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2020 NCAA Baseball Thread

Gatorubet

By Gatorubet
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torre

torre 1286

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23 hours ago, Gatorubet said:

https://floridagators.com/news/2019/12/23/gators-2019-signing-class-ranked-no-1-by-d1baseball.aspx

We'll see.   Hope to avoid being fodder for mighty Dallas Baptist this year.  

 

Does the new ballpark open this year ?

Should have a Longhorn logo somewhere as a new park was reportedly an impetus for O'Sullivan to stay when we tried to hire him.      😉

Good luck this season ! 

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torre

torre 1286

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Louisville, Vandy Preseason Favorites

 

With almost all of its pitching staff back from the team that made the program’s deepest postseason run, Louisville will begin the college baseball season Friday ranked No. 1 in three of the six major polls.

Defending national champion Vanderbilt lost six everyday players but is atop the other polls largely because it returns possible No. 1 draft pick Austin Martin and postseason pitching sensation Kumar Rocker.

Louisville coach Dan McDonnell embraces the high expectations.

“When six of your top eight arms come back and you finish third in the country, and with good position players, you feel like, ‘OK, we’re probably going to be ranked pretty high this year,’ ” McDonnell said. “We tried to prepare for the kids before Christmas as to what the rest of the country will think about us. You have to be mature in how you handle that.”

Reid Detmers, the 2019 Atlantic Coast Conference Pitcher of the Year, joins Bobby Miller and Luke Smith in the weekend rotation. All started games in the College World Series. The Cardinals also have a proven closer in Michael Kirian.

Third baseman Alex Binelas, a freshman All-American last year, is among five position players who are back from a 51-18 team.

The Cardinals lost all three of their games with Vanderbilt last year, including two in the CWS. The last was in a bracket final, with the Commodores scoring twice in the ninth inning for a 3-2 win.

Vanderbilt has two of the college game’s biggest names in Martin and Rocker.

Martin played mostly third base last year but can play shortstop or in the outfield. He flirted with .400 last year, finishing at .392, and is in line to join Atlanta Braves shortstop and ex-Vandy star Dansby Swanson as a No. 1 draft pick.

The 6-foot-4, 255-pound Rocker won 12 games as a freshman, struck out 19 while throwing the first no-hitter in the NCAA superregionals and was the CWS Most Outstanding Player. Rocker probably will remain the No. 2 starter, with Mason Hickman (9-0, 2.05 ERA) moving from Sunday to the Friday spot.

Vanderbilt went 59-12, setting a Southeastern Conference record for wins, and tied the league record with 13 players taken in the draft. Even with a revamped outfield and new starters at first base and shortstop, the Commodores remain the team to beat.

“You put this ‘V’ star on your chest,” Martin said, “you’re going to have a target on your back. That’s a given. Everybody wants to beat Vanderbilt regardless of what happened last year. That’s just the mentality everybody has.”

Other teams to watch are:

Arizona State (38-19): No drop-off is expected by one of the top offensive teams in the nation. The Sun Devils batted .310, hit 94 homers and averaged better than eight runs a game. Spencer Torkelson has gone deep 48 times the past two years and has a strong supporting cast. The Pac-12 favorite brought in a top-10 recruiting class.

Cal State Fullerton (27-26): The Titans locked up coach Rick Vanderhook through 2024 before last season and then missed the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1992 and failed to win 30 games for the first time in the program’s 45-year history. Vanderhook has reconfigured his coaching staff to lead a young team. The Titans are the the preseason Big West favorites.

Florida State (42-23): Mike Martin Jr. takes over for his father, the all-time wins leader in college baseball, and will field a team that brings back five position players, two starting pitchers and three relievers who appeared in the CWS. Reese Albert, who hit nine homers despite missing 18 games because of injury, will be counted on to bolster the offense. Ten-game winner CJ Van Eyk is the ace of a strong pitching staff.

Florida (34-26): The Gators won their fewest games since 2013 and didn’t make the CWS for the first time since 2014. SEC coaches nonetheless picked them to finish second in the conference. The spotlight will be on starters Tommy Mace and Jack Leftwich — poster boys for Florida’s struggles on the mound (5.37 ERA) — and prized freshman left-hander Hunter Barco. Six everyday players are back from an offense that has pop.

Georgia (46-17): The Bulldogs will go as far as their starting pitchers take them. Emerson Hancock’s 1.99 ERA was the best by a Georgia starter since 1977. Cole Wilcox got better as his freshman season progressed. In SEC play, he went 3-1 with a 2.57 ERA and a .188 opponent batting average. With the top three hitters gone, offense is the biggest question.

