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Archive for February, 2012

The Cape Cod baseball league recently announced their all star line up, that played at Fenway Park. It was a very stellar list of outstanding baseball players. Taylor Rodgers of Harwich. Then there was Ryan Eades of LSU. There was also, several pitchers named. The first was, Austin Voth of Washington. THe next named pitcher was JT Chargois of Rice. Another outstanding college pitcher named was Tony Bucciferro of Michigan State. Also of Michigan State was second baseman Ryan Jones. Two outfielders were also named to the all stars. They were, Andrew Toles of Tennessee. Also named was a Pointstreak player of the week, Jason Monda of Washington State. Pitcher, Tyler Johnson of Stoney Brook, he had a team high of 1.65 ERA in only seven appearances. Also named to the team was a teammate of Brook, named Trevor Gott of Kentucky, he had a 0.60 ERA in 13 appearances. Both had standout performances. He also had 20 strikeouts. Also named was, Stephen Piscotty from Stanford University. James Ramsey of Florida State and Cody Keefer of the University of California, Los Angeles. Another teammate of Rodgers was also named, battery mate, Luke Voit of Missouri State. Also pitcher Chris Overman of NC State.

When it comes to collegiate baseball the SEC has long reigned supreme. The conference’s perennial success can be attributed to recruiting, climate, but most of all coaching. Coaching legends Skip Bertman and Ron Polk will immediately come to mind when discussing the best SEC coaches of all time. Both coaches paved the way for current coach Ray Tanner who is slowly putting himself into the argument. When ultimately determining the best SEC coach one should consider national championships and total wins.

South Carolina Gamecock’s coach Ray Tanner began his career in 1997. Coach Tanner has compiled a career record of 1,084-469-3 and boasts two consecutive national championships. During this span he has also brought his team to 13 straight NCAA postseasons, a current SEC record. Tanner became the 44th Division 1 coach to reach 1,000 wins.

Ron Polk, who spent a majority of his career coaching at Mississippi State has his own list of accolades. Polk is known as “The Father of SEC Baseball,” a title not thrown around lightly. With a career record of 1,373-702-2 he has the most wins in SEC history, which spans all sports. While never winning a national championship, Polk has reached the College World Series 8 times. Coach Polk was elected into the College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2009.

While the careers of the previous two coaches are certainly prestigious, they simply do not compare to that of Skip Bertman. The former LSU coach has won 5 national championships while compiling a career record of 870-330-3. Coach Bertman made an astonishing 11 College World Series appearances during 18 year career.

Without a doubt, the college coaching landscape would be far different without the three coaches listed above. That said, when determining the best SEC baseball coach, Skip Bertman is the clear winner. Time will tell if Ray Tanner can overtake Bertman, though the South Carolina coach is widely considered to be the best current coach in the SEC.

If your kids want to take up baseball you’re in a great position! It’s an easy game to learn and can be played practically anywhere, plus, it’s the national pastime for goodness’ sakes! Here are a few tips for keeping the baseball spark alive in your young ones
Watch Some Games: If you’ve got cannonsatellite.com sports channels try to watch a few games with your kids and talk about the rules. Better yet, if you live near a pro or minor league stadium, take the whole family out for a live-action game!
Play Casually: If you’ve got the room and some neighborhood kids, get them all together for a casual game. If you bring the kids together they’ll work out the kinks and all you need to provide is the balls and a bat or two!
Sign Up for Leagues: If your child attends a school or lives in an area where there’s a team available to play on, do everything you can to sign them up. The teamwork is a great skill to learn and they’ll be pushed harder by the competition!