BY: Dan Smith

It begins before the first pitch is thrown, a blistering barrage of vocal chatter and psychologically brain-numbing banter, mostly directed towards the opposing pitcher, batters, defensive players, the other dugout as a part or a whole, no one in particular or indirect references to the lineage, character or credibility of their mascot, and it does not cease, it does not end, until the lead is safe in hand or mercifully, until the last out is made.

At times the seismic energy seems raucous enough to shake 35 years of dust from the mortar of the third base dugout cinderblocks at Hogan’s Hole.

They are the nine players whose name may not appear in the starting lineup.

They are the nine players armed with an extensive and intellectually creative vocabulary.

They are without fear.

They are one.

They are the Charles Henderson High baseball “Dugout Mob.”

“The last few years we have put a lot of focus on energy, and bringing energy to the field every day and to the game every day,” said CHHS Head Baseball Coach Derek Irons, “In baseball, at this point, we have played over 30 games and hopefully have a few more to go. Sometimes it is easy to go through the motions.”

In 2014, when the CHHS Trojans were on their quest for a second state championship, they discovered a tool for sparking that enthusiasm within their own dugout. “We were trying last year to keep guys in the game,” Irons said. “Coach (Brandon) Lee does a great job with that. We talk about the process a lot and executing the process, and if we think that is important we need to celebrate that and to acknowledge that.

“So we came up with some things that our dugout does every time we do a process-oriented thing. This year it has come along specifically with Wright Graning and Alex Bland leading the way and other guys just bringing tremendous energy almost every single game – When we are ahead, when we are down, when it is a tight game … What that does for our dugout, what that does for our team, what that does for our coaches … it is a really, really, really big piece to the success we are having this year.”

It is common – if not expected – that there will be nine players that start a high school baseball game, and the other half of the team sits on the bench for the whole game if not a majority of the season. Keeping a positive attitude can be difficult. A negative attitude can not only bring down that individual but have a hemorrhaging affect on the morale of the team.

Not the case with the members of the Dugout Mob, who have enthusiastically embraced their role as generating clean and positive mayhem in the dugout from start to finish, to get into the minds of the opposing team but also to motivate and support their own teammates. Those members include Bland, Graning, Eric Lee, Hunter Blackmon, Jackson Murphy, Charlie Tisdale, Dalton Gross, Hunter Reeves and Devin Suddith.

“There are so many different ways to contribute,” said Irons. “There is so much more than getting a hit or pitching. The reality is, from day to day, I don’t ever know what is going to be required of whom. Those guys are ready to jump in the game and do whatever needs to be done in the game and a lot of those guys have done that at different times this year. And also, their attitude is they are going to make a difference every day they come to the field, and they do. It is a huge advantage to our team to have 18 guys into the game, and the guys on the bench bringing energy for the entire game.”

Graning, a senior, and junior Bland have been the instigators, the mouthpieces, in the thick of the anarchy that is the Dugout Mob.

“A few of us that don’t get a lot of playing time, we just sit in the dugout so we decided that if we are going to sit in there, and we are on a good team, we might as well be an all-state dugout and to be the best in the state,” said Bland. “Coach Irons said to dominate in everything we do, so we even dominate in the dugout. We cheer on our team. Coach Irons says every day that we control our attitude and our effort. We can’t control the weather, how the umpires are or how the other team plays, but you can control your attitude and your effort.

“Everybody has a role on the team. Whether your role is to be out there on game day or to keep the dugout up and in practice have fun. Every player has a role, and you have to do your role to the best of you ability. We feel pretty good about where we are. We are competing at a high level, which is what he preaches to us every day. Compete in everything you do. So we’re going to try to continue to compete. Everybody in the dugout is in the Dugout Mob. When a starter comes in, we teach them what to do and they just jump right on board.”

Graning is the first player Coach Irons calls upon when a pinch runner is needed for the pitcher or in any situation, but when not motoring around the base paths Graning and Bland are keeping the tempo up in the dugout.

“Basically, we try to make it easier on the folks out there, whatever it is, meaning getting the team up when we’re down, or getting in the other team’s head, letting them know that we are there and ready to play,” said Graning.

Graning also agrees that a positive attitude is important for the health of any team, regardless of playing time for every man on the roster.

“Coach Irons drills that in our brain every day,” said Graning. “We are one team and we stay together. Sure, we don’t get a lot of playing time, but we make the most of what we’ve got, and we are blessed to be on a team this good and to be here, where we are. That’s the only two things we can control, attitude and effort. You do what you gotta do to be a good team.”

CHHS baseball plays at home Tuesday for senior night against Brantley for a 4:30 p.m. contest, and will host Beauregard in the first round of the AHSAA Class 5A area playoffs this Friday for a 4:30 p.m. double-header.