[blacklistedbully]

We’re toast. I stand by my earlier contention that home field is worth several runs for Mississppi State. Our kids are playing in front of more fans in two nights than the number who showed up to Sunken Diamond all season. Miller has always been prone to wildness but I think the atmosphere tonight exacerbated it for him.

Hats off to the Bulldogs and their fans. Let’s go out and get a top 8 seed next year.

11,597 announced attendance tonight.  Congrats to your team on a great season.  I know it didn't end the way y'all hoped, but I hope your kids managed to enjoy the ride in Starkvegas, playing in a truly exciting atmosphere.

[blacklistedbully]

We’re toast. I stand by my earlier contention that home field is worth several runs for Mississppi State. Our kids are playing in front of more fans in two nights than the number who showed up to Sunken Diamond all season. Miller has always been prone to wildness but I think the atmosphere tonight exacerbated it for him.

Hats off to the Bulldogs and their fans. Let’s go out and get a top 8 seed next year.

11,597 announced attendance tonight.  Congrats to your team on a great season.  I know it didn't end the way y'all hoped, but I hope your kids managed to enjoy the ride in Starkvegas, playing in a truly exciting atmosphere.

[Hulk01]

Pac 12 teams went 3-10 in the post season.
I won't complain about anti-Pac 12 bias next season.

And it's likely to get worse.
The talent leaving the conference
isn't being replaced;
the coming season's preseason all conference team
will be the weakest in my memory.
Stanford has two incoming Top 100 players;
at least two SEC teams have seven.

[Hulk01]

Pac 12 teams went 3-10 in the post season.
I won't complain about anti-Pac 12 bias next season.

And it's likely to get worse.
The talent leaving the conference
isn't being replaced;
the coming season's preseason all conference team
will be the weakest in my memory.
Stanford has two incoming Top 100 players;
at least two SEC teams have seven.

[OutsiderFan]

Heard on broadcast last night: Mississippi State's stadium was the product of a $63 million renovation. It's not like Mississippi has more resources to tap into than the Pac-12 region has. There are more billionaires per capita in San Francisco than anywhere in the world. But it's clear there are regions of the country people will spend a much larger portion of the money they have on sports. No point getting into why.

The reality is people just don't care about college sports in the Pac-12 region as they do in the ACC, SEC, Big 12, and Big Ten regions.  I'm not real big on home field advantage in post-season, where I think the best teams always win.  But compare UCLA and Stanford's home fields to Mississippi State and LSU's.  It is kind of shocking to see the comparisons.  SEC stadiums look like professional baseball.  The Pac-12 looks like amateur hour by comparison. Although the Pac-12 had the two top college players selected in the draft, it is clearly obvious after watching the NCAA Baseball tournament that The SEC and ACC are running circles around it, the Big 12 is better, and maybe the Big Ten is at least on par.


Stanford was one of the worst performing teams in the Super Regionals. Only East Carolina was weaker. But then again, UCLA lost at home to a 3 seed as the #1 overall seed.   I remember in the 1980s it not being uncommon for 4 Pac-12 teams to be in the CWS. Football has fallen. MBB has fallen. Baseball has fallen.  Softball at least continues to hold its own, but other than that, the Pac-12 is falling further behind in all the sports TV cares about. It was one thing when other conferences could get better players - even from the West Coast - just to play in front of more eyeballs, but now it seems evident the top talent will prefer to play East of the Rockies against the best players.  The Pac-12 is effectively on the path to being a mid-major in all revenue generating sports.

Anyway, back to the on-field. It looks to me like Florida State is the best team right now. I'll be rooting for Mike Martin to close out his 40th and final season with a CWS win.

[OutsiderFan]

Heard on broadcast last night: Mississippi State's stadium was the product of a $63 million renovation. It's not like Mississippi has more resources to tap into than the Pac-12 region has. There are more billionaires per capita in San Francisco than anywhere in the world. But it's clear there are regions of the country people will spend a much larger portion of the money they have on sports. No point getting into why.

The reality is people just don't care about college sports in the Pac-12 region as they do in the ACC, SEC, Big 12, and Big Ten regions.  I'm not real big on home field advantage in post-season, where I think the best teams always win.  But compare UCLA and Stanford's home fields to Mississippi State and LSU's.  It is kind of shocking to see the comparisons.  SEC stadiums look like professional baseball.  The Pac-12 looks like amateur hour by comparison. Although the Pac-12 had the two top college players selected in the draft, it is clearly obvious after watching the NCAA Baseball tournament that The SEC and ACC are running circles around it, the Big 12 is better, and maybe the Big Ten is at least on par.


