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Why has baseball been so successful?


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Posted

I’ve been thinking of this and figured I’d get some insight from you all. Of all the ORU sports, it seems baseball has maintained a level of dominance for a long period of time. Seeing Jose Trevino in the World Series today (I was briefly an RA on the baseball floor - great guy) reminded me of this. So, ORU historians, what is the secret? USA baseball connection? Reputation of putting players into the majors?  I started ORU in 2009 so my knowledge of the program stops with Rob Walton…

Also if this is in the wrong board please let me know!

  • 2 weeks later...
Posted
  • Great coaches
  • Willingness to play the best major programs surrounding Tulsa #IronSharpensIron
  • Premium facilities
  • Good weather
  • Good talent statewide that has to play somewhere (actually, GREAT talent statewide, but that lot goes pro)
  • Sprinkling of guys from all over the Southwest and West eager for opportunities to play for any perennial NCAA participant such as ORU
  • Upvote 6
Posted

Hey OT, thanks for taking time to provide context! Interesting points like weather and facilities I didn’t really consider. It sounds like ORU baseball has hit the success snowball somewhat similar to Gonzaga basketball especially since its return to Summit/MidCon. Where were those 88-97” teams talent wise comparatively? Did joining the midcon bring a higher level of recruits and more talent?

Posted
4 hours ago, 2014Grad said:

Hey OT, thanks for taking time to provide context! Interesting points like weather and facilities I didn’t really consider. It sounds like ORU baseball has hit the success snowball somewhat similar to Gonzaga basketball especially since its return to Summit/MidCon. Where were those 88-97” teams talent wise comparatively? Did joining the midcon bring a higher level of recruits and more talent?

ORU went into the athletic abyss during the 1989 - 1997 seasons. They entered into a "self-imposed" death penalty as they fell to the NAIA ranks.  The Golden Eagles re-entered the NCAA as a D-1 provisional member from 1993-1997 when Bill Self began his illustrious coaching career. ORU entered the Mid-Continent conference in 1998.  The talent level took time to elevate as they recruited better D-1 players once returning to the NCAA ranks.

  • Upvote 1
Posted
7 hours ago, 2014Grad said:

Did joining the midcon bring a higher level of recruits and more talent?

It wasn't anything special about the Summit/MidCon, which in the grand scheme of things is one of the weaker Division 1 baseball conferences nationally.

It's all about having the avenue to qualify (some seasons quite easily) for the NCAA baseball tournament as conference champions that checks the boxes for better recruits with dreams of "The Road To Omaha".

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  • Upvote 1
Posted
On 11/11/2024 at 11:28 PM, Old Titan said:
  • Great coaches
  • Willingness to play the best major programs surrounding Tulsa #IronSharpensIron
  • Premium facilities
  • Good weather
  • Good talent statewide that has to play somewhere (actually, GREAT talent statewide, but that lot goes pro)
  • Sprinkling of guys from all over the Southwest and West eager for opportunities to play for any perennial NCAA participant such as ORU

I would also add that the coaching staff has consistently done a good job of working the JUCO ranks, and now the portal, to bring in talent.

  • Upvote 4
Posted

Thanks all for chiming in/providing context!!

Posted
On 11/14/2024 at 10:54 AM, Otis 83 said:

I would also add that the coaching staff has consistently done a good job of working the JUCO ranks, and now the portal, to bring in talent.

That's all part of No. 1 on the list, which is why it's listed first:  it's not just X's and O's; it's Jimmys and Joes as well. 

Plus hiring/maintaining/replacing your staff, managing a budget, scheduling, working with the many departments on campus - coaching is easily the No. 1 reason for success in athletics at the college level.

Posted
3 hours ago, Old Titan said:

Plus hiring/maintaining/replacing your staff, managing a budget, scheduling, working with the many departments on campus - coaching is easily the No. 1 reason for success in athletics at the college level.

Especially at a place like ORU. There is never enough money.  The coaches are required to cut their own grass, fundraise for some of the basic needs of a program, and other things that a taxpayer-subsidized institution gets our money to do. At ORU, it is #ForTheLoveOfTheGame  

Posted

...another coaching skill that goes virtually unnoticed and under-appreciated:  travel planning. 

Which might not sound like that big a deal, but it goes hand-and-hand with scheduling. 

You can look back at (and some times anticipate) losses during any season, realizing that the travel contributed to (caused?) the defeat, through combinations of too many games in a short amount of time, cross-country roadies following gaps or breaks in the schedule, difficult access to particular destinations, cramped seating for hours on the way there, poor hotel accomodations, etc.

And often it's beyond anyone's control:  terrible weather, bad food, airplane and bus mechanical issues, the all-night college reunion party in the ballroom below your block of hotel rooms, the line of bars and strip clubs with their blinding neon and booming music across the street from the hotel, the non-stop wail of ambulances from the hospital emergency room one block away, the opposition cheerleaders and pom squads sequestered in hotel rooms up and down the hall for the neutral-site tournament, etc.*

Paul Mills was/is maniacal about when and how his teams travel, what the guys ate/eat on the road, when they sleep, etc.  The legendary Bill Snyder at Kansas State made sure his Wildcat players had all the seats on the side of the charter plane that would be faced away from the sun enroute to the game.

It's like the old quote attributed to both Alexander the Great and Napoleon:  "An army marches on its stomach".  Which isn't just about the food; it's about the overall experience in getting to the field of battle. 

*Each one of these personally experienced on a variety of ORU roadies...

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