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there's always a story Beyond the Score.

You got to see this.

We were all basically on TV.

And Chris yeah, you're right in the middle.

with your hands on your head.

There is this connection to black music, black history You're getting a history lesson by participating, you have a D.R.

legend and you're his son.

So a lot of people expect a lot from you.

What's up, beautiful people?

Welcome to Beyond the Score.

I'm your host, Al Martin.

We begin tonight with a look inside the world of minor league baseball.

Now it's the drea of every ballplayer who picks up a mitt, a shot at the big leagues.

But before the bright lights and packed stadiums, there's the grind, the road that's less glamorous.

The minors where long bus rides and small town crowds are a part of the journey.

For every player that makes it to the majors, there are hundreds that never get the call.

Hope, heartbreak, sacrifice.

We take a look at the journey of one young man tonight by the name of Danny Bautista Jr, who just wrapped up his secon season with the Lansing Lugnuts.

His dream of making it has the added pressure of trying to fill some pretty big shoes, The pitch from Bell... fly ball pounde deep down the left field line.

It is GONE!

Two one launched out to left field.

Green goes back.

He looks up.

Danny Bautista has got his first of 2024.

Danny Bautista Jr is a minor league first baseman for the Lansing Lug nuts.

The minor league professional team is a high-A affiliate for the Oakland A's.

So that's.

Seven years ago at the age of 17 he was signed by the A's Out of the Dominican Republic.

He's been trying to work his way up to the majors ever since.

Danny?

When were you bitten by the baseball bug?

Do you remember that?

Man...

It was probably when I learned how to walk I get, like, flashbacks of being on Bank One Ballpark, now known as Chase Field.

planted a seed in my brain, like, man, I got to get here.

On an overcast evening in late May, The Lugnuts played host to the Peoria Chiefs - High A affiliate of the Saint Louis Cardinals.

I took a trip to check out the game at Jackson Field, home of the Lugnuts in downtown Lansing.

The Lugnuts would win in the bottom of the ninth off a Brayan Buelvas triple to right, moving to 0.500 on the year.

"Dump the Gatorade all over him!"

That voice you hear is that of Jesse Goldberg-Strassler.

He's been the play by play voice of the Luggies for more than 15 years.

Jesse says that for Danny, there's more to him than just the player.

What makes Danny Bautista Jr special?

He's in my personal Hall of Fame of human beings.

I think he's just a good gu It's how he treats other people.

It's the work that he puts in.

It's the way that he thinks about others because he is making sure to take care of himself, to take care of his teammates, thinks about his family, everything else that he's thinking about.

And then there's that drive within him.

How do you really differentiate a player who does make it and one who doesn't?

Now obviousl talent plays into that, right?

The numbers play into that, but there are certain intangibles that allow Player to get there and not Player B.

Hard work and get lucky.

So you've got to work hard to put yourself in a position to get the call.

The second thing is you have to develop good work habits, Danny is a prime example of what good work habits are all about for a professional baller.

He's developed a routine that consists of waking up early, centering his mind with meditation and placing an emphasis on health and nutrition, which hopefully gives him the right foundation to go out and produce on the field.

These habits are kind of in his blood.

"... every bit as unbelievable here."

You have a D.R.

legend.

"... World Champions" and you're his son.

So a lot of people expect a lot from you.

Danny's father Danny Bautista is a former Dominican professional baseball player who put in work in the majors for 11 years.

He was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the early nineties, playin for four different franchises, including the Arizona Diamondbacks, where he won a World Series in '01.

When he retired, he would finish with 685 hits and a 0.272 batting average He's highly regarded in his home country How often do you talk to him and how often does he give you advice on the game?

you know, he's basically my best friend.

I talk to my dad every single day.

I can talk to him about anything.

You know, he's lived through this and I'm very blessed to have in my life.

How do you deal with the nepotism of being his son it's very tough.

I feel like I put the pressure on myself because he named me Junior as much as he says, you not to think about it, like just play your game you can really feel it sometimes.

