Billys Bulletin Vol IV: A Little About Dolly Parton's Discography
Welcome to the online exclusive Billys Bulletin, where we run through the week that was in Rockabillys baseball, and highlight some of the most notable on and off the field moments. Reader beware, this article will ask intense questions such as, "Is cereal a soup?" Or, "Are hot dogs technically a sandwich?" And we may cover topics such as Star Wars, Adam Sandler, the ever-changing landscape that is collegiate pickleball, among many other things. If you're sensitive to Grown Ups 2, or if you're holding out hope for the sequel, then reader discretion is advised.
Pair of Billys
The past week of baseball for Jackson saw about as much opponent variation as the NBA Finals in the 1960's when the Celtics and Lakers played six times, but it was nonetheless filled with incredible moments and of course, some late game drama.
The reasoning for the title to this portion of Billys Bulletin is because three of the five matchups this week were against the Thrillville Thrillbillies. And, if you include the wonderfully whacky Battle of the Billys game, then you can make that 4-for-6. Thrillville set a tone in game one, stating they weren't in the Hub City to mess around. A 7-2 win for the visitors in Jackson was rather jarring, and players felt soulfully spited after the conclusion of the event. So much so, that in the next two contests, the Rockabillys plated a combined seven runs in the first two innings alone.
One game went by without any hitches, but the finale on Sunday brought enough drama to make Love Island viewers jealous. After a profound opening two frames gave the Goats a four run lead, it was seemingly set in stone that the Rockabillys would snag two out of three. However, of course it would not be that easy to chase out the Thrillbillies. Just like Mariah Carey every year at Christmas time, Thrillville was back. Eventually, they even found themselves in the driver's seat with a late lead in the contest.
Now, if you've been tracking this team, or if you're a parent, or if you're perhaps one of my bosses in the front office - shoutout Lisa, Dennis, and Grace - then you know as well as I do that this team is almost infinitely better the later the night gets. 2025's iteration of the Jackson Rockabillys truly has the Dolly Parton mentality of getting better as time goes on - and that is not to diss The Queen of Nashville's early hits Jolene and Coat of Many Colors by the way. But rather to say, this group lives by the motto of "lights come on, stars come out." And so, as prophesized, the Goats raged all the way back from their deficit, with huge hits from Drew Ripepi and Jake Maddox eventually culminating in a..... walk off balk?!?!?
Yes indeed, we'd witness our first "balk-off" of the Rockabillys season, and it still remains one of the weirdest possible ways to end a game. Although, for those looking at what the weirdest way to end a game is, I implore you to Google "2013 World Series Game Three: Allen Craig," and you'll see what the weirdest really is. But, despite the strange nature of the victory, the Goats found their way back into the win column after a rough two game stretch at Alton.
Imagine You're Pointing At Peter Brand
If you're a first time reader, and you have not seen 2011 blockbuster movie Moneyball, then please stop reading this article, go take two hours to watch the movie and come back to this exact section. If you have already seen it... then... just watch it again!
Now that you've enjoyed one of the greatest sports movies of all time, I can finally reference this scene for you! Do you remember the moment in the movie when Billy Bean is meeting with all the scouts and they're deciding who they want to target in free agency with their limited budget? Now, what is Billy's answer every single time the scouts doubt him? He'd point at Peter Brand, and Brand would say: "He gets on base."
That's exactly what we've seen so far from newcomer Gregory Berroa. Berroa has played exactly six games as a Rockabilly, and he has collected six hits and gotten on base nine times. Those six hits were not earned solely on one fluke night either, they've been spread out across every game he has played, as we've yet to see a contest so far without Gregory on the basepaths.
The kid has a knack for finding ways on, whether it is fighting hard to work the count, battling with two strikes, or unloading on the first pitch he makes eye contact with. It just seems natural for Berroa at the plate right now, and it's encouraging when you pair that with all of the returners, and fellow impact newcomers such as Ripepi, Brock Tapper, and Drew Blalock.
May I Interject?
A lot fewer bullet points on this week's agenda, but this interjection may be the most interesting of them all. The third annual Battle of the Billys took place Monday evening at Rockabillys Stadium, and drew a significant crowd, whilst garnering a final score of 29-28.
No, this was not a University of Tennessee football game, Josh Heupel and his air raid offense were nowhere to be found. But rather, these two teams were partaking in a Banana Ball inspired game that had unique rules, interesting gimmicks, and plenty of chances to plate runs.
It will be hard to detail the antics from every single inning on this edition of Billys Bulletin, but, we'll surely highlight some of the fan favorites.
The second inning was a "cowboy inning" which entailed runners swinging with pickleball padels and hitting a tennis ball with a cowboy hat on, and they were required to be holding onto a pony on a stick that they needed to ride around the basepaths. That is the first time that sentence has likely been uttered in human history, so I believe we've just put humanity down to only 1,563,987,109 unique sentences remaining. Regardless, this was followed by innings where three pitchers were on the mound, a guy in a hot dog costume hit a home run with a rolling die, hitters would bat with wooden planks and umbrellas, among MANY other things.
The battle culminated in a walk-off grand slam from Brooks Jones, which sent the home crowd into a frenzy on a wet and rainy Monday afternoon. Despite the rain, the crowd was engaged, involved, and had an utter blast. It's one of those joyful moments in sports that makes you take a step back and realize why you truly play the game. To have fun!
Goats Notes
Well that is all for our fourth volume of Billys Bulletin! Be sure to stay involved here at rockabillysbaseball.com to get your fix of Goats news, articles, and more!