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By Collegebaseball360.com Editor Sean Stires

It’s been nearly a week now since Arizona State announced Pat Murphy’s resignation as head baseball coach, and it’s been strangly quiet since then.  The NCAA‘s official web site has a section called “The Record” that is devoted to things like coaching hirings, firings and resignations and there has been no mention there of either Murphy or Arizona State in the last six days.  However, no fewer than eleven other coaching transactions, including East Carolina baseball coach Billy Godwin’s contract extension have been mentioned there since November 20th.  ASU has also still not announced who will be the interim head coach there.

Murphy Was 629-284-1 In 15 Seasons At ASU

Nothing has been confirmed, but the two most prevalent theories are that Murphy’s resignation either had to do with possible NCAA infractions, a dispute over a contract extension with ASU Vice President for Athletics Lisa Love or some combination of the two.

In the time since his resignation I have talked to several people who know Murphy, and while most of them were “shocked” to hear of his depature, most of them were not shocked at the idea that Murphy might have left ASU in a huff after a disagreement with his AD.

Tim Prister played baseball at Notre Dame in the 1980s.  He currently writes for Irishillustrated.com, and he covered Murphy when Murphy was the head coach of the Irish.  When I asked Prister this week if he would be surprised at such a scenario Prister said with a wry grin “I would not be surprised at all if that were the case.”

Brian Cleary counts himself among Murphy’s supporters.  The current Cincinnati Bearcats head coach was a Murphy assistant in 1993 & 1994 in South Bend.  Cleary credits his mentor for “kick-starting” his coaching career and said that Murphy has been good for the game “There probably isn’t a more colorful personality on the national stage.  He’s passionate about college baseball and about coaching and about what we all do as coaches.  He is willing to speak on behalf of the sport”, he said.

Cleary also added “Certainly I think his personality adds to whatever event it is.  Be it a three game Pac-10 series or Omaha.  One of the things I think Murph brings is the willingness to speak his mind and speak on behalf of college

Brian Cleary

baseball.  I think the head coach at ASU is different than the head coach at a lot of places, because that program in relation to football and basketball is probably a lot different than it is at a lot of schools.  I think he was really a great ambassador for college baseball during his time there.”

Certainly Murphy’s departure at one of the premiere programs in college baseball (and possible return…somewhere) will have a ripple effect throughout the coaching ranks, whether it’s this year or next.

Here’s a “By The Numbers” look at Murphy’s career:

10…wins in his first season (1983) as a college head coach at Maryville (Tenn)

51…wins in his 25th season (2009) as a head coach at ASU

49…consecutive 30 win seasons by ASU baseball teams

2…head baseball coaches (Bobby Winkles and Jim Brock) in Sun Devil history prior to Murphy’s arrival in Tempe

17…NCAA Tournament appearances in 22 seasons as a Division I coach

12…NCAA Tournament appearances in 15 seasons at ASU

18…years between NCAA Tournament appearances for Notre Dame before earning a berth in 1989, Murphy’s second season at the Fighting Irish helm

4…College World Series appearances by ASU in the last 15 seasons

113…combined home wins by the Sun Devils over the last three seasons

12…ASU home losses in that span

441…wins since 2000 by ASU, the most by any Pac 10 team in that stretch

7…ASU players named Pac 10 Player of the Year in the last 15 seasons

506…games Arizona State played without being shutout between April 7, 1995 and February 15, 2004-an NCAA record

9.4…runs-a-game the Sun Devils scored in that 9-year stretch

119…Arizona State players taken in the MLB draft during the Murphy era-the most of any school

1…of those players tabbed a big league MVP-Boston Red Sox 2B Dustin Pedroia-2008 AL MVP

914…games played in Murphy’s 15 seasons at ASU

914…home runs hit by the Sun Devils in those 15 seasons

8,084…runs scored in those games-an average of 8.8 runs-a-game

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Here’s our weekly recap of some of the new stuff we have added to the site last week.

1.  Podcast interview with West Virginia’s Jedd Gyorko, who was also a Cape Cod League All Star.

2.  Virginia’s Kevin McMullan named National Assistant Coach of the Year.

3.  LSU and Texas each received their College World Series rings.

4.  East Carolina honored at this week’s football game for its 2009 Super Regional season.

5.  Rhode Island named the top college team in New England by the BoSox Club.

6.   Southern Illinois’ Dan Callahan named Most Courageous by MVC.

7.  Wichita State is auctioning logos from its old field turf.

8.  Sacramento State has a succession plan in place to name a new head coach when current skipper John Smith retires.

9.  Our exclusive final statistics compilation from the 2009 College World Series.

10.  Muhammed Ali, Dustin Pedroia and Andre Ethier at Friday’s Pat Murphy/ASU fundraiser.

11. Schedules, schedules and more schedules.  Seriously, we posted more than 30 2010 schedules this week.

TEMPE, Ariz. – Former Arizona State Baseball stars Andre Ethier and Dustin Pedroia will join Muhammad

Former ASU & Current LA Dodger Star Andre Ethier

Ali at Coach Murphy’s Charity Home Run Derby on Friday night at Scottsdale Stadium. Ethier, from the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Pedroia, from the Boston Red Sox, will be in attendance to root on the home run derby contestants.

