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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2015
PAGE 9B
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Baseball 'rats' hungry for College World Series
FRANK WEIRICH/KANSAN
GRIFFIN HUGHES
@kansanSports
Baseball coach Ritch Price answers a question at Baseball Media Day yesterday. Price refers to his players as "baseball rats," or players that live "for the game."
It's been more than 20 years since Kansas joined college baseball's elite in Omaha, Neb., but coach Ritch Price said he won't sleep until he gets his young team back there.
The big story of the day: The game in college baseball is changing. For the past three years, the NCAA mandated the addition of iron filings inside the laces of baseballs, which dramatically reduced how often balls left the yard.
"We had balls that were absolutely roasted," senior left fielder Connor McKay said. "They didn't end up being doubles, they ended up being outs."
McKay is considered the best power hitter on the team. Now, with the new bats and balls, he has hit nine homers this season, which is by far the most on the team.
But with an increased emphasis on offense all over the country, power hitters like McKay and new catcher Michael Tinsley are hopeful their offense will help the young Jayhawks dominate in the Big 12.
"All [Tinsley] does is hit," senior outfielder Dakota Smith said.
And hit is what the Jayhawks
must do. There are exactly zero returning weekend pitchers for Price's starting staff this year, and whoever comes out of the bullpen will be an "untested [arm]"
But with such a focus on offense and power, seniors McKay and Smith will be able to
give their young bullpen a little support. This is an offense that can demonstrate some serious pop, and all the players are confident of that.
"It's going to be a lot of fun to hit," said Smith, who hit .337 with two home runs and 43 RBIs as a junior last year.
But Smith was even more excited about his velocity jumping up than his home runs.
"It takes off," he said. "A lot of guys are jumping up in [velocity] a little bit ... it's going to be a lot of fun to throw."
And that's the culture of the team Price has spent his entire
A baseball rat is a player that "lives for the game," and "there's no place [he'd] rather be than go to the ballpark,"
Kansas career building: a team that has more fun on the diamond than anywhere else. A team of guys Price affectionately calls "baseball rats."
according to Price, a self-proclaimed "baseball rat."
Price recruited that type of player — he trained that type of player — and he seems to have found a group of guys in the clubhouse that he's chomping at the bit to take to the top.
"professionalism" was the key word for Price, who prides himself on coaching the most professional teams in the country. He even made a little Royals comparison when he talked about his team's professional attitude in the clubhouse and on the field.
As players, hearing your coach compare your professionalism to an actual professional team is the highest of praises, and Price's players have clearly bought into his system. They're just as excited to get to Louisiana as their coach is.
"I've been waiting for it since the schedule came out," said senior infielder Justin Protocio. "It's surreal. I don't know if I'm going to sleep tonight."
To have a manager that sells an attitude of professionalism and baseball "ratitude" is one thing, but to see a group of players buy into that dream is quite another.
Edited by Mitch Raznick