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Just came across this well-written and well-conceived comparison of baseball in the SEC vs. in the Pac-12 from former Bulldog (and Oregon Duck) Jack Kruger. In it, he compares stats from the previous two seasons and brings his own experience in each conference to bear. For any of you who enjoy the game of college baseball in general, it's worth a read.
As many of you have said, his presence would've been a great addition to the 2017 Diamond Dawgs.
Well written article. I enjoyed it. Kudos to Kruger.
Interesting read, Kruger sounds like a coach and like a smart kid
That was a really impressive article and I agree with everything he said. The things he was talking about in Omaha is one reason why I want our team to be able to steal bases, bunt, and hit and run and at the same time have the power element. Because once you get to Omaha and we're facing Cal State Fullerton or UCLA or someone that likes to play small ball a lot I want us to be able to handle it and shut it down. And I think one of the best ways to handle that is to be able to do some of those things as a team yourself. I remember under Ron Polk II we didn't bunt a lot and it seemed like when teams would bunt against us we would sometimes misplay it and the other team would get a cheap hit and I think part of that was because we didn't practice bunting and therefore bunt defense a lot. I think being aggressive on the bases also makes you more aware of an opponent doing the same thing to you as well and that makes it more likely that we will defend it in those situations.
But at the same time like everyone else I love watching home runs and I think sometimes against a PAC 12 team a SEC team like us with a guy like a Rooker or a Renfroe can bust a game wide open and make it really difficult because we have that ability to score in bunches and be able to do that. And I also believe that maximizes the speed element because when you are able to put pressure on a defense with team speed it causes the opponent to have to deal with those runners and pay attention to them and I think makes it more likely that the opponent will make a mistake. But in the PAC 12 that mistake against someone like Oregon might only be a single or a double whereas you make a mistake in the SEC it may be a single, double, or a home run.
I think for a SEC team the best strategy is to try to be disciplined at the plate and really work out the starting pitcher for the PAC 12 team and try to get into their bullpen as early as possible or get the starter's pitch count up and get him tired where you can have a big inning around the 6-7th inning. If the umpire has a really wide zone it's going to be in the PAC 12 teams favor.
And as far as pitching goes, power arms play in any conference and in any style offense. Defense is pretty much the same across the board too. Those PAC 12 teams are usually pretty good at defense.