If the UCLA baseball team relished the role of the underdog, the under-the-radar mentality that accompanies stepping on the field as a bunch of unknowns who could sneak up on collegiate baseball’s powerhouses, it’s out of luck this season.
The Bruins began last season ranked anywhere from No. 20 to No. 27 after finishing with a losing record in 2009. And what did it get them in 2010? A 22-game win streak and their first ever trip to the finals of the College World Series.
This year is different. This year, the Bruins are finding themselves at the top of some preseason polls. They ended last season ranked No. 2, and they’ve picked up where they left off in Collegiate Baseball Newspaper’s preseason poll, coming in at No. 3. Texas Christian and Florida, two teams that UCLA was able to defeat on its way to the championship series against South Carolina, fill the two spots in front of UCLA.
Coach John Savage is quick to stay grounded, noting that UCLA entered the 2008 season ranked No. 1 and failed to make it to Omaha.
“The rankings are what they are, we know they don’t mean much at this stage,” Savage said. “It’s about going out and playing and proving yourself, and we’ve been through that before.”
Even Savage, now entering his seventh season, has vastly improved his notoriety. That is, if you pay any attention to recruiting rankings.
The Bruins’ 2010 class was ranked No. 19 by BaseballAmerica.com, a class that Savage said could have been ranked No. 1 if the rankings came out after the season. The crop of 2011 recruits come to campus ranked No. 3 by the same publication and No. 4 by Collegiate Baseball.
Savage mentioned freshman shortstop Pat Valaika as someone who will be counted on to make an immediate impact. Valaika is taking over for Niko Gallego, who left UCLA after his junior season and is now playing professionally with the Arizona Diamondbacks organization.
“It’s a young, talented group, but we also have some sprinkled-in experience that’s been to Omaha and has had success, so it’s a good combination and a good place to start,” Savage said.
One thing that hasn’t changed is the hype surrounding two UCLA pitchers. The cornerstones of UCLA’s pitching rotation are back for another campaign, one that they hope will take them back to Omaha. Junior right-handed pitchers Gerrit Cole and Trevor Bauer are considered to be one of the best pitching duos in the nation.
The preseason accolades continue to pile up for the two of them. They were both named to Collegiate Baseball’s preseason All-American first team, and they both rank in the top 15 collegiate players for the 2011 MLB Draft: Cole at No. 2 and Bauer at No. 12. No other team has two players on the first team, let alone two players that play the same position.
“There’s a lot that goes into the development of a pitcher, and these guys have the work ethic and the competitiveness that I think they need to be able to carry the load,” Savage said. “But we’re not relying on them. They’re only two guys, and we’ve got a bunch of other innings that will need to be filled, so we’ve got to try to get the most out of everybody.”
The Bruins get their first chance to prove the national pundits right and live up to the hype when they open the season on Feb. 18 against San Francisco at Jackie Robinson Stadium.
Jaffe officially arrives
After the California Golden Bears announced that baseball would no longer be supported as a varsity sport in September, their players were given the opportunity to transfer after the upcoming season.
Eric Jaffe, a right-handed pitcher and first baseman from Bishop O’Dowd High School in Oakland, decided to forego the chance to play for a lame-duck program in Berkeley and transfer to UCLA.
Jaffe is now taking classes at UCLA and is appealing to the NCAA to let him play for the Bruins this season. The usual NCAA rule requires players who transfer to sit out for a calendar year until they can play at their new school.
Savage called it a “very odd situation” and expects a decision from the NCAA on Jaffe “real soon.”