FoghornLeghornCock
10-04-2007, 09:45 AM
Posted on Thu, Oct. 04, 2007
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USC baseball | Pipeline to the pros
Having a record nine ex-Gamecocks in the big leagues is something to behold, says Tanner
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Bob Spear http://media.thestate.com/images/icons/bullet_go.png (http://www.thestate.com/spear/)
Sports Editorbspear@thestate.com
(803) 771-8406 http://www.thestate.com/gamecocks/story/191216.html
THE QUALITY OF University of South Carolina baseball requires no embroidery, but a reminder of the quality of Ray Tanner’s program never hurts.
Check rosters of Major League Baseball teams for a measuring stick and discover that nine former Gamecocks played in the majors in 2007. The number represents a single-year high for former Gamecocks.
They ranged from established players Adam Everett and Brian Roberts to a couple who made the big show for a proverbial cup of coffee.
“Just getting there is significant, and it’s nice to see guys who come through here to fight their way through the minors,” Tanner says. “One of the most difficult things in all sports is to make the big leagues.
“I mean, the percentages are stacked against you. Something like only four or five percent of all guys who sign professional contracts make the big leagues.”
The Gamecocks have won at least 40 games eight consecutive seasons, and their 388 victories during that stretch are the fourth most in the country.
Couple those accomplishments with having nine major leaguers in one season reinforces the obvious: The Carolina program ranks among the nation’s best.
‘Indescribable enthusiasm.’ Any player who joins Tanner’s — or almost any other major college’s — program envisions a future in the majors.
“Every little boy’s dream, every young man’s dream,” Tanner says. “You can only imagine if you have never been there. I never had that experience; most people don’t. It’s a special moment in your baseball life.”
Then, to stress the challenge, he points to the high draft choices who fail.
“Those are the can’t-miss guys, yet they do miss,” he says. “But getting the call is such a special feeling. I talked to all those guys when they were called up, and there was an indescribable enthusiasm in every one.
“Steve Pearce had just landed in Pittsburgh, and he sound like a 10-year-old who had just hit his first Little League home run. I told him, ‘Calm down; act like you belong when you get to the clubhouse.’ ”
Pearce played in 23 games for the Pirates, batting .294 in his September audition.
“The thing is, it’s harder to stay in the big leagues,” Tanner says. “Most of our guys are just touching the surface right now.
“For every Smoltz or Glavine or Maddux who play for many, many years, there are a lot of guys who don’t stay long. That’s just how challenging this game is.”
Right place, right time. Tanner has seen college players he thought belonged on the can’t-miss list who did not advance to the majors. He also has seen some whom he believed overachieved who did make it.
“It’s such a calculated guess about which ones will make it,” he says. “A lot of it has to (do with) being in the right place at the right time.
“A guy like (Kevin) Melillo has always been a clutch performer and an on-base machine, and he was drafted by an organization (Oakland) that has that philosophy. They were a great fit. He has improved defensively and plays with great confidence.”
Neither Jon Coutlangus nor Marcus McBeth, outfielders in college, hit well enough in the pros, but their organization, the Reds, gave them a shot at pitching, and both succeeded.
“(Position players) have to hit,” Tanner says. “There was never any question about McBeth defensively, and, remember, he hit 17 home runs his junior season. Big-league defender? Big-league arm? No question. Superior.
“At some point, they said they would give him a chance on the mound, and he mastered that in record time. So did Coutlangus. He’s left-handed and he throws strikes. Great stories: right time, right organization.”
Everett, drafted by the Red Sox and traded to the Astros, is the Carolina player Tanner figured had the best chance to succeed at a high level.
“Just because his ability to play defense was second to none as a shortstop,” he says. “He was superior defensively to just about every infielder in the country when he came out.
“I think the finest compliment for Adam came from Craig Biggio, who said (Everett) is the best shortstop he had been around. You’re talking about this coming from a (future) Hall of Famer. That’s the ultimate.”
The ultimate for Tanner centers on both the success of his teams and his players’ earning their college degrees.
“Eventually, the majority will have to get a real job, and that’s why graduation is so important,” he says. “There is such a small percentage that play in the big leagues, and even a smaller percentage stay long enough to make a living at it.”
Still, nine former players in the majors in one season? That is worth celebrating.
Congratulations to Ray Tanner and our coaches for developing some great players. We will have many more players to root for in the near future I am sure.
