2014 Dirtbag Position Preview: Catcher

If Dirtbags fans are looking for reasons for optimism entering 2014, then it's fitting to start with the catcher position. After having to make due with converted-pitcher Royce Murai and defensive stalwart but light hitting Kellen Hoime (with some decent patchwork from utility man Mike Marjama) Long Beach State enters this spring with arguably their best catching depth since 2008; which just so happens to be the last time they made a regional appearance. With no seniors, and three underclassmen, in the mix it's reasonable to hope the backstop remains solid for the 'Bags for the next couple season. The 2014 group includes a returning starter that has the potential to be one of the better catchers in the conference, a JuCo transfer who should have an impact on this year's squad, and a freshman that will likely be groomed to eventually hold the starting position.


Alex Bishop – Junior; Bats: Right; .435/.480/.602, 39 games (College of the Canyons)
After going virtually unrecruited by Division 1 programs out of high school, Bishop comes to Blair Field for his junior year to begin his NCAA career. A star quarterback and catcher in high school, the undersized Bishop would have to go the junior college route before getting people to take notice to his talents (this signalsvc.com story on him paints the picture of a player that was born to be a Dirtbag). After having a modest freshman year playing for Moorepark College, Bishop saw his prospect status take off last year at College of the Canyons.

Bishop would wind up claiming SoCal player of the year honors after leading the state of California in batting, tallying 11 three-hit games, and notching 97 total bases despite hitting just one home run. Though he drew only 14 walks on the season, he amazingly fanned just six times in 182 plate appearances. He was nearly as likely to hit a triple as he was strike out whenever he stepped into the batter's box.

Last season's starter, Eric Hutting, is back for his sophomore year so it'll be interesting to see what role Bishop plays for the Dirtbags in 2014, and how well his amazing 2013 numbers can carry over against D1 pitching. It's possible he'll share playing time behind the plate, having thrown out 23% of base runners last year, though Designated Hitter is also a possibility.


Eric Hutting – Sophomore; Bats: Right; .270/.326/.325, 40 games
In 2013, Hutting provided Long Beach the arguably most production at the plate they've seen from a backstop in six years; though much of that can be attributed to the offensive black hole the catcher position has been for the Dirtbags. Hutting's true freshman season started off strong, singling in his first collegiate at bat against eventual 2nd round draft pick Kevin Ziomek of Vanderbilt for the Dirtbags' first base runner of the season. By the end of the second weekend of the year, Hutting was 6-for-16 and showed his offensive versatility with 3 walks, two doubles, two sac bunts, and a bunt single. However, Hutting's hot start was short lived. He would draw only one walk the entire month of March and at one point was in a 5-for-44 slump.

The start of his defensive career was almost the exact opposite. Through his first eight games (seven starts) Hutting had already tallied five passed balls and by March 22 had 22 steals against. As his hitting slowed, however, his defense picked up. Hutting allowed just one passed ball the rest of the way, at one point going 24 straight games without letting a pitch go to the backstop. He ultimately finished with a respectable 33% caught stealing mark.

He finally got his bat back on track in Stockton, going 5-for-9 against Pacific's weak pitching to open the month of April. That would spark a hot streak he would carry for the rest of the season which included two seven-game hitting streaks. Aside from an 0-for-7 series against Cal Sate Fullerton, he would reach base in every game he played for the rest of the year.

Though Hutting ultimately earned the lion's share of catching duties, he split a considerable amount of time with Zach Miller and Royce Murai. The rookie Hutting would start on consecutive days only three times entering the final weekend of the year. On the final Friday of the season, Hutting, who had actually seen his playing time decrease slightly has the season dragged into it's final month, was brought in in the fourth inning of a blow out game against UC Irvine. Miller had started the game and allowed four steals to the Anteaters. Hutting would go on to finish the game and start the next two, catching the final 24 innings of the year for the Dirtbags.

In the summer, Hutting joined the Wenatchee AppleSox of the West Coast League where he managed to get in another 100 at bats. Playing irregularly, Hutting never found his stride in the summer. His average peaked in the .260 range before fading for a final slash line of .220/.262/.300. Playing over 60 games behind the plate between the two seasons may have caused some fatigue to set in by August.

Hutting figures to be more of a role player in the Dirtbag lineup than a piece to build around, but his ability to bunt and line drive swing make him a versatile option for Coach Zepeda. Hutting figures to bat in the latter half of the lineup for most of the season, but if he can continue to hit at the clip he closed the 2013 Dirtbag season with (23-for-66, .348) he could see time in the top two spots as well.


