So, this is what it’s like to root for a No. 1 team -- I kinda like it!
Complete. Confident. Conceited. Cocky… Pick your favorite adjective for the Tennessee Vols baseball team because they all apply. And really, it doesn’t matter if you’re a lover of the Big Orange or hearing about them from your buddies as Tennessee stomps their favorite squad, nobody can deny the Vols are completely dominating college baseball right now.
For most of my adult life, I’ve had to endure the smugness of Alabama football fans as their team romped to championship after championship. Kentucky basketball fans have a similar air of supremacy, right up to the time the NCAA tournament starts. I knew, deep down, Vols fans had it in them to be just as arrogant, brash and cocky as any other fanbase, we just needed a team to bring it out. We already had the "this is our year" argument before each season, it just happens that this actually may be our year!
Bruce Pearl almost got there, then he had a BBQ. Lane Kiffin may have done it, but he bolted in the middle of the night. Butch couldn’t do it, crumbling under the few bricks he laid. Rick Barnes has probably gotten the closest, but he doesn’t really inspire hate (Grant Williams and Admiral Schofield, on the other hand, didn't mind riling up people).
But Vitello and the Vols --- yeah, people are going to hate them. I can tell you I love every part of them getting under opposing teams’ skins and the pettiness they come with on the field and off it (Vol Twitter, as always, is undefeated). Our fanbase feels like a wrestling crowd embracing the heel – the guys you’re supposed to hate, yet they become the stars of the show. More so, we’re going to cheer them on in our “small” stadium as they walk out like Gladiators and strut around screaming “Are you not entertained?” to opposing teams as the scoreboard lights up.
I’ve seen the national pundits out there crush the Tennessee fanbase for being delusional or just plain dumb over the years. When VolNation gets up in arms, it can be a tidal wave of hot takes, heated exchanges (even among our own) and the occasional flying mustard bottle. Every time one Vol fanatic (or a few hundred) says or does something dumb, it becomes an indictment on all of us. Does it matter that every fanbase has them too? It should, but it doesn’t feel like you hear about it if you’re an oft-persecuted Vol fan (Other schools have terrible fans too. I’ve been to SEC games on seven different campuses and had stuff thrown at me or heard vile insults – usually both - at every stop).
At this point, I don’t even care. If we’re hated, so be it – at least now we have a team worth being hated for. The BaseVols are the special kind of great – they will tell you how they’re going to beat you (100 MPH gas and 400-foot bombs are the recipe right now) before it starts, proceed to do it for nine innings then let you hear about it some more after it’s over (and, usually, they'll give you the play-by-play breakdown of the beatdown as it’s happening). Heck, they’ll probably steal your girl in the parking lot too.
People are going to make snide comments about Mike Honcho’s bats all season. I don’t care. The same goes for hate directed to guys like Drew Gilbert, the double celebration king of the Vols, and Luc Lipcius, the first baseman who may have been in some of my business classes back a decade ago. Please – PLEASE – give them more reason to play with a chip on their shoulder. Those old guys have went completely to the dark side – they’re fueled by the hate and grow stronger each time they're given a reason to get rowdier.
They also give the hate right back – like Gilbert talking about stomping on the throat of Vandy or Lipcius pulling out the Benchwarmers tag of home last night against Mizzou (you could count his bat inspection after belting a bomb in Nashville as some real heat as well). There’s some real DGAF vibes with this team.
Teams are already tired seeing the Daddy hat come out when the Vols hit dingers (77 and counting) and opposing fans are really going to hate the fur coat pimped out every time Tennessee sends one sailing. The problem is somebody has to stop it – and only one team has so far through two months.
After the first two weeks, I really thought it was the Vol pitching that was the unsung hero (if you can call it unsung – the whole starting rotation did just get recognized as potential Golden Spikes winners). Since these two wins over Missouri, I think the offense is just as big of a headache. I can’t figure out which is better – they’re both going to have times where they look invincible.