Danny's possible road to the majors is admittedly taking longer than he has expected.

His numbers have been up and down.

Not quite good enough yet to snag him.

an invite to the major league level.

He's also in his second seaso of learning a new position.

"... Bautista with a sliding snag.

Nice play."

First base.

What is it like playing that position.

You know, last year it was.

It was a learning curve.

I wasn't really new to the infield.

But however, first base, especially now in pro ball, you have a bunch of lefties who just... Crush balls that way and you just trying to get in front of it, But this year I feel more comfortable Comfort and minor league baseball are two things that don't normally go hand in hand.

Aside from trying to produce good numbers in order to move up, that pursuit can make you a journeyman.

You are constantly signed and moved to different teams around the minor league circuit for a kid from the D.R.. You can imagine how hard it ca be to make your hat your home.

The Lugnuts and professional baseball have tried to change that with a new initiative geared toward its Hispanic and Latino players.

Lugnuts GM Zac Clark has helped usher in the Lansing Locos.

baseball developed a program called Copa de La Diversion.

Okay.

All right.

So every minor league team has the optio to create an alternate identity that celebrates their Hispani heritage and their communities.

This is a cool way to integrate the Latino heritage of baseball yes, the Copa de La Diversion started in 2017 as a way to connect baseball to it Hispanic and Latino communities.

To date, over 80 teams have adopted a culturally relevant onfield person like that of the Lansing Locos.

What's that mean to you having Dominican roots?

Yeah, man, it's amazing.

And especially being bilingual, you kind of get to, you know, bring both worlds together.

And I feel like that's what's really good about our clubhouse right now.

everybody's unified.

Everybody has the same goals and moving up and it's just a fun, fun team to be around.

Feels at home.

Yeah.

But like for many minor league players, Danny isn't trying to mak the Lugnuts his permanent home.

He can feel the clock ticking and the pressure o trying to make it is palpable.

He's been here since 2018.

This is a contract year for him.

What are his chances of making it up to Double-A and then possibly the majors?

Well.

He had to put in a lot of work with single-A, Stockton, and then he got to Lansing and he took another step forward last year and he finished last year strong.

I think it's tough for him to give all that he's given and then say to himself, why am I still here?

And yet I thin he's doing all the right things.

you even allow your mind to go there?

Like, okay, if nobody does pick me up, what do I do?

I try not to.

It's really easy when you're, you're having, a good week, good month and stuff like let's keep on flowing.

But once that slump hits you, it's it's, it's very tough.

has the dream matched reality?

The dream has not matched reality so far.

It's it's more of the process of it.

it's like climbing a mountain.

You know, you got to go up, down, left, right.

But it's it' a part of the process for sure.

And I'm loving every moment of it.

One note.

Danny was not able to secur an invite to move up this year and is still awaiting word on a contract renewal.

Well, it's rivalry week.

Spartans and Wolverines.

Yes, Michigan State and Michigan will battle on the gridiron yet again in a football rivalry that dates all the way back to October of 1898.

Today, we highlight a man who isn't an athlete but a spectator, on who found himself unexpectedly carving out a place within this storied match up.

Whoa!

He has trouble with the snap and the ball is free.

It's picked up by Michigan State's.

Jalen Watts Jackson and he scores on the last play of the game.

Unbelievable.

we are talking about that infamous moment in October of 2015.

The trouble with the snap game, those 10 seconds becoming a Hallmark moment in the rivalry between Michigan and Michigan State on the gridiron.

I was here during that moment, and I was shooting footage of that moment right in front of us.

You... were sitting right here Take me through what was going through your mind.

Honestly, I mean, a lot of it feels like a blur, you know, like in the moment, it's har to even tell what's happening.

You're down here.

There's, people you're cramme in with all the other students trying to watch it and then just a regular punt, it's the end of the game.

Michigan's going to win, right?

Like, that's it, big win.

I remember looking up at this Jumbotron, trying to get the tim like, is time going to expire?

You know, if they tackle Jalen before h makes the end zone or whatever.