Daniel “DJ” Jackson – Freshman; Bats: Right
The fact that a solid freshman like Jackson will probably begin his Dirtbag career as a third-string catcher shows just how far this position has come for Long Beach State. The lanky rookie has a line drive swing and could become a “middle of the order hitter” as he gets older, according to coach Buckley; although Jackson could make a push for playing time this year on his arm alone. Jackson has a very good poptime behind the plate (1.89 in 2012, according to Perfect Game), and an arm strong enough to make scouts wonder what kind of pitcher he would make.


Albert Perez – Freshman; Bats: Right
There's little information available on Perez other than what can be found on the Long Beach State website (“three-year letterwinner... hit .485 as a senior”). It's probably safe to assume Perez is a walk-on. With Bishop, Hutting, and Jackson already in the mix it's unlikely Perez will see much playing time behind the plate this season. It's worth mentioning he was also listed as a first baseman and outfielder in high school.

Dirtbags 2014 Out-Of-Conference Preview: part 3

Rounding out the OOC series previews are the road trips for the Dirtbags, which all feature opponents who traveled to Long Beach in 2013.

Wichita State (ISR: 92, RPI: 103) – Last year nearly turned into a nightmare of a season for our (partially) cross-country rival, who started the year dropping three games to Pittsburgh, then losing four games to the snow. However, the Shockers, rebounded to win 39 games and the Missouri Valley Conference tournament.

The Dirtbags have won their last three series against WSU, including a sweep in Blair Field last year, and a near-sweep in their 2012 trip to Eck Stadium. However, the 2014 Shockers could be a dangerous club, as they retain several key players including their top four hitters; 1B Casey Gillaspie (.299/.447/.517), C Tyler Baker (.328/.394/.466), OF Garrett Bayliff (.379/.439/.425), and 2B Tanner Dearman (.301/.404/.335); and their entire weekend rotation; closer-turned-starter RHP Cale Elam (3.17, 75/30, 93.2 IP), RHP A.J. Ladwig (4.54, 68/15, 85.1 IP), and RHP Garrett Brummett (1.16, 24/11, 38.2 IP). This experienced team will be lead by new Head Coach Todd Butler, former assistant and recruiting coordinator for two Omaha-bound Arkansas squads. Add the fact that this is easily the Dirtbags' longest road trip of the regular season, geographically speaking, and this could be another tough test for Troy Buckley's boys.

Arizona (ISR: 34, RPI: 59) – two game mid-week series – Long Beach State split two home mid-week games last season against the then-defending champion Wildcats. That series was the first test of the pitching depth for a team that had no healthy returning starters. Though the 2014 Dirtbags return LHPs Jake Stassi and Ryan Strufing, this two game set in Tucson could serve as a similar measuring stick for the rotation, with returners LHP Nick Sabo and RHP Ryan Millison (the starters from last year's series) and newcomers RHP Christian Belleque and LHP Cameron Pongs potentially getting the nods.

Most of the major players from the Wildcats' Omaha team are gone but they return a large portion of last year's lineup, including dynamic middle infielders 2B Trent Gilbert (.344/.407/.448) and SS Kevin Newman (.336/.398/.392). It will be interesting to see how the Dirtbag lineup, particularly players like Michael Hill and Richard Prigatano, approach hitting in Hi Corbett, where the speed/gap power combo remains U of A's M.O..

Cal State Fullerton (ISR: 2, RPI: 6) – In what is typically the final warmup before conference play, this series could be the Dirtbags' most difficult of the season as Fullerton is likely to be a top five team in the pre-season rankings. Some wins in this series would be a big boost to the RPI and would look great on LBSU's regional bid resume, but I don't really care about that.

After losing 22 of 25 to the Titans (3-15 in the Troy Buckley-era), the six meetings this season have to take on a greater significance. How Long Beach State performs on the road against likely one of the better Fullerton teams in recent years will serve as a strong indicator of the strength of the Dirtbag moniker.

They will be combated with one of the best rotations in the nation, RHP Thomas Eshelman (1.48, 83/3, 115.2 IP), RHP Justin Garza (2.03, 95/17, 115 IP) coming off all-universe freshman seasons, RHP Grahamm Wiest (3.27, 76/13, 104.2 IP), not to mention about 12 other All-Big West arms.

If there's a weakness to be found, it could be Fullerton's comparatively unproven lineup. Gone is a large portion of last year's lineup, including Big West players of the year Michael Lorenzen and Carlos Lopez, though they do retain legitimate conference POY candidates 1B JD Davis (.318/.407/.436) and 3B Matt Chapman (.285/.415/.457). Though the Titans always have a steady pipeline of talent, the 2014 outfield and shortstop positions will have a hard time replicating the production of their predecessors (not that they'd necessarily have to).