Stanford was one of the worst performing teams in the Super Regionals. Only East Carolina was weaker. But then again, UCLA lost at home to a 3 seed as the #1 overall seed.   I remember in the 1980s it not being uncommon for 4 Pac-12 teams to be in the CWS. Football has fallen. MBB has fallen. Baseball has fallen.  Softball at least continues to hold its own, but other than that, the Pac-12 is falling further behind in all the sports TV cares about. It was one thing when other conferences could get better players - even from the West Coast - just to play in front of more eyeballs, but now it seems evident the top talent will prefer to play East of the Rockies against the best players.  The Pac-12 is effectively on the path to being a mid-major in all revenue generating sports.

Anyway, back to the on-field. It looks to me like Florida State is the best team right now. I'll be rooting for Mike Martin to close out his 40th and final season with a CWS win.

[JohnR34231]

We’re toast. I stand by my earlier contention that home field is worth several runs for Mississppi State. Our kids are playing in front of more fans in two nights than the number who showed up to Sunken Diamond all season. Miller has always been prone to wildness but I think the atmosphere tonight exacerbated it for him.

Hats off to the Bulldogs and their fans. Let’s go out and get a top 8 seed next year.

11,597 announced attendance tonight.  Congrats to your team on a great season.  I know it didn't end the way y'all hoped, but I hope your kids managed to enjoy the ride in Starkvegas, playing in a truly exciting atmosphere.

Thanks for posting. The best team definitely won. Good luck in the CWS.

---

Heard on broadcast last night: Mississippi State's stadium was the product of a $63 million renovation. It's not like Mississippi has more resources to tap into than the Pac-12 region has. There are more billionaires per capita in San Francisco than anywhere in the world. But it's clear there are regions of the country people will spend a much larger portion of the money they have on sports. No point getting into why.

The reality is people just don't care about college sports in the Pac-12 region as they do in the ACC, SEC, Big 12, and Big Ten regions.  I'm not real big on home field advantage in post-season, where I think the best teams always win.  But compare UCLA and Stanford's home fields to Mississippi State and LSU's.  It is kind of shocking to see the comparisons.  SEC stadiums look like professional baseball.  The Pac-12 looks like amateur hour by comparison. Although the Pac-12 had the two top college players selected in the draft, it is clearly obvious after watching the NCAA Baseball tournament that The SEC and ACC are running circles around it, the Big 12 is better, and maybe the Big Ten is at least on par.


Stanford was one of the worst performing teams in the Super Regionals. Only East Carolina was weaker. But then again, UCLA lost at home to a 3 seed as the #1 overall seed.   I remember in the 1980s it not being uncommon for 4 Pac-12 teams to be in the CWS. Football has fallen. MBB has fallen. Baseball has fallen.  Softball at least continues to hold its own, but other than that, the Pac-12 is falling further behind in all the sports TV cares about. It was one thing when other conferences could get better players - even from the West Coast - just to play in front of more eyeballs, but now it seems evident the top talent will prefer to play East of the Rockies against the best players.  The Pac-12 is effectively on the path to being a mid-major in all revenue generating sports.

Anyway, back to the on-field. It looks to me like Florida State is the best team right now. I'll be rooting for Mike Martin to close out his 40th and final season with a CWS win.

Yeah, there was some question during the latter part of the season as to whether FSU would even make the regionals or not. They sure peaked at the right time.

[JohnR34231]

We’re toast. I stand by my earlier contention that home field is worth several runs for Mississppi State. Our kids are playing in front of more fans in two nights than the number who showed up to Sunken Diamond all season. Miller has always been prone to wildness but I think the atmosphere tonight exacerbated it for him.

Hats off to the Bulldogs and their fans. Let’s go out and get a top 8 seed next year.

11,597 announced attendance tonight.  Congrats to your team on a great season.  I know it didn't end the way y'all hoped, but I hope your kids managed to enjoy the ride in Starkvegas, playing in a truly exciting atmosphere.

Thanks for posting. The best team definitely won. Good luck in the CWS.

