This time last year, the Cal baseball team didn’t know if there would be another season.
Bleeding money, the campus decided to cut the team on Sept. 28, 2010. One of college baseball’s storied programs appeared destined to become a sad historical footnote.
But the Cal baseball community banded together, and made the good kind of history, raising enough money to fund the team’s future while making it to the College World Series.
Now, with their financial future secure, the comeback kids of last year are focused on one goal only: getting back to Omaha.
“We have the players to be a playoff team,” said head coach David Esquer, who has been playing an Omaha radio station over the PA during practices. “Nobody wants to play us, we’re a dangerous team.”
On paper, the squad seems stacked, returning all but two everyday starters to a squad ranked 23rd in the coaches’ preseason poll. Junior second baseman Tony Renda, last year’s Pac-10 Player of the Year and a preseason All-American selection, returns to anchor a deep lineup. Senior catcher Chadd Krist, who gave up a chance at the majors for one more year at Evans Field after leading the Pac-10 in doubles and driving in 43 runs, will provide the power along with senior outfielder Chad Bunting, who hit a team-high seven homers last year.
The team’s biggest question mark is its pitching staff, which has lost much of its depth from last year. Junior lefty Justin Jones, a preseason All-American, has recovered from an arm injury to lead what should be a strong starting corps with senior righty Matt Flemer, who bypassed the big leagues to return to Cal. Sophomore southpaw Kyle Porter (voted a freshman All-American last year after going 6-0 with a tiny 1.89 ERA) will look to build on an outstanding freshman season. But the relief pitching before junior closer Logan Scott is unproven.
“We’re going to ride (our starters) pretty good,” said Esquer, the 2011 National Coach of the Year. “They’ll have to get themselves out of jams if they pitch themselves into them.”
New pitching coach Mike Neu has been working with the pitchers to be as efficient as possible to turn the game over to the team’s potent lineup.
“He really just focused on getting through three hitters in the least amount of pitches as you can,” Flemer said. “If you have long innings, you’re not going to be as successful.”
Although the financial battle is a thing of the past, it will have a tangible effect on the team this year: because Esquer didn’t know if he would have a team until April, he couldn’t make scheduling commitments until later and so the Bears will play one of the toughest schedules in the country.
Away games abound — the team has a grueling stretch where in the span of two weeks it must travel to play Arizona State, Fresno State, USC and No. 5 Texas — and a difficult midweek date against Creighton, which won 45 games last year, looms.
In-conference, the team’s schedule is no cakewalk either. The Pac-12 slate includes trips to Stanford and Arizona State and visits from Arizona, Oregon State and UCLA, all of which are top-25 teams.
But of course the Bears are no slouches.
“If you put our best against their best, we can compete,” Esquer said.
If the team can win, its tough schedule combined with a good record should see it return to the postseason. From there, Omaha will be in sight.