Even as we “struggle” on the mound by our standards, the Vols still have an ungodly 28/5 ratio of Ks to BBs the last two games (Burns had four of those walks in his short time on the mound). On the other side, the Vols continue to be patient at the plate – drawing 18 free passes in two games (matching their 18 strikeouts). The more I see the offense, the more it feels like they’re never going to let a starter get deep. Hanson from Texas did the best job and he only made it six innings. The Vols are going to see bullpens a lot in three-game sets and they’ve feasted on opposing arm barns all season.
The numbers are staggering - the Vols lead the nation in home runs AND shutouts. Dollander leads the SEC in strikeouts. Lipscomb is near the top in HRs. I laughed when tonight's color guy (the heavy breather) said one Mizzou guy had a respectable ERA and it was 4.00+. Of the 18 pitchers who have toed the rubber for the Vols, 16 have ERAs below 4.00. Even crazier, Ben Joyce still sports a 0.00 ERA over 14 appearances, Drew Beam is at 0.88 and THE TEAM has an ERA of 1.85.
For crazy hitting numbers - choose your personal favorite. Here are some of the eye openers for me - Jared Dickey (.419) and Drew Gilbert (.411) are giving Teddy Ball Game a run at the dish, Lipscomb is on pace for 100 RBIs over 60 games and JORDAN BECK currently has the team's lowest OPS of regular players (Beck is .953, Lawson is at .955 after 31 games).
As the Vols keep winning, their confidence only grows. They may not be household names around the country – at least not their real names – but the nation is starting to catch on and hear the tall tales of Mike Honcho (Beck, a future first-round pick), the Volunteer Fireman Ben Joyce and his 104 MPH heater, Chase and Chase (Burns and Dollender, both being talked about as top 10 future picks) and the rest of the Knox Bombers. Oh yeah, today’s starter Drew Beam has already been the SEC player of the week and Blade Tidwell – another future first rounder – is getting back to form.
The Vols are legit. They’re No. 1 and they’re going to continue to greet SEC schools with brooms and a busload of bravado.
Complete. Confident. Conceited. Cocky… Pick your favorite adjective for the Tennessee Vols baseball team because they all apply. And really, it doesn’t matter if you’re a lover of the Big Orange or hearing about them from your buddies as Tennessee stomps their favorite squad, nobody can deny the Vols are completely dominating college baseball right now.
For most of my adult life, I’ve had to endure the smugness of Alabama football fans as their team romped to championship after championship. Kentucky basketball fans have a similar air of supremacy, right up to the time the NCAA tournament starts. I knew, deep down, Vols fans had it in them to be just as arrogant, brash and cocky as any other fanbase, we just needed a team to bring it out. We already had the "this is our year" argument before each season, it just happens that this actually may be our year!
Bruce Pearl almost got there, then he had a BBQ. Lane Kiffin may have done it, but he bolted in the middle of the night. Butch couldn’t do it, crumbling under the few bricks he laid. Rick Barnes has probably gotten the closest, but he doesn’t really inspire hate (Grant Williams and Admiral Schofield, on the other hand, didn't mind riling up people).
But Vitello and the Vols --- yeah, people are going to hate them. I can tell you I love every part of them getting under opposing teams’ skins and the pettiness they come with on the field and off it (Vol Twitter, as always, is undefeated). Our fanbase feels like a wrestling crowd embracing the heel – the guys you’re supposed to hate, yet they become the stars of the show. More so, we’re going to cheer them on in our “small” stadium as they walk out like Gladiators and strut around screaming “Are you not entertained?” to opposing teams as the scoreboard lights up.
I’ve seen the national pundits out there crush the Tennessee fanbase for being delusional or just plain dumb over the years. When VolNation gets up in arms, it can be a tidal wave of hot takes, heated exchanges (even among our own) and the occasional flying mustard bottle. Every time one Vol fanatic (or a few hundred) says or does something dumb, it becomes an indictment on all of us. Does it matter that every fanbase has them too? It should, but it doesn’t feel like you hear about it if you’re an oft-persecuted Vol fan (Other schools have terrible fans too. I’ve been to SEC games on seven different campuses and had stuff thrown at me or heard vile insults – usually both - at every stop).