---

Heard on broadcast last night: Mississippi State's stadium was the product of a $63 million renovation. It's not like Mississippi has more resources to tap into than the Pac-12 region has. There are more billionaires per capita in San Francisco than anywhere in the world. But it's clear there are regions of the country people will spend a much larger portion of the money they have on sports. No point getting into why.

The reality is people just don't care about college sports in the Pac-12 region as they do in the ACC, SEC, Big 12, and Big Ten regions.  I'm not real big on home field advantage in post-season, where I think the best teams always win.  But compare UCLA and Stanford's home fields to Mississippi State and LSU's.  It is kind of shocking to see the comparisons.  SEC stadiums look like professional baseball.  The Pac-12 looks like amateur hour by comparison. Although the Pac-12 had the two top college players selected in the draft, it is clearly obvious after watching the NCAA Baseball tournament that The SEC and ACC are running circles around it, the Big 12 is better, and maybe the Big Ten is at least on par.


Stanford was one of the worst performing teams in the Super Regionals. Only East Carolina was weaker. But then again, UCLA lost at home to a 3 seed as the #1 overall seed.   I remember in the 1980s it not being uncommon for 4 Pac-12 teams to be in the CWS. Football has fallen. MBB has fallen. Baseball has fallen.  Softball at least continues to hold its own, but other than that, the Pac-12 is falling further behind in all the sports TV cares about. It was one thing when other conferences could get better players - even from the West Coast - just to play in front of more eyeballs, but now it seems evident the top talent will prefer to play East of the Rockies against the best players.  The Pac-12 is effectively on the path to being a mid-major in all revenue generating sports.

Anyway, back to the on-field. It looks to me like Florida State is the best team right now. I'll be rooting for Mike Martin to close out his 40th and final season with a CWS win.

Yeah, there was some question during the latter part of the season as to whether FSU would even make the regionals or not. They sure peaked at the right time.

[Hulk01]

Yes: Congratulations to our guests from Mississippi State.
The much better team won.
We're playing a different game, and we will
unless and until we start getting much better players.

[Hulk01]

Yes: Congratulations to our guests from Mississippi State.
The much better team won.
We're playing a different game, and we will
unless and until we start getting much better players.

[Hulk01]

The poor get poorer.

44 of Perfect Games's high school top 100 recruits have committed to SEC schools.
And 12 to Pac 12 teams.

Vandy and LSU each have more of those commits (each with eight)
than Arizona, ASU, USC, Cal, Stanford and Oregon State (seven total) combined.

[Hulk01]

The poor get poorer.

44 of Perfect Games's high school top 100 recruits have committed to SEC schools.
And 12 to Pac 12 teams.

Vandy and LSU each have more of those commits (each with eight)
than Arizona, ASU, USC, Cal, Stanford and Oregon State (seven total) combined.

[GoDawgs]

Great series! It was just our weekend. That's a tough environment for anyone to compete in.

All I can say is the entire Stanford team is a class act. Very impressed with your entire organization from the head coach down to the players. That lineup had some serious talent and I'm surprised Game 2 wasn't closer. This State team is just one of the more balanced we've had in a while, not a ton of weaknesses. Power hitting, 3rd base, and bullpen but nothing too weak to not overcome.

The fan support is an interesting topic. Not having an MLB team probably contributes to it, but then again... the state of Alabama doesn't have one and neither Alabama nor Auburn baseball have that type of following. Mississippi, Louisiana, and Arkansas simply love college baseball. It's viewed as the least corrupt of the Big 3 college sports. Kids commit in 9th or 10th grade and stick with it unless they get drafted high. There is less of an effort to flip recruits, sign shoe deals, or conspiracies to keep the blue bloods in power. Stanford probably doesn't have as much of that because of the caliber of player you recruit but the SEC can be downright filthy when it comes to college sports.

Looking forward to seeing your team in postseason play next year. Until we meet again, take care CardBoard!

[GoDawgs]

Great series! It was just our weekend. That's a tough environment for anyone to compete in.

All I can say is the entire Stanford team is a class act. Very impressed with your entire organization from the head coach down to the players. That lineup had some serious talent and I'm surprised Game 2 wasn't closer. This State team is just one of the more balanced we've had in a while, not a ton of weaknesses. Power hitting, 3rd base, and bullpen but nothing too weak to not overcome.

