is there still a baseball rule you need to be .500 to get a at large bid?

You have to be >.500 for at-large selection. I'm not sure what you've seen so far that doesn't give you complete confidence in this team making the field. Is it the fact that we haven't won more than 2 in a row since February? The fact that the referenced 5-game winning streak doesn't involve a team with an RPI better than 130? Or maybe it's the fact that we've only won 4 games in April? Anything in particular that makes you think we're not a shoe-in for an at-large selection?

Go GATORS!
,WESGATORS

 

You can get in by winning your conference tournament, regardless of record. Remember when Tulane got in with something like an 18-40 record? But for an at-large bid, .500 rercord is the cutoff.

 

I've been looking back at the 2019 team to see what we did to make the tournament since that was also a frustrating year. Bear in mind some of these numbers were counted by hand so they might be slightly off.

We somehow made the tournament by going 13-17 in conference play (won 4 out of 10 series) and losing our only game in Hoover. We didn't have a single series win over a ranked SEC team unless you count an away sweep of an at the time #24 Missouri to end the regular season (who somehow didn't even make the NCAA tournament that year). I think the only things that got us into the tournament were beating solid FSU and Miami teams. We were 33-24 (.579) going into the NCAA tournament. We got off to a much better start that year, as we were 14-5 going into conference play (10-6 this year). We then proceeeded to go .500 up until the NCAA tournament. The longest win streak that year was 5 games from March 26th to April 2nd (FSU, Alabama series sweep, Florida A&M). There were also two 4 game win streaks. We had 3 game losing streaks on five separate occasions. We had a midweek record of 9-5. If we win the last three midweek games this year we would be 9-6, so it's not like 2019 was a much better midweek team (outside of sweeping FSU).

These numbers may sound a little reassuring however there is one major caveat to all of this in my opinion: college baseball as a whole has a lot more talented teams across the board this year. If the 2019 team were in 2024 and performed the exact same way I don't think they would make the tournament with their resume. And realistically that 2019 team would be punched in the mouth in 2024. I think they would actually beat Missouri unlike 2024 but aside from that I don't know if they would win a single SEC series on this year's schedule. 2019's team is nowhere near as talented as 2024's, the problem is that just about everybody in the country is more talented now and we are not performing up to the task. 2024 has shown more potential when it comes to beating good teams than 2019. That 2019 team would not beat 2024 Texas A&M in a million years, would probably lose to 2024 Mississippi State, would not survive a series in Baton Rouge or Coral Gables, would not steal a game at Vandy, etc. Those few quality wins this year are keeping us (barely) afloat.

In conclusion, we have 15 games remaining including midweeks. All I can say is find a way to go 8-7 then pitch Cags game 1 of the SEC tourney to try and kickstart a run in Hoover. Even then that might not be enough.

 

Why are you so sure 2024 college baseball is so much more talented than 2019? Not just UF, but the entire sport? Not saying you’re wrong, just curious.

 

That 2019 squad won a huge series @ Missouri to make the field. Consider, we were 10-17 (SEC) and 30-23 overall when we went to play @ Missouri. Missouri had only lost 3 games at home on the year and were 9-3 at home in conference play. FLORIDA, to that point, had only won 3 of 9 SEC series (all 3 of those were at home). We were 1-11 on the road in SEC play! Really fortuitous ending that year.

Go GATORS!
,WESGATORS

 

Admittedly a lot of this is based on the eye test but it seems like we're seeing more crazy numbers (especially offensively) on a wider scale with each year that passes. I think part of this is because more high school draft prospects are opting to play college baseball before going pro than they used to. If what I'm saying is statistically incorrect then feel free to fact check me on that.

 

Don't forget that many successful 2024 teams are built with fifth and sixth year COVID players. Physical and emotional maturity can beat 19 year old talent.