Don’t get me wrong, I love covering sports. But reporting on one sport for five months is a marathon.
I never truly understood the song “Six months” from the musical “Damn Yankees” until my first season covering baseball for the Iola Register.
For most of my career, baseball and softball were just spring sports. A March through May endeavor.
But Iola is a baseball/softball town.
And though the season may be one of the shortest on the KSHSAA calendar, for me it’s the longest.
It all begins in mid-February when the Allen Community College baseball and softball programs start their season. The Iola Hormigas, Iola’s Pecos League professional baseball team, and the American Legion Iola Indians do not wrap up until July. Add in little league coverage and what is typically a two-month season at most newspapers is a five-month season at the Register. That’s a lot of baseball and softball, but lucky for me it’s good baseball and softball. Truly, the teams here are among the region’s elite.
As area programs have seen all year, for some teams 2026 will be a significant rebuilding year, but that’s what makes baseball and softball fun. Sure, the area has a few generational talents. Talenthowever, brings expectations, which brings pressure and it’s palpable even watching the game from my viewpoint.
There are also the young, up-and-coming players getting a few cuts in to help the team and maybe make a name for themselves in the process. There’s no expectations of these players. They’re pure wildcards, and that’s what makes many of these rebuilding programs fun to watch.
As a reporter, I typically can’t wear team colors due to being an objective observer. But there is not one sports reporter who does not quietly root for the team he or she covers. It’s almost impossible because you know players’ backgrounds — the challenges he or she must overcome at every pitch, every at-bat. Maybe that’s what keeps the burnout at bay on those long summer days — being continually surprised no matter the level of play.
I didn’t become a Royals fan because they won the World Series. I became a Royals fan back when they were the MLB’s lovable losers — a virtual farm team for perennial powerhouses. I feel the same way about many area programs. I love watching the growth — the lovable loser becoming a World Series champion, even if it takes a decade to develop. Here, considering I cover little league, I get to see that at varying degrees.
It’s a long season, and my knees ache after months of grinding them on concrete for low-angle shots, but it’s worth it. After all, I can buy knee pads.