LBSU's best chance here is to be able to exploit that new-look lineup behind strong pitching and grind out some low-scoring victories.

It's regional or bust next year for Long Beach State, but while simply earning a bid would seem to make 2014 a successful enough campaign, if the Dirtbags can get through this gauntlet of a schedule there's no telling how they can go. The key, of course, will be surviving the regular season.  

Dirtbags 2014 Out-Of-Conference Preview: part 2

We opened our examination of Long Beach State's 2014 schedule by looking at schools like Vanderbilt, Arizona State, and UC Irvine. If that wasn't enough, we still have two teams left on the home schedule that are only coming off of College World Series qualifying, and College World Series winning, seasons.

Indiana (ISR: 12, RPI: 12) – The Hoosiers only traveled west of Omaha once last year, and that was all the way to Lincoln to take on the Cornhuskers. Yet in 2014 they'll be spending a weekend in Long Beach, their first trip to California since 2012 when they went 3-5 against Cal Sate Northridge, San Diego, and Loyola Marymount. Though they don't go west often, last year's IU team was well traveled, going to Florida four times, twice for tournaments, once to play the Gators (a series they won), and finally to face the Seminoles in the Super Regionals (a series they swept). Despite their somewhat improbable 2013 season, Indiana looks poised for a repeat, returning four of their five biggest workhorses from their pitching staff, including LHP Joey DeNato (2.52, 87/43, 103.2 IP), who tossed a shutout against Louisville in the College World Series.

On the hitting side, the Hoosiers return an experienced and well-balanced lineup, with good speed, solid power, and a strong ability to draw the walk and get on base. They're lead by All-Americans, C Kyle Schwarber (.366/.456/.647) and 3B Dustin DeMuth (.377/.433/.545), among several other returning starters from the 2013 lineup.

Between this, the Vanderbilt series, and the trip to Wichita (more on that later), the Dirtbags are going to have a well geographically-balanced schedule on their hands next spring.

UCLA (2013 ISR: 6; RPI: 9) – For the second consecutive season, the Dirtbags will host a series against the reigning national champions. UCLA small-balled their way to the title last year, hitting zero homers at TD Ameritrade Park, with something like 477 bunts. Such an offensive output could yield similarly successful results in spacious Blair Field, where the Bruins scrapped together a 3-2 mid-week win over the Dirtbags a year ago. Pitching was obviously UCLA's strength in 2013 and despite suffering some major losses to their championship staff, they return a solid crop of arms in 2014. Leading the way will be RHP Cody Poteet (4.84, 56/31, 70.2 IP), top prospect in the West Cost Summer League according to Perfect Game; LHP Grant Watson (3.01, 55/16, 92.2 IP), LHP Hunter Virant, and living legend RHP David Berg (0.92, 78/11, 78 IP, 24 saves).

The Bruins return the majority of its relatively light-hitting lineup, including OF Brian Carroll (32 steals) and it's top four leaders in sacrifice hits, meaning this series could quickly turn into a repeat of last June's Omaha bunt-a-thon. Also back is three-hitter 3B Kevin Kramer (.278/.382/.376), who had a team best four hits against LBSU last season.

In the Dirtbags' corner is that 11-1 victory over the Bruins at Jackie Robinson Stadium last year against an erratic Poteet; easily the worst loss of the Bruins' championship season.

Up next, we wrap up our look at the out-of-conference slate by looking at the foes Long Beach State will be facing on the road.

Dirtbags 2014 Out-Of-Conference Preview: part 1

We're still waiting on the official announcement on the Long Beach State 2014 schedule, but the out-of-conference slate was recently announced on twitter (one of the two accounts the Dirtbags seem to have) and it's a thing of beauty. Though they're again going a tad heavy on the home games, next season's schedule has the potential to be the strongest in years, which is saying quite a bit. In the first of three posts, we take a look at some of the teams headed to Blair Field this spring...

Vanderbilt (2013 ISR: 4; RPI: 2) – The Commodores cruised to a series win against the Dirtbags to open what would be a historic season for VU. Frankly, in retrospect it's amazing Long Beach State even managed to win one game at the Hawk, given how good the Dores turned out to be. Vandy would go on be win a record 26 SEC games and become a national seed. In that three-game series, Vandy outscoured LBSU 31-19, despite being tied with 30 hits each. The difference would be Vanderbilt's trademark base on balls (18) and fearless baserunning (seven steals, plus more extra bases taken than I care to remember).