Miami (41-20): The Hurricanes made an NCAA regional for the first time since 2016 and are looking to go farther in Gino DiMare’s second year. The main contributors from a potent offense are back. Alex Toral hit 24 of Miami’s 85 homers. Fifth-year senior Brian Van Belle won 10 games and anchors the pitching staff. The Canes also are excited about No. 2 starter Chris McMahon.

Michigan (50-22): The Wolverines were the feel-good story of 2019. They made it to the CWS finals in their first trip to Omaha since 1984, and their runner-up finish was their best since the 1962 team won the national title. Erik Bakich’s club lost a couple of big bats, but much is expected from Jordan Nwogu and Jack Blomgren, among others. Jeff Criswell will be the No. 1 starter, and Willie Weiss is back as the closer.

Oklahoma State (40-21): The buzz around the Cowboys is about the newcomers. The recruiting class was ranked as high as No. 3, Kaden Polcovich is the Big 12 preseason newcomer of the year, and Bryce Osmond is preseason freshman of the year. The switch-hitting Polcovich hit 12 homers at Northwest Florida State College and is projected to start at second base. Osmond is in line to be the Cowboys’ No. 2 starter.

Texas Tech (46-20): Tim Tadlock has coached four of his past six teams to the CWS, with the 2019 Red Raiders making it to the final four. Tech is ranked as high as No. 3 and favored to win the Big 12. Dylan Neuse, Brian Klein and Braxton Fulford are the core of an everyday lineup that should be potent again despite losing a couple of sluggers. John McMillon, Micah Dallas and Clayton Beeter headline the pitching staff.

UCLA (52-11): The defending Pac-12 champion Bruins set school records with 52 wins overall and 24 conference wins. They also were the No. 1 national seed in the NCAA Tournament, losing a thrilling superregional at home to CWS runner-up Michigan. There’s plenty of returning talent, led by All-American Garrett Mitchell and the nation’s top closer, Holden Powell, as well as a recruiting class ranked among the top five.

https://www.statesman.com/sports/20200213/louisville-vandy-are-college-baseball-favorites

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torre

torre 1286

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Anyone heard of this  ?     May be optional depending on conference ?

 

 

A new rule intended to help speed up the game also could thwart attempts to steal signs in college baseball.

The NCAA will allow a pitcher to wear a wristband with a signal card when the season opens Friday, allowing him and the catcher to look into the dugout to get pitch calls and eliminating the need for the catcher to relay the call with hand signs.

Sign stealing has come to the fore since the Houston Astros were found to have used electronics to steal signs during their run to the 2017 World Series championship and in the 2018 season.

The wristband rule in college baseball was put in to expedite the process of coaches calling pitches from the dugout with the implementation of the 20-second limit between pitches.

“The wristbands with the card that you can change every inning makes it harder for people to steal signs,” Minnesota coach John Anderson said. “We’re in a similar space as professional baseball with all the video systems and cameras and more television broadcasts today.”

Attempts to steal signs has always been accepted in baseball, with coaches and players keeping an eye on the opponent’s on-field mannerisms, how the catcher sets up or how fielders move, not to mention trying to figure out hand signs.

“There’s a way to pick pitches and a way not to pick pitches,” UCLA coach John Savage said. “If you get an unfair advantage from the in-game (TV) monitor or center field camera and relay pitches right away, I just think it’s very unethical.

“The message has been sent. Everybody’s been talking about it literally every day since that (Astros) thing came out and they’re still talking about it, and it’s not going away. Your job as a staff is to make sure that you fix anything you’re doing in terms of giving away pitches. That’s always been on the plate. But this other way of doing it is clearly crossing the line.”

Not all teams are on board with pitchers wearing wristband.

“I think it gives them too much on their plate,” Savage said. “It’s tough enough to execute a pitch, pitch out of problems, navigate through a game. I don’t necessarily want the pitcher having to look into the dugout after every pitch and look for a sign. Our job is to come up with a system that’s really hard to pick from the pitching coach, which is myself, to the catcher.”

Anderson is in wait-and-see mode. At Minnesota, the catcher and pitcher call games themselves with occasional input from coaches. Anderson said that system will continue, but he is considering having the catcher and pitcher wear wristbands and have the catcher flash signs that change by inning or situation.

“We’re edging into that space, I’m afraid,” Anderson said. “We’re paranoid, no question, so we’re going to pay attention. If we feel we can’t keep our kids in position where people don’t have our signs, we’re going to have to go into that space as well.”

The new rule requires the pitcher to be on the mound but not on the rubber when he looks into the dugout and then at his wristband. To not distract the batter, the card must be dark in color and worn on the inside of the forearm and wrist unless the card is covered with a flap.

