Mustangs introduce team to community at fan fest; prepare for opening week of the season
By Calvin Silvers
The 2024 St. Joseph Mustangs Fan Fest got underway on Tuesday afternoon, as the night was filled with team autographs, a home run derby, Mustang batting practice and more. The team begins the season with a home opener against the Baldwin City Blues on Wednesday, and this event was a good way for the community to meet new and returning players as the team tries to get back to the MINK League Championship for the fifth time in a row.
“I love coming out to St. Joe with all the fans and just the atmosphere here during the season,” outfielder Trevor McCollum said. “You know, there’s no place like it in America, and that’s why I keep coming back here.”
The start of the 2024 Mustangs season will be a deja vu experience, as the team kicked off last season with the same team. As the calendar flips for 2024, it’s the 15th for the ’Stangs as they hope to replicate most of what went down.
Their 2023 season saw record setting crowds and the Mustangs won the regular season MINK League along with the MINK League North Division.
“It’s always something you look forward to, you know, coming back here for the summer, getting to meet the guys from different places and trying to, you know, make them feel welcome here,” outfielder Ike Book said. “It’s a big deal. It only takes a little bit, but it’s always fun getting to know these new guys, getting to know all their stories and, you know, all those guys fit into St Joseph.”
While the first contest is Wednesday, the Mustangs open MINK League play on Friday, May 31, versus the Chillicothe Mudcats. The team will close out the first week by hosting the 2023 MINK League Champions, the Jeff City Renegades, on Saturday, June 1st, for a rematch of last year’s Mink League Championship Series.
In all, Phil Welch Stadium will be home to 26 regular season games this summer, and it’s a very quick turnaround for these athletes. The players just wrapped up their baseball seasons in college, and quickly have to turn around for an entire summer of contests.
Lafayette graduate and current Washburn athlete, Ike Book, suffered a PLC injury before the Mustangs took the diamond for the 2022 summer season. He’s back ready to roll, hoping to keep his mustangs career on a high note, along with some others.
“The fans give us so much, we try to give back to them a little bit by winning,” Book said. “So that’s something that has definitely eaten us a good amount and we’re ready to go this year.”
This Mustangs team will also have new faces on the team, including the team’s first set of brothers on the same roster in almost a decade. In fact, a former Mustangs coach, Matt Johnson, will lead the team on opening night as coach Johnny Coy is coaching Benton High School in the state playoffs.
With lots of excitement with old and new faces, the quest for a fourth MINK League Championship in five years begins now.
“I love all those guys on that team, so just getting back here and just building chemistry with each other,” McCollum said. “I know I saw some BP (batting practice) from these guys. Some of the pitchers got good arms this year and the hitters are definitely going to put on a show this summer.”
