[AP]Gwynn Grooms San Diego State for NCAAs
Gwynn Grooms San Diego State for NCAAs
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: February 3, 2005
SAN DIEGO (AP) -- Beginning his third season as baseball coach at his
alma mater, Tony Gwynn can't help but look ahead to late spring.
Maybe this will be the season his San Diego State Aztecs will end
their nasty little habit of falling just short of making the NCAA
regionals, the first step toward reaching the College World Series.
Despite playing in a sun-splashed city that produces a ton of prep
talent, San Diego State has never made it to the College World Series.
The Aztecs haven't been to the regionals since 1991, when Gwynn was
reaching the midpoint of his 20-year career with the San Diego Padres.
Ending that drought remains the goal for Gwynn and the Aztecs, who
open their season this weekend at home with a three-game series
against perennial power Texas.
``For this university, it would be huge,'' Gwynn said. ``When we're
recruiting, people ask you, `When was the last time you've gone?'
It's now 14 years since we've gone to the regionals. For a lot of
kids who have turned us down, that's probably the main reason. In
their mind, we didn't get the kind of exposure some of these other
schools get. But I think getting there kind of opens the door for
you.''
Yes, recruits have said no to Gwynn, who had 3,141 big league hits,
won eight NL batting titles and will be eligible for election to the
Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007.
``They end up somewhere else -- Miami, USC, Wake Forest,'' Gwynn
said. ``I think that's probably the biggest reason. I don't think
they feel the Mountain West gets as much respect as the Pac-10 or the
SEC or the ACC. And we understand that. We've tried to do things that
the big schools do, do things in a way the kids can benefit from.
Sometimes, it's not enough. Me being the coach, not enough. If you
win games, that helps solve that problem.''
The one game the Aztecs really need to win is the Mountain West
Conference tournament championship game in order to get an automatic
bid the regionals. They've gotten that far five straight years, but
have lost four straight times, including last year after winning the
regular-season conference title.
San Diego State won the tournament in 2000 under Gwynn's predecessor,
Jim Dietz, but the MWC was in its first year of play and didn't have
an automatic bid to the regionals that year.
``We've always had enough pitching. We just weren't versatile enough
to recover from anything that would happen,'' said Gwynn, the MWC
Coach of the Year in 2004. ``When I went to the bench, we weren't
athletic enough. We didn't have enough guys.''
The Aztecs got a lot younger after losing 13 seniors, but Gwynn
thinks he's done OK in recruiting. He's also gotten the program into
decent financial shape, thanks to making more than $1 million by
hosting a tournament last year at Petco Park, the Padres' new
ballpark.
He'll find out right away just how good his team is -- or how much
work it has to do.
Texas, which lost to Cal State Fullerton in last year's championship
series, returns most of its offense and is primed to make a run at
its NCAA-record 32nd College World Series appearance. Gwynn got the
Longhorns to come to San Diego after the Aztecs played three games in
Austin last year.
``We went there last year and got pummeled,'' Gwynn said. The Aztecs
were outscored 18-2 in three losses, including two shutouts.
But Gwynn knows that Texas is the kind of team the Aztecs need to
play in order to improve. He also has scheduled home-and-home games
against Fullerton and USC.
``This is really the first game here since I've been here where
you've got this kind of quality club coming in,'' Gwynn said.
Texas coach Augie Garrido has known Gwynn since the late 1970s.
Garrido was coaching at Fullerton, and advised Gwynn, then a high
school senior, that it would be hard to play both baseball and
basketball for the Titans. Gwynn ended up at San Diego State, where
he starred in both sports. Gwynn still holds the San Diego State
basketball records for assists in a game, season and career.
``He's good for college baseball and he's good for the players he
comes in contact with,'' Garrido said of Gwynn. ``He shares his
experiences and the intricacies of hitting with them, and the work
ethic it takes to be a quality player. He has tremendous gifts to
offer, and he gives those freely.''
--
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you miss the point of everything.
--
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