Neither of these baseball teams has won a game in years. That’s about to change

No matter who comes out on top during Tuesday’s college baseball game in Teaneck, N.J., it will be a dramatic underdog victory.

The Yeshiva University Maccabees and the Lehman College Lightning — two New York City teams that haven’t won a single game in years — will face off in what one sports commentator has called “possibly the most electric college baseball game in history.”

“People are going to be fired up regardless of what happens, because someone has to win the game, and it’s going to be someone’s first win in like two years plus,” baseball YouTuber Dan Sarmiento told As It Happens host Nil Köksal.

“It’s going to be a great atmosphere.”

‘A losing streak is tough’

Lehman is a public college in New York City’s Bronx neighbourhood, and its Lightning men’s baseball team has lost its last 42 games. The team last tasted victory on May 9, 2023, when it beat New York’s Baruch College.

“Being on a losing streak is tough, especially a lengthy one,” head coach Chris Delgado told CBC in an email.

But Delgado says he has pride in his team, and he’s not treating Tuesday’s match differently than any other game. 

“Many people will measure success by the number of tallies in the wins column. However, results don’t determine the type of program that we have. With the new coaching turnover, we’re rebuilding a program that’s establishing a strong foundation of excellence and integrity,” he said.

“Going into Tuesday’s game we’re going to prepare for Yeshiva the same way we prepare for any other opponent. No matter what the records show they’re still an opponent and we must respect them as competitors. We will do our best to play hard, execute, and come out victorious.”

Yeshiva, a private Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City, is faring even worse than Lehman on the field. The Maccabees are currently riding a 99-game losing streak dating back to Feb. 27, 2022.

A spokesperson for the team declined to comment.

For the love of the game 

Sarmiento, who runs the YouTube channel Enjoy The Show, has been using his social media platform to hype up Tuesday’s double-header between two of the “worst baseball teams in college history.”

One week ago, he promised his followers that if his video about the teams got more than 10,000 likes, he and his colleagues would head from Los Angeles to New Jersey to watch and cover the “historic game.”

So far, he says it’s gotten 27,000 likes and counting across several platforms, and as of Monday, he was already en route to the big game. 

“It definitely tells me that, OK, people are interested in this,” he said.

It’s not just the high stakes that interest Sarmiento. It’s what the teams represent. 

“It definitely said something about their character. Like, the fact that they just keep showing up every day, putting in the work, knowing that they’re severe underdogs,” he said. “They just must love baseball.”

While it’s possible the teams are losing so much because they’re bad at baseball, Sarmiento says they could also be the victims of bad luck. 

“I’m also ready to be pleasantly surprised,” he said. “[Division III] baseball gets a bad rap in general, but … there are some really good players at every level.”

In baseball, he says, winning doesn’t always come down to talent, hard work or even luck. 

A lot of the time, he says, it’s simply a matter of funding. He says he’s planning to use his platforms to do some fundraising for both teams. 

“It is kind of like that car wreck thing where it’s, like, you can’t look away. But at the same time, I think we can spin it to a positive thing where it’s kind of win-win,” he said.

“And it’s a double-header. So it literally could be a win-win if everything goes great.”

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