I expect to be in Omaha 3 our of every 4 years. We live in one of the three states that basically supplies MLB with all of its talent. We have the best atmosphere in the country. We have one of the top 10 ballparks (still) in the country. We devote just as much resources to baseball as the top programs in the country (more than some of the top programs) Why shouldn't I expect us to be just as successful as Miami, LSU, Stanford, Wichita State etc? What are your expectations for the program?

"Sometimes a guy will go down, and I'll let him scream a bit to destroy the morale of his buddies," said the Marine corporal. "Then I'll use a second shot."
-Sniper in Iraq

I expect this thread to be locked within four replies.

i expect us to go to a super regional every year

56-0 regular season

3-0 through the regionals

2-0 in the supers

5-0 in Omaha

Not just this year, but every year. Otherwise, fire the coach.





Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 3:5-6 - NIV

To host region/ super regional every year

To win 66.67% of our conference games every year and 80% of non-conference for a minimum record of 41-15.


[This message has been edited by Artimus Gordon (edited 3/22/2005 11:10a).]

Wichita State!? I don't recall the Shockers making any trips to Omaha recently. They had a great run in the late '80s to the mid '90s but it has been awhile since they've appeared in CWS.

"Expecting" going to the CWS three out of four years is only setting your self up for disappointment.

i expect to drink plenty of cheap beer and eat at least a couple Slovaceks sausage wraps. Prolly will get sunburnt at some point and ask to use some random person's rv's facilities.

I expect us to host a regional. I think from there it all depends on the matchups and who we face.

Super Regionals and on is just a crap-shoot....starters are usually approaching new personal highs in innings pitched so there is no telling how an arm is going to respond. One bad start and now you're eating up bullpen and playing catch-up

I too also expect to sunburn the everlivin' out of the tops of my legs & my neck sitting on a tailgate during the texas series and throughout regionals
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[This message has been edited by AgRyan04 (edited 3/22/2005 11:42a).]

I agree with you.

I expect to win 40+ games each year and be in contention for the Big XII title against tu.
I also expect to host a regional 3 out of every 5 years.
[Harvey Firestien from SNL voice] Is that sooooo wrong?

I expect to host a Regional EVERY YEAR.
I expect to host a SUPER 75% OF THOSE.
I expect to advance to the CWS 50% OF THOSE.
In all, I expect a CWS appearance 2 OUT OF FIVE YEARS.

I expect a cleanly run program by a well respected staff with players giving effort competing most every year for a top 3 finish in the Big 12 and the hosting of a Regional more often than not.

With that, I expect some Super Regionals and World Series showings but understand the reality that the game of baseball is quirky and many, many times various factors can come into play to blow the ship off course.

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To win 66.67% of our conference games every year and 80% of non-conference for a minimum record of 41-15

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I think this is a pretty good goal

All sarcasm aside, I think these are great (and realistic) goals.

However, there are some things in college baseball today that are out of our control. Things like:

1. The NCAA's desire to spread out regional sites. Some years the selection committee decides to allow off-campus host sites and some years they seem to award sites to northern teams that really don't deserve it. That's not a reflection of A&M or any other school, but instead a thought process that would put more post-season games at places like Notre Dame, Ohio State, Rutgers, etc.

2. Improved facilities in the area. A&M will always bid enough money and draw enough fans to warrant a host spot. But when teams like Rice, Houston, TCU, Baylor and now LSU are pouring money into facilities, it makes the competition a little stronger for hosting rights.

3. Scholarship limitations. I don't care what anyone says, you can not deny the fact that Texas held a huge advantage over the rest of the Southwest Conference back in the '40s, '50s, '60s and '70s by offering an unlimited amount of scholarships. That allowed UT to establish themselves as a power while other schools were playing with walk-ons or only a handful of scholarship players. My point is that schools like A&M, Baylor, Rice, etc. have had so much catching up to do over the past 20-25 years. All things considered, I think we've done a good job of that, but still have work to do.

