New stadium draws alumni, exceeds expectations

It was 55 degrees accompanied by strong winds Saturday afternoon, and Drayton McLane was fighting to stay warm as the cool breeze swept across Kobs Field at McLane Baseball Stadium. After all, this was McLane’s third visit to East Lansing in the 50 years since he earned his master’s in food marketing management from MSU. The May weather is much warmer in Houston, where McLane now resides and owns Major League Baseball’s Houston Astros franchise.

MSU Athletic Director Mark Hollis noticed McLane’s attempt to adjust to the Michigan cold. Donning an Astros windbreaker, Hollis approached the podium to give McLane a matching Spartans windbreaker.

McLane, who donated $4 million along with his wife, Elizabeth to create McLane Baseball Stadium, was no longer cold as he put on the Spartans windbreaker and received a warm reception from the audience. But it wasn’t just a change in temperature McLane noticed.

“Suddenly, I feel more intelligent,” he said to the crowd, which responded with a laugh.

But people don’t have to be geniuses to notice the transformation that occurred at Kobs Field after McLane’s donation. Before this season, Kobs Field had only a set of bleachers to its name. With McLane’s donation, though, there is a legitimate stadium to house MSU’s oldest sport.

And now McLane, who said he used to skip class to watch MSU baseball, has given a gift that will seat many more baseball enthusiasts than was ever possible — and Saturday’s attendance of 2,480 proved that.

“I just think in the springtime, the greenness — that’s the magic of baseball,” McLane said in an interview. “It’s outdoors and you sit there and it’s kind of relaxing. You don’t have to say anything, you don’t have to talk to anybody or you can talk to somebody and see the game develop.”

Sophomore right-handed pitcher A.J. Achter, who earned the win in MSU’s 9-1 victory against Penn State, said he was excited to see the MSU community and former Spartans baseball players come together.

“It was very cool getting to see all the alumni, all the guys you hear about, (former MSU pitcher and MLB Hall of Famer) Robin Roberts, and then get to see guys I even played with last year,” Achter said. “It’s unbelievable and just to be a part of it is awesome.”

The new stadium got a lot of people talking, including MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr., who said he was shown sketches of the stadium when he was hired in July, but actually seeing the stadium in its finished state exceeded his expectations.

“I stood out here in the bottom of the first inning and looked up at the crowd. I was in awe,” he said. “The place was nearly full, our side especially. It’s just a great crowd, a great atmosphere. It’s a dream come true for us.”

The McLane Baseball Stadium not only baffled Boss Jr., but it also won over some recruits.

One of the aspects McLane said he is proud of is the indoor batting facility, which he said is essential for a cold weather state such as Michigan so players have the opportunity to practice the entire year.

“We signed some good kids in the fall basically just using the pictures of the stadium because they really didn’t start building it until December, so I think it’s already helped,” Boss Jr. said. “And you know, guys want to play in a nice facility and in front of a good crowd and that’s going to happen here at Michigan State.”

Roberts, who pitched for the Spartans in the 1940s, came to the dedication ceremony and was impressed with what he saw.

“We always had a nice playing field, it was always a nice setting,” he said. “But the stands really add to it.

“This is a baseball stadium, there’s no doubt about it.”