Kim Hammons and Rodger Anderson have coached high school baseball in Snohomish County for more than 20 years. They know the hazards associated with baseball in the Northwest: namely, the weather. In a region where rain is the norm rather than the exception, particularly early in the spring, they und
erstand that schedules are best written in pencil instead of ink.
But in all those years spent coaching, neither is sure they’ve ever seen anything like this.
The 2011 prep baseball season has been disrupted to an extent rarely witnessed in these parts because of wet and cold conditions that have plagued the region.
“Over the last 20 years this is the wettest spring I can ever remember,” said Hammons, the longtime head coach at Snohomish High School. “It’s been rain, rain, rain, hail, snowflakes and cold weather.”
Just how bad has it been? Anderson, who is lobbying for an artificial surface to be installed on Lake Stevens’ baseball field, has been documenting how the elements affect his team’s ability to use its own field. The first day of spring sports practice was Feb. 28. Through last week, the Vikings had a grand total of two and a half practices on their field. That’s less than one practice every two weeks.
Is this the worst season ever for weather?
“This has got to be one or two,” said Anderson, who’s in his 27th year coaching at Lake Stevens. “We’ve had years where we’ve had snow the first or second week. But we haven’t even been able to get on our field. We’ve always been able to at least get on the grass in the outfield. But now it’s so soft and muddy we can’t even get on the outfield.”
Not everyone has been completely washed out. Snohomish, which has a grass field that drains well, has been able to get on its field for most of its practices and games. Schools with artificial surfaces, such as Mountlake Terrace and Shorewood, have been able to withstand the rain.
But then there are schools such as Meadowdale and Kamiak that have yet to play a home game this season. Indeed, Meadowdale coach Bill Hummel said he doesn’t expect his Mavericks to play any home games this year.
“We’ve had drainage issues in our outfield that have gotten progressively worse each year, but this spring we’ve hit the tipping point,” Hummel wrote in an email. “The excessive amount of moisture coupled with the cold temperatures has simply made our outfield not only unplayable, but unsafe.”
It’s not just the rain that’s caused problems. The cold also has been an issue. Temperatures have dipped into the 30s for many games, making it difficult for the players to get loose.
“You have to consider the kids’ arms and pulled muscles,” Hammons said of how the cold has affected his team’s preparations. “We’ve cut back on the sprinting and how hard they’re working when it’s been 30 to 40 degrees.”
While the weather has limited teams’ ability to practice, somehow they’ve managed to get their games in. Most of the area’s baseball teams are caught up with their schedules.
But that’s come with a price. Though the teams have gotten their games in, those games often haven’t taken place when or where they were originally scheduled. Teams in the worst situations have had to find alternate sites for their games. Schools that have fields with artificial surfaces have found themselves playing host to games that don’t even involve the home school. Mountlake Terrace, for example, has become the de facto home for the entire Edmonds School District.
The postponements also have caused games to pile up during those brief respites when the clouds part, with some teams taking the unusual step of playing a doubleheader to get caught up. Those pile-ups have taken their toll, particularly on pitching staffs. The postponements have left pitchers unable to conduct their routine preparations for starts, and the ensuing backlog of games has forced teams to go deep into their staffs.
“The worst part is trying to schedule bullpen sessions (between games),” Anderson said. “You can have everything set up and then have a rainout, and the guys are off their schedule. You’re always questioning whether you should have them throw.”
The one thing most teams have been able to do, despite the weather, is practice hitting. Some teams have access to indoor hitting facilities. Others have outdoor batting cages that are better able to handle the elements than the fields. Therefore teams have gotten plenty of hitting practice.
However, the pitching is not yet up to speed because of the uncertainty about games, and defense has suffered because some teams haven’t had any opportunity to take grounders on the infield.
Put all that together and there’s been a lot of final results that look more like football scores than baseball scores.
Nevertheless, despite the miserable conditions, the area’s prep baseball players are doing their best to cope — as well as crossing their fingers.
Said Anderson: “I just keep hoping the sunnier, warmer days are coming.”
Herald Writer Gale Fiege contributed to this report.
49 days into season; 9 without rain
Weather statistics for Everett provided by www.wunderground.com for the 49-day period from Feb. 28, the first day of practice for high school baseball teams, through April 17:
Average high temperature: 49.3 degrees
Normal average high temperature: 53.8
Rain amount: 9.24 inches
Normal rain amount: 5.27 inches
Days without measurable rain: Nine (March 5, 7, 17, 20, 22, 23, 31, April 8, 9)
Days above 55 degrees: Two (March 23, 61 degrees; March 24, 62 degrees)
Forecast: More of the same.
“If you’re looking for weather that’s above 60 degrees, it’s not going to happen for a while,” said Johnny Burg, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Seattle. “La Nina is making sure that April will continue to be cooler and wetter than usual.”
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