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EVANSVILLE — Opening Day is back.
The Evansville Otters begin the 2023 Frontier League season against the Washington Wild Things at 6:35 p.m. Friday at Bosse Field. The Otters have played five exhibitions, one of which was a jamboree-style event due to weather complications, to prepare for the upcoming year.
“We got a lot of work in, we got everything covered, we like who we got, but you just never know until the lights come on and play different teams,” Otters manager Andy McCauley said. “There’s a lot of new faces on the offensive side so we gotta get to the bottom of that and see how they’re performing in a game situation.”
Here are some things to know heading into another year on Don Mattingly Way.
McCauley: ‘I expect to make the playoffs’
Last season ended with a 5-1 defeat against the Shaumburg Boomers in the first game of the playoffs. The Otters returned to the postseason after missing it the year prior despite tying for the most wins in the league. It was their first time missing the playoffs since 2015.
“I expect to make the playoffs. That’s our expectation year in, year out,” McCauley said. “Whenever you got new blood, you gotta start at square zero and start all over again.”
Last season’s defeat to Shaumburg left the Otters feeling as though they could have gone further and didn’t play their best baseball in their lone postseason game. That has led to high hopes ahead of this year’s campaign.
“This year, we want to obviously get a bit deeper into the playoffs and play the brand of baseball we’re capable of playing,” infielder George Callil said. “Last year was great. Looking to this year now and hopefully going a bit deeper.”
Pitch clock and more: New Frontier League rules
Following in line with MLB and the NCAA, the Frontier League will have a pitch clock starting this season in order to “increase the action and reduce the down time” during the games, per a release. Pitchers will have 15 seconds between pitches when there are no runners on base and 20 whenever men are on board. They have 30 seconds between batters and there is a 2:15 period between innings. There is also a new rule limiting the number of disengagements (two) a pitcher can make during an at-bat.
There will be a grace period to start the season with warnings issued but no penalties until the third week of the season.
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“For me, it’s just about managing my routine,” pitcher Austin Gossmann said. “It’s just about trying to mitigate that and really just trying to be nails mentally and try to stop the snowball from getting too big and turning into an avalanche.”
On the batting side, Callil said it’s been an adjustment getting in the batter’s box quicker and said it hasn’t been too difficult. Catcher Dakota Phillips said it’s “taking all the wasted time out” and accelerates his duties with the pitchers.
“My job, for me, is to do my best to allow the pitcher to not feel rushed,” Phillips said. “I know they’re always peaking at the clock and just keep telling them, ‘Let that be my job. Let me do that and you just try to slow yourself down and take care of throwing strikes.”
Star Wars, Thirsty Thursday and more: Promotion nights galore
The Otters partnered with Fifth Third Bank to have Family Night for every Tuesday home game this season which includes a ticket package with four tickets, four hot dogs, four drinks and four bags of popcorn. Wednesday games will be Senior Connection Wednesdays and Thursday will, of course, be Budweiser Thirsty Thursdays.
Weekly promotions begin May 16.
The team also announced plans to have jersey auctions for “A League of Their Own” Night on July 8 and “E” is for Everyone Night on Aug. 4. There are nine “Dog Days of Summer” games for fans to bring their dogs to the park: May 14, May 21, June 11, June 18, July 9, July 23, Aug. 6 (also Nickelodeon Night), Aug. 13 and Aug. 27.
Other promotional nights include Military Appreciation Night on May 19, Superhero Night on June 10, Pride Night on June 11, Salute to the Negro Leagues on June 17, First Responders on June 29, Wizards Night on July 22, Star Wars Night on Aug. 5 and Teacher Appreciation Night on Aug. 26.
Opening home stand
The Otters start the season with a nine-game home stand before traveling to Ottawa for their first road games.
“That’s a huge advantage,” Phillips said. “Getting our feet down and getting our feet wet and getting some games under our belt and getting all of the kinks and all the adrenaline and all that stuff and settling down: It’s a lot easier to do that at home.”
Here’s the schedule for the first three series:
Washington Wild Things
Ottawa Titans
Trois-Rivieres Aigles
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: 4 things to know about the Evansville Otters in 2023
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