Earned Fun Average
Earned Fun Average
Episode 224 - Big Country Bayou Battle Royale
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We talk about an assortment of topics this week, with special guest Terry McCutchen. We preview the College World Series, we talk about the battle between Johnny and Terry's favorite summer collegiate teams and we talk about the big news out of Wichita, KS.
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Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another episode of the Earned Run Average podcast. I'm your host, Eric Prophet, coming to you from Wichita, Kansas, and with me, as always, I have Johnny Bowen, and say it loud and say it proud. Lake Charles, Gumbo Gator, super fan. That's what the team called me, not myself. And of course, in the home where all Louisiana baseball is, is admired, the Bayou Broadcast Center. Good evening. Well, so I'm wondering with that kind of emphasis on that intro, why we'd be saying that today. So, uh, we have a special guest with us today. do you want to introduce him, Johnny, or do you want him to introduce himself? Listen, this is Mr. Terry McCutchen, frequent guest on this podcast, a great human being, does wonderful things in the baseball community in Abilene, Texas, president and leader of the booster club for those Abilene Flying Bison. A great man, a leader, a gentleman, and a scholar, podcaster, Terry McCutchen. Welcome, Terry. I am here. Yeah, well thanks. Didn't know if the whole podcast was gonna be introductions or what. Yeah, of course. Johnny was going on like it was a sermon or something. I thought it was a Sunday morning, he was in the pulpit. Awesome. Thanks, Johnny. No, y- you're welcome, sir. I, I am here in beautiful, hot and humid today, Abilene, Texas, that's for sure. Let's, let's hit it, man. What's going on, guys? All right. Well, uh, you know how we started off, Mr. McCutchen, Mr. Mike Bison. Uh, talk about a hat. Would you mind sharing your hat with everybody? I don't mind at all. I've got one of, kind of heard the j- sound drop, before, uh, we started recording, one of many of the 2026 versions of the Abilene Flying Bison cap. this is the tri-color, bison cap. it's got the Flying A on the front. It's a replica of the old Montreal Expos tri-color cap. I'd, I'll call it the, uh, big country el tri. you know, you got Mexico, their flag is el tri, whatever. This is a tri-color, three panel, cap, red, white, and blue, uh, with the Flying A on it. So loved it. They broke it out yesterday afternoon. Wore it with a red top, baby blue pants, and red, red socks. Looked pretty, pretty sharp. I love it. Well, uh, Mr. Bowling, for your hat I'm assuming you're getting ready to toss it over to the side. Well, no, in honor of my team I'm wearing my Lake Charles 2026 Gumbo Gator trucker hat from our friends at Zephyr. Did you really think I was gonna wear that the whole interview? Absolutely not. So since no one can see what you did, would you mind sharing with everybody what that awesome, uh, hat intro was? I had on, the maroon, Abilene Prairie Dogs alternative identity, former minor league identity for the fine folks there at Abilene, with the A with the whiskers, and now the, uh, former league, brand, logo on the back, fitted player's cap that was sent to me by one Terry McCutchen And you did a nice little take it off your head and toss it to the side and throw it- on that Lake Charles row path there. Yep. Well, tonight we're gonna do a little kinda, what do you call it, smorgasbord of topics today. But, uh, one of them that we'll kinda wrap up with is the, uh, topic about the hat that I'm wearing. So I am wearing the Wichita TurboTubs hat. Uh, we'll talk about the announcement and everything here in just a moment. But it is not one that they currently wear on field. Could possibly be one they wear next year, but it's kind of a cream hat, got a purple bill, and then has the big, troll, with the little windsail in it, uh, riding in the bathtub, kinda directing the, uh, boat there for the, uh, boat races. So hat they came out with this year. Uh, again, not one that they currently wear on the field, uh, but I really like the cream and purple color with the TurboTubs logo on it. So I have the Wichita TurboTubs hat today. Oh, very nice. It is a nice hat, and anything with the troll and the tub I like, so. real quick, so as of, earlier this afternoon, we had the final two teams, that were, entered into the College World Series tournament. we had the Oklahoma Sooners enter in, as well as the Alabama Crimson Tide, so now we are at eight teams. So in Omaha we are basically having the SEC tournament going on, starting this Friday. so Friday afternoon it is Troy, which who woulda thought Troy woulda made it in, to the, College World Series, playing out of the Big 12, the West Virginia Mountaineers. And then Friday night we have the Ole Miss Rebs, somebody that's pretty near and close to, Johnny's hometown there, playing the North Carolina Tar Heels. And then on Saturday we have those Oklahoma Sooners playing the Alabama Crimson Tide, and then the other SEC match-up is the Texas Longhorns against the Georgia Bulldogs. So, five of the eight teams are from the SEC. We have a Sun Belt, a Big 12, and an ACC. so just initial thoughts, Terry, who do you think's gonna