Photo above: Fresh off a championship season, Vanderbilt baseball raised the interest of baseball fans in Kansas City during an exhibition game against Oklahoma State.
By Ian Echlin
The Vanderbilt baseball program has written its own history with two College World Series championships, including this year’s title in Omaha. But the Commodores stepped back in time with an exhibition game against Oklahoma State.
It was played at the Kansas City MLB Urban Youth Academy, a local non-profit sports complex dedicated to the mission of supporting youth through baseball and softball near Kansas City’s jazz district at 18th and Vine.
Both Commodores head coach Tim Corbin and OSU head coach Josh Holliday had agreed to get together for a game this fall, but it wasn’t until they reached out to Royals general manager Dayton Moore before deciding to play the game in Kansas City.
“Dayton (Moore) was open arms from the minute I mentioned it to him, so the Kansas City Royals have been very gracious in giving us their facility for the past two days,” said Corbin, entering his 18th season as the Commodores head coach in 2020.
Corbin said that the team was able to use the on-site practice facilities Friday prior to the Saturday’s game. They also stopped across the street at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.
From two previous visits to the museum, Corbin thought it would be the perfect learning experience for his players. He wanted them to see the history and what segregation in baseball was like, how people were treated in those times and how far the country has come since then.
“It just felt important for the kids to learn a piece of history that I don’t know if they know or not and I don’t want to take any of those things for granted with them,” Corbin said. “I think it was gratifying in so many different ways.”
Fans turned out to not only watch the Commodores and Cowboys get some offseason work in on a sunny fall Saturday, but eagerly checked out Vanderbilt’s star pitcher Kumar Rocker. They lined up along the bullpen to watch Rocker warm up.
There were also a lot of pro-scouts out on hand to see Rocker and the rest of the talent in the match-up. Rocker was the Most Outstanding Players in the CWS championship series against Michigan in June.
Vanderbilt is coming off its winningest season in school history. Though a tough task to follow up on, Corbin says there’s no angst for the season to start. He says he enjoys this time of the year to cultivate his team, a part of coaching he says he’s always enjoyed.
While making their visit during Major League Baseball’s World Series, there’s no doubt the Commodores and Cowboys learned a lot about the Homestead Grays at the NLBM, the Negro Leagues team in the nation’s capital that won the last Negro Leagues World Series in 1948.