4. A&M's overall reputation. Too many times perception becomes reality. You can't deny the fact that A&M has a reputation of being a cow college stuck in the middle of nowhere. Heck, there are a lot of people that think A&M is still primarily a military school (this is not a Corps vs. non-reg debate...just pointing out that over 90% of the student body is non-military.) We've got great facilities and fan base, but it's tough to overcome the advantages teams like Rice, Texas, LSU, Miami, Fullerton and even Tulane have by being in metro areas.


Despite our differences of opinion on these boards, I will freely admit that A&M baseball needs to do better than we've done. However, I do not think things are as bleak as many make them out to be. I don't know what would push A&M over the edge, because we're certainly close to breaking through, but we need something. We're a respectable, very above-average program, but something is keeping us from being powerful. But to see us overcome the obsticles that we have over the past 10, 20 or 30 years makes me feel very good about the future of A&M athletics.




Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 3:5-6 - NIV

Good post, by I think the point of catching up with Texas since the 70's is a bit dated. The field is literally level at this point and has been. Zero of these kids playing now were even alive when this was going on.

I agree that we are a respected program but we are not in the top level of college baseball programs, which I would include Texas, LSU, Fullerton, Florida St., Miami, USC, Stanford, and maybe a few others. These guys make consistant trips to Omaha.

If the university of South Carolina can make a jump into this group, which they are very close, then there is NO REASON why we shouldn't be there.

Being in a Super Regional just means you are in the top 16 in the country. You have to win it to matter. In baseball, at A&M, that is not a high enough goal, just getting there. Omaha/Top 8 is the only goal worth shooting for.

Wins per year is totally irrelevant. I'd rather be .500 one year out of 4 (this is realisitic expectation because of the scholarship limits, pro contracts, etc.) and be in Omaha 2 years out of 5 than winning 41 meaningless games every year.

I expect good family entertainment at a reasonable price. The price of season tickets for a family of 4 is reasonable. Throw in a few regionals and super regionals and I'm satisfied. Overall, I'm happy with the program and what I get out of it.

Don't get me wrong, I'd love to win the CWS every year, however, that expectation is not why I support the baseball team.

I'd say qualify for a Regional every year, advance to the Super 2/3 of the time, and onto the CWS in half of those - for a CWS appearance 1 out of 3 years.

How about a CWS win or two during a coach's tenure?

MJ has a win in Omaha, unfortunately only one. Or did you mean a national title?

While we may have caught up with Texas regarding scholarships (all...allegedly...are equal) and facilities (ours are, quite frankly, better) we still haven't caught up with Texas in reputation.

High school and "select" team coaches still think Texas is the do-all, end-all of the college baseball world. I know these kids weren't born when UT won 99 out of 100 SWC titles, but their parents, coaches, etc. were around.

For example, my high school baseball coach decided 2 years after I graduated that he wanted to get a master's degree, but still wanted to coach. He applied at several small colleges like SW Texas, Rice (remember...Rice sucked back then), Sam Houston and Lamar. As a flyer, he sent an application in to A&M. Lo and behold, MJ selected him to be a grad assistant. He was excited and we were all excited for him, but you wouldn't believe the number of old-timers that were disappointed because it was "only A&M." This was the biggest break of his coaching career and the detractors downplayed it because he couldn't get on at UT. This was a young coach who had labored at the 1-A and 2-A level and now had a chance to coach at a major university, yet there were people that thought he hadn't accomplished anything because it was "only A&M."




Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 3:5-6 - NIV

good points luke....maybe being a 1 seed in regionals would be a more appropriate

Super Regionals aren't necessarily THE top 16 teams from that given year....it's the teams that survived through Regionals. Take Houston in 2003 (as much as that still pains me) they certainly weren't a Top 16 team but they, due to the circumstances, got by us.

Knocking off Rice last year at Rice is another example. We wouldn't have advanced to Supers had Texas Southern not done the amazing, but we did and it was an outside influence that helped us.