win, the SEC? I would say the SEC, and I'm gonna be even more specific. I think, the Longhorns are probably gonna win. they, have built their roster for this type of tournament. their pitching staff has come on. It's, it's been considered one of the best in the country all year long. their relievers have come around. that Cozart kid, looks like about a 35-year-old. He's a freshman. Uh, he was lights out the other night. They do just enough offense, to get by. defense is okay, but their pitching staff is phenomenal. And then there's been enough upsets of the other really good pitching staffs that I think they're gonna be tough to beat in a double elimination tournament like this, especially if they can, you know, stay on the winner's bracket for a while. Uh, they're just gonna be hard to beat, and, uh, I hate to say that as an Aggie, but that it is what it is. that's just my thoughts. I think that, you know, with West Virginia, they're really good offensively, and then Oklahoma just were lights out in both the regional and the super regional. But, you know, Texas' first game against Georgia, I think it's gonna be tough. Georgia and Mississippi State traded, they had like 20 home runs e- each in the super regional out there in Athens. So you said, you know, obviously it's double elimination- Yeah so it's not that even if Texas can't get by Georgia to start with, but I think that's gonna be a tough first game. So- Yeah I kinda think that Georgia might have a good shot at it, since they're the highest remaining seed, technically, as the three seed that's still in it. But, you know, it's anybody's game here in Omaha. But, uh, Mr. Bolan, any, uh, first impressions of the College World Series field? you know, being the old man, uh, that I am, I was watching Oklahoma and Kansas, and my first thought was, "Oh, cool, two Big 12 teams." Oh, th- hey, this is a rivalry. Hey, two Big... Uh, uh, oh, wait a minute. I, I, I don't... It didn't even re- register with me that Oklahoma's in the SEC. That still doesn't make sense to me. But they're a SEC school. I, but it... I thought, "What a cool kinda throwback series," right? Old league rivals, you know? Big 12, Big Eight, the Big 12 kinda match up. Uh- I kind of go with you, Mr. Profit. I, 'cause I've watched Georgia play. To quote Mick from Rocky III, "They're a wrecking machine, Rock." I mean, they are tough. You won the regular season SEC title, you won the tournament in Hoover. now they struggled with Mississippi State that first game. It was only, it was a 13-12 win. Anything's possible in a tournament setting. I'm excited to see the new faces of West Virginia. as a UAB man, it's hard to celebrate Troy as much as I, you know, An in-state rival school. I told you the football story earlier, how they beat us into submission in the early '90s. but it is so stacked, SEC. I mean, it would be really, uh, a minor miracle if somebody except an SEC team. and course Ole Miss is exciting, you know, that they're, they're back in it. Didn't have a great regular season. Mm-hmm. Didn't host a regional, you know, had to go on the road for regional, super regional. can really hit the ball well. have watched, I watched a little bit of North Carolina when they played Georgia Tech the other day. Obviously a really good team. Georgia Tech, UNC was one of the great uni match-ups of all time. The gold and the blue and the powder blue, navy. Fantastic. if I'm picking a winner, begrudgingly, 'cause it's well documented how I feel about teams from Georgia I can't say go Dogs. I- it's just not you would think, "Hey, a guy that grew up in Alabama might say Alabama," and that'd make the CEO happy. But, I really was pulling for St. John's. I really I watched it tonight, and I'm just quietly just, "Come on. Come on, St. John's. Come on, St. John." St. John's has a phenomenal baseball hat, too, kind of the retro looking, kind of the interlocking, uh, SJ looked fantastic on TV. So I'll go Georgia begrudgingly. I'd say it'd be kind of a modern miracle for somebody beside an SEC team won. For sure. Yeah, well, I could say it's breaking news, but by the time this comes out, it'll be long, old news. But, my son's playing in a tournament in Omaha this weekend, so, it worked out where they're, they have two games Thursday morning and just one game Friday morning at 9:00 AM, so they'll be done about 11:00. And then the first game of the College World Series, game one, starts at 1:00 on Friday. So I got tickets for my son and I to go to our first ever College World Series game, and out of any of these match-ups, it happened to be the exact one that I wanted to happen. So it is Troy against West Virginia. Not sure. I'll probably I don't really like West Virginia just because they're in the Big 12, so I may be cheering for those Troy Trojans. But, looking forward to going to my first game, getting to see luckily not an SEC match-up. I guess I will talk about it since it just happened today. Unfortunately, KU did not show up to their own regional. It lightened and rained more than they scored runs in their two games- Yeah against Oklahoma. Oklahoma's just super hot right now. I was cheering for them to upset Georgia Tech in Atlanta, which they did, but thinking, "Oh, KU's gonna get to host a Super Regional," and they just stayed hot. They scored 