Vandy lost half a minor league team-worth of players to the draft, but will nevertheless open 2014 as one of the top teams in the nation. On the hill for Vandy will be Golden Spikes Finalist RHP Tyler Beede (2.32 ERA, 103 K/63 BB, 101 IP) who tossed five solid innings against the Dirtbags last February, albeit while struggling to manage a tight strike zone. Senior RHP TJ Pecoraro (5.97, 15/14, 34.2 IP) also returns but was hit hard in Long Beach State's Sunday win last year and will have to fight his way back into the rotation against RHPs Walker Buehler (3.14, 57/25, 63 IP), Tyler Ferguson (4.21, 21/11, 25.2 IP), and LHP Philip Pfeifer (3.68, 47/30, 63.2 IP). Ferguson and Pfeifer both had mediocre relief appearances against the Dirtbags last season.

SS Vince Conde (.307/.380/.458) is arguably the best of the few returning starters, though a plethora of part-timers from last year seem poised to become impact players. What will be interesting to see is what the Dores offensive approach will look like after losing five players that drew 30+ walks, and four of five players with 15+ steals in 2013, but rest assured the 2014 lineup will present a challenge for Dirtbag pitching it what's likely to be the first series of the season.

“Mini-Tournament” featuring Arizona State, Wright State, and UC Irvine – This series is actually going to include two games at home (versus Arizona State and Wright State) and one on the road (at UC Irvine). This will be the first tournament-style weekend for in Blair Field since the start of the 2010 season, and oddly enough it'll conclude with ASU playing WSU on Sunday, while the Dirtbags are down in Orange County battling the Anteaters. It's confirmed that this will be the second weekend of the season.

Arizona State (ISR: 15, RPI: 20) – Last season's series in Tempe resulted in a three-game sweep for the Sun Devils and one of the most anemic offensive outputs from the Dirtbags all year. LHP Ryan Kellogg (3.15, 54/17, 103 IP) is likely to get the ball for this Friday game. Kellogg tossed seven, two-hit, scoreless frames against LBSU a year ago, leading ASU to its second shutout of the series. Several of ASU's top hitters from last year are gone, but the Sun Devils bring in a strong recruiting class and a solid core of returners lead by SS Drew Stankiewicz (.295/.363/.396) and 1B Dalton DiNatale (.302/.397/.405).

Wright State (ISR: 202, RPI: 219) – Wright State returns to the southland after being swept at UCLA last spring, however the Raiders are an unfamiliar foe to Blair Field. Wright State finished fourth last season in the Horizon League; a conference whose only regional representative, Valparaiso, suffered an early season sweep to the Dirtbags. Wright State will see a lot of lineup turnover in 2014 but returns senior OFs Kieston Greene (.335/.396/.492) and Mark Fowler (.308/.383/.390).

UC Irvine (ISR: 29, RPI: 80) – The Anteaters are coming off a disappointing 2013 and saw further coaching turnover in the summer, resulting in the exit of revered assistant Pat Shine. However they did manage to take two of three against the Dirtbags last season (the first series since 2010 that didn't include a no-hitter!). Irvine enters 2014 with lower expectations and may not quite be the pitching-rich team they've been in recent years, but they return some star-studded hitters like 3B Taylor Sparks (.360/.388/.581), 1B Connor Spencer (.373/.443/.491), and SS Chris Rabago (.269/.325/.356). The Dirtbags will be heading to Irvine for the Sunday-finale of this tournament. The back of the Irvine rotation is currently up in the air but a strong returning candidate for this role is sophomore southpaw Elliot Surrey (3.95, 10/5, 13.2 IP). It's also been announced the Dirtbags' regular season will close with a home conference series against the Anteaters. 

Utah Valley (2013 ISR: 211; RPI: 232) – Utah Valley! It's Utah Valley you guys! A favorite of myself and writers like Eric Sorenson from two years ago make the trip out to Long Beach next season, their first in the re-vamped WAC. These Wolverines, however, are a far cry from the 2012 squad that won 47 games behind a .959 OPS. After seeing their run production drop by over 40% in 2013, the 2014 team will return a somewhat more experienced lineup lead by Sophomore’s 3B Stone Ramsey (.307/.402/.457) and 1B Mark Krueger (.323/.374/.453). On the pitching side Utah Valley also saw a slight regression in 2013, and lose 2012 Great West Pitcher of the Year RHP Adam Gunn, among others. Top returners include likely Friday starter RHP Devin Nelson (3.55 ERA, 61/17 K/BB in 78.2 IP) and reliever RHP Brian Whatcott (1.69, 19/11, 26.2 IP).

The Wolverines will likely be the Dirtbags' weakest weekend opponent next year, and their 2013 stats and RPI weren't that dissimilar from arguably LBSU's weakest foe last season; the Seattle Redhawks. The same Seattle Redhawks that came to Blair Field and won two out of three.

