10 Reasons Why You Should Go See UCLA Baseball Games This Season - Part 1

Bumped. GO BRUINS. -N

I wrote this up for some of my friends and former classmates who are not much into baseball or even sports at all. There's really no heavy analysis, just my personal thoughts. Some of the stuff is pretty basic and many of you know much more about Bruin Athletics than I do, but please bear with me.

It's here! The UCLA Baseball 2010 season will start very, very soon. There will be an Alumni Game on Saturday, February 6th where, thanks to a NCAA rule change this year, the current team will be able to play against the alumni. (*UPDATE: Due to the rain, the Alumni Game has been canceled and will not be rescheduled.) Then the non-conference games start on February 19th with the MLB Urban Invitational against teams from across the country - Southern, Bethune Cookman and Cal State Northridge. UCLA Baseball is known for its tough schedules and this year is no exception with games against teams like Nebraska and Mississippi State on the list as well as nationally-ranked SoCal/Pac-10 opponents like UCI, Fullerton and ASU.

I know there are a lot of serious problems in the world and supporting college athletics isn't probably on the top of many people's agenda. But these student athletes work hard and they bring a lot of attention to the university, which in my opinion complements our academic achievements and enhances our reputation as a quality educational institution (note that UCLA student athletes must meet academic requirements that are higher than most other colleges and universities). Athletics also provide many students with higher education opportunities that they otherwise may not have had.

Unfortunately, attendance at the UCLA baseball games have been pretty low and I wanted to see if I can drum up some more interest in the program. So here are my personal reasons for going to the games. I hope you can join me in some this year! The full schedule, as well as directions to the stadium (note: not on campus, don't use Google Maps), is available at www.uclabruins.com.

10. Great Value

Unlike major league baseball games, admission is only $7 for adults ($6 w/AAA discount), $5 for 16 and under and $5 for groups of 15 or more (call ahead for group pricing). It's cheaper than a movie! UCLA students with current ID and Wooden Athletics Fund donors ($350+ with that blue card) get in free.

And the food from the concession stands is great. You can get a Dodger Dog (really, same dog, except the bun is a regular size, which I think actually creates a favorable protein-to-starch ratio) for $4 (at least that was the price last year, it might go up but I'm sure it'll still be cheaper than the $8 or whatever it is at Dodger Stadium).

And, on some nights when there are extras left around the 8th inning or so, they'll sell the hot dogs for $1 each. $1! The concession stand is also cool because I hear that the family members of the players help out and I think one of them was making the chili last year, which was really good. I think the year before that, someone was making the tri-tip sandwiches. All for $3-$6, if I recall correctly. The burgers are grilled there, too.

9. Games with Prizes

Last year (and the year before), they had all kinds of games (mostly for kids, I guess, but I played!) throughout the game. I can't guarantee they'll do them all again this year but here they are.

• Bruin Bingo - pick up a bingo card (or 2 or 5) at the marketing table when you come to the game. When a Bruin player makes an offensive play, you'll punch out an assigned letter-number slot (instructions are available at the marketing table). I think prizes were gift certificates to BJ's Restaurant or something like that.
• UCLA Baseball Cards - at each game, they'll give out one or two players' baseball cards for free at the marketing table. Collect them all! They might be valuable some day!
• Bruin Trivia - you can enter the trivia contest at the marketing table. Trivia questions are on UCLA baseball past and present. Prizes I recall are things like the Media Guide or UCLA Crocs
• Pocket Litter - around the third or fourth inning or so, the announcer will call out something - like a UCLA blanket or a BlackBerry - and the first fan who brings that to the marketing table gets a prize like UCLA Crocs
• Catch a T-Shirt - I forgot which inning (5th?) but a few UCLA staff will run out and throw out free UCLA Baseball T-shirts to fans who cheer the loudest. It's a small stadium so it's pretty easy to get a t-shirt, especially if you're fighting kids for them (hahaha...I gave some to those kids, OK?)
• Lucky Program - if you have a blue star on your program, you can get a Domino's Pizza or Chili's gift certificate
• Year-end raffle - during the season, pick up a Frequent Fan card at the marketing table and have it stamped each time you come to a game. At the last home game of the season, turn it in for raffle tickets and win stuff like UCLA t-shirts and lots of other stuff

8. Fun for Little Leaguers and kids in general

Kids in Little League uniforms get in free (along with one parent each, I believe - call the Athletic Department ahead of time to arrange, I heard it's pretty laid back as long as you call). Also, if you make arrangements ahead of time, kids from a Little League team can run out to the bases with the Bruin players at the start of the game, and get their autographs. I don't know how they decide on the bat boys but if you call, I bet they can make arrangements. I noticed it's not the same kid or even the same couple of kids each time, so I bet fans can request it for their kids. They've got to hustle!

Not just Little Leaguers but also many kids seem to have a great time chasing foul balls and (for the bigger kids) home runs. It's a small stadium so there are plenty of chances. On Sundays after the game, all kids can go down to the field and run the bases (I so want to do that!).

Also, kids (under 10 or so?) can sign up to announce UCLA batters in the bottom of the sixth (or fifth?) inning. It's really cute when little kids (like 5 or so) do it with a lot of enthusiasm.

7. Up Close and Personal

As I've mentioned before, it's a pretty small stadium. There are some downsides and things the Athletics Department is supposed to be fixing, but one great thing is that you get to see the action up really close. When was the last time you saw what kind of pitch a pitcher was going to throw coming out of his windup (without paying an arm and a leg and you firstborn's soul?)? It really is that close, which makes it pretty exciting.

I've heard that other people like it because they can hear the chatter in the dugout. I guess I've not sat close enough to either of the dugouts but I'm sure that's fun. There are a lot of parents who come to the games and it's neat to hear them interact and support the players. I'm not a huge fan of heckling, but some people feel it's fun to do a little heckling (nothing too mean-spirited, I hope) because you know the batters can hear you and sometimes you can really tell it psyches them out.

6. Spot Future Stars

The UCLA baseball program has produced many Major Leaguers. Each year, several Bruins get drafted. And, I'll be honest, it's a chance to see potential future stars on other teams like ASU or San Diego State (last year we saw Stephen Strasburg, who later became the #1 MLB overall draft pick). Really, when else would you see them at $7 a game? And to prove that these players are potential pro baseball players, you'll see lots of scouts at many of the games (and really, they are looking at UCLA players!), which is pretty interesting to watch. I think you're not supposed to be able to tell what teams they work for (some of them may moonlight for a couple?), but if you look closely some of them will have subtle team emblems on bags or notebooks. And I see lots of fans just talking to them, which is pretty cool.

Continued to Part 2.