Paul Szmal: And we're 16 days away from the opening of the Auburn Double Days season. They have a brand new head coach and he joins us on the line now. Tom Eaton is here. Good morning, Tom. How are you?
Guest: Good morning. How are you today?
Paul Szmal: I am great. Tell me a little bit about your background and how you come to be the coach of the Auburn Double Days this year.
Guest: Well, I am the head baseball coach here in Daytona Beach, Florida, where it's 85 degrees. Um, I've been in baseball for well over, uh, 35 years as a, uh, as a player, as a scout and as a coach. And, uh, I was the head coach for the Geneva Red Wings last year and, uh, and their ownership group contacted me, uh, this, this past spring and wanted to know if I would become the manager of the, uh, Auburn Double Days. And I, uh, agreed to that.
Paul Szmal: So the Auburn Double Days are part of what is known as the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League. What can you tell us about the league and the players that play in it?
Guest: The league, uh, it's where they have players from all across the country and possibly around the world to come there and play a eight week schedule. They play six days a week, uh, only having one day off. Uh, it used to be called the old New York Pin League, um, Major League Baseball shut down a couple of, um, leagues down and the New York Pin League was shut down and the Appalachian League was shut down, but Major League Baseball continue to have those teams recognized as one of the top summer collegiate leagues around the country.
Paul Szmal: And you as a scout, I imagine probably toured around to some of these collegiate baseball leagues, looking at some potential, uh, prospects for a minor or major league deals.
Guest: Yes, I did. Uh, did that for well over 25 years as a professional baseball scout. And that's kind of the goal for this Perfect Game League. It's a summer league for collegiate players, but it gives them an opportunity not only to, you know, gain some game experience, but also have that opportunity to be seen by potential scouts.
Paul Szmal: Yes, sir. Uh, quite right on that. What, what are we looking forward to for the Double Days this year with a team that's going to be assembled this time around?
Guest: Well, we're going to be more aggressive, uh, offensively and defensively. Uh, we're going to put, we're going to put a lot of pressure on the defensive team and, um, our philosophy, we're going to bunt, we're going to steal, we're going to hit and run and the team that my staff and I have put together. I think we will be able to make that happen. I bring a lot of excitement, uh, to, uh, the city of Auburn and to the, uh, Double Days organization.
Paul Szmal: And that sounds like it is a more aggressive approach than maybe other coaches would have for, for a baseball team, especially, you know, doing the things like the, the, the bunting and the steals, trying to move runners around the bases and score.
Guest: Yes, correct.
Paul Szmal: We're talking with head coach, Tom Eaton, who is taking over as the point man and the coach for the Auburn Double Days for the upcoming 2026 season, which by the way, uh, starts if memory serves me correctly from the calendar, June the 4th, so we're about 16 days away. Auburn double days.com is where you can find the ticket information. How competitive is this Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League?
Guest: It is very, very competitive. Um, of course, everyone knows about the, uh, Cape Cod League and the Northwoods League, uh, two of the best, uh, summer collegiate, uh, leagues out there. We're not too far behind from them. Uh, we take a lot of, um, freshmen and sophomore, uh, kids who didn't get a chance to play during the course of the season from, for various reasons, injuries and, and, uh, things of that nature. But these kids, uh, come here and they're ready to play, uh, six days a week. And, uh, and, and it gives them a chance to, to upbuild their stats. Uh, so that way when they go back to school, their, uh, college coaches, uh, will be able to see that, uh, they have made a whole lot of development and improvement during the, uh, eight weeks of playing baseball up here in the, uh, Auburn area.
Paul Szmal: And the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League being a summer collegiate league, what does that mean to the communities that host teams like this, uh, if memory serves correctly, uh, coach, a lot of the players stay with, uh, community members during the course of the summer there, there's kind of a rapport that's built there.
Guest: Yes, they're built. There's, there's a lot of, uh, great relationships, uh, that are coming from this, uh, we do have host families there who will take in a young man from any part of the country and, uh, and treat them just like their own, own son. And, um, and then they build great relationships. Uh, at one point, uh, there's some, some young men who, who possibly gotten drafted and started a family, but they continue to build those relationships as time goes on. And, uh, and it's great. It's, it's actually great for the, uh, the young man that they're hosting. And it's actually great for the family that's hosting him also.
Paul Szmal: And what can fans expect when they come out to a Double Days game? If they haven't been for the past few years, what can they expect?
Guest: They're going to expect a lot of fan experience. Uh, they have, um, I think it's called after the Double Day and, uh, one of the mascots, they, they play games, uh, uh, quiz shows, uh, anything that you can think of, uh, the organization will make it not just about baseball, but just having a great community feel and let everybody come there and just have a great time.
Paul Szmal: And again, you can find tickets at Auburn double days.com. And the season opens at the beginning of June. All right. Well, the last thing I want to ask you, coach Eaton is a favorite baseball movie. What, what would be your favorite?
Guest: Uh, probably, uh, Major League one and two.
Paul Szmal: Hey, there you go. Good, uh, good choices. Good, good choices. I like both of those. I was, I was expecting like, you know, maybe Field of Dreams or something a little more serious, but no, that's cool, man. That's very cool.
Guest: Yeah. Yeah. Major League one and two are my all time favorites. I just, I just love it from a small town, uh, factor. And, uh, and actually we were, uh, a good couple of good friends of mine. We were in Major League two, because it was filmed in, uh, Charleston, South Carolina and little areas around, uh, North Carolina. So we got a chance to, to be in there as spectators.
Paul Szmal: Nice. Very nice. All right. So again, Auburn double days.com is the website and June 4th is opening day for the Auburn Double Days. So go ahead and get your tickets, get out to Falcon Park, beautiful little facility and enjoy the summer tradition that is baseball in small town America, coach Eaton, uh, best of success for you and the team for this year. Thanks for taking a few minutes to chat with us here today.
Guest: I appreciate it. And let's sell it out on the first night when we get there, guys.
Paul Szmal: All right. Now you've heard the call. Now you've been called out by the coach. So have a great day. Thank you, coach. Appreciate it.
Guest: Thank you.
