First for Adelaide baseball, inside the Bite’s dugout during the heat off an ABL clash
ADELAIDE Bite is riding the highs and lows of the Australian baseball league’s rollercoaster, and the Advertiser.com was given exclusive access to capture all the emotion in the club’s dugout during the game.
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AMERICAN import Mikey Reynolds finally stops moving long enough to take a seat in the Adelaide Bite dugout for the first time.
The shortstop has been a hive of activity since the opening pitch of the home clash with Perth Heat, buzzing around in the field and diving desperately to record his team’s first run.
But nine unanswered replies at the top of the fifth inning by the visitors has even the usually chirpy Reynolds subdued as the uphill task starts to hit home.
Just as the pocket-rocket gathers his thoughts and a hush of despondency falls over the Adelaide bench, baseball’s rollercoaster cranks up for another ride.
“Yeah, yeah, umm,” says Reynolds, trailing off while keeping one eye on Mitchell Edwards’ swing for a pitch with the Bite 14-2 down.
“Oh, oh, we got it, come on. That a boy Mitchy!”
The dugout, quiet and downcast just seconds earlier, erupts into cheers and applause as Edwards smashes a three-run homer.
Reynolds springs to his feet to join his teammates in greeting the catcher, as well as fellow scorers Michael Gettys and Stefan Welch, with a flurry of high fives, back slaps and butt pats.
It is a moment that encapsulates life on a baseball bench.
Devastation shifts to elation and boredom turns to hope in a flash, just like it does on the field.
The Advertiser has been granted exclusive all areas access to go behind the scenes for game three of Adelaide’s Australian Baseball League series against Perth at West Beach.
In three hours, we get a rare insight into what makes elite players tick and the lighter moments that keep them sane.
“It’s momentum,” says Reynolds, who wears a bandana inside his batting helmet because it is too big for his head.
“That’s what this game is all about.
“They’ve had the momentum, but now we just hit a three-run bomb and we’re off.”
As Reynolds prepares to take up his infield position, first baseman Austin Gallagher runs into the dugout.
“What did I miss?” the US recruit asks excitedly, after returning from a bathroom break.
“Stay in there, stay in there,” responds Reynolds with a laugh.
Superstitions are never far from the surface.
Some players, like Atlanta Braves prospect Nick Shumpert, follow a routine of slowly
putting on their elbow guard, leg pad and helmet in the same order before heading out to bat.
Others sit in the same spot in the dugout and refuse to move if something positive happens, hence Reynolds’ tongue-in-cheek instructions for Gallagher to leave.
The building tension is a far cry from the pre-game vibe.
A group of batters stand joking on the side of the field during the warm-up while imitating the moves of a Latin dance group entertaining the crowd.
Even moments before the first pitch, several players sing and bop along to 50 Cent’s Candy Shop as it blares out across the stadium.
Reynolds opens Adelaide’s account to keep the energy up, but the host’s mood soon plummets.
Starting pitcher Greg Mosel rolls his ankle while fielding a hit and is helped from the diamond, forcing an earlier than expected change on the mound.
Despite the setback, the atmosphere in the bullpen remains relaxed.
The home side’s relief and closing pitchers throw the occasional loosener in a cage beside far right field.
Standing directly behind the reserve catcher’s glove, the violent whack of the ball smashing into the leather mitt sounds like a stockman cracking a whip.
But most of the back-up battery sits on plastic chairs near the fence, chatting and laughing among themselves.
“It all happens pretty quickly,” US right-armer Jared Wilson says.
“It’s anything from five to 20 throws down here and then you’re in.
“But pitchers are a pretty eclectic group, so we’ve got a different sense of humour.
“We casually watch the game and then once that fifth inning hits, you notice everyone gets a little quieter because it’s almost our time.”
Back in the dugout, the international flavour of Adelaide’s roster is evident.
The club’s Chinese quartet converse in their native tongue and Japanese pitcher Tohru Kikue lives up to his funnyman reputation, revving up colleagues despite speaking little English.
Manager Chris Adamson says the Bite has made a conscious effort to recruit “personalities” not just talents from overseas.
SA young gun Jordan McArdle says the mix of nationalities has bonded seamlessly.
“It’s still about winning in America,” says the Arizona Diamondbacks affiliate, who had a Minor League stint this year.
“But you’re more competing against each other while trying to win.
“Here we’re all together, so we stick together through the battle.”
Some baseball myths are dispelled throughout the evening.
While the players constantly drink from two large Gatorade tubs via a seemingly endless supply of paper cups, they chew on jelly snakes instead of tobacco.
Both benches also fail to clear for a retribution-seeking brawl when the Heat’s Tristan Gray is hit by an errant pitch at the top of the fourth.
The dugout is in a constant state of flux, almost emptying early when the Bite is fielding but filling up with dejected batters and fatigued pitchers late in the contest.
As the match slips away from Adelaide, a final role of the dice brings teenage pitcher Thomas Fitzgerald in for his ABL debut.
The lanky youngster with long curly hair sticking out under his cap overcomes early nerves to grab two strikeouts in as many innings and spark yells of encouragement from his teammates.
A long hit by Welch at the bottom of the seventh offers a fleeting glimmer of hope, until it is caught just short of the fence.
“Ahh, what can you do?” calls a defeated voice from the far end of the dugout.
Dealing with regular disappointment and frustration is in the toolkit of every successful baseballer.
While some Bite players demonstrate the skill better than others in the 17-5 loss, the close-knit unit will live to swing another day this summer.
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