Michigan Baseball

[mike412]

They probably won’t win the College World Series, but what a symbol of hope they are to cold weather schools like Pitt.

They certainly have a greater baseball tradition: two national titles, albeit the most recent one was in 1962; a few well-known MLB players like Barry Larkin and Jim Abbott. But, the type of team they have put together is one not beyond the capabilities of Pitt and other northern schools to assemble.

No Floridians or Texans. A few Californians. A sprinkling of players from other western states. But, primarily a team made up of players from the Midwest.
Their pitching is the key. They have two starters, Henry and Kauffman, who have been dominant in the regional, super regional and now CWS. Both are from Michigan.

Like most northern teams, they started the season playing games in warmer climates. They did okay, but took some lumps. They played a number of weak teams, but did beat UCLA on a Western swing. They played Texas Tech, their opponent today, 3 times in Lubbock and lost all 3. Today, when it really mattered, they beat them 15-3.

They were one of the last 4 teams to get into the field of 64. Now they are one of the final two teams to play for the national title.

I’m not suggesting Pitt will match their success. But, it’s certainly not impossible to dream about it. Kudos to them for proving it’s not an unrealistic dream.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

They probably won’t win the College World Series, but what a symbol of hope they are to cold weather schools like Pitt.

They certainly have a greater baseball tradition: two national titles, albeit the most recent one was in 1962; a few well-known MLB players like Barry Larkin and Jim Abbott. But, the type of team they have put together is one not beyond the capabilities of Pitt and other northern schools to assemble.

No Floridians or Texans. A few Californians. A sprinkling of players from other western states. But, primarily a team made up of players from the Midwest.
Their pitching is the key. They have two starters, Henry and Kauffman, who have been dominant in the regional, super regional and now CWS. Both are from Michigan.

Like most northern teams, they started the season playing games in warmer climates. They did okay, but took some lumps. They played a number of weak teams, but did beat UCLA on a Western swing. They played Texas Tech, their opponent today, 3 times in Lubbock and lost all 3. Today, when it really mattered, they beat them 15-3.

They were one of the last 4 teams to get into the field of 64. Now they are one of the final two teams to play for the national title.

I’m not suggesting Pitt will match their success. But, it’s certainly not impossible to dream about it. Kudos to them for proving it’s not an unrealistic dream.

Michigan is playing for the National Championship in baseball? Wow, that's crazy.

I have always said the CWS Championship Series should be in August to allow the northern teams to play on somewhat of a level playing field. It would also be better for attendance and more games to get on TV for everyone as nothing is happening in college sports that time of year. Obviously, the 2 big drawbacks to this are MLB's Draft and it would kill the summer wooden bat leagues but those arent of the NCAA's concern. The tough part would be getting MLB to move their draft to after the college season in August. Since the MLB rule is that you can't be drafted until after your junior year if you enroll in college or reach age 21, the other option would be for the NCAA to make teams forfeit all games played by players during the season.

Take Seth Beer for example. Everyone knew he was a 1st Rounder after his FR season at Clemson but he had to play 3 seasons before he could get drafted. In this setup, he would finish his junior year in August, let's say in the CWS but wouldn't have reached age 21 until the following month in September so he wouldn't be draft eligible until the following June draft. Being that the next college season would begin in mid-April, Beer could theoretically play 6-7 weeks of his senior year for Clemson then get drafted and leave but if he signs a pro contract, Clemson would have to forfeit all their games so they obviously wouldn't play him. What this does is essentially make juniors declare for the draft without declaring. You have to be honest with your coach and teammates because every game you play could cost them a W if you leave and go sign a pro contract.

Of course, this will never happen but it should. College baseball has much greater potential and should be played in the summer months.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

The tough part would be getting MLB to move their draft to after the college season in August.

Which is not going to happen.

MLB teams would much rather have those guys playing for them in their leagues with coaches who care more about the players (especially pitchers) than they do about winning games. Any significant change in MLB draft rules and timing would require a radical change in the whole system, and right now MLB has no need to make radical changes to their system.

 

[JD1976]

Michigan is playing for the National Championship in baseball? Wow, that's crazy.

I have always said the CWS Championship Series should be in August to allow the northern teams to play on somewhat of a level playing field. It would also be better for attendance and more games to get on TV for everyone as nothing is happening in college sports that time of year. Obviously, the 2 big drawbacks to this are MLB's Draft and it would kill the summer wooden bat leagues but those arent of the NCAA's concern. The tough part would be getting MLB to move their draft to after the college season in August. Since the MLB rule is that you can't be drafted until after your junior year if you enroll in college or reach age 21, the other option would be for the NCAA to make teams forfeit all games played by players during the season.

Take Seth Beer for example. Everyone knew he was a 1st Rounder after his FR season at Clemson but he had to play 3 seasons before he could get drafted. In this setup, he would finish his junior year in August, let's say in the CWS but wouldn't have reached age 21 until the following month in September so he wouldn't be draft eligible until the following June draft. Being that the next college season would begin in mid-April, Beer could theoretically play 6-7 weeks of his senior year for Clemson then get drafted and leave but if he signs a pro contract, Clemson would have to forfeit all their games so they obviously wouldn't play him. What this does is essentially make juniors declare for the draft without declaring. You have to be honest with your coach and teammates because every game you play could cost them a W if you leave and go sign a pro contract.

Of course, this will never happen but it should. College baseball has much greater potential and should be played in the summer months.

MLB doesn’t necessarily need to move it’s draft back if the NCAA moves to a later schedule. You could still have the June draft as usual because MLB teams carry enough extended spring training and Latin American rosters to fill out short-season and rookie rosters and college players drafted could sign after their college season ends. Most college starting pitchers are on such a limited pitch count once they join their pro team that they already barely pitch the summer of their draft.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Which is not going to happen.

MLB teams would much rather have those guys playing for them in their leagues with coaches who care more about the players (especially pitchers) than they do about winning games. Any significant change in MLB draft rules and timing would require a radical change in the whole system, and right now MLB has no need to make radical changes to their system.

Right, they wouldn't but I would still push the season back 2 months if I were the NCAA and institute some type of rule which disallows players that would be signing pro contracts during the season to not play at all that season.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

Most college starting pitchers are on such a limited pitch count once they join their pro team that they already barely pitch the summer of their draft.

And the reason for that is the amount of abuse that most college coaches pile on those guy's arms. MLB teams would much rather have those guys under their supervision than under the supervision of guys who claim to care about the pitchers, but then do things that if a minor league manager did he would literally get fired on the spot for doing.