Chapelboro.com’s coverage of Carolina baseball in the Men’s College World Series is proudly presented by High & Rubish Insurance Agency.
Chapelboro’s Michael Koh is in Omaha to cover UNC Baseball as it plays in the Men’s College World Series. During Michael’s stay, he’ll publish a daily series featuring his thoughts and observations from Omaha, as well as his usual coverage of the team.
Day 1: The Venice of the Midwest
It takes a special kind of kid to get excited about a summer trip to Omaha, Nebraska.
But they’re here. Like the classic baseball movie Field of Dreams says: “If you build it, he will come.” Omaha has built itself into an annual destination for baseball fans everywhere. And they come in droves.
As I walked out onto the Charles Schwab Field dirt for the Men’s College World Series media day Thursday, one of the first things I noticed was UNC pitcher Caden Glauber signing autographs along one of the foul lines. Glauber, recently named the ACC’s Freshman of the Year, Perfect Game’s Co-National Freshman Pitcher of the Year and an All-American, is barely removed from being on the other side of that picture: he reclassified up a year to join UNC during what should have been his senior year of high school.
“Looking at those kids, I see myself,” Glauber told me. “Trying to get those big kids’ autographs. So I don’t try and pass up on any of that. They’re here because they love you, they love watching you, so I obviously want to give them that autograph they’re looking for.”
Young fans were lining every inch of the Charles Schwab fence for the eight College World Series open practices. Those who weren’t autograph hunting were congregated in the outfield, looking to snag a rare home run ball in the notoriously pitcher-friendly ballpark.
The autograph seekers extended all the way to the tunnel behind the UNC dugout on the third base side. Erik Paulsen and a teammate huddled in there, catching baseballs and other objects dropped their way, signing them and then tossing them back up.
There’s something about baseball which makes big kids of us all. For a way to present that point more eloquently, one has to turn to the essayist Roger Angell:
“Since baseball time is measured only in outs, all you have to do is succeed utterly,” Angell wrote. “Keep hitting, keep the rally alive, and you have defeated time. You remain forever young.”
Perhaps we can call Charles Schwab Field the largest, most expensive playground in the country. Perhaps the College World Series is more of a children’s festival than anything (ignore the tens of thousands Jell-O shots being consumed across the street). The lucky kids in attendance this weekend are savoring every last bit of the games and the experience; as I was walking across the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge Wednesday, which crosses the Missouri River, a group of boys ran past me.
“Where are we gonna stop?” one asked.
“Iowa,” the de facto leader declared.
Pretty much every UNC player has some memory of watching the College World Series in their younger days. Macon Winslow recalled watching Carolina take on NC State in 2013. Glauber remembered Vance Honeycutt walking off Virginia on opening day in 2024.
Then there’s Owen Hull, who got the memory of a lifetime thanks to his mom’s business trip in 2017.
“She was meeting with a senator,” Hull told me. “It was pretty cool, I was sitting up there in one of the suites and I was just dialed in on the game. I told her after the whole trip that I was gonna be here one day.”
Hull’s mom and dad will be back at Charles Schwab Field nine years later, this time to watch their son on his own business trip.
But just in case you forgot these players are still big kids in disguise, there’s this moment from the press conference later Thursday. After Jason DeCaro, Gavin Gallaher and Jake Schaffner were excused from the dais, Gallaher tried to snag his nameplate as a keepsake. An NCAA representative had to stop him.
“You’re gonna need that for two weeks, Gavin,” Scott Forbes told his second baseman. “You can take it home at the end, buddy.”
Clearly spooked by Gallaher’s party foul, Schaffner sheepishly looked to the official.
“Can I take this water?” he asked, pointing to a paper cup.
Of course he could. That exchange got Forbes’ biggest smile of the media session. He’s a leader of men and expects his players to uphold adult standards every day, but there are times when that façade slips just a tad. Jake Schaffner, like everybody who comes to Omaha at this time of year, is forever young.
Click to find more Carolina baseball coverage from Chapelboro.com, onsite in Omaha! Proudly presented by High & Rubish Insurance Agency.
Featured image via Chapel Hill Media Group/Michael Koh
Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.
