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Baseball Zealot Radio interviews Brian Foley from The College Baseball Blog

I’ve said it before but one thing I like about doing a podcast is being in contact with other baseball people. I’ve been emailing and chatting online with Brian Foley from The College Baseball Blog for over a year and a half but this is the first time I’ve talked to him.

Brian warned me ahead of time about his Boston accent. Funny, I didn’t notice it at all (that’s a joke if you don’t get around to listening to the podcast. He’s got a wonderful one).

For those who are into college baseball and haven’t seen The College Baseball Blog, please take five minutes and do so. You’ll thank me later.

Now, the show notes…

Hosts: Tom:

Summary: I interview Brian Foley from The College Baseball Blog. Brian chats a bit how The College Blog came about, sums up the 2007 college postseason and gives us a pre-season look at this year’s college baseball. Finally, we discuss where college baseball is headed as a college sport.

Links:

The College Baseball Blog

Time: 28:39

Date Recorded: 2/10/08

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Big Blue to take on the Mets

You know, I don’t think I’ve ever wanted to root for Michigan so much.

The Michigan Wolverines are set to play the New York Mets in an exhibition game at Port St Lucie during the pro team’s spring training.

Michigan, currently ranked in the top 10 in the nation, may have their work cut out for them playing a powerhouse NL team. However, at that point, the Mets won’t necessarily be playing their A team.

Go Blue! (?)

Michigan lands #8 in Baseball America poll

If you look at the polls, the Pac-10 looks tough this year. They dominate the Baseball America poll which just came out. Four of their teams live in the top ten.

That said, at least one Big Ten team cracked the poll. Michigan impressed the pollsters enough to put them at #8. That may be deserved, too. One reason is Zach Putnam who I got a glimpse of at the Big Ten Tournament in 2007. One look at him this photo I snapped at the tourney tells you he’s got the build to be a slugger. In 2007, he hit .330 with 8 homers. And yes, Michigan fans, he’s only a junior.

I got the chance to speak to Putnam’s father at the tournament. Of course, he was talking his son up as much as possible. But I get the feeling that this guy might live up to the hype. Scouts have been following him since his prep school days. Oh did I mention he could pitch, too? He went 8-5 with a 3.87 ERA and 87 Ks in 102 IP in 2007 for UM.

By the by, that’s Penn State’s Joe Blackburn catching. The Big Ten has a reputation for developing some good catchers and Blackburn may be no exception.

New digs for The College Baseball Blog

Brian over at The College Baseball Blog informs me that they have a new address. You can now access them at http://thecollegebaseballblog.com . It seems that the site has gone through a renovation… it looks nice. Anyone who follows college baseball should definitely put The College Baseball Blog in their favorites. Brian tirelessly puts in … Continue reading “New digs for The College Baseball Blog”

Anyone who follows college baseball should definitely put The College Baseball Blog in their favorites. Brian tirelessly puts in a lot of work covering the topic.

Inquiry on College Steals Record

With the subject line “College Records”, Justin writes:

Who holds the record for most stolen bases in a season and how many?

I’ve been having this argument with a colleague and we need an answer.
Justin

I honestly didn’t know the answer though I did know that Shawn Roof now holds the record for single season steals in the Big Ten. For all of NCAA, I turned to Brian Foley of The College Baseball Blog.

Brian came through with the answer in short time:

I would think Boomer Whiting would hold the record as he had a ton this season but that is not true. The person who holds the single season record is Dan Guillot from Texas-Pan American in 1987 with 107 in 60 games and the record for a career is held by Phil Stephenson from Wichita State with 206.

Brian

Thanks for writing, Justin and thanks for the timely answer, Brian!

Illini All-Stars

July is All-Star time not only for the Majors but also for the college leagues. University of Illinois is well represented on a few All-Star teams throughout the country. Scott Shaw and Joe Bonadonna faced off against each other last Wednesday in the Northwoods League All-Star Game. Shaw, who is 3-2 with a 3.46 ERA … Continue reading “Illini All-Stars”

July is All-Star time not only for the Majors but also for the college leagues. University of Illinois is well represented on a few All-Star teams throughout the country.

Scott Shaw and Joe Bonadonna faced off against each other last Wednesday in the Northwoods League All-Star Game. Shaw, who is 3-2 with a 3.46 ERA made the South Division team and Bonadonna with his 31 steals in 38 games, represented the North Division. The North Division won 3-2.

Meanwhile, infielder Dom Altobelli and pitchers Ben Reeser, and Aaron Martin have been selected to the American League All-Star team of the Coastal Plain League. All three play for the Fayetteville Swampdogs.

With similar stats, Reeser and Martin have been simply dominating this summer. Reeser is 5-0 with a 0.94 ERA. Martin, believe it or not, has him beat. He is also 5-0 with a 0.83 ERA. Altobelli is batting .297 with 33 hits and 33 rbis.

The Coastal Plain League All-Star Game is scheduled for July 17.

A Familiar Name

Bonadonna is on pace to break the Northwoods League for steals in a season. He needs 13 more to break the record of 44. Who holds that record??

Former Illini Ryan Rogowski

A Very Tight Race

This is something I’ve not seen before. Central Illinois Collegiate League is currently in their All-Star break. Through 26 games, all four teams are in a tie for first place. Poor Dubois Bombers… stuck in last place.

This is something I’ve not seen before.

Central Illinois Collegiate League is currently in their All-Star break. Through 26 games, all four teams are in a tie for first place.

Poor Dubois Bombers… stuck in last place.

Illini Summer Diamond Notes: Scott Shaw

Scott Shaw pitching during the Big Ten Tournament

Fightingillini.com has starting pitcher Scott Shaw up this week for their regular series of University of Illinois baseball player reporting back from their collegiate leagues.

Shaw is pitching for the Waterloo Bucks in the Northwoods League. He’s doing a good job up there with a 2-2 record with a nifty 3.82 ERA. His victory last night moved the Bucks out of last place.

Keep up the good work, Scott!

Baseball Zealot Radio interviews Andrew Hartwell of Summer Ball

Northwoods League. Coastal Plain League. Central Illinois Collegiate League.

I’ve written about about these leagues and others like them. They’re all college summer leagues and they serve a very important purpose in developing college baseball players.

In this episode of Baseball Zealot Radio, I interview Andrew Hartwell who, as far as I know, has the only website devoted exclusively to college summer leagues. It’s called Summer Ball and if you’re a fan of college baseball, you should check it out. During our interview, Andrew talks about what purpose college summer leagues serve and how these leagues operate.

Direct Link to the show

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Baseball Zealot Radio website

Reeser, Martin mowing ’em down in the Coastal Plain League

Brian from Big Ten Hardball pointed out to me that University of Illinois’ Ben Reeser is putting up some good numbers for the Fayetteville Swampdogs in the Coastal Plain League. He’s 3-0 with a 0.36 ERA in 25 1/3 innings. He’s leading the CPL in ERA. Swampdog teammate and Illini Aaron Martin is doing great … Continue reading “Reeser, Martin mowing ’em down in the Coastal Plain League”

Swampdog teammate and Illini Aaron Martin is doing great too. He’s 3-0 with a 1.27 ERA.

Between the two of them, they are helping the Swampdogs to an 18-4 record, good for first place in the South Division in the CPL.