One of the biggest appeals of baseball, for me, is numbers.
I love numbers when it comes to baseball. Numbers such as 4,256 (Pete Rose’s career hit total), 61 (Roger Maris’ single-season home run record that stood for more than 30 years), 56 (Joe DiMaggio’s hit streak), and 7 (Nolan Ryan’s career no-hitters).
There were some impressive numbers from the Hutchinson Monarchs on Saturday at Equity Bank Ballpark in Wichita. The most important number, obviously, was 21, as in the number of runs the Monarchs scored in the NBC World Series championship game, a 21-4 win over the Lonestar Kraken. The win secured the Monarchs’ second World Series crown. Since 2009, the season the Monarchs were born, the only teams with more NBC championships are the Santa Barbara Foresters (eight) and Seattle Studs (three).
There were some other impressive numbers from last night.
- Starting pitcher Pryce Bender pitched 4 2/3 perfect innings, and pitched into the fifth inning. And as we all know, you don’t bring up a no-hitter/perfect game that’s in progress.
- Tournament MVP Jake Gutierrez’s hitting was hotter than the surface of the sun. He was 2 for 4 in the championship, which LOWERED his World Series average to a mind-blowing .551. There hasn’t been a more obvious choice for an MVP since Kansas City Royals ace pitcher Bret Saberhagen embarrassed the St. Louis Cardinals twice in the 1985 World Series.
- The Monarchs’ 21 runs were a team-high at the World Series, and a World Series best for a championship game.
- Seven different Monarchs – Gutierrez, Drew Bugner, Jaden Gustafson, Tyson Vassart, AJ Mustow, Blake Bradford and Keegan Demmer -had at least two hits.
- And maybe the most impressive stat of all – the announced attendance of 3,256.
I arrived with my wife, Jennifer, a few minutes before first pitch, and we ran into Monarchs owners Marc and Kim Blackim. Kim told us the Monarchs were in the third-base dugout, and thus we moseyed over there. The sight was amazing. Fans were in every section and darn near every row from behind home plate to the last section before the grass berm in deep left field. Our seats were in shallow left field, and I looked over the first-base side. The crowd pretty much stopped past the dugout.
We saw fans who are Hobart-Detter regulars, and those who aren’t.
Just a guess, but it seemed at least 2,000 people were supporting the Monarchs last night. You had a few dozen Kraken fans, and probably several hundred neutrals who were just there to enjoy a ballgame on a glorious night.
The Monarchs are no longer a novelty or new kid on the block, both in Hutchinson and with the NBC. Home games at Hobart-Detter Field routinely draw more than 300 fans, and a couple of games will surpass 500 fans. And, with two championships in three years and three straight championship-game appearances, the Monarchs have a seat at the NBC bluebloods’ table. Yes, the Monarchs may not have the history of a Hays Larks, Liberal BeeJays, Santa Barbara Foresters, Seattle Studs or the Alaska teams, but the Monarchs have been a World Series regular, and the trophy case is rapidly growing.
Locally, the community has long cared about the team, and it appears to be getting more popular. To see that many Monarchs fans there last night was staggering. Adding to that, during our drive home, we got to Yoder about 11:30 p.m. The line of cars at the exit was seven deep, and others were exiting at the time.
There wasn’t a major concert people were coming back from. The state fair is more than a month away. Traffic was almost nonexistent going to Wichita on K-96 Highway, but steady on the other side.
This is a testament to how the Monarchs are run. The Blackims have built this organization carefully and deliberately. The coaching hires have always been spot on – from Andrew Ehling to Deron McCue to now Casey Lippoldt. The players are treated to a family-like organization where they’re treated well, but also with a high level of expectations. That’s why you don’t hear a lot of chirping from the players or controversy off the field. Act right, play right, represent the community and team well, and reap the benefits.
Gameday operations are better than many minor-league teams. It’s a first-class organization, with first-class people, and first-class players.
We’re seeing those benefits. The Monarchs have always been a successful franchise, and now, they’re a championship franchise.
The community is loving it. The attendance last night proved it.
