This may allow for more home runs to be hit which could bring more excitement to the games, which could mean more support.

Baseball is the National Pastime of the United States, and deserves more support from students.