Nov. 6, 2014
The Commodores begin the home stretch of the team’s fall practice schedule this weekend. The team is set to play the Black & Gold Series next weekend and travel to the Dominican Republic the following weekend to wrap up Fall Ball.
Starting today the team ramps up the competition with the Skins Game. The Skins Game on the baseball field works just like the Skins Game on the golf course. The team will be divided up into two teams and play games today, Friday and Sunday.
How it works
On the golf course each hole serves as a skin, lowest score on that hole wins the skin. If the players tie, the skin carries over to the next hole making it worth two skins and so on and so on. The baseball version works the same way only with innings instead of holes. The twist in the Dores’ Skins Game is it’s a situational game. For example, a Skins Game could be set up like this:
1st inning – Nobody on, no outs
2nd inning – Runners on 1st & 2nd, no outs
3rd inning – Runners on 2nd & 3rd, 2 outs
4th inning – Runners on 1st & 3rd, 1 out
5th inning – Runner on 1st, no outs
6th inning – Wildcard
7th inning – Bases loaded, 1 out
The game starts out with two starting pitchers and three or four active relievers with pitch counts dictating when said pitchers are replaced. Each team hits through the lineup like a normal game so if your No. 9 hitter is due to lead off in the third inning the No. 7 and No. 8 hitters are on the bases.
The players of each team make all the decisions, deciding when to hit and run, when to steal, when to bunt, etc. The teams’ pitchers and catchers call the pitches as well putting full ownership of the game in the players’ hands.
The game forces players to make plays in pressure situations and puts an emphasis on winning innings. If the home team wins the inning, they celebrate it like a walk-off win. The two teams will take turns being the home team over the first two days then flip half-way through the game on the last days’ eight-inning game.
The score will be held over all three games with the winner being crowned on Sunday. Each skin is worth one sprint which means if the Black Team finishes with 15 skins and the Gold Team ends the three days with seven skins, the Gold Team is on the hook for eight sprints. No one wants to run those sprints.
All three Skins Games are open to the public with fans entering Hawkins Field through the gate on Jess Neely Drive near the bullpen. The Skins Games on Thursday and Friday are set for approximately 5 p.m. with Sunday’s practice session set for 10 a.m.
