Alabama baseball is back. The boys of spring are back and this season they return home to Sewell-Thomas Stadium after extensive renovations to the facility. One thing has remained from the old stadium, the right field student section. Two years ago, the right field section opened to high praise and high crowds. Partly this is because alcohol, so long as it’s in a cup, could be consumed in the section. The section and the fans quickly became known as "the right field ragers." A Twitter account with the same name was started and has become the home of Alabama Baseball. JB Costello and Will Elliott are two men currently behind the account, and are die-hard Alabama Baseball fans. I sat down with the two of them and found out what it is like to be behind the SEC’s most notorious baseball Twitter account.
The account started as a joke initially.
JB started the account two years ago with a friend of his as a joke. They were not expecting the account to quickly grow into a massive following among students and quickly became the go-to for information related to Alabama Baseball and the right field student section.
Head Baseball Coach Mitch Gaspard is a fan of the section.
Talking with JB and Will you quickly understand that Head Coach Mitch Gaspard is a fan of the account like the rest of us. The two friends tell stories of how coach Gaspard loves the account and suggests things that they should say. Imagine if Saban did the same thing for Alabama football?
They made sure students could still drink at games.
During the renovation of the stadium it was unsure whether students would be able to continue to drink at the games. JB met with the director of the baseball program and made sure they could still live up to the name. The university was quick to point out that the program would still allow drinking inside the section only now it includes more rules, many of which were suggested by JB and Will.
Athletic Director Bill Battle met with the Right Field Ragers.
The most powerful man at Alabama is Nick Saban, and the busiest might be Bill Battle. Battle loves the Right Field Ragers and wants to expand the section. JB had a meeting with the athletic director and discussed the future of the section. They talked about ideas for softball games. The result was that beer showers would not be encouraged, but they won’t denounce this as well. Job well-done guys.
The visiting team bullpen was moved to right field.
New for 2016, the visiting team bullpen is now in right field. Students have taken the move with extra excitement as now the bullpen is in the cross-hairs of the Ragers and their never-ending chants.
Freshman Chandler Taylor is the hero of Right Field Ragers.
Two years ago, Right Fielder Ben Moore became an Alabama baseball legend as he led the students during its first season. Now Taylor takes on that role in his first season playing for the Crimson Tide. Every half-inning, Taylor gets his warm-up ball from the section and leaves it with them as well. It is fitting then during his first at-bat during opening night, Taylor christened the new stadium and his position by blasting a Home-Run to Right Field. Taylor got the ball and became the new favorite player of the Ragers.
Most opponents love it.
Opponent after opponent, team after team, right fielder after right fielder enter the Joe to face the Tide and have to deal with raft of the Right Field Ragers. It might get tiresome, but at the end of it, most players reach out to JB and Will and say they loved playing at Alabama, and think highly of the Tide faithful.
Most fans are well behaved.
You might think putting a bunch of drunk Alabama students at a sporting event would be a bad idea? Wrong. Most students use the game as a pregame and most are really polite and respectful of other fans. There rarely has been incidents and most fans control themselves and don’t get out of hand. According to JB and Will 99 percent of the fans are the best in the SEC, and there are only a few that get out of hand. What is really surprising though is most students police other students and don’t put up with fans that get out of hand. Good job students!
So enjoy right field while you can, and take in a baseball game this spring. Just remember to show up early and bring plenty of water.