That's why I think it's a crap-shoot....and it's certainly why they play the games on the field and not on paper. Certainly I want us to go further than that but I feel that there are too many variables and factors that play into short series like that at the end of a season to expect us to overcome those every single time year in and year out.

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[This message has been edited by AgRyan04 (edited 3/22/2005 1:41p).]

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but it's tough to overcome the advantages teams like Rice, Texas, LSU, Miami, Fullerton and even Tulane have by being in metro areas.

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How does the size of the town affect how good a baseball team is?

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We live in one of the three states that basically supplies MLB with all of its talent.

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not even close. unless your definition of Texas includes latin america and south america.

I think he was either referring to draft eligible players or players that typically attend American schools to play baseball

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Check out "Texas A&M & Baseball In No Particular Order"
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Luke,

You said "While we may have caught up with Texas regarding scholarships (all...allegedly...are equal) and facilities (ours are, quite frankly, better) we still haven't caught up with Texas in reputation."

This is true, but it is because they accomplish these things that we are laying out on this thread EVERY YEAR. They have earned their reputation back within the last 5-6 years by doing these things, going to Omaha, nearly every year, winning it every once in a while, etc.. This may have been the case in the 70's or 80's (them getting by on reputation, but Texas' reputation was not that great in the mid 90's and we were even or slightly ahead. Now we have been lapped over and over by the Texas Championship Parade.

quote:

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How does the size of the town affect how good a baseball team is?

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It doesn't directly affect it. My point is that those schools can (innacurately) use the "cow college" reference regarding A&M. The player himself may know otherwise, but parents, coaches, etc. still think Bryan/College Station is an area of only 20,000 people and A&M has an enrollment of 15,000 students...most of which are in the Corps.

I'm just saying that a whole bunch of college baseball kids in Texas come from Houston (or a suburb), Austin (or suburb), Corpus Christi or D/FW (or a suburb). Despite the progress A&M and the B/CS community have made, that's still often a culture shock for a big-city kid.




Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 3:5-6 - NIV

You just said "big city kid", the suburbs are not "big city". A&M is likely much more like Plano or Southlake than Houston or Austin.

Cj -

I just think it's easier for a team like UT to repair a damaged reputation than it would be for A&M to build one. Look at UT's football program. Except for 1990, it was a joke from about '87 through '97. However, one well-placed coach, some high-dollar facilities and a few luxury suites later and Texas has a perinnial top-10 program. Same with baseball. The Horns slipped a little in the '90s and bottomed out in the early years of the Big XII. Heck, they almost fired Augie after the '98 season. But they drew on their reputation from the past, the shrewed coaching of Garrido and a few suspect NCAA situations and before you know it they're national champs again.

Look at Penn State football. They will probably never be what they were in the '70s and '80s, but how great of a job would it be to take over for Joe Paterno when he dies/retires? That program is in the crapper right now, but the reputation and resources are incredible. Whoever takes over that job will be sitting on a gold mine, not because of what's going on right now, but instead because of what happened 10, 20 or 30 years ago.




Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 3:5-6 - NIV

I have to disagree that B/CS is like Southlake or Plano. From those places you could be to downtown Dallas in minutes...not hours.

Size-wise they are similar to B/CS, but from an urban setting they are at opposite ends of the spectrum.




Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 3:5-6 - NIV

Regardless, their reputation AT THIS TIME is based on the fact that they are CURRENTLY one of the top 2 or 3 programs in all of college baseball. They get the best recruits, and they win.

There is absolutely nothing Urban about the suburbs, it is by definition "sub - urban". Yes they can be in downtown within a short drive, but where they grow-up/go-to school, it is much more like BCS.

40+ wins, make it to Omaha about 30%-40% of the time.

Luke, most of the players we recruit are from Texas, and almost all are from teh south...People in Texas know A&M is a good school, and know all about it...Also, our reputation as a cow college has diminished somewhat...I go to other states, and most know that A&M is a well known well respected large school. Maybe in teh northeast they don't know, but across the south, southwest, and and midwest I know people know about A&M...