It's been a wacky baseball season for Wylie

By MARK WILSON
Sports Writer

Baseball really isn't supposed to be this funny, is it?

The sport, labeled as boring by some, has been far from that this year for the Wylie Bulldogs. In fact, it has been downright odd and highly entertaining.

When coach Clay Martin and his 1996 team members look back on this season, they will remember much more than the fact that the Bulldogs qualified for postseason play for the ninth consecutive time in the short 10-year history of the Wylie baseball program.

Martin, who began his head coaching career three years ago at the school, is threatening to write a book about the weird adventures this season.

"No doubt, some of the strangest things I've ever seen happen have happened this year," said Martin, a former Hardin-Simmons University player and assistant coach.

A puzzling incident came in what should have been the final inning of the championship game of the Snyder tournament, with the Bulldogs holding a 4-1 lead over Dumas. With two outs and two on in the top of the seventh, Wylie's Marc Deffenbaugh made an outstanding leaping catch on a deep smash to center field just before bumping into the sheet metal fence.

While the Wylie players were gathering on the infield grass to celebrate their "win" and the first-base umpire was shaking hands with Martin, one of the other two umpires was about to spoil the fun.

He ruled there was no catch; the ball was still live.

The batter (who had removed his helmet and headed toward the dugout) then cut across to third base - skipping second - and headed home behind the two who had already scored. He was ruled safe, just ahead of the throw to the plate. The play was allowed to stand, and the game was tied, 4-4.

If the game were to be made into a movie, appropriate titles could include either "Clueless in Snyder" or "Blind Justice, Part Deux," or possibly "The Three Stooges Meet Mister Magoo."
After a 20-minute "discussion" with the umpires that must have drifted in and out of reality, the game resumed. Dumas finally won 9-5 in 10 innings - almost four hours after the game began.

Martin believes that failing to nail down the tournament title may have helped his players bear down more for district play.
"In a lot of ways, that was really good for us because we had just won three games. I think we'd have showed up awfully cocky after winning that tournament," he said. "I think that made us play a lot more intense - and it didn't damage anything we'd done in the tournament."

Several amusing and curious plays have occured in less crucial situations during Wylie's first seven District 6-3A games.

* A Wylie batter pulled a grounder down the line that appeared to be fielded by the third baseman at least one foot fair. The player was "thrown out" on a seemingly ordinary play, but the home plate umpire ruled the ball foul. The player came back to the plate to continue his at-bat, then got a base hit.

* Wylie's Greg McMinn clubbed a home run well over the centerfield fence in a recent road game. The centerfielder couldn't make the play, but he did put himself in the running for ESPN's "play of the year" when he kept going and crashed through the plywood fence.

* In another game, an outfielder flipped headfirst over the fence while trying to make a play on a home run hit by Wylie's Grant Gregg.

* One opposing batter was awarded first base when he was hit by a pitch that "slipped" and landed several feet short of the plate. In Wylie's next game, a Bulldog batter was hit by a pitch that bounced in front of the plate - but the umpire apparently blinked and didn't see it. The eager batter didn't want the free pass, so he stayed at the plate to hit and the umpire never knew the difference.

Yep, baseball can be a funny game. But you can only enjoy the hilarity if you're winning.

"It would be different if we were losing," Martin said. "In the heat of the battle, it's not so funny. But when you look back, it's pretty comical."

The Dumas game was the only setback the Bulldogs have had in their last 11 outings, so the 13-7 Bulldogs are on a roll as they enter the second half of district play.

The squad includes five seniors, nine juniors, one sophomore and one freshman.

Gregg (6-1), a left-handed sophomore, and junior Jerrod Brown (4-1) have all but three of Wylie's pitching victories this season. In district, Gregg is 4-0 with a 1.52 earned run average and Brown is 3-0 with a 2.33 ERA.

The Bulldogs are hitting .360 as a team, with a .506 slugging percentage and a .460 on-base percentage.

"One of the things we do best is we're able to hit up and down the lineup," Martin said. "We've got 10 or 11 kids that can hit the baseball. I feel like when we come to the plate, no matter what part of the lineup, we have a chance to score some runs."

And the way things have gone this year, there's always a chance of something happening to make Martin shake his head and say to himself, "Now, that's entertainment."