13 today, and I think they scored 8 on Saturday. Uh, yesterday they started the game, got into the third, and then it was lightning delay, and they resumed it today, and just more from their offense. They- Yeah their third baseman has, uh, played a couple years at Wichita State. He's the leading base stealer for Oklahoma. And then that Dayton Taki who had that walk off against Georgia Tech in the regional finals- Hit another, like, three home runs, th- in the two games, and, uh, the rest of the team had probably five or six home runs in the game yesterday/today, so really good offensively. they didn't Again, like you kinda mentioned, like Ole Miss didn't have a great regular season, but they just got hot at the right time and can really hit the ball, and they had two freshmen that started both their games, and we just, KU couldn't hit them at all. So really good year for KU. Won the regular season, a Big 12 championship, won the regional, beat Arkansas, but unfortunately ran into a buzz saw with OU. So they did not make the College World Series. It would've been their second one, first time in '93, so unfortunately they will not be there, cause I would've loved to see them play up there, but I am at least getting to go to a game, so that should be fun. Troy's a heck of a story, you know, out of the Fun Belt, one of the last teams in, and you know. But if you go back and look at Troy's schedule, you know, they weren't af- afraid to They were playing that RPI s- game, and you know, played Ole Miss and Georgia and all those teams early even though they lost, and, kind of built up a resume. But, uh, yeah, that'll be a fun one to see for you. As the time this came out, would've been a fun one to have seen. Yes, for sure. It's, uh, when this comes out, I think it'll probably be, we'll have a champion by then, so you can kind of hear our analysis and see how wrong we are. That's right. So my theory, we'll see if, if I'm right or wrong, my theory is those offensive power teams, they tend to struggle more in that bigger park. Mm-hmm. Uh, you know, against, it's the pitching teams that tend to do better, but we'll see. Georgia is a powerhouse, and a lot of those home runs that they hit against, Mississippi State, they would've been out of Yosemite Park, so- it doesn't matter. Well, the, the main reason, I just wanted to throw that in there since the field is set, the main reason is the battle royale between both of you. So I'll let whichever one of you talk about, I don't know whose idea it was, but there was a recent video that was released about a little, uh, matchup between the both of you. So would you mind talking a little bit about that? And let's just hear a little back and forth. Uh, well, I will throw this in about Troy before, um, I'm gonna pass the baton to Mr. McCutcheon. The one thing we know about Troy, those guys were not smart enough to get into UAB. But I'll move along to Terry McCutcheon now. I'll gladly take the baton, uh- There we go, Terry since we're gonna talk about a battle, battle royale. There we go. 'Cause if any fight, I want a stick, and the other person not to have one, so. I don't know how it came up really. We were texting back and forth, you know. Johnny is unapologetically a, a Gumbo Gator fan, and I am unapologetically a Flying Bison fan, have been since the beginning. when it was announced that they, that Abilene was joining the Texas Collegiate League back in the fall, and they would be playing each other, it just kinda, you know, "Hey, this'll be neat that they're playing each other. Uh, maybe get a chance to watch a game together and root against each other or whatever. Even if we don't, even if we're not there together, we're gonna root against each other." I don't know, not too many weeks ago Johnny texted me and say, I think the, the, you know, we ought to have a, a contest against each other." And he wanted to put up both yours and his royalty checks- from your millions that you guys make off your podcast. Mine too? Yeah, yours too. Johnny. But, uh- All of you. But I, I talked to him out of it. I said, "No, Eric needs that. He's got kids, so." Kids at home. I was gonna say, so does Johnny, but not at home. But, uh, no, no, he, he honestly said, "Hey, we, no, no money. Let's, uh, let's keep this, uh-" Pretty cheap, on the cheap here. And, with the fans, you know, something just friendly among the fans and So that's just kind of how it started, and we brainstormed back and forth, and that's how it grew. And, when the schedule came out, there were only six games, uh, between the two of us. I don't like the fact that it's an even number, but, guess the weather jumped in. But yeah, I grew from there and, you know, uh, I talked to some of our fans, and a few of them were like, they're confident enough that we're gonna win, that yeah, they, they don't mind throwing that out there. That we'll, we'll take a picture in case, uh, the upsets happen and we lose m- more than we win against the Gumbo Gators. We'll take a picture, as long as they'll jump on board and do the same. but I don't mind wearing a Gumbo Gator hat if I have to. I don't mind hearing myself talk on this podcast, obviously, so. That's how, that's, that's how we came in, so. Well, you had mentioned obviously having an even number of games. And Johnny, if you remember when we did the Appy League showdown between, uh, let's see. I was the Axemen, and you were the, Mechanical River Creature. There you go. Mechanical River Creature they were an even number of games, and I'm pretty sure we, uh, tied, if I'm not mistaken, the season series, but then we did the tiebreakers, like total runs scored, or I don't think it was, like, f- finished first place in the l- division or whatever. But it ultimately, the Axemen were the, the top. You know, they s- had the most runs. I forgot what our tiebreaker was, I think something like that. And so I ended up winning that one against Johnny, if I remember right. 