And sure enough, Dogpile ends up right in front of us there.

And I guess I was just in shock, clearly, right?

You could tell.

it's one of those plays tha if you watched it in real time, you'll never forget where you were, who you were with, and the feeling you had when it all went down.

With just 10 seconds left on the clock.

And Michigan seemingly on its way to a victory with a two point lead.

The unthinkable happened.

Punter Blak O'Neil had trouble with the snap and sophomore safety Jalen Watts Jackson did the rest breaking his hip in the process.

While the name of Watts Jackson lives in rivalry lore for that moment.

so does the face of then sophomore Michigan student Chris Baldwin.

October 17th, 2015. can you just take me through that day?

so that was my first Michigan Michigan State game as a student.

Yeah.

And you know, you see crowds, of course, people are going to come down here before the games for Michigan State, like people everywhere something I hadn't experienced yet.

Born from proximity and pride, the annual matchup has seen unforgettable performances and, of course, thrilling, final second, insane in the membrane plays.

The battle for the Paul Bunyan trophy is more than just football.

It's about bragging rights within the Mitten and a legacy built on competition.

Rivalries are a topic that Arizona State University professor Jeff Kassing knows a thing or three about.

He's the co-director of the Sport Media and Culture Research Group at ASU and has published an early series of studies examining athletes and fans a it pertains to social media use.

When you look at Michigan and Michigan State football, what stands out to you about that rivalry in particular?

when you talk about the proximity.

Ann Arbor and Lansing are very close together.

So you've got people co-located that kind of proximity intensifies the rivalry.

And then also, you've got that history attribute.

it dates back to 1898.

So then I would also argue, that Michigan's big rival is Ohio State.

So it doesn't hurt to have one of the teams involved thinkin that you're not their key rival.

The rivalry is definitely real, right?

We'll downplay it for the football game.

You know, Michigan - Ohio State, that's the game.

And I think we're going to stand by that.

But it's just very different, right?

Because we don't live around a bunch of Ohio State fans.

We do live and work with Michigan State fans.

When you became a student here at Michigan, the way you view Michigan State changed a bit, right?

Yeah, that's probably fair.

ther is, you know, a little bit of, looking down on Michigan State and that sort of thing.

we don't like Michigan State people and that's okay.

That' what the rivalry is all about.

You don't like me?

I don't like you.

And Chris' now famous "hands over the head" reaction is the perfect visual to highlight the emotion of this match up.

That reaction completely raw and authentic.

One that just happened to be caught on camera.

Immediately getting dubbed the nickname.

they called you Cobra Man?

Surrender Cobra?

Did you know what in the world that was before all of this happened?

No.

I don't even know where the name came from or what the origin is.

I heard different references, like a video game or just like a cobra snake Surrender Cobra now has become kind of a ubiquitous term in sports in general for when people do have their hands on their head like that.

When do you realize that?

Okay, my phone's blowing up and there's something more going on, than just the result of the game?

It wasn't about 'til I got like halfway back to the dorms, that I felt my pocket vibrating a lot more.

And I thought, you know, okay, it was a big game.

You know, people know I'm here.

I don't remember who it was.

I looked first or one of my friends they was like Oh my gosh, you got to see this.

They're like, We were all basically on TV.

And Chris Yeah, you're right in the middle.

You're the focal point with your hands on your head and like, everybody saw it because everybody was watching that game.

Chris was and is a fan just like the rest of us.

It's a reminder that sports aren't just about what happens on the field.

They're about emotions.

Passio and the connection between fans and the teams they love.

While athletes and coaches take the spotlight, sometimes it's the ordinary fans who end up becoming the face of, in this case, shared heartbreak.

What elements of Chris Baldwin's story allow him to become a viral sports meme?

it has all kinds of powe as a localized trash talk meme in a sport rivalry.

But it's also because of the look and the implausibility of what happened on his face.

It's got other kinds of traction elsewhere, too.

that show kind of the potential of memes to evolve over time and be reappropriated and not always in the same context.