The fan support is an interesting topic. Not having an MLB team probably contributes to it, but then again... the state of Alabama doesn't have one and neither Alabama nor Auburn baseball have that type of following. Mississippi, Louisiana, and Arkansas simply love college baseball. It's viewed as the least corrupt of the Big 3 college sports. Kids commit in 9th or 10th grade and stick with it unless they get drafted high. There is less of an effort to flip recruits, sign shoe deals, or conspiracies to keep the blue bloods in power. Stanford probably doesn't have as much of that because of the caliber of player you recruit but the SEC can be downright filthy when it comes to college sports.

Looking forward to seeing your team in postseason play next year. Until we meet again, take care CardBoard!

[CTcard]

Yes: Congratulations to our guests from Mississippi State.
The much better team won.
We're playing a different game, and we will
unless and until we start getting much better players.

For the most part, I don't think we lost because our players were inherently not good enough, we lost because they didn't play well enough and Mississippi State did.

Stanford just had 9 guys drafted, Mississippi State had 10.
Stanford had 5 guys drafted in the first 10 rounds, Mississippi State had 3.
Stanford had 7 guys drafted in the first 20 rounds, Mississippi State had 6.

The guy who just completely shut down our offense was drafted in the 31st round. That's perfectly fine, but it's not the level of prospect of a lot of guys the team has hit reasonably well against this year.

[CTcard]

Yes: Congratulations to our guests from Mississippi State.
The much better team won.
We're playing a different game, and we will
unless and until we start getting much better players.

For the most part, I don't think we lost because our players were inherently not good enough, we lost because they didn't play well enough and Mississippi State did.

Stanford just had 9 guys drafted, Mississippi State had 10.
Stanford had 5 guys drafted in the first 10 rounds, Mississippi State had 3.
Stanford had 7 guys drafted in the first 20 rounds, Mississippi State had 6.

The guy who just completely shut down our offense was drafted in the 31st round. That's perfectly fine, but it's not the level of prospect of a lot of guys the team has hit reasonably well against this year.

[Goose]

For the most part, I don't think we lost because our players were inherently not good enough, we lost because they didn't play well enough and Mississippi State did.

I agree. The talent isn't inferior, but the result was. I have no way of knowing, but I wonder if the feeling on the team was similar to the feeling I detected a bit on this board, namely "We aren't really that good. We are just glad to get this far". Both we and UCLA were highly ranked nationally, but it didn't appear that way in the Super Regional. OSU, we knew wasn't "for real". Did we suspect we weren't either? What does the board think?

[Goose]

For the most part, I don't think we lost because our players were inherently not good enough, we lost because they didn't play well enough and Mississippi State did.

I agree. The talent isn't inferior, but the result was. I have no way of knowing, but I wonder if the feeling on the team was similar to the feeling I detected a bit on this board, namely "We aren't really that good. We are just glad to get this far". Both we and UCLA were highly ranked nationally, but it didn't appear that way in the Super Regional. OSU, we knew wasn't "for real". Did we suspect we weren't either? What does the board think?

[slide]

Heard on broadcast last night: Mississippi State's stadium was the product of a $63 million renovation. It's not like Mississippi has more resources to tap into than the Pac-12 region has. There are more billionaires per capita in San Francisco than anywhere in the world. But it's clear there are regions of the country people will spend a much larger portion of the money they have on sports. No point getting into why.

The reality is people just don't care about college sports in the Pac-12 region as they do in the ACC, SEC, Big 12, and Big Ten regions.  I'm not real big on home field advantage in post-season, where I think the best teams always win.  But compare UCLA and Stanford's home fields to Mississippi State and LSU's.  It is kind of shocking to see the comparisons.  SEC stadiums look like professional baseball.  The Pac-12 looks like amateur hour by comparison. Although the Pac-12 had the two top college players selected in the draft, it is clearly obvious after watching the NCAA Baseball tournament that The SEC and ACC are running circles around it, the Big 12 is better, and maybe the Big Ten is at least on par.


Stanford was one of the worst performing teams in the Super Regionals. Only East Carolina was weaker. But then again, UCLA lost at home to a 3 seed as the #1 overall seed.   I remember in the 1980s it not being uncommon for 4 Pac-12 teams to be in the CWS. Football has fallen. MBB has fallen. Baseball has fallen.  Softball at least continues to hold its own, but other than that, the Pac-12 is falling further behind in all the sports TV cares about. It was one thing when other conferences could get better players - even from the West Coast - just to play in front of more eyeballs, but now it seems evident the top talent will prefer to play East of the Rockies against the best players.  The Pac-12 is effectively on the path to being a mid-major in all revenue generating sports.