30 days of wearing a Axemen hat and having- That's right that meant where I had to buy a hat. That's right. Wear it every day for 30 days, take a picture of me wearing it, and put it on Twitter. Yep. The stipulation for losing was, uh, wearing an a- buying an Axeman, A- A- Axemen hat and wearing it, uh, every day, That was the stipulations. So after the early st- part of the season here has started for the Texas Collegiate League, have the teams played each other yet? They did, yes. They opened the season against each other So they played one time so far. How many did you say it was all together this season? Six? Six on the schedule, but game two got rained out, so. Are they gonna make it up? I haven't heard one way or the other. You don't think so, Johnny? I don't know. It's such a tight schedule. Yeah, exactly. So sh- I, I don't Maybe. I, I don't- I mean, We were talking about that last night. it They'd have to play a double header, and I don't know, honestly, I don't know the benefit of a double header in this league. I mean, you're not gonna draw any more gate or anything, so, and you're just gonna waste pitching, so. So should I, uh, ask Johnny or should I ask Terry how that, uh, opening game went? Doesn't matter. It's just one. I'll tell you, we, we lost. I had one bad, bad inning. And got beat pretty bad, so. I'm down 1-0 is what it is. So, so you're probably hoping they do make up that game, 'cause otherwise you're basically down two essentially at that point. Yeah. yes, that- uh, that rain out didn't help, for sure, and so- I was outside of the game too, because the Bison have a radio network, and I could listen to the game, 'cause I had listened to the first game, and I kept going through the app to the radio station, and they're playing The Beatles. I knew we were in trouble. Yeah. Went back and it was, uh, Walking on Sunshine or something like that. eh, that's probably not a game tonight. So, that was just cool to get to listen to the game, because Abilene has their radio network. And so I'm not sure when they play again. I know they, they end the season against each other, Mr. Profit. Wow, so beginning and ending. So- And it's balanced till the end of July so it could be a possible that final game is the deciding factor, or Johnny could have swept through and it's a no contest and the last game doesn't matter possibly? it theoretically could be a done deal, because the last, series is a two-game series, so it could be decided in the middle of the season- Mm if they sweep that. other, you know, it's three two-game series is basically what it was. So it could be settled. So you're gonna have to listen to Johnny then if it ends here basically in the middle of the season, you're gonna have to listen to him for an- Oh, my goodness the entire rest of the season instead of if it ends right there at the end of the season? Most definitely. I am. Yes. The, the other day, with the Abilene Flying Bison, uh, booster club on Facebook, I just put a gator and a baseball. Didn't put any words, just a gator and a baseball, and somebody replied, "What are you doing here?" Stir the pot. Give it just a little, little stir of the pot for the Big Country Bayou year one competition Yep. As long as that pot has, you know, some andouille and shrimp, rice, that kind of stuff in it, it'll be all right. Yeah. just a little Gator, a little baseball just in the comment section. just sort of there, you know, just a little creeping around, just a little- Johnny, Johnny, you'll have to stir the pot a little more coming up because Saturday I, had a brainstorm. I was sitting at Jason's waiting for a sandwich. Shout out Jason's, Jason's Deli. pay the, the, the podcast here, Earned Fun Average. Pay, pay them up. I was like, "Okay, we're at 195 followers on this Facebook page for the booster club. Let's get it over 200." I was like, We're gonna give away a $25 Bahama Buck's gift card. Y'all, spread the word." And so I put these parameters on that one post, told them spread the word by Sunday night's game, and we would draw a winner if they did all three things. And by the end of Sunday night we had 660 something followers in two days. Ooh, nice. So, there's a lot more people to stir the pot with now Now, if, if the Bison win this contest, I feel like I may wake up like the Godfather and there be a severed gator head in the bed next to me. Like, they'll go Corleone style. There may be one of our player's dads actually is a, uh, hunting guide and everything, and one of the things he does is guide gator hunts, so I may set that up. Where was the opening game? Where was that played? It was in Lake Charles. Okay, so they haven't yet