college baseball news

[jimsumner]

I'm just pleased that there are other people on this board besides me who give a rodent's derriere about Duke baseball.

[dkbaseball]

I'm just pleased that there are other people on this board besides me who give a rodent's derriere about Duke baseball.

Hey, I was absolutely stunned to see that someone had taken the trouble to compile career stats a few years ago, and even more surprised to find myself prominently positioned in some categories. Guess that says something about where the program has been in recent decades, and where it needs to go in the future.

College baseball has gotten much bigger across the sunbelt in the last 20 years. Some schools, like Rice and Tulane, have made it the flagship program in the athletic department, and put a lot of money into new stadiums. It's only going to get tougher for Duke to keep up.

[ugadevil]

College baseball has gotten much bigger across the sunbelt in the last 20 years. Some schools, like Rice and Tulane, have made it the flagship program in the athletic department, and put a lot of money into new stadiums. It's only going to get tougher for Duke to keep up.

As a sports fan who just finished college, I must say that college baseball was my favorite sport to attend while I was a student. Granted, I was fortunate to go to a school with a great program and great facilities, but I never thought I'd have so much fun at baseball games. The atmosphere when the weather is nice on a spring night is tough to beat. I love going to big football & basketball games, but there's some aspect that made college baseball really stick out to me.

[gotham devil]

I'm just pleased that there are other people on this board besides me who give a rodent's derriere about Duke baseball.

Thanks for talking about it.
I am frankly excited about, as you mentioned, the incoming class (particularly after the MLB deadline passed) and the returning core.

1) Other people have mentioned the scholarship issue in the distant past, do you happen to know how many scholarships that Coach McNally has to work with? Is it six now?

2) Since you've dealt with him personally, do you view McNally as a potential "lifer?"

[Inonehand]

Yes, nothing like a kegger on the hill on the first base side on a sunny spring day. Made me envious.

I'm not certain about how much Butters' hands were tied WRT men's minor sports. Probably Title IX made it very difficult early in his tenure. But I know that by '89 baseball was doing much better scholarship-wise than it was in the '70s. That year I talked to Butters and he told me that four full rides had been handed out to players who couldn't play a lick, in TB's estimation, without the coach ever having seen them. So he fired the coach. Four full rides would have been considered quite the extravagance in the '70s.

Actually, Title IX hamstrung Alleva's tenure more than Butters. Under Alleva I think they added somewhere close to 50 women's scholarships over about a 4 year period. Just like facilities, Duke's women's scholarship totals were way behind. Joe had a lot of making up to do. It was Larry Smith that Butters fired and hired Steve Traylor...oddly enough, I don't think Tom ever saw either of them coach very much.

[jimsumner]

Duke gives the NCAA-maximum 11.7 scholarships for baseball.

I'm sure the plan is for McNally to bring Duke back to national prominence, get his gold watch at 65 and play golf for the rest of his days. He is a Duke alum and seems to have a genuine appreciation for the opportunities of the Gothic Wonderland.

So I suspect he'd be amenable to sticking around for awhile. I've always maintained that I'd rather lose a coach because he/she was so successful that other schools couldn't stay away rather than lose a coach because they go 6-45. Of course, I'd rather have a hall-of-fame coach stick around for 40 years or so. Could happen.

Lots of variables here. But if we assume Duke gives McNally the resources necessary to compete in the ACC, then why not assume that Duke would have the resources to retain him? Lots of hypotheticals here, of course.

FWIW, I know some baseball folks at rival schools and they unanimously agree that Duke has made tremendous on-field strides in baseball since McNally took over and they expect that improvement to continue. Now it's time for the folks in the suits and ties to come up with the infrastructure improvements the program needs and deserves.

[dkbaseball]

Now it's time for the folks in the suits and ties to come up with the infrastructure improvements the program needs and deserves.

Too bad one prominent suit is perhaps less liquid after the Bear-Stearns debacle. Or more liquid maybe, but less inclined to identify discretionary funds. I do agree that a fan-friendly stadium would do wonders for the program.

Ugadevil: Georgia is a good example of how the sport has grown. We played them on an unusually nice spring day in '71, and maybe a couple hundred people were there -- typical college baseball crowd of the time. But sometime in the '80s the SEC turned into a great baseball conference, and most venues in the league now routinely put thousands in the stands.

[jimsumner]

A good local example comes from our friends in Charlottesville. The Cavs were awful in baseball, year after year after year. They got fed up with it, got a sugar daddy or two, spent some money, and went for it. Now they are a consistent top-25 and NCAAT team.

This ain't rocket science folks. Takes some vision, some committment of resources, some hard work.

[roywhite]

A good local example comes from our friends in Charlottesville. The Cavs were awful in baseball, year after year after year. They got fed up with it, got a sugar daddy or two, spent some money, and went for it. Now they are a consistent top-25 and NCAAT team.

This ain't rocket science folks. Takes some vision, some committment of resources, some hard work.

Rice and Stanford also prove that good academic schools can compete very well in baseball.

[jimsumner]

People often ask about Rice but there's one significant difference between Rice and Duke. Rice has fished heavily in the juco pond and Duke is adamant that they will not go there.

[dkbaseball]

People often ask about Rice but there's one significant difference between Rice and Duke. Rice has fished heavily in the juco pond and Duke is adamant that they will not go there.

Not so heavily, really. There are two on the roster for this season. That's about how many I remember on the team last year. Given that their coach spent many seasons as coach of San Jacinto JC, he's been pretty restrained in how often he fishes in that pond. And I'm not sure why Duke would want to draw a line in the sand over this. Some juco players can probably handle the academic load. If I recall, K was recruiting a juco guy several years ago -- can't remember his name, from California, son of an NFL receiver, I believe. Brandon Jessie maybe?

[sagegrouse]

As a grad of both schools, my impressions are as follows:

Rice was a very good baseball school, but not great, until it lured Wayne Graham to be the coach. He has had amazing results on the field, in recruiting, and in producing players like Lance Berkman.

Most of the Rice players are from Houston and the Texas Gulf Coast, which is a huge population and baseball area, and only U of Houston having a major college program. Moreover, the number of games and lack of TV coverage encourages players to stay home to play before friends and family.

Rice is in a totally different situation from Duke in terms of momentum, having one NC and seven World Series appearances since 1997.

Sagegrouse

[Inonehand]

A good local example comes from our friends in Charlottesville. The Cavs were awful in baseball, year after year after year. They got fed up with it, got a sugar daddy or two, spent some money, and went for it. Now they are a consistent top-25 and NCAAT team.

This ain't rocket science folks. Takes some vision, some committment of resources, some hard work.

UVa is a very good example but even they had more success than we have enjoyed over the years going to regionals in the 80s and 90s (they won the ACC in 96) before building their new stadium. That stadium and NEW COACH has made a huge difference. We already have the new coach...we need the stadium. I don't think most Duke fans realize how woefully poor our baseball facility is, not even comparing it to others. But, as many of our sports can brag about, we have many positives in place beyond a very good young coaching staff. Academics, medical facilities and training, pretty good weather, great conference. When I say facilities are behind, this includes the stadium in total, coaches offices, weight training.

[Jeffrey]

This ain't rocket science folks.

Hi,

Obviously not... the Cavs did it!

Best regards,
Jeffrey

[ugadevil]

Hi,

Obviously not... the Cavs did it!

Best regards,
Jeffrey

Wow. That might be the first time I've ever seen a joke about the intelligence level at UVA. And I live in Virginia Tech territory!