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West Coast baseball
Posted on 6/26/24 at 9:44 pm
Posted on 6/26/24 at 9:44 pm
Whatever happened to it?
I can remember a time when all of USC, CalSt-Fullerton, Long Beach St, UC-Irvine, Pepperdine, Stanford - and as an extension Arizona State and Arizona were all players year in and year out. Oregon State came on the scene later. It seems dominated by the south and southeast now.
Aside from the obvious changes with NIL, etc. what caused this? Could I give a crap about west coast sports? No, not really - but for some reason it seemed more interesting when there was parity coast to coast. Is it just all the talent realizing they want to play with the best? It does seem there was superior coaches then versus now in that region - lots of big names that have retired or gone - Garrido, Horton, Marquis, Lopez, Serrano, etc.
Is it just the obvious reasons and things such as more rabid fan support in the south versus sleepy, small fan bases in the west? More to it than that?
I can remember a time when all of USC, CalSt-Fullerton, Long Beach St, UC-Irvine, Pepperdine, Stanford - and as an extension Arizona State and Arizona were all players year in and year out. Oregon State came on the scene later. It seems dominated by the south and southeast now.
Aside from the obvious changes with NIL, etc. what caused this? Could I give a crap about west coast sports? No, not really - but for some reason it seemed more interesting when there was parity coast to coast. Is it just all the talent realizing they want to play with the best? It does seem there was superior coaches then versus now in that region - lots of big names that have retired or gone - Garrido, Horton, Marquis, Lopez, Serrano, etc.
Is it just the obvious reasons and things such as more rabid fan support in the south versus sleepy, small fan bases in the west? More to it than that?
9
Posted on 6/26/24 at 9:47 pm to mortgageman82
Tony V effect
Posted on 6/26/24 at 10:08 pm to mortgageman82
quote:
Aside from the obvious changes with NIL, etc. what caused this?
SEC football got really, really good.
SEC football got big TV contracts.
SEC athletic departments got flush with cash.
SEC athletic departments poured money into baseball facilities.
Recruits now come to play in SEC in front of 10,000+ fans and get access to facilities better than some MLB facilities.
NIL is just the cherry on top as it makes it a more attractive option than riding in busses cross country and living the grind of a minor league player.
West coast schools have fallen below some high schools in terms of baseball facilities.
Posted on 6/26/24 at 10:21 pm to mortgageman82
The west coast pretty much stop giving a shite about college sports around a decade ago, and it wasn't particularly strong for a few years before that outside USC and Oregon.
Posted on 6/26/24 at 11:26 pm to mortgageman82
Over time they realize those Libtard schools just don’t care about sports like we do in the south.
And then over time the SEC took advantage.
Thats why the SEC has too to bottom athletes in all sports and other conferences do not.
And then over time the SEC took advantage.
Thats why the SEC has too to bottom athletes in all sports and other conferences do not.
Posted on 6/26/24 at 11:32 pm to mortgageman82
SEC has too much football revenue
Posted on 6/26/24 at 11:52 pm to mortgageman82
quote:
Oregon State came on the scene later.
Oregon and Oregon State both made the supers this year. Don't what the future holds for them but as a longtime resident I was pleased to see the Beavs and Ducks have a respectable season.
The real mystery is how USC fell off a fricking cliff in this century. It's not like California doesn't continue to produce plenty of baseball talent. USC last won a regional in 2005 and has only made the tournament once (2015) since then. That is abysmal for a program that dominated baseball the way their crosstown rival once dominated basketball but UCLA while nowhere dominant is still relevant. USC went totally dormant in baseball.
A lot has changed over the years that caused the shift to the SEC as the dominant player in baseball. Ron Polk started things but Skip really showed what was possible and then the rest of the conference caught fire. It didn't happen overnight but it's been amazing to watch from the 90s forward.
Posted on 6/26/24 at 11:55 pm to BrerTiger
USC is very expensive. The cost of attendance has skyrocketed since the 1990s.
Posted on 6/26/24 at 11:56 pm to mortgageman82
When yall hired Augie
Posted on 6/27/24 at 12:06 am to mortgageman82
For one thing, their style of baseball is negated in this era of home run baseballs. They don’t grow big dudes like Tommy White out there who hit 30HR
Posted on 6/27/24 at 3:25 pm to mortgageman82
UC Santa Barbara has emerged to help the west a bit. Seven bids over 12 years with a CWS trip in 2016.
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