to play in Abilene? They haven't, they haven't come out here yet, no. Okay. I'm assuming you'll be at that game? Oh, I'll be there. Are you gonna go up to Ronnie Rance if he's on the road and- Oh, yeah I, I, I really, yeah, I'd love to. I, I'd love to meet him in person. I mean, I've talked to him, but yeah- I- I, I, I hope he comes out, I really do. Now, our fans are planning on going down to the Bayou at the end of the season. Mm. Invasion. That's to say, uh, unfortunately for me, that's the same weekend as NBC World Series. Ah, you can miss that. So, miss what? The NBC, and just go to the Bayou. I could. You're right. You're right. They, I'm sure they have better food than we do. And probably. I'm not, I don't know. Wichita's a big city. They got good food too. I'm not missing the NBC World Series, Eric. Okay. It's on the, it's on the list. It's one of the many months of the year that I gotta be in Wichita There we... See, he's- We'll talk about more of that later he just needs to move to Wichita here, Johnny. I think, the McCutchens need to move to, to Wichita. become season ticket holder for the, for the, uh, TurboTubs next year and, just make it home, you know? You don't have to do all that traveling if you're there. The, uh, white stuff you would see in the winter, that's not the chalk line on the baseball field. That's, we call that snow. So you may not want to move here. I, I would have to, I would her to lear- learn that. There's, I think Mrs. Bolin, the CEO, had a story about that when she was in Lo- Olathe, Kansas, She doesn't like that stuff no, no. Now, it's humid and hot here as well. I, I wouldn't mind some snow today. We, we're just getting started, though. It'll cool off by Halloween. So we'll, we'll, we'll get down- I paid our power bill today. I know that'll be the cheapest one I have till, like, November. Right. I I don't look. Yeah, it, it was very, very reasonable, but that'll be, uh, ending shortly. Yeah. I will, I will tell you, the Flying Bison have found out, and, I'm gonna guess you had somebody pretty close to the situation on holding me up earlier. We found out that the talent in this league is a little better than what we're used to we've seen 14 well, three other teams, including us. Uh, the talent is pretty, is there, especially on the pitching side. we're averaging 11 strikeouts a game and six walks. Our batting average is about 180. there's a lot of swing and miss right now, but, uh- You'll, you'll get there I think, I think it'll come around. Yeah. We had a 12, 12-inning game the other night, and neither team was able to get the, uh, international base runner from second to third in any of the three innings- Geez by bunting them. we had to, we had to wait till there was a wild pitch or walks, so. Well, looking forward to seeing the banter for the rest of the season here, see who comes out on top. So yeah, that's kind of the, the big thing we wanted to bring you on and talk about. But, uh, you also do a little project on the side here, but I wouldn't know about that 'cause I've not been, on yet, but I know Mr. Bolan has. So tell everybody kind of what you got going on right now with a, a certain podcast you do. Sure. I host the Foul Tips and Bat Flips podcast and, I started out trying to stick with college baseball and college summer baseball, and I've expanded to not just baseball even, other sports. Matter of fact, my last podcast had a, a NCAA track athlete, and, you know, just trying to f- figure out, what drives them, why they do what they do, what makes them successful and, what motivates them and, you know, give them a, a, a place to do that. And started collaborating with Kinsey Lawrence, who was a photographer here in Abilene for a couple years, and she's now in Bryan with the Yard Dogs, and she's a student at Texas Tech. she's gonna be a rock star in sports media, one of these days. And, kind of working with her. She has Behind the Glove, is her, production company, and she's on Instagram. But the two of us together are, are working on that, and she's utilizing my podcast, uh, for her Instagram page. So that's what I'm doing right now, so. Yeah, sounds like I'm too average to be on that show, so. Whatever, you've been invited many times. You're too busy. I am. Although I did respond and say when I'm available, and he just ignored me, so. Yeah. I did miss that one time. You gave me a date, and I absolutely missed it and felt terrible. Since then, just haven't been able to make it work. If the Bison win this contest, I'll be on there again. You are correct. Probably In, in complete humiliation if, A- and I, I have, I have a, a theory if, this goes the Bison way. When I hop on that podcast, there's gonna be a room full of people there. Like, they're all gonna- it's gonna be a mob. it's gon- it's not just gonna be Terry McCutcheon. It's gon- uh, that may be recorded like at Buffalo Wild Wings with the whole- I was just about to say, I may host that one at Buffalo Wild Wings. Oh. Or at Crutcher Scott Field. Having comments to me. That's okay. That's okay. I'm, I'm willing. I, yes, it comes with being a super fan, you know? You gotta- That's right So when the Gumbo Gators win then, does that mean we have to have him back on here? Yeah, see, he has to come on and talk about the greatness of the Gumbo Gators