When I make my way to Traverse City, I usually make the most of it.
Not much on the high school sports schedule forces me outside of Otsego County, but every once in a while, I like to make the trip to Northern Michigan's "big city" and visit Traverse City when I get an opportunity.
When I do make the trip, I am sometimes joined by one of my good friends, a former opponent on baseball fields across southeast Michigan and now a resident of TC who enjoys a high school sporting event here and there. So, as Gaylord baseball and softball made their way to TC Central's Athletic Complex on Wednesday, May 8, we made plans to meet up and watch.
As we split our time between baseball and softball, there was something unspoken drawing us to one set of fences rather than the other; something made crystal clear by my friend once we stepped back up to the fence nearest the Gaylord softball dugout, music bumping out of the dugout speakers and the much larger group of fans surrounding the TC junior varsity softball diamond.
"It's like a party over here."
It was a simple, off-hand statement, but at that moment, it made something very clear to me that had been a real part of covering sports in Gaylord in the past few years; with the recent rise of popularity in women's sports, teams like GHS Softball could make softball into the next booming, popular sport to get behind, because it already is in Gaylord.
The Caitlin Clark effect
For those engrained in the sports world, the rise of women's basketball didn't come out of nowhere. There are plenty of people who have known the names Paige Bueckers, Angel Reese and, of course, Caitlin Clark, for years now.
But for others, it took a star like Clark to step into the spotlight and draw the attention of the fans less in tune with the the sport of basketball as a whole. Sure, the womens game has been worth watching for a while, but when someone as talented as Caitlin Clark can grasp the attention of nearly the entire sports world, it drew the eyeballs that womens basketball has needed (and deserved) for years.
When I watch Gaylord softball, I see Caitlin Clarks up and down the roster.
Not only is the GHS softball roster oozing with talent, but what makes their games so fun to watch, much like Clark and Iowa, is the fun they have playing the game.
They have their own signature walk-up songs, their own signature celebrations and home run props. They celebrate every out like they finished off the final out of a championship game. They're rarely, if ever, silent, with a list of cheers only growing as more and more young players enter the fold and earn their own rallying cries.
When Gaylord plays softball, its almost never a question of who is winning (usually Gaylord), but it is NEVER in doubt who is having more fun. That's always Gaylord.
And, as the loaded Class of 2024 gets set to disband after this season, I expect each and every one of those girls to take that Gaylord style, that love they have for the game of softball to college diamonds across the country and, as softball continues to grow, perhaps will have their own Caitlin Clark-esque rise to fame.
Baseball vs. softball
Baseball could learn a thing or two from softball.
Not the Gaylord teams necessarily, but the sport in general.
As someone who spent almost my entire youth on baseball diamonds, I love the intricacies of the game more than most. But now, as someone who spends most of my time watching and almost none playing, there is something about the game of softball that just does it better.
Part of it is the compact nature of softball; you're much more likely to see someone clear the 200-foot fences of a softball field than you are the 300+ fences on baseball diamonds. Admittedly, part of it for me is getting to watch teams like Gaylord and Johannesburg-Lewiston in the past few years become state title contenders and some of the best softball teams in Northern Michigan.
For me, a big part of what holds baseball back is what makes softball that much more entertaining; softball encourages fun, while baseball is still trying to embrace it. Even as young ball players have tried to make the game more fun with bat flips, celebrations and unique ways of their own to bring baseball forward, every one of those attempts to have fun comes with the knowledge that somewhere, someone isn't having fun watching; an old school coach, parent or umpire who sees kids having fun as an affront to the game of baseball itself.
That stigma doesn't exist on a softball diamond; much like the other girls sports I cover, softball players have fun playing the game they play and aren't afraid to show it. Hit a home run? Make sure your team is ready at home plate with a personalized celebration. See a new, fun double celebration on TikTok? Add it to the repertoire.
It's part of why the rise of womens college basketball this past season was no surprise to me, and why I think softball is not far behind.
Contact GHT Sports Editor Dylan Jespersen at Djespersen@gaylordheraldtimes.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @dylanjespersen, and Instagram, @dylanjespersen
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