If you can't tell Chris is as chill and unassuming as you can get.

He didn't try to capitalize on the moment and seek to make money off of this "meme-orable moment."

He went on living his life.

He graduated from Michiga becoming a software developer.

He also got married to his wife, Madeline, this summer.

A lifelong Michigan football fan, He's still a season ticket holder today, and nine years later, he's still a symbol of shared self-reflection for both fanbases.

It was a very interesting feeling to kind of walk into a room or down the street or whateve and like, bring joy to people.

It's a very strange like power, I guess, to have.

plenty of Michigan fans, you know, when they come up, it's like, man, I was doin the same thing in the stadium.

I was doing the same thing on my couch.

They relate to it.

I feel that so much, right?

Like they, you know, they, they get it and they know it.

And they, like I said, Michigan State, I am a symbol of one of the and most memorable wins that they will ever have.

So, like what's not to like about that?

Chris says that the recognitions on the street have slowed down a bit over time, but they do still occur.

And when they do, well, you know, all right, there's another viral face in the world of sports that I'm sure many of you became familiar with during this year's Olympic Games in Paris.

B Girl Raygu became a viral sensation for her display as Breaking made its Olympic debut this high energy acrobatic dance style that blends athleticism, rhythm and creativity.

Is having a local impac on the youth while remembering that its inception is roote in the fundamentals of hip hop.

the break is foundational to hip hop.

The third annual Capital City Breaking Jam is underway.

Cross-steps, headstands and a little friendly taunting have the crowd here at Lansing shuffle transfixed, as 13 youth breakers compete for a cash prize of 300 bucks in the championship, B-Girl Lightning edges out B-Boy Jonas for the dub.

These young breakers aren't just showing off their moves.

They're carrying on the legacy of what has become a global phenomenon.

break is referring to a portion of the record that is isolated for the drums It was the go off moment at the parties where peopl were like, Oh, that's the part we were waiting for that, that funky drummer break.

You're getting a history lesson by participating, Because now you're adopting this identity of B-Boy or B-Girl.

What's that B mean?

Break.

What is break?

Break is this.

Oh, there's a whole history.

There's a thread that connects The seventies, the Bronx, Ne York, where Breaking was born.

During this time, it could be seen regularly at block parties, clubs and public spaces.

Originating as a street dance style, primarily among black and brown youth, it combines elements of dance, martial arts and even gymnastics.

And now it has something in common with gymnastics being recognized as an Olympic sport.

For the first time this year in Paris.

B-Boy Glyde has his entire left arm tattooed in dedication to breaking - I got Wavy Legs over here, Kid Glyde... Who served as one of the judges in this year's jam.

top rock, get down, spin around Hailing from Queens, New York, Glide is one of the founding members of the famed breaking crew: the Dynamic Rockers.

I was the Michael Jordan of breaking, and I still am.

And he isn't shy in letting you know that he' one of the best to ever do it.

Glyde says he foresaw breaking making it to the Olympic stage years ago.

want you to touch upon how this thing is blowing up, breaking, being on a national stage like this, Did you ever think it would get here?

Yeah, I immediately thought when I was like 17 years old that we were going to be in the Olympics.

You knew so you saw this moment come.

I thought we were going to have characters and everything.

Little like wrestling guys.

I really And although the art form can be flashy, good breakin comes down to the fundamentals.

I look at some of these videos and it just blows my mind, Glyde.

Okay.

And you know what?

Some of those guys are really crazy awesome, but they're missing the foundation.

if you're not doing your footwork, if you're not going in somebody's face, if you're not at the end of it getting out of the circle the right way then you're missing something.

It's those fundamentals.

Yeah.

It's crazy what they're doing but, you're missing something.

The Olympic competition saw 16 B-Boys and 17 B-Girls compete in 1v1 battles.

But the event dre mixed reactions from the public, mostly due to the performance of Australian breaker Rachael Gunn and her less than stellar showing.

One, it was monumental, right?

It was a moment of like while I was watchin in my living room with my boys.