and superiority of the Gumbo Gators. That would be fun to get somebody with the Gators on. Have y'all looked at the standings of the Texas Collegiate League five games into this thing? Four, five, six games in. Baton Rouge was beating the crap out of us, so that's what I I know we beat them- Nah, Lake Charles is at the bottom, and we're in second right now. Mm. And if we lose this thing, it'll end up way above in the standings. It's gonna be kinda weird to talk about the greatness of the Gumbo Gators when they finish in the bottom of the standings. But it'll, it'll be what it is, you know? It's like e- it's exactly like my Aggies winning two games from the Texas Longhorns, and they're about to win the College World Series. Well, so then Johnny, I kind of wanted to wrap up here. So obviously there was some big news out of Wichita, Kansas on Saturday this past weekend at the time of this recording, and, I was gonna make some joke, but I'll, I'll leave that alone. But, uh, I know you had a, a couple questions that you wanted to ask, and, uh, since we have Terry here, I know he can answer 'cause he's been here as well. So, uh, tell us a little bit, uh, what questions you have going on, uh, after the big news that was announced here in Wichita on Saturday. Well, well, first question, were you surprised by the timing of the announcement? Not really, So basically, just to catch everybody up to speed if they have not heard. So, as of this past Saturday, the Wichita Wind Surge AA of the Minnesota Twins, which I am a season ticket holder for, have announced that coming in 2027, they will be permanently known as the Wichita TurboTubs. Now, to me, that was an easy thing to guess. I saw that coming. Uh, I knew it was gonna happen based off of kinda the timing of everything. Uh, we hold every year, it's called the Wichita River Festival, a big nine-day celebration downtown Wichita. Uh, they have concerts, big-name acts that usually come in. They have a food court. They have hot air balloons. They have fireworks multiple days. they do different events like a three-on-three soccer, basketball tournament. and it's been 30 years or more, but they actually used to have bathtub races right there on the Big Arkansas, not Arkansas, the Big Arkansas River. Uh, they would have bathtub races, and unfortunately, they haven't had that for many years. but they decided that they were gonna make some big announcement with the Wichita Wind Surge on Saturday. And so we went to the game. They had a pre-party starting at 2:00. Game didn't start till 4:00, so we went in there, and they had a press conference right there at the stadium and everything and announced that they were, doing away with the Wichita Wind Surge, the name that they've had since t-2020, and they were gonna now become the Wichita TurboTubs. with that, the TurboTubs have been an, uh, alternate identity of the team since, I believe, 2022 maybe. I think it was the, technically in the second year they announced it because in 2021 was the first year they played. So it's basically been the fifth year now that they played as the TurboTubs and The first couple years they played as them every single Thursday, but then the last couple years they went away with that and only did four times a year, and then this year they brought back doing, every Thursday again. so the timing not necessarily. Only thing I thought is if it wasn't, it was like a brand new name, that I thought that was kinda gonna be weird timing. But the way they announced it being the Turbo Tubs, because that is correspondent with the River Fest, not only did they announce the name was gonna be changed to the Turbo Tubs permanently, they said they did a lot of research and talked to a lot of fans over the years and they said they loved the Turbo Tubs name and identity, logos, and colors. but they also in addition to that announced that the bathtub races will be back in Wichita, ran on the Big Arkansas River and the first time in over 30 years starting in 2027. So they, not only named and said the team name's gonna be updated, but kind of the basis behind the whole Turbo Tubs name and logo with the tro- River Troll and the bathtub races, those are finally coming back. So really excited, looking forward to seeing those bathtub races at the Wichita River Festival, which I believe will be the 55th year happening in 2027. the people there and you being there and then the game that night, what was the response of the fans? Was it neutral, very positive about the change, or what, what were the people there attending the party, hearing the announcement and the game that, that evening saying about this change? heard a little bit of both. Uh, majority of the people I think really liked it. So, you hear some things from different people, and those are ones mostly online that don't get to go to many games. but for those that were actually there and actually go to a lot of the games. And another thing that tipped it off is that they did the entire week-long, six-game schedule against the San Antonio Missions. They played as the Turbo Tubs for the entire week. Uh, they did, uh, giveaways every single day. so to me that was kind of a big giveaway, so I kinda saw that coming. I figured we would probably, have a permanent identity of the Turbo Tubs. So, for the most