Jimmy Waters' Favorite Places to Play

Senior outfielder Jimmy Waters is back to talk about some of his favorite places to play including Olsen Field at Texas A&M and Kansas City's Kauffman Stadium.  The Jayhawks will meet Border Showdown rival Missouri at Kauffman Stadium on Wednesday at 5:30 PM.  For those of you that can't make it to the game, the Kansas Baseball Blog will be bringing you all the action in our first ever live blog.  Check back here on Wednesday or look for the event reminder box in the right sidebar to signup.

One of the great things about playing in the Big 12 are the different stadiums you get to play in. Playing in these venues is an experience I will remember forever. We recently got the chance to play at Texas A&M, which to me is the best place to play in the conference.

Kansas at Texas A&M

The surroundings of the ballpark, which include the university recreation center, indoor football facilities, the train tracks behind the outfield fence in right, and the tailgaters in left field sitting on their pickups trying to heckle the left fielder (which happened to be me), are something special.

The upper deck student section is always trying to get into opposing players’ heads, which makes it a tough place to play. That type of environment can crumble a player if he is scared. On the other hand, it can bring out the best in a player.

During the Friday night series opener at A&M, people who were at the stadium or watching got to see T.J. Walz be absolutely special. Walking onto a mound and pitching is already hard enough to do. Then put on top of that, you’re going up against an All-American and projected first round draft pick, you have to deal with 5,000 Aggie fans  who were chanting “TEEEEEEEEEE JAAAAAAAAAAY” every minute, and making other comments about you and your family that you must not let get to you.

T.J. walked onto that mound and struck out the side in the first inning, and I knew that it was on. I thought that would be enough to quiet the crowd for a while, but that’s what makes Texas A&M pretty special, they were right back at it when T.J. came out of the dugout to pitch in the second inning and they were on him the whole game. I have gotten to see T.J. pitch for four years now and he has had some very impressive outings, but that game ranks at the top for me.  I’d take T.J. every Friday night going up against anyone in any environment, that’s how impressed I have been with him.

Jimmy at Kauffman Stadium in 2010

Being so close to Kansas City also allows us to play in one of the best major league ballparks in Kauffman Stadium. It’s not every day that you get to play in a major league park and when you get that opportunity, you want to play your best. We are lucky to get this chance. Every year we get to face off against our rival Missouri at Kauffman, which puts a little more on the line being at a big league ballpark. In my three years we have not lost to Missouri at Kauffman and I hope we will make it four years in a row.  I remember  two years ago when the crowd at Kauffman started the Rock Chalk Chant before the last out was recorded and it just made the Missouri crowd quiet, even Missouri’s super fan Pat, who is never quiet. It should be a great game and I encourage fans to come and see a competitive baseball game at a great venue. 




Below are my lists of my favorite places that I’ve gotten to play at as a Jayhawk:

Favorite Places to play in the BIG 12
1. Texas A&M
2. Texas
3. Nebraska
4. Baylor
5. Oklahoma
6. Kansas State
7. Oklahoma State
8. Missouri
9. Texas Tech
*Based on stadium, crowd atmosphere, surroundings, and playing surface.
**Kansas not included

Top 5 Favorite Non Conference places to play
1. LSU
2. Arkansas
3. North Carolina
4. Wichita State
5. Vanderbilt/Missouri State

Top 5 Favorite Places to play (non school affiliated)
1. Kauffman Stadium (Kansas City Royals)
2. Rosenblatt Stadium (College World Series/Creighton)
3. Bricktown Stadium (Big 12 Tournament)
4. Surprise Stadium (Texas Rangers and Kansas City Royals Spring Training facility)
5. Peoria Stadium (Seattle Mariners and San Diego Padres Spring Training facility)