Savage Words: A baseball camel that will forever bring a chuckle

Sports are competitive.

And they’re emotional. I truly believe sports is one of – if not the -–most emotional professions out there. I said that many times over the years when I talked with my staff working in professional sports.

“We work in an emotional industry,” I told them more than once. “Don’t get too high after wins. Don’t get too low after losses.”

Wins and losses come and go. The secret, I told them, was to always keep a level head, as best they could. It was hard, obviously. When you’re winning, mistakes are more easily overlooked. When you’re losing, everything can be nick-picked. I saw that happen a lot.

Which is why I think I’ve fallen in love with amateur baseball in South Dakota. I liked it 35 years ago when I first started in sports, mostly because I got to make a living writing about it in the summer.

But I like it even more now that I’ve gotten older, simply because I can appreciate that it brings the competitiveness that sports is built upon, but more importantly, adds a fun aspect to it that I think – for the most part – players, coaches, fans and umpires recognize. 

Sure, it’s fun to win, and it’s no fun losing, even on the amateur level. But one of the things amateur baseball does – and is supposed to do – is bring fun onto the diamond. And for me, no one has brought more fun, more joy, more laughter, and more modesty than the Valley Dogs. 

The Valley Dogs are a newly formed Class B amateur baseball team who play their home games in Valley Springs. It’s a collection of players mostly made up from Brandon, Valley Springs and east Sioux Falls who are all 38-years of age or older.

According to the South Dakota Amateur Baseball Association, Class B rosters must be made up of players within a certain distance of home plate at their home field. But that rule is waived if the entire roster is 38 or older.

Enter the Valley Dogs.

I enjoy watching the Class A Brandon Belugas, too. Very much.

But there is a humor and humility that comes with the Dogs, who are named after the famous $1 hot dogs at Legion Field in Valley Springs. The team also got approval from the Valley Springs City Council to serve beer at Dogs home games.

I’m not a beer guy, but a dollar hot dog and a beer on a Sunday afternoon doesn’t sound all that bad when watching a baseball game.

Food and drink aside, what I really love about the Dogs’ approach in their first year is the effort manager Brandon Kathman has put towards the team’s social media presence.

More succinctly, I can’t stop laughing at most of his posts.

I’ve grinned at a few since his first one posted earlier this year. But last week, I giggled like a 15-year-old school boy after a first date. I watched the post, and giggled.

I watched it again, giggled again.

I sent Brandon a text late one night last week, and told him how much I enjoyed it. Then I watched it again, and giggled.

I went to bed, thought about it while my head hit the pillow, and couldn’t stop giggling … laughing out loud, actually.

You gotta hop online and look it up.

The beauty of the whole thing is that Brandon and his crew embrace the fact that the entire roster is pretty much made up of players in their 40s who are coaching their children in baseball and softball over the summer, while also squeezing in amateur games a couple times per week where they can still play.

They lean into the humor of a bunch of guys with patches of gray in their beards still out competing each week. 

The post in particular that had me giggling – actually has me giggling as I write this and think about it – is a Facebook post from June 10. At the top of the post, it reads: ‘What we all sound like by the time we get to third base.’

The post is an action shot from a Dogs game earlier this year. Embedded over the image is a video of a baby camel that is clearly out of breath. This dude is laboring terribly, breathing heavily and making the most desperate sound for air.

Seriously, I just went back and watched it again, and I had to take a break because I can’t stop laughing. The barista at the coffee shop I work from just asked me if I’m OK.

It’s a great Facebook post, and there are many more, including one from Sunday, just hours before a home game against Beresford. That one is just about as good, but nothing will ever beat the struggling camel who simply cannot catch his breath.

In a world that seems a bit off the rails at the moment, and in a sports world that seems overrun with egos and big financial contracts, it’s so refreshing to get a chuckle out of a baby camel and all he brings to the Valley Dogs.

For the rest of my life, when I see a runner on third, that tormented camel is going to jump into my mind, and I’ll giggle. 

Thank you, Dogs.