Anyway, back to the on-field. It looks to me like Florida State is the best team right now. I'll be rooting for Mike Martin to close out his 40th and final season with a CWS win.

the mdawgs can correct me but alumni raised $25M of the $68M nut and the renovation is supposed to generate $2 to $3M revenue per year.  add in the 10 year PSLs and voila it is supposed to be paid for in roughly a decade.  not Arrilaga, but not too bad.

[slide]

Heard on broadcast last night: Mississippi State's stadium was the product of a $63 million renovation. It's not like Mississippi has more resources to tap into than the Pac-12 region has. There are more billionaires per capita in San Francisco than anywhere in the world. But it's clear there are regions of the country people will spend a much larger portion of the money they have on sports. No point getting into why.

The reality is people just don't care about college sports in the Pac-12 region as they do in the ACC, SEC, Big 12, and Big Ten regions.  I'm not real big on home field advantage in post-season, where I think the best teams always win.  But compare UCLA and Stanford's home fields to Mississippi State and LSU's.  It is kind of shocking to see the comparisons.  SEC stadiums look like professional baseball.  The Pac-12 looks like amateur hour by comparison. Although the Pac-12 had the two top college players selected in the draft, it is clearly obvious after watching the NCAA Baseball tournament that The SEC and ACC are running circles around it, the Big 12 is better, and maybe the Big Ten is at least on par.


Stanford was one of the worst performing teams in the Super Regionals. Only East Carolina was weaker. But then again, UCLA lost at home to a 3 seed as the #1 overall seed.   I remember in the 1980s it not being uncommon for 4 Pac-12 teams to be in the CWS. Football has fallen. MBB has fallen. Baseball has fallen.  Softball at least continues to hold its own, but other than that, the Pac-12 is falling further behind in all the sports TV cares about. It was one thing when other conferences could get better players - even from the West Coast - just to play in front of more eyeballs, but now it seems evident the top talent will prefer to play East of the Rockies against the best players.  The Pac-12 is effectively on the path to being a mid-major in all revenue generating sports.

Anyway, back to the on-field. It looks to me like Florida State is the best team right now. I'll be rooting for Mike Martin to close out his 40th and final season with a CWS win.

the mdawgs can correct me but alumni raised $25M of the $68M nut and the renovation is supposed to generate $2 to $3M revenue per year.  add in the 10 year PSLs and voila it is supposed to be paid for in roughly a decade.  not Arrilaga, but not too bad.

[blacklistedbully]

Just want to add what a fantastic impression your baseball team and HC left us with in Starkville.  Pure class all the way around.  Pretty sure most Mississippi State fans now consider Stanford their favorite Pac-12 team.

Your squad represented your school so very well in ways that go beyond the game.

[blacklistedbully]

Just want to add what a fantastic impression your baseball team and HC left us with in Starkville.  Pure class all the way around.  Pretty sure most Mississippi State fans now consider Stanford their favorite Pac-12 team.

Your squad represented your school so very well in ways that go beyond the game.

[West Tn Dawg]

I don't usually register for opposing teams message boards, but felt compelled to after this weekends ball games.
I want to thank the Stanford team, coaches and fans for the amount of class you all showed. It was especially nice to see your coaches comforting our players after we had a player go down in the dug out Saturday night. The picture of your coach with his arm around our catcher should be on ESPN's Top 10! It was also a very nice gesture of your team and coaches to patiently wait for our team to have their time with the fans to shake hands. Our team and fans are very close and they love to celebrate with us. I do hope that no one thought that Mac was taunting or showboating after his HR last night. You would have to know the whole story on Mac to understand it was pure emotion!
Again, Thanks for your class and patience, and I hope your team and fans had a great time and got to enjoy the best atmosphere in college baseball. Hope to see yall again!

[West Tn Dawg]

I don't usually register for opposing teams message boards, but felt compelled to after this weekends ball games.
I want to thank the Stanford team, coaches and fans for the amount of class you all showed. It was especially nice to see your coaches comforting our players after we had a player go down in the dug out Saturday night. The picture of your coach with his arm around our catcher should be on ESPN's Top 10! It was also a very nice gesture of your team and coaches to patiently wait for our team to have their time with the fans to shake hands. Our team and fans are very close and they love to celebrate with us. I do hope that no one thought that Mac was taunting or showboating after his HR last night. You would have to know the whole story on Mac to understand it was pure emotion!
Again, Thanks for your class and patience, and I hope your team and fans had a great time and got to enjoy the best atmosphere in college baseball. Hope to see yall again!

