Going forward...

As bad as our pitching and hitting was, we made it to the last 4 standing. I know, I know...what if the 2024 team had 3 starters with < 3.0 ERA and a team batting average over .300? We could have won this thing! I just enjoyed the journey! How great is it to be in at the world series having eliminated numerous ranked teams and taking down a few more in Omaha including the #2 in the nation? We have been the most successful school in baseball since Sully has been coaching. I trust him to do the right thing, but continue pining if you want to! I would rather revel in our excellence.

 

Sully is great at getting the Gators to the World Series.. now can he take the next step and win it all more than just once? What makes the best coaches the best in the game is the smallest of details. We need that last little extra in coaching that makes us a better batting team... that makes us a better pitching team. Our fielding seems to be top notch in most cases good enough to win it all, but we need the last two tiny details to consistently win it all.

I know that sounds greedy to want it all, but once you've been there (the world series) and done that enough times it's makes you want more. The missing ingredient is made up of tiny details. On base percentage needs to improve. Walks versus strikeouts needs to improve and not by much... It's a matter of just small increases that we need to get over that hump.

Will Sully add some new coaches or is he set with the crew he has now?

How can we convince high schoolers to forgo whatever high round and play in college for a couple of years?

What's the general average round that players skip college for the pros?

 

Thanks for restating the issues that haven't been raised often enough. NIL certainly is a very important part of the solution. You didn't actually say so, but NIL is the one area we all can do more than kibitz. You have joined those of us who are doing that, haven't you? $10/month matters, $10 just one time matters. More is even better, but chatting about what the team needs and not doing what is in our power is unproductive. Gator Booster baseball donations are for our personal benefit- seats. NIL is the way we fans can help resolve the very shortcomings you mentioned.

 

Great points throughout your post @Gatorrick22—

I’m going to start with your last point first with my thoughts. I’m going to share that what we did with Alan gave him eye opening insights into making his decisions.

We carried him to Milb rookie league and A-ball league games with the Cleveland Indians organization since that was who drafted him. He saw games with 50-100 fans in the stands, and teams where 85% of the players spoke only Spanish/Latino languages. We made him aware that he was looking at a 142 game schedule with 50% of the games being away games all via bus travel.

We then carried him to Ole Miss for a midweek game and then an SEC weekend series, so that he could see what the options of his choices would be like. We felt like it should be his decision with our support either way rather than us telling him what we thought he should do.

Working on improving our game for next year could get long winded but I’m gonna keep it short.

Hitting—with the goal of cutting down strikeouts—to be clear and competitive. Hit it where it’s pitched.

Pitching—location/location/location. Live by your own command.

Defense—I would like to see a very strong effort by our outfielders to eliminate opposing base runners from picking up too easily acquired extra bases.

 

This is it for me (bold^^^). All season long we saw a team with potential that couldn't put together enough consistency to separate from the pack (and on the good side of the pack). Then as the postseason gets here, the team puts together some really big wins (and all after dealing with a key injury late in the year; Evans was our 2nd best hitter this year). Hands down the most fun postseason for me that did not involve a trip to the CWS finals. Traveling to see the team pull off a regional road win as a #3 seed was a college baseball bucket list item for me. Same goes for winning a Super on the road (and that environment was a lot of fun - despite the DJ's preferred frequency of bouncy music). That these two things happened together was just ridiculously enjoyable. And I was definitely in the boat of "just make the tournament, and everything else is gravy" by the time selection day got here.

Go GATORS!
,WESGATORS

 

Not sure any school will ever “consistently win it all” in today’s college baseball. In the last 25 years, LSU is the only school to win three titles but they were spread out under three different coaches. South Carolina, Oregon State and Vandy each won two and that is it for schools winning multiple championships since 2000. Another first time winner will be crowned tonight and whoever that is will be the tenth different winner over the last 10 years.

Baseball is different from football and basketball in that the best team wins much less frequently and being that a lot of schools are now investing more dollars to to the sport, I don’t think we will see one coach consistently win in Omaha for a long while.

 

Oregon State won 3 but point well taken especially considering this will be 6 in the last 7 years for the SEC with 6 different schools winning it.

 

We need some realistic documentaries based on baseball and baseball life in the small leagues... and how many years some players need to get to the majors, just to hammer that point across to these players wanting to make it to the big leagues.

Why not spend that time in college on college campus with beautiful coeds?

Too many of these kids think they're going straight onto the major leagues roster with all the fame and fortune that comes with that success. They need that reality pill to swallow and maybe they need to swallow their pride along with it.

 

That was on hail of a fantastic journey... too bad the destination landed short of where everyone wanted it to end.

 

It's not about guaranteeing more wins, it's about trying to perfect the details... the fundamentals to a slightly higher degree. We already have a great team and have one of the best coaches in all of college baseball.

It's about taking that last step in the process. But even that will not guarantee a better outcome, but it's a worthy pursuit that all great coaches should strive for.

And we all know that Sully is the most deserving man to do it. Focus on the details seems like a small thing to ask for, but in those small details come championships.

There is not one college coach in baseball that is more deserving to win it all than Sully and his teams.

 

I watched Josh Rivera on Friday night playing for the AA Tennessee Smokies (Cubs farm team). He's hitting under .183 right now, strikes out a lot and doesn't seem to be making an impact. It's one-in-a-million but to compare where Wyatt is right now compared to his teammate last year highlights the nature of the game.

 

That's sad to hear... it's almost like that minor league schedule sucks the life out of some of these talented players. I hope he gets out of that funk and makes it to the big leagues.

 

In Sully we trust.

The man can recruit, develop, coach, and motivate.

Go Gators!!!

 

It just shows what a special talent Langford is. The Gators have had a lot of great baseball players through the years, some of them drafted very high. And yet some who we all though would be solid players in the major leagues just never got out of the minors. For Wyatt to make the leap in less than a year and be a contributing member of the defending World Series champs is truly incredible.

 

A preference for older women and willingness to play the Annie Savoy "monogamous within the season" lottery?

 

But she will tie you up and read Walt Whitman. Too kinky for me.