Wednesday April 23, 2008

The Leggett File

The Leggett File
I hear and read certain takes on this Clemson baseball team, the program and the coaching staff. While I get emotional about the program and confess I am frustrated like many of you, I hope to think I can be objective and wanted take this time to look at the program in today’s blog.

I can spin it and tell you that college baseball is difficult and down years can happen to any program. Miami went 34-29 in 2002 and the Canes are currently ranked number one in the country. Texas went 23-32 in 1998 yet the Longhorns are considered a national power each year. LSU is a national championship machine but went 29-26-1 last season. Southern Cal has won more NCAA baseball titles than anyone yet they were 23-23 in 2003.

The major league baseball draft can hurt on both ends. Your best juniors can leave a year early and your best signees may never make it to your campus. Combine this with injuries, bad luck or bad evaluations and even the nation’s best programs are not immune to down campaigns.

I have said many times on my radio show and a few times here on the blog that I am not surprised that Clemson is having a down year on the diamond. The surprise is that it took so long for it to happen.

Leggett took over a good program in 1994 and won the regular season and ACC tournament. Clemson went 57-18 in that first year and finished ranked in the top ten in all three polls including a 4th place finish in the Baseball America poll. The Tigers disappointed in the regional when they were eliminated by Auburn.

Some say he does not deserve all of the credit for the early years but he was an assistant for two seasons before he took over so he does get some credit.

Leggett’s second team also won 50 games. They went 54-14 and won the regular season ACC title. This team advanced to the College World Series before being eliminated by Stanford. The 1995 team finished eighth in all three major polls.

His first two teams went 40-8 in the ACC.

The 1996 team was Leggett’s third team and his third straight 50-win season. This team finished 51-17. The 17-7 record in the ACC was good for second place in the regular season. This team also advanced to the College World Series and won two games before being eliminated by Miami. This team finished fourth in two polls and fifth in the Baseball America poll.

In many cases the 1997 team could have been considered a rebuilding year but this team went 41-23. They did not win the regular season or the ACC tournament. They did advance to the regionals but could not make it to Omaha. They still finished ranked 24th. I would say that is a heck of a rebuilding campaign.

In 1998 the Tigers went 43-16 overall and just 14-9 in the league. They hosted a regional but Southern Cal was big and talented and eliminated the Tigers. Clemson finished the season ranked 19th, 21st and 23rd in the three major polls.

So Clemson was down by some standards for two seasons and they were some disgruntled about the direction of the program.

In 1999 Clemson went 42-27 and finished third in the Acc regular season and did not win the ACC tournament. After winning the regional Clemson went to Texas A&M for the super regional and came within a run of going to the College World Series. This team finished 13th, 14th and 17th in the final polls.

The 2000 team built on the momentum of the previous season and Clemson baseball was back. A 51-18 season included a 17-7 ACC record. The Tigers won their regional then swept Mississippi State in the super regional to advance to Omaha. Clemson was ranked 5th, 6th and 7th in the final polls this season.

In 2001 Clemson may have taken a step back when they went 41-22 but once again went 17-7 in the league. Leggett’s squad won their regional at home but lost both games to Miami in the super regional. The Tigers finished 13th, 14th and 17th in the three final polls.

Some may have felt this program slipped and would not be back but Leggett had other plans. In 2002 Clemson went 54-17 and won their regional and super regional at home. Clemson advanced to the College World Series but lost to South Carolina twice. A third place finish in all three major polls meant the program was back once again.

The 2003 and 2004 seasons were similar. In 2003 Clemson went 39-22 and followed it up with a 39-26 campaign. Both teams were eliminated in regionals on the road in SEC venues. The 2003 team finished its season in Auburn and the next year Clemson lost in Athens, GA. Neither team finished the season in the final baseball polls.

So the program was down by Clemson baseball standards once again. But once again Leggett brought the Tigers back to the national title contention. In 2005 Clemson started a bunch of freshmen and went 43-23. They won their regional and came within a game of the College World Series but lost out to Baylor in Waco, TX. A 13th, 14th and 16th place finish in the polls meant Clemson was almost all of the way back again.

They completed the comeback in 2006 when the Tigers went 53-16. The Tigers won the ACC regular season and the ACC tournament. They also won the regional and defeated Oral Roberts in the super regionals. It was Leggett’s fifth trip to the College World Series as the head coach of the Tigers. This team finished 5th in all three major polls.

Last season Clemson slipped back to 41-23. They did win the regional on the road in Myrtle Beach but were eliminated at the super regional in Starkville, MS. Still a 12th, 13th and 15th finish in the final polls was a solid year by most standards.

So Leggett has never had a losing season. All of his teams but two have finished the season ranked. He is in his 15th season and every one of his teams have advanced to the NCAA tournament. Five of his teams have advanced to the College World Series.

Leggett has created a monster in the expectations at Clemson but he has earned the right to rebuild. Joe Paterno had to do it. Bobby Bowden has also had to do it. But they deserved the right to rebuild.

I am not saying we should be happy about this season and we should be able to fairly criticize Leggett or any coach. But we should also consider all of the facts.

The reason I wrote this blog is to give us all a perspective of the past. I am not saying I know for sure that Clemson baseball will be back in the College World Series soon. In fact, I am not sure next season will be a great one here in Tigertown. There is no way to project human performance but one way to try is to look at the past.

Every player who has played four years at Clemson under Jack Leggett has gone to Omaha and the College World Series at least once in his career. Can I say Clemson will be back for sure? No. But I would not bet against Leggett and his passion for this program.

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