[BostonCard]

Some good news about Eagan (the Mississippi State pitcher who was taken to the hospital):

https://www.wtva.com/content/news/Missis...49392.html

He has been released from the hospital yesterday.  I hope that whatever it was was a fluke medical event and that he makes a complete recovery.

BC

PS, to our new Mississippi state friends: thank you for coming to this board, not to trash talk (which, given the dominant performance, would not have been unreasonable), but to offer your positive feedback.  I wish we could have performed as well on the diamond as we did off, but that's baseball.

[BostonCard]

Some good news about Eagan (the Mississippi State pitcher who was taken to the hospital):

https://www.wtva.com/content/news/Missis...49392.html

He has been released from the hospital yesterday.  I hope that whatever it was was a fluke medical event and that he makes a complete recovery.

BC

PS, to our new Mississippi state friends: thank you for coming to this board, not to trash talk (which, given the dominant performance, would not have been unreasonable), but to offer your positive feedback.  I wish we could have performed as well on the diamond as we did off, but that's baseball.

[oldalum]

Your squad represented your school so very well in ways that go beyond the game.

Thanks for your comment. That is really important to us.

and good luck in the Series!

[oldalum]

Your squad represented your school so very well in ways that go beyond the game.

Thanks for your comment. That is really important to us.

and good luck in the Series!

[OutsiderFan]

Holy schnikees, Auburn scored THIRTEEN RUNS in the 1st inning at UNC!!!

It's a damn good thing Florida State beat LSU, because as it is, there are going to be FOUR SEC teams in the CWS (Vanderbilt, Mississippi State, Auburn, Arky/Miss winner). The SEC came really close to having 5/8 teams in the CWS.

Big Ten = 1
Big 12 = 1
ACC = 2
SEC = 4

The SEC is basically turning into an elite division apart from the rest of the NCAA, in Football, Basketball, and Baseball.  If it isn't quite there in hoops yet, it's only a matter of time.

Just like the College Football Playoff and the MBB Final Four - no Pac-12 teams competing for the championship.

[OutsiderFan]

Holy schnikees, Auburn scored THIRTEEN RUNS in the 1st inning at UNC!!!

It's a damn good thing Florida State beat LSU, because as it is, there are going to be FOUR SEC teams in the CWS (Vanderbilt, Mississippi State, Auburn, Arky/Miss winner). The SEC came really close to having 5/8 teams in the CWS.

Big Ten = 1
Big 12 = 1
ACC = 2
SEC = 4

The SEC is basically turning into an elite division apart from the rest of the NCAA, in Football, Basketball, and Baseball.  If it isn't quite there in hoops yet, it's only a matter of time.

Just like the College Football Playoff and the MBB Final Four - no Pac-12 teams competing for the championship.

[Spiny_Norman]

For those who followed baseball more closely than I did, what were the season highlights?

To my observation, this Stanford team played 3 high level teams all season - UCLA, Oregon State, Mississippi State. They were 2-5 vs. those teams. I think they showed in those games that they really were not at the level of those opponents.

After the excitement and unexpected success of last season which was ended prematurely in large part by Maverick Handley's injury, I had higher expectations for the Cardinal in 2019. I feel like this season was less than the sum of the parts.

[Spiny_Norman]

For those who followed baseball more closely than I did, what were the season highlights?

To my observation, this Stanford team played 3 high level teams all season - UCLA, Oregon State, Mississippi State. They were 2-5 vs. those teams. I think they showed in those games that they really were not at the level of those opponents.

After the excitement and unexpected success of last season which was ended prematurely in large part by Maverick Handley's injury, I had higher expectations for the Cardinal in 2019. I feel like this season was less than the sum of the parts.

[CTcard]

For those who followed baseball more closely than I did, what were the season highlights?

To my observation, this Stanford team played 3 high level teams all season - UCLA, Oregon State, Mississippi State. They were 2-5 vs. those teams. I think they showed in those games that they really were not at the level of those opponents.

After the excitement and unexpected success of last season which was ended prematurely in large part by Maverick Handley's injury, I had higher expectations for the Cardinal in 2019. I feel like this season was less than the sum of the parts.

I am still working out what I think of this team.

