TD Is Delicious
New downtown ballpark delivers as advertised
By John Fey
I got my first taste of TD Ameritrade Park and was more than impressed. On a simply gorgeous Saturday afternoon, Creighton is right at home in its new venue. And what a venue it is.
The wife and I entered at the southwest gate after climbing the wide steps. The first thing that entered my mind was that it felt like walking into a Major League Baseball park. The wide concourse matches that of those in Kansas City and Minneapolis.
Our seats were on the third-base side, 20 rows up in the lower bowl. Directly in front of us was the massive video board. On that sundrenched day, the images on the scoreboard were vivid and sharp. Again, I felt as if I was at a big-league park.
The outfield grass is as immaculate as anything I’ve seen. If only my lawn looked that nice. I just imagined the Twins playing the Royals there in an exhibition game. No, it’ll never happen, but if you added just 13,000 or 14,000 seats to the existing 25,000-seat facility, you’d have a stadium with the same capacity of many Major League parks.
OK, back to reality. This place was built for one reason – the College World Series. And fans should embrace the new digs – especially if Creighton finds its way back next month for a second CWS appearance in 20 years.
Yes, it could be a long shot, but if the Bluejays play like they did the final weekend heading into the Missouri Valley Conference tournament that started here Tuesday, good things could happen. I was impressed with CU’s defense against Missouri State Saturday in the MVC-clinching 3-1 win.
The Jays improved to an impressive 39-13 heading into the MVC tourney, but they probably don’t need to win it to get into the NCAA 64-team regional field. At least that’s what Missouri State coach Keith Guttin thought after watching his team lose Saturday.
Guttin’s opinion counts more than you might think. He’s a member of the sub-committee that evaluates regional teams for the NCAA baseball committee. Guttin said the Jays should get an at-large regional berth if they don’t come out on top this week.
“I’m very convinced they deserve an at-large,” Guttin told the World-Herald. “Whatever my voice is worth, they will hear it. Creighton has two Friday night guys going into a four-team regional. They play really good defense.”
The Jays were flawless on defense in Saturday’s game, turning in three impressive double plays. And four CU relievers combined for 4⅔ innings of shutout relief. The Bears only managed just three hits off the four hurlers.
Pitching, of course, is the key to any college team’s chances once the postseason begins. CU has shown it has two quality starters – Jonas Dufek and Ty Blach – along, with strong relievers to compete with the best of them.
If the Jays can’t walk off TD Ameritrade Park with the MVC title, coach Ed Servais believes his team deserves an at-large bid. The Missouri Valley’s RPI – the measuring device that factors into picking the 64 regional teams – usually is good enough to place two teams into regionals.
Servais told the World-Herald that the league’s RPI has ranged from a respectable 14 to 17 in recent years.
“If they don’t give us two teams based on our conference RPI,” he said, “then there’s something wrong and I’d be really, really upset.”
The coach would be more hacked off if his Jays’ season ends if they don’t win the MVC tourney.
“This club has done everything it could,” he said. “We played four road series in the league and only three at home, and we still won it. We did it the hard way.
“If there’s a committee member that doesn’t think this team is worthy, then I don’t think they know much about baseball.”
If you get a chance to watch the Jays this week, you’ll see one of the top hitters in college baseball – Trevor Adams. He’s one of 36 semifinalists for the Dick Howser Trophy, handed out to college baseball’s top player.
If CU should stun college baseball by making it to the CWS, the tickets will become more difficult to secure. Folks will want to see this downtown gem, and if the Jays are playing. . .yikes!