By Lindsey Besecker
Assistant Sports Editor
Even though the members of the Pepperdine baseball team have left home, they still have plenty of chores. But instead of feeding the dog or taking out the trash, it’s all baseball now.
In addition to practices and games, each member of the team has his own job to keep the field maintained to strict Pepperdine standards. Tasks such as sweeping out the clubhouse are left for the freshman players. Sweeping the clubhouse requires a team member to stay until everyone has left in order to ensure that no dirt is tracked back into the clubhouse.
“Some schools don’t work on their fields, but we make the best of it,” head coach Frank Sanchez said. “We think there’s a value to it. The kids take pride in it.”
Other jobs include watering and dragging the field, raking the bullpen mounds, gathering equipment, sweeping out the dugouts and baselines, and “tamping” the pitchers mound — covering the mound with a plastic cover and hitting it to pack the dirt down.
In general, the team spends two to three hours per week maintaining the field, according to Smith. The cleaning is considered a part of practice.
“We hope that all of these experiences will lead to positive bonding,” Sanchez said. “All these things that we do (are) all part of the experience.”
But it isn’t for the lack of grounds-keepers that the players are required to work the field. Instead, the duty promotes teamwork, an essential quality in a baseball team, especially with a team as young as Pepperdine’s.
In addition to the time spent cleaning the field, the team spends countless hours together every week, from practice to games to traveling together for away games.
“As the days go by and as the year gets longer, they become a little bit more aware,” Sanchez said. “They understand what makes people tick, what makes their teammates tick. Teamwork is a big aspect of this team.”
Many of the players feel the same way that Sanchez does.
“The more and more you work with people, you begin to understand them on a different level,” freshman pitcher Earl Smith said. “You know what each person is going to do before they even do it.”
The Waves typically play games on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Tuesday. The team has to arrive at the field three hours before a game, and then they stay about one hour after the game in order to clean up the field.
When the team plays four games in a week, it typically has two practices, lasting about four hours each.
“We are with each other all the time,” Smith said. “It makes us come closer together. We’re not allowed to pledge (a fraternity) because we spend so much time on the field together.”
In the fall, practices are even more demanding than during the actual season. Players wake up around 5 a.m., lift weights from 5:30-7 a.m. and go to class afterward. They then start practice at 1 p.m. and they all have study hall together after that.
“(Fall) conditioning definitely helps physically,” sophomore pitcher Brandon Boesch said. “It gives you extra motivation and determination to play as had as you can during games (in the spring). You think back to all the running and conditioning and it motivates you to play well.”
According to Sanchez, there are two aspects of fall conditioning. The team lifts weights and also does cardiovascular work. They also go through basic coordination drills.
“They are a lot stronger,” Sanchez said. “I remember when I first came here six years ago that weight training was not done often. As the year went on, the players would get more tired. With a good program, they’re trying to build strength so they are less tired and less susceptible to injury.”
Through all the conditioning and hard work, the team has grown closer, which has helped them during games.
“We get along really well,” Boesch said. “We spend a ton of time together. It helps us to play together and trust each other and back each other up on the field.”
February 14, 2002