Each of the past three seasons ended in disappointment.
2017, Marquess' last year, we managed a #8 national seed with a nice comeback from missing the tournament altogether in 2015 and 2016. 
2018, Esquer's first year, we got the overall #2 seed (a bit of a surprise to me as we stumbled a bit at the end).
Both years Fullerton knocked us off in our second and fourth games of our own regional.
2019 was the lowest seed of the bunch, and we didn't end up accomplishing less than our seed in the tournament - but it still was frustrating.

For  baseball I think it is a serious mistake to focus on just a few games to determine the overall quality of a team - there's just too much randomness in game to game results. [Note in the pros, the best teams win the lowest percentage of games of any of our major sports.]
At the least, I would add at least Fresno to your list of top teams we played, possibly ASU, cal, and even Sac State.That whole group gets Stanford to 11-8. Not stellar, but okay.

More importantly, Stanford finished second in the Pac 12 with winning percentage of 0.763 (overall)/0.759 (conference)
I think that is the team's sixth best overall winning percentage since 1950.
That was the team's best conference winning percentage since 1999, and fifth best since 1950.
Interestingly, both overall and in conference winning percentages were better than both years Stanford won the national title. Showing again how important it is to win at the right time.

This team had a top flight bullpen and hit with power.
The team had 88 HRs (tied for 6th best Stanford-all time), averaging 1.49 HRs per game (I think 4th all time).

However, this team had some shaky starting pitching (weekend starters were #11, 13 and should be 15 in Pac 12 [Matthiessen not listed on Pac 12 site for some reason]).
They also had a feast or famine offense, as they weren't great on getting on base (7th OB% in Pac 12, #136 in Div. 1) or hitting for great average (0.278, 5th in Pac 12).
[Though, the AVG and OB% were both essentially identical to last year.]
The improved power led to an improved runs per game to 6.71 from 6.41.


I am not sure what the sum of the parts really was. Beck the elder and Bubic were big losses to the starting pitching. The offense lost the two highest average guys from last year (Branton and Hoerner), but everyone else came back along with Kinamon returning from injury. That's pretty good for a college team.

[CTcard]

For those who followed baseball more closely than I did, what were the season highlights?

To my observation, this Stanford team played 3 high level teams all season - UCLA, Oregon State, Mississippi State. They were 2-5 vs. those teams. I think they showed in those games that they really were not at the level of those opponents.

After the excitement and unexpected success of last season which was ended prematurely in large part by Maverick Handley's injury, I had higher expectations for the Cardinal in 2019. I feel like this season was less than the sum of the parts.

I am still working out what I think of this team.

Each of the past three seasons ended in disappointment.
2017, Marquess' last year, we managed a #8 national seed with a nice comeback from missing the tournament altogether in 2015 and 2016. 
2018, Esquer's first year, we got the overall #2 seed (a bit of a surprise to me as we stumbled a bit at the end).
Both years Fullerton knocked us off in our second and fourth games of our own regional.
2019 was the lowest seed of the bunch, and we didn't end up accomplishing less than our seed in the tournament - but it still was frustrating.

For  baseball I think it is a serious mistake to focus on just a few games to determine the overall quality of a team - there's just too much randomness in game to game results. [Note in the pros, the best teams win the lowest percentage of games of any of our major sports.]
At the least, I would add at least Fresno to your list of top teams we played, possibly ASU, cal, and even Sac State.That whole group gets Stanford to 11-8. Not stellar, but okay.

More importantly, Stanford finished second in the Pac 12 with winning percentage of 0.763 (overall)/0.759 (conference)
I think that is the team's sixth best overall winning percentage since 1950.
That was the team's best conference winning percentage since 1999, and fifth best since 1950.
Interestingly, both overall and in conference winning percentages were better than both years Stanford won the national title. Showing again how important it is to win at the right time.

This team had a top flight bullpen and hit with power.
The team had 88 HRs (tied for 6th best Stanford-all time), averaging 1.49 HRs per game (I think 4th all time).

However, this team had some shaky starting pitching (weekend starters were #11, 13 and should be 15 in Pac 12 [Matthiessen not listed on Pac 12 site for some reason]).
They also had a feast or famine offense, as they weren't great on getting on base (7th OB% in Pac 12, #136 in Div. 1) or hitting for great average (0.278, 5th in Pac 12).
[Though, the AVG and OB% were both essentially identical to last year.]
The improved power led to an improved runs per game to 6.71 from 6.41.