part, I thought anybody that I could come across I think thought overall it was a pretty, a pretty good idea, 'cause most people do love the Turbo Tubs. know, I've heard some other opinions online and everything, but, it was just a fun, kind of celebration just going to the, the mayor of Wichita, which is, not myself. and it was not the mayor Donny Weiss, but it was, uh, a different mayor was there. local media was all there. So it was a bigger deal than I think even any other people anticipated. How was the merch sales with the Wind Surge? Did you see... did the merch not move? Did the, did fans, did they kind of become sort of eh? Or do Are, are people still wearing a lot of Wind Surge merch to games? I mean, I see a lot of people with the Wind Surge merch. I, myself collect the 59Fifty's and have almost every single, Wind Surge hat that they had made, whether it's an on-field hat or otherwise. So I'm gonna have a ton of Wind Surge hats myself that I'll, I'll wear. And what I was kind of curious about, you know, not only does MLB, the MiLB does the same looking style of 4th of July hats. I'll be curious. You know, with the Wind Surge, the colors themselves are basically red, white, and blue. Mm-hmm. But with the Turbo Tubs, you got purple, and orange, and some yellow and green, and so it's like a sunset, but then you have Tubby the Troll, and so a lot more vibrant colors. I'll be kind of curious to see what that's gonna look like next year when they do, like, the 4th of July hat, and you usually have the logo with the red, white, and blue, kind of change the color. So that kind of fit well just because that was the regular colors for the Wind Surge. But I mean, overall, I thought for the most part they did pretty well with sales. But, you know, there's a lot of people that I saw online that, uh, "Why are they changing the name?" And I think it's a lot of, those that aren't familiar. A lot of these minor league, especially alternate identities, are hyper local and so maybe a lot of them don't understand the history behind the River Fest and why they- Mm-hmm you know, not only the River Troll, but the bathtub races, so the boat and everything that you can see, like on my hat here and everything that I'll obviously share when the episode drops. But lot of people said, "Well, it's good as a alternate identity, but maybe not as a primary, uh, logo or identity and name." So it'll be curious. But to me, I think because it's not a new identity that maybe that helps a lot. come out with a, a brand new identity, you know, people are gonna have a lot to say, but it, it wasn't new to Wichita. Like I said, this is the fifth season that they're playing as the Turbo Tubs. So I'll be curious to see kind of what merch looks like next year because that's gonna be the main primary thing. Now, they told us they will continue to be like the Tumba Vacas for the Copa, the Chili Buns, the new identity this year, the Wichita Honker, so they'll still have all those. but I'll be curious to see kind of what the merch looks like and kind of how they, not necessarily rebrand the stadium, cause they've, have already gotten rid of a lot of just the Wind Surge and stuff. But- Mm-hmm one thing, unfortunately, for my five-year-old is that Windy, the Pegasus mascot, will no longer be here unless, like you said, they happen to do, like, a, random four games a year type of alternate for the Wind Surge. I doubt they'll do that. Dixon's g- going away from it, but that's kind of the one of the sad things. But they already... Everybody's like, "Well, what's the mascot gonna be?" Well, they already have a mascot. They brought him out last year. It's a big green troll named Tubby, the Turbo Tub. And so he was out there all week this week. He comes out every Thursday, and if it's Wendy's birthday party. So, yeah, I don't know. I'll be curious to see. I, I do feel like a lot of people do have the Wind Surge stuff, and you'll still see that there. Obviously, you bought the stuff, so you're not more than likely gonna get rid of it. You're not the MLB or NFL team that your favorite player goes to a different team and you see them burning the jerseys. I don't think they'll do that necessarily for a minor league team. But yeah, I'll be curious to see kinda... Locally, I think it'll st- still remain really popular, but I'd be curious to see kind of what the national sales would be, uh, in terms of the merch and everything once the Turbo Tubs are the permanent Uh, Mr. McCutcheon, your thoughts? Well, I thought it was a great... I mean, I love the, name and the logo. the TurboTubs was actually one of the first hyperlocal logos that, caught my attention in minor leagues, when I, when I heard the story behind it and the troll and the bathtub races and all that stuff, and that, that was just intriguing to me. And so through that and, through Paul Caputo's, podcast and stuff, hearing the story behind all the teams, I just enjoy that deep dive. And so that's why I have a Chili Buns hat or a Chili Buns jersey and, that type of thing, is just what is the history behind all these, teams and their, their logos. So I love the, the story of the, the TurboTubs. And so when Eric, he, he sent me a text with a video, Saturday morning or l- afternoon, whenever it was, you know, I was excited about it, and my