Hello everyone, my name is Chris Lang and I am originally from North Royalton, Ohio. Throughout my life I have moved a lot, and recently I transferred here from Schoolcraft, Michigan. I feel as though the fact that I moved around a lot has molded me into the person I am today. I am a huge baseball fanatic and have followed the Indians closely my whole life, but am really just a fan of the sport itself. I also like to follow international soccer and the NFL.
During high school I played both baseball and football. I only played football because it was an easy way for me to meet people when I moved. I dedicated myself to working on baseball all throughout the year, and my ultimate experience was playing for an organization called Coast to Coast, and went to play in Puerto Rico to play for a week. The level of competition that I faced over there really opened my eyes as to how much they dedicate themselves to baseball and how many quality players they have.
The one woman athlete that I would like to see play would be Jenny Finch. She pitcher for the United States women's softball team and was responsible for putting women's softball on the map. She plays at such a high level that it would be really cool to see her be able to pitch. Also, I have always thought it would be interesting to see how difficult it would be to try and hit against her.
The male athlete that I would like to see play is Mike Trout. He is a young outfielder that plays for the Angels in the MLB. As a rookie he played at such a high level that he won the Rookie of the Year award and placed second in the MVP race. The biggest reason I want to see him play is because he plays the game really hard and can do so many different things. His ability to run, play defense, and hit for both power and average would be really exciting to see in person.
I am really excited to see the varying viewpoints that everyone in the class has, and am curious to see how everyone will be interacting through the blog. I think that this class will provide some different insight into how people see certain topics.
Chris, I see that you are originally from North Royalton, Ohio, which is funny because I am from the town five minutes away from there in Brunswick, Ohio. I am also a Cleveland Indians fan and go to a lot of games over the summer. I would have to agree with you of watching Mike Trout play. The fact that he is our age and doing the things he does in the MLB amazes me. When I plan to go to some Indians' games this upcoming season I will have to catch them play the Angels.
ReplyDeleteThe last comment was by Jeff Kravetz
ReplyDeleteHi Chris,
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting that you mentioned wondering what it would be like to hit a softball pitched by Jennie Finch. There is a Sport Science episode that compares the differences between hitting a baseball and hitting a softball. Here is the clip if you haven't already seen it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_de3HJvO-N8
While there may be issues with how this experiment was set up, it is still interesting to see how the pitches compare. I have never heard of the Coast to Coast program but reading about it on the Internet, it sounds like a great opportunity. I can definitely appreciate why you would like to see Mike Trout play. The Angels are going to have some kind of line-up with Trout, Pujols and Hamilton!
This is a good Introduction and I look forward to reading more of your entries.
Dr. Spencer