I am not sure what the sum of the parts really was. Beck the elder and Bubic were big losses to the starting pitching. The offense lost the two highest average guys from last year (Branton and Hoerner), but everyone else came back along with Kinamon returning from injury. That's pretty good for a college team.

[oldalum]

More importantly, Stanford finished second in the Pac 12 with winning percentage of 0.763 (overall)/0.759 (conference)
I think that is the team's sixth best overall winning percentage since 1950.
That was the team's best conference winning percentage since 1999, and fifth best since 1950.
Interestingly, both overall and in conference winning percentages were better than both years Stanford won the national title. Showing again how important it is to win at the right time. 

or that the conference (and maybe nonconference schedule) was weaker than it has been in a long time??

[oldalum]

More importantly, Stanford finished second in the Pac 12 with winning percentage of 0.763 (overall)/0.759 (conference)
I think that is the team's sixth best overall winning percentage since 1950.
That was the team's best conference winning percentage since 1999, and fifth best since 1950.
Interestingly, both overall and in conference winning percentages were better than both years Stanford won the national title. Showing again how important it is to win at the right time. 

or that the conference (and maybe nonconference schedule) was weaker than it has been in a long time??

[BostonCard]

I don't know.... Boyd ranks the Pac-12 as the second best conference, behind the SEC.

http://www.boydsworld.com/baseball/isr/confisr.html

As CT notes, in baseball there is a lot more randomness than in any of the other big sports.  MLB uses a 7-game series to determine which is the better team, and plenty of times the less accomplished team will win four games.  It is even worse in a double elimination tournament.

My sense is that CT is right.  This is a good but flawed team.  We had excellent relief pitching, a good but inconsistent offense, and "shaky" (good descriptor) starting pitching. I would add that our baserunning was sometimes questionable, and team defense ranged from iffy (Tawa, lately) to superb (Handley).  The team accomplished roughly what would have been consistent with its underlying quality; we ran into a buzzsaw in Mississippi State.  Under different circumstances, and getting hot at the right time, and a little bit of luck (think FSU) we might have been able to get to the CWS.  But certainly the way we played at the super regional and the way Mississippi State played, there's no doubt about which team deserved to move on.

BC

[BostonCard]

I don't know.... Boyd ranks the Pac-12 as the second best conference, behind the SEC.

http://www.boydsworld.com/baseball/isr/confisr.html

As CT notes, in baseball there is a lot more randomness than in any of the other big sports.  MLB uses a 7-game series to determine which is the better team, and plenty of times the less accomplished team will win four games.  It is even worse in a double elimination tournament.

My sense is that CT is right.  This is a good but flawed team.  We had excellent relief pitching, a good but inconsistent offense, and "shaky" (good descriptor) starting pitching. I would add that our baserunning was sometimes questionable, and team defense ranged from iffy (Tawa, lately) to superb (Handley).  The team accomplished roughly what would have been consistent with its underlying quality; we ran into a buzzsaw in Mississippi State.  Under different circumstances, and getting hot at the right time, and a little bit of luck (think FSU) we might have been able to get to the CWS.  But certainly the way we played at the super regional and the way Mississippi State played, there's no doubt about which team deserved to move on.

BC

[Hulk01]

You are right about the baseball draft;
Among the first 180 players taken,
27 were from the Pac 12 and 25 from the SEC.
(And 13 from the Big 12 and just five--five--from the Big Ten.)

We were very good, but we slumped at exactly the worst time;
the pitching fell off in the season's last month and our bats disappeared
somewhere in Starkville.  


Again, I always have been impressed by Mississippi hospitality
and our board guests this week confirmed it. 
Thanks and good luck.
Wish Oregon and Washington fans were half as gracious;
maybe all the rain turns them surly
and all the beer turns them drunk.

[Hulk01]

You are right about the baseball draft;
Among the first 180 players taken,
27 were from the Pac 12 and 25 from the SEC.
(And 13 from the Big 12 and just five--five--from the Big Ten.)

We were very good, but we slumped at exactly the worst time;
the pitching fell off in the season's last month and our bats disappeared
somewhere in Starkville.  


Again, I always have been impressed by Mississippi hospitality
and our board guests this week confirmed it. 
Thanks and good luck.
Wish Oregon and Washington fans were half as gracious;
maybe all the rain turns them surly
and all the beer turns them drunk.