Indy Baseball Chatter: THE COUNTDOWN TO '07 IS UNDER WAY

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

THE COUNTDOWN TO '07 IS UNDER WAY

Our milder-than-usual November temperatures--at least here in the Northeast--have kept me from starting my countdown of the number of days until pitchers and catchers report to spring training. We all know that is when spring arrives in our heart. But I have seen two indicators in Independent Baseball circles which tell me others have their countdowns to opening day started.

I first noticed it on the South Coast League's website (www.SouthCoastLeague.com) where the webmaster has set up a clock which lets fans know down to the second how long it is until the first official pitch is thrown in the new league. The clock read 183 days, 23 hours, 34 minutes and 10 seconds when I looked at it tonight (Tuesday).

Oh, I also found out the six teams in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina signed 16 players out of the South Coast League's initial tryout camp in Bradenton, FL last Saturday. That is a very high count out of approximately 70 attendees, which the SCL reported.

The other site where a countdown is under way is with the American Association's St. Paul Saints. A media release 12 days ago reminded readers it was only 183 days until the Saints once again march into Midway Stadium. So that count would have been down to 171 days today.

Mild weather or not, these reminders make the heart thump just a wee bit faster.

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Bob Wirz

Former chief spokesman for Major League Baseball Commissioners Bowie Kuhn and Peter Ueberroth. Six years as publicity director for the Kansas City Royals, and a background in newspaper, radio and television. Started Wirz & Associates, a sports PR and consulting firm, in 1985. Has written extensively on Independent Baseball since 2003.

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About 'My Nebraska'

It seems almost universally accepted that Nebraskans are friendly, hard-working people.

A native son, who eventually transitioned to the East Coast because it was the best avenue to follow his passion of continuing to work in major league baseball, has published a book to share a lifetime of memories of growing up in the Cornhusker state.

You may have guessed it when you saw the title: My Nebraska. Yes, Bob Wirz, now a youthful 85, is sharing his "rich memories of growing up in rural Nebraska" in the 1940s and 1950s in a delightful 136 pages in the book produced by Dorrance Publishing in Pittsburgh, PA.

Wirz, who got to live his passion of working at the highest levels of baseball and later developing his own sports public relations and marketing company, lovingly empties out his memories of everything from counting millions of tiny trees to playing grass-roots baseball where the age of teammates might run from the early teens to the 50s.

The colorful cover of My Nebraska, which features two paintings from Dunning, NE rancher/artist Laron McGinn that depict the beautiful landscape of rural Nebraska and the ranching lifestyle, sets the tone for the 5 x 8 book also filled with meaningful pictures.

It is "a wistful and endearing love letter to Nebraska filled with memories shared by generations raised in small towns throughout the Midwest", praises Shari Veil, who heads up the journalism and mass communications department at the University of Nebraska.

My Nebraska, a 5x8 paperback, is priced at $19.95 plus $4.00 for handling and shipping. Autographed copies may be ordered at www.WirzandAssociates.com