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USC baseball | Pipeline to the pros
Having a record nine ex-Gamecocks in the big leagues is something to behold, says Tanner
function PopupPic(sPicURL, sHeight, sWidth) { window.open( "/static/popup.html?"+sPicURL, "", "resizable=1,HEIGHT=" +sHeight+ ",WIDTH=" +sWidth); } http://media.thestate.com/smedia/2007/10/04/06/820-spear-071004.embedded.prod_affiliate.74.jpg (http://media.thestate.com/smedia/2007/10/04/06/384-spear-071004.standalone.prod_affiliate.74.jpg)
http://media.thestate.com/smedia/2007/05/07/06/385-070507_spear.standalone.prod_affiliate.74.jpg
Bob Spear http://media.thestate.com/images/icons/bullet_go.png (http://www.thestate.com/spear/)
Sports Editorbspear@thestate.com
(803) 771-8406 http://www.thestate.com/gamecocks/story/191216.html
THE QUALITY OF University of South Carolina baseball requires no embroidery, but a reminder of the quality of Ray Tanner’s program never hurts.
Check rosters of Major League Baseball teams for a measuring stick and discover that nine former Gamecocks played in the majors in 2007. The number represents a single-year high for former Gamecocks.
They ranged from established players Adam Everett and Brian Roberts to a couple who made the big show for a proverbial cup of coffee.
“Just getting there is significant, and it’s nice to see guys who come through here to fight their way through the minors,” Tanner says. “One of the most difficult things in all sports is to make the big leagues.
“I mean, the percentages are stacked against you. Something like only four or five percent of all guys who sign professional contracts make the big leagues.”
The Gamecocks have won at least 40 games eight consecutive seasons, and their 388 victories during that stretch are the fourth most in the country.
Couple those accomplishments with having nine major leaguers in one season reinforces the obvious: The Carolina program ranks among the nation’s best.
‘Indescribable enthusiasm.’ Any player who joins Tanner’s — or almost any other major college’s — program envisions a future in the majors.
“Every little boy’s dream, every young man’s dream,” Tanner says. “You can only imagine if you have never been there. I never had that experience; most people don’t. It’s a special moment in your baseball life.”
Then, to stress the challenge, he points to the high draft choices who fail.
“Those are the can’t-miss guys, yet they do miss,” he says. “But getting the call is such a special feeling. I talked to all those guys when they were called up, and there was an indescribable enthusiasm in every one.
“Steve Pearce had just landed in Pittsburgh, and he sound like a 10-year-old who had just hit his first Little League home run. I told him, ‘Calm down; act like you belong when you get to the clubhouse.’ ”
Pearce played in 23 games for the Pirates, batting .294 in his September audition.
“The thing is, it’s harder to stay in the big leagues,” Tanner says. “Most of our guys are just touching the surface right now.
“For every Smoltz or Glavine or Maddux who play for many, many years, there are a lot of guys who don’t stay long. That’s just how challenging this game is.”
Right place, right time. Tanner has seen college players he thought belonged on the can’t-miss list who did not advance to the majors. He also has seen some whom he believed overachieved who did make it.
“It’s such a calculated guess about which ones will make it,” he says. “A lot of it has to (do with) being in the right place at the right time.
“A guy like (Kevin) Melillo has always been a clutch performer and an on-base machine, and he was drafted by an organization (Oakland) that has that philosophy. They were a great fit. He has improved defensively and plays with great confidence.”
Neither Jon Coutlangus nor Marcus McBeth, outfielders in college, hit well enough in the pros, but their organization, the Reds, gave them a shot at pitching, and both succeeded.
“(Position players) have to hit,” Tanner says. “There was never any question about McBeth defensively, and, remember, he hit 17 home runs his junior season. Big-league defender? Big-league arm? No question. Superior.
“At some point, they said they would give him a chance on the mound, and he mastered that in record time. So did Coutlangus. He’s left-handed and he throws strikes. Great stories: right time, right organization.”
Everett, drafted by the Red Sox and traded to the Astros, is the Carolina player Tanner figured had the best chance to succeed at a high level.
“Just because his ability to play defense was second to none as a shortstop,” he says. “He was superior defensively to just about every infielder in the country when he came out.
“I think the finest compliment for Adam came from Craig Biggio, who said (Everett) is the best shortstop he had been around. You’re talking about this coming from a (future) Hall of Famer. That’s the ultimate.”
The ultimate for Tanner centers on both the success of his teams and his players’ earning their college degrees.
“Eventually, the majority will have to get a real job, and that’s why graduation is so important,” he says. “There is such a small percentage that play in the big leagues, and even a smaller percentage stay long enough to make a living at it.”
Still, nine former players in the majors in one season? That is worth celebrating.
Congratulations to Ray Tanner and our coaches for developing some great players. We will have many more players to root for in the near future I am sure.