Savage and Anderson said they suspect, but can’t prove, some of their opponents have used technology such as TVs in the clubhouse to steal signs.

“When you see guys sitting on pitches and squaring up pretty good breaking balls and change-ups in fastball counts, you start to wonder,” Anderson said. “I think we’re all a little gun shy, too, because we’re all aware of what’s potentially going on. You get a little paranoid just because you know it’s a possibility.”

 

https://apnews.com/1ea96db1f0d394638803fe5f93460a75

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B00M

B00M 6499

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On 2/15/2020 at 3:56 PM, ss13 said:

So fucking ridiculous. Mid-AB, true freshman, 9th inning of a 1-run season opener. 

Yeah but... Showing where you thought the pitch was with your bat will get you ejected 9 outta 10 times. Umps are super sensitive to that. 

 

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B00M

B00M 6499

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20 minutes ago, ss13 said:

He didn’t though. He just drug his bat because the call sucked. I was watching live, they showed plenty of angles. All 3 announcers thought it was horseshit too. 

If he wasn't showing where he thought the pitch was, we are in agreement that he was showing up the umpire. Shitty umps are usually the most sensitive because deep down they know they suck. When you show the stadium that they suck, you're playing with fire.

Do you have video of this whole AB and maybe his prior at bats? I'm really curious what preceded this.

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ss13

ss13 1832

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He’s an 18/19-year old kid playing his first televised game, nothing preceded it. Blue just wanted to make sure everyone knew he was there. 

And it was after a 2-run yack to give Mich the lead against Vandy’s badass closer, so ump needed to steal the show back. 

Edited by ss13
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torre

torre 1286

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1 hour ago, Beau Vine said:

Was a D1baseball.com subscription $99 last year or was it a lot cheaper?  Because $99 seems pretty steep. 

Don't subscribe,  but iirc it was close to the same.    May want to google for discount codes and watch for promos as the season progresses.   Still pretty steep.

Even The Baseball Cube now charges $15 a year for stats.

 

 

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torre

torre 1286

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Good baseball at the Round Rock Classic,  Dell Diamond,  this weekend.    Nice tourney for teams that are not at the Shriners' Classic in Houston.

 

ROUND ROCK CLASSIC SCHEDULE
 

Friday, Feb. 21
• 3 p.m. | Stanford vs. HOUSTON
• 7 p.m. | Texas Tech vs. Tennessee

Saturday, Feb. 22
• 2 p.m. | Tennessee vs. HOUSTON
• 6 p.m. | Stanford vs. Texas Tech

Sunday, Feb. 23
• 11 a.m. | Tennessee vs. Stanford
• 3 p.m. | HOUSTON vs. Texas Tech

Advanced tickets for the 2020 Round Rock Classic are available at RoundRockClassic.net

https://uhcougars.com/news/2019/8/14/baseball-round-rock-classic-matchups-game-times-announced.aspx

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Homercles

Homercles 10206

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Good baseball at the Round Rock Classic,  Dell Diamond,  this weekend.    Nice tourney for teams that are not at the Shriners' Classic in Houston.
 
ROUND ROCK CLASSIC SCHEDULE
 
Friday, Feb. 21
• 3 p.m. | Stanford vs. HOUSTON
• 7 p.m. | Texas Tech vs. Tennessee

Saturday, Feb. 22
• 2 p.m. | Tennessee vs. HOUSTON
• 6 p.m. | Stanford vs. Texas Tech
Sunday, Feb. 23
• 11 a.m. | Tennessee vs. Stanford
• 3 p.m. | HOUSTON vs. Texas Tech
Advanced tickets for the 2020 Round Rock Classic are available at RoundRockClassic.net
https://uhcougars.com/news/2019/8/14/baseball-round-rock-classic-matchups-game-times-announced.aspx


Man I’d kill to make a weekend of that. Damn wife and kids...
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Cajun

Cajun 11754

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On 2/17/2020 at 8:46 AM, B00M said:

Yeah but... Showing where you thought the pitch was with your bat will get you ejected 9 outta 10 times. Umps are super sensitive to that. 

 

No, that was just a little bitch ump doing little bitch things.

Non bitch ump lets that go 10 out of 10 times.

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Goodman

Goodman 3273

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Posted (edited)
10 hours ago, WBT said:

Florida finished the sweep of Miami.

Dallas Baptist took 2 of 3 at UNC.

UCF is well on their way to a sweep at Auburn, currently up 10-1.

Some good baseball was played in that Florida sweep. These teams have serious hate for each other. 

 

Edited by Goodman
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