first question was, "What about the race?" You know, "Are they gonna bring the race back?" And he said, "Funny you ask," and he immediately sent me a picture, a video of them unveiling, their version of the bathtub that they were gonna race in, in next year's race that they're bringing back. So, I think that's, uh, that's just a- amazing for, for the city to go back, people my age in Wichita who were raised with that, to be able to go back to that I think is phenomenal. goofballs like me who are attached to those stories from across the country that, happen on it, well, I'm kind of a histor- history nut, you know, it's, it attracts me to the city of Wichita. And, and like I, I told Eric and a few people, it's just another month on the calendar to put on the bucket list that I want to go and visit Wichita. So I, I might as well start looking for property in Wichita and, move there and, you know, hashtag... We had hashtag Boldens to Wichita at one point in time. It must be hashtag McCutcheons to Wichita now, so... One thing I just wanted to add on to that, so, you know, talking to my brother and everything, so when I, when they would've had the bathtub races, I vaguely remember them, but I would've been 10 or younger the last time they did those. But, you know, my brother's six years older than me, so he had that memory, and he said, you know, bringing that memory to the forefront, like, "Oh, I remember going to watch the bathtub races down on the banks of the Arkansas River." And now that it's coming back, you know, he's really excited to go back and see those again for the first time in over 30 years. And for me- Yeah now that I'm older, getting to see that and just try to bring back whatever memories I might've had. And then now that I have my own boys, take them down there so they get to see what we used to have. It's just a fun little thing that they did. So again, like I said, it's gonna be the 55th annual Wichita River Festival next year, and it's just, you know, you buy a, a button, and the button gets you into everything. So it gets you into the concert. And yeah, the price of the button's gone up, but even if you think about it, if you're paying 15, 20 bucks for a button, which used to be five or even cheaper back in, when it started back in the early days in, I think it was '72. Uh, but even then, you know, if you go to multiple concerts, what the concerts would typically cost, by themselves not alone, not to mention if you go to multiple concerts during the River Fest, that $20 button's gonna pay for pretty much everything you do. you can go to some of the Wind Surge games, 'cause they always have home games during the River Fest, and you get to sometimes get half price admission with your button and different stuff. So even though the button's, you know, 10, 20 bucks, that gets you, you know, that's easily, you can easily get that paid for, you know, pretty quickly by going to any and/or all of those event that they have for the River Festival. Two things real quick, uh, Johnny. One, Eric is starting to sound like you and me. You know, he's talking about, "Man, things used to be this price, used to be this price, and now it's- Oh a lot more expensive." and then secondly, the, the reason I, that I can't move to that state of Kansas is they constantly mispronounce the name of that, that tributary. Uh, they keep calling it Arkansas River, you know? That's what it is. The Arkansas River. That's funny. It's not the Arkansas River. I, I know, I know it's not. Now, I got it down pretty quick, so, the Arkansas River. Uh, and I still haven't seen the, uh, the lighting of the, the statue that, uh- Keeper of the Plains Keeper of the Plains. Yeah. I've got to do that at some point in time. that's on my list as well, well, Terry, it's been a lot of fun having you on and joining us, just doing a little banter, talking about the College World Series, talking about you and Johnny's, uh, little summer collegiate battle here. Who would ever thought that there would be a battle between summer collegiate teams? You know, you could have- Right Yankees, Red Sox, but instead we have Gumbo Gators, Flying Bisons. So absolutely love it. And then obviously talk a little bit about the update to the Turbo Tub. So if anybody wanted to check you out online, on socials or your podcast, where can they find you? Sure. They can find me at at @TBMccutchen on X, and Terry.McCutchen on Instagram and Threads. So, and then it's Foul Tips and Bat Flips is my podcast on all podcast, platforms. I love it. Well, make sure you follow Terry, and, maybe he'll invite you guys on, uh, whoever's listening onto his podcast before he invites me on. But, uh, make sure you guys follow us as well. We're Earned Fun Average, Average is AVG, Instagram, Twitter, Blue Sky, and Threads. And, uh, Terry, looking forward to seeing you here in a couple, about a month and a half or so for Baseball Around The Clock. I know you finally figured out what you were getting yourself into, but it's, uh, gonna happen again, so I still don't know if you're, uh, ready for what you're gonna get yourself into for Around The Clock again this year. Oh, I'm more than excited and ready, and I'm, uh, starting to try to bank some sleep as we speak. America, lower your standards. Average is what these guys do best.