Up next: We round out the home schedule with one-forth of last year's College World Series field.

Reviewing "Baseball in Long Beach"; mainly the Dirtbag parts.

The Summer Leagues have been over for several weeks now, so apart from the occasional scrimmage or two (Dirtbags vs. Trojans on November 23!) we're about to enter the most dead part of the baseball year. Thankfully, Long Beach Register's Bob Keisser's new book Baseball in Long Beach was released just in time to help fend off any offseason withdrawals.

As pretty plainly expressed in the title, the book is an anthology of sorts of baseball in the 562, ranging from biographies of Long Beach-natives that went on to become baseball icons, to the history of college and prep baseball in the city. The book starts out modestly, giving due notice to the reverence the city's baseball community had for Press-Telegram sports editor Frank T. Blair, and the role Blair played in pushing for a ballpark that would serve as the city's baseball epicenter. Keisser quickly shifts gears, however, and covers the lives of favorite sons turned Hall-of-Famers like Bob Lemon and Tony Gwynn.

While these chapters are probably obligatory, many die-hard baseball fans, and certainly Long Beach fans, are already to some degree familiar with several of the stories referenced. The bios, however, serve as nice segues into the stories of lesser-known natives Bobby Grich and Vern Stephens, two should-be Hall-of-Famers who are profiled in the curiously titled chapters “Moneyball” and “Moneyball, Part II”. It's an interesting look if for no other reason than both Grich and Stephens's outstanding big league careers seem to have fallen under the radar as history has passed. Keisser examines how the advancement of sabermetrics have created a swell of Hall-of-Fame support for the previously dormant cases of Grich and Stephens. Though Keisser's use of advanced statistics creates a compelling case for both players, the overabundance of statistics referenced (advanced and traditional) occasionally causes the stories behind the players themselves to get lost.

Eventually, Keisser focuses Baseball in Long Beach on baseball in Long Beach, digging deeply into the the rich history of the area's several high schools. Covering high school baseball history for one specific city might seem like an awfully niche subject, particularly if the reader is a non-Long Beach native like myself, but one can't help but be impressed with the sheer volume of baseball talent that the area has produced, and Keisser allows no one of significance to slip through the cracks. Moreover, the overview Keisser gives serves as a nice foundation and backstory to the real heart of the book (as least as far as I'm concerned), the history of Long Beach State baseball and the rise of the Dirtbags.

In clearly laying out the history of the region's prep and Junior College baseball programs, Keisser sets up the telling of how a hastily assembled group of players on a perennial loser of a school managed to use it's lack of funding and facilities as a motivating force. You know the story of the mud-caked uniforms that became the then-49ers' signature look, but the book also focuses on other Omaha-bound LBSU teams, including the '93 squad which became the first to call Blair Field home, only to struggle out of the gate. One interesting anecdote referenced involved Coach Dave Snow holding “practice” on the track, rather than the baseball field, and running his team (the first ever to officially be known as the Dirtbags) after a disappointing weekend series. As Keisser puts it, in words that seem all too relevant today: “[the message] was clear – you didn't become a Dirtbag just by being on the team, and the coach was willing to do whatever it took to get that point across.”

There's a chapter dedicated to some of Long Beach State's biggest names in the major leagues, though Evan Longoria has noticeably little coverage. The portion on Troy Tulowitzski, inparticular, is intriguing, as it's obvious Tulo's passion for what it means to be a Dirtbag still plays a heavy role it the all-star shortstop's approach to the game.

Keisser's telling is truly comprehensive, as he goes on to cover the stellar career of long time big league scout Harry Minor; the Jeff Buroughs-lead Little League World Series teams of the '90's; several championship clubs from amateur leagues such as PONY and American Legion; and he provides anecdotes about the California Winter League, the old Pacific Coast League, and the multiple failed attempts at an independent league team in Long Beach (no mention of the American West Baseball League's proposed Long Beach Splash, who apparently folded this past summer before games were ever played).

Keisser's book is well worth a read, particularly if you're suffering from the offseason blues, and those with at least a passing familiarity of the region's baseball prowess should appreciate the thoroughness of Keisser's coverage. Bringing this back to the Dirtbags, I'll close with an excerpt on Long Beach State's status in the post-Snow era, as the Dirtbags enter 2014 still trying to find their previous glory:

“What's mostly been lost is that thing Snow always sought – players who buy in 100 percent to the type of play and discipline he wanted. There's been a lot of players excited to be a Dirtbag but very few with the discipline and commitment to play like one.”