At this point, I don’t even care. If we’re hated, so be it – at least now we have a team worth being hated for. The BaseVols are the special kind of great – they will tell you how they’re going to beat you (100 MPH gas and 400-foot bombs are the recipe right now) before it starts, proceed to do it for nine innings then let you hear about it some more after it’s over (and, usually, they'll give you the play-by-play breakdown of the beatdown as it’s happening). Heck, they’ll probably steal your girl in the parking lot too.
People are going to make snide comments about Mike Honcho’s bats all season. I don’t care. The same goes for hate directed to guys like Drew Gilbert, the double celebration king of the Vols, and Luc Lipcius, the first baseman who may have been in some of my business classes back a decade ago. Please – PLEASE – give them more reason to play with a chip on their shoulder. Those old guys have went completely to the dark side – they’re fueled by the hate and grow stronger each time they're given a reason to get rowdier.
They also give the hate right back – like Gilbert talking about stomping on the throat of Vandy or Lipcius pulling out the Benchwarmers tag of home last night against Mizzou (you could count his bat inspection after belting a bomb in Nashville as some real heat as well). There’s some real DGAF vibes with this team.
Teams are already tired seeing the Daddy hat come out when the Vols hit dingers (77 and counting) and opposing fans are really going to hate the fur coat pimped out every time Tennessee sends one sailing. The problem is somebody has to stop it – and only one team has so far through two months.
After the first two weeks, I really thought it was the Vol pitching that was the unsung hero (if you can call it unsung – the whole starting rotation did just get recognized as potential Golden Spikes winners). Since these two wins over Missouri, I think the offense is just as big of a headache. I can’t figure out which is better – they’re both going to have times where they look invincible.
Even as we “struggle” on the mound by our standards, the Vols still have an ungodly 28/5 ratio of Ks to BBs the last two games (Burns had four of those walks in his short time on the mound). On the other side, the Vols continue to be patient at the plate – drawing 18 free passes in two games (matching their 18 strikeouts). The more I see the offense, the more it feels like they’re never going to let a starter get deep. Hanson from Texas did the best job and he only made it six innings. The Vols are going to see bullpens a lot in three-game sets and they’ve feasted on opposing arm barns all season.
The numbers are staggering - the Vols lead the nation in home runs AND shutouts. Dollander leads the SEC in strikeouts. Lipscomb is near the top in HRs. I laughed when tonight's color guy (the heavy breather) said one Mizzou guy had a respectable ERA and it was 4.00+. Of the 18 pitchers who have toed the rubber for the Vols, 16 have ERAs below 4.00. Even crazier, Ben Joyce still sports a 0.00 ERA over 14 appearances, Drew Beam is at 0.88 and THE TEAM has an ERA of 1.85.
For crazy hitting numbers - choose your personal favorite. Here are some of the eye openers for me - Jared Dickey (.419) and Drew Gilbert (.411) are giving Teddy Ball Game a run at the dish, Lipscomb is on pace for 100 RBIs over 60 games and JORDAN BECK currently has the team's lowest OPS of regular players (Beck is .953, Lawson is at .955 after 31 games).
As the Vols keep winning, their confidence only grows. They may not be household names around the country – at least not their real names – but the nation is starting to catch on and hear the tall tales of Mike Honcho (Beck, a future first-round pick), the Volunteer Fireman Ben Joyce and his 104 MPH heater, Chase and Chase (Burns and Dollender, both being talked about as top 10 future picks) and the rest of the Knox Bombers. Oh yeah, today’s starter Drew Beam has already been the SEC player of the week and Blade Tidwell – another future first rounder – is getting back to form.
The Vols are legit. They’re No. 1 and they’re going to continue to greet SEC schools with brooms and a busload of bravado.