It was some emotional moments, right, where I'm like, wow, I can't believe this is happening.

Like, this is part of my culture.

Like, I understand this, you know, I'm saying.

So there was a genuine excitement but there was a moment there where, you know, somebody came in and they were running last place.

You know, I didn't think nothing of it.

I want to go and address that elephant in the room.

Yeah, Yeah.

Rachel Gunn A.K.A.

B-Girl Raygun, Yeah, she went viral.

her performance became a bookmark.

Moment of the Olympics.

I think the thing that was hard for people to wrestle with was, in our own community, we're talking about the difference of the dance and the sport, there's an art to understanding the body mechanic that does validate it as a sport what we saw was somebody leaning more into the dance component and the expression of her artistry on a stage where people are expecting to see top tier athleticism.

99.9% of the contestants on that stage delivered that.

In July, the All of the Above Hip Hop Academy, which has operated for years... officially cut the ribbon on its first public facing headquarters in downtown Lansing.

Ozay Moore, an accomplished emcee and DJ who pioneered the Cap City Jam, the founder and executive director of the academy.

He took me through the space during the opening when it was still under construction.

What does this mean to you, man?

Seeing this knowing that this place is open, It's been 12 years in the making.

What does this mean to you?

I mean, to be real I've neve even been to a ribbon cutting.

Really?

So you know the significance of it.

It kind of dawned on me while I was sitting here I was like, it's the community.

it's 12 years of building and building trust.

So Idon't know where it's gonna go.

You gotta put it somewhere special, right?

Yeah we gotta put it somewhere special.

That was then...

This is now.

The academy acting as a training ground for young men and women in the arts of graffiti, emceeing, DJ-ing, and you guessed it, breaking.

But the training goes well beyond the arts.

we pose the possibilities of pathways for young people that isn't self-sabotaging.

And we have those conversation at the same time not condemning what they're, you know what they might be experiencing.

Now we just shift the conversation What would it look like if you had a bunch of people around you supporting you, giving you good advice, at the same time teaching you how to do what you're interested in.

That's the connecting piece You wanna learn how to rhyme?.

I know how to rhyme.

I can teach you how to do it better.

And you can probably teach me how to do it better, right?

This exchange, that mentorship.

But what if we shifted the conversations?

Like, say, what would you want to do with your life man, Let's figure that out.

Anthony Jones is a former pupil of Moore's who came through the Academy's program as an Emcee.

The student is now the teacher.

He excelled at AOTA.

The program had such a profound impact on him that Moore has brought Jones on to teach and mentor the next crop of young hip hop talent.

throughout all of the all of the things that I've done with AOTA and outside of AOTA, he' been right there in my corner.

I mean he's my O.G.

Like I feel like every person has an O.G.

and and I feel like he's mine at this point.

Like he's, he's been massively instrumental in pretty much everything that I've accomplished I've been perusing your albums left and right, man, there's one track tha really stood out to me, ... hard to stay positive when I haven't got that right break yet.

They talking but it seems it' coming out the side they neck.

along with these high priced stakes that if I want, I risk watching another shorty... Why is touching young lives through the vehicle of hip hop so important to you?

it's life, you know, I'm saying, like, we're all we're all living this thing and we don't we don't really get the say so on what we come into.

And this might not be everybody's thing, you know, it might not be everybody's like passion or purpose in life to give of what they have.

So that somebody else has.

but for whatever reason, that's just what drives me.

That's like my that's my that is my true north.

I just do my own little part.

Yes.

And Kendrick Lamar at the Super Bowl?

What a year for hip hop.

Our time has come to a close.

But for even more beyond the score, digital extras and social media links.

Check us out online or on the PBS app.

I'm Al Martin.

And on behalf of our amazing team here at WKAR, Thanks for joining us.

And be easy people.

Beyond the Score is supported in part by Capital Insurance Services offering comprehensive personal and commercial insurance, including medical professional liability to Lansing and throughout Michigan since 1980.

More resources and information about offerings at capital insurance dot com.