ASU Baseball Head Coach, Pat Murphy, is leading sluggers up to bat as he hosts his Inaugural Charity Home Run Derby & Family Fun Fall Festival. Celebrities including Muhammad Ali will make special appearances to root on contestants as they swing for the fences.

Entertainment will be featured throughout the night including The Rave, Phoenix’s hottest variety rock band. Attendees can also enjoy dinner options, a silent auction and raffle drawings. A Kid Zone is available for children 10 years old and under.

Former ASU & Current Red Sox Star Dustin Pedroia

The Home Run Derby & Family Fun Fall Festival will benefit The Crossroads, Inc. Transitional living for people in recovery. Substance abuse affects all of our lives. The Crossroads, Inc. has provided a safe and healthy environment for people recovering from alcoholism and addiction for nearly 50 years in the Phoenix area. Throughout its six facilities, it impacts residents, alumni, and community members with continuing support meetings and educational scholarships.

The event will be at Scottsdale Stadium on Friday, November 6 from 5:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m.  Tickets can be purchased online at www.protixonline.com.

(Press Release)

Four Ways To Promote The Game Where It Needs Promoting

1. Allow fall exhibition games that do not count against the 56 game limit. Teams like Texas, Rice and Baylor (to name a few) are already playing a handful of games each fall so they don’t have to cram a bunch of mid week games into a shorter season.  Teams like Michigan, Indiana and Iowa are playing games this fall as well.  Teams from the Big 12, SEC, ACC, and Pac 10 don’t have to worry about losing a few games in the spring, because they know their RPIs are going to be high enough to get them an at-large NCAA bid if they win 30 games, but teams from the north need every game they can get to 40 wins as they build their at large resume.
2. Use college football to showcase college baseball in the north. (This is assuming step #1 is in play.)  This can most easily be accomplished in September when the weather is still in the 80s and 90s pretty much across the country (including places like Minneapolis, Ann Arbor, South Bend, and Columbus…just in case those from states farther south might not be aware).  Fresno State was the defending national champion last year.  The Bulldog football team opened the 2008 season at Rutgers.  What if the Scarlet Knight baseball team could have had the defending champs play on their campus in a fall exhibition game (or games)?   Oregon State went to Penn State to play football two years ago when the Beaver baseball team was the defending CWS champion.  It’s a win-win situation for everyone.  Fresno State and Oregon State are never going to go to New Jersey or Pennsylvania in March or April, but September is perfect, and they don’t even have to worry about whether they
   

   Penn State's Beaver Stadium with baseball's Medlar Field at Lubrano Park upper right

   win or lose.  Just show up, play a game Friday night and/or Saturday morning before the football game ) when 50,000 to upwards of 100,000 fans are around to see the games) and then do some tailgating and watch a football game and go home.  It’s not limited to defending national champs though.  Some other football games that would be good fits for a fall baseball pairing include:  Arizona @ Iowa, USC @ Ohio State, Stanford @ Notre Dame, North Carolina @ UConn, Oregon @ Purdue, Virginia @ Indiana, Florida State @ BYU (I could go on).  All of those football games have either taken place recently or will take place within the next couple years.

3. Use football part II. The idea of using college football to promote college baseball is not limited to having one school’s baseball team tag along with the football team to go barnstorming in the north.  (EG: Penn State vs. Oregon State in both football and baseball as mentioned above.)  Baseball teams like LSU, Texas, Arizona State, Miami, Florida State (and a few others) could go just about anywhere independent of their football teams and draw a crowd.  So, Michigan plays Eastern Michigan in Ann Arbor on the gridiron on September 19, but Michigan plays Texas on the diamond the night before or that same morning.
4. BE CREATIVE. Schools like Rhode Island and St. John‘s don’t have the big football programs to prop up the rest of their programs like Penn State, Michigan or Notre Dame, but they could still make something happen in the fall.  How about the Red Storm playing Joba Chamberlain’s alma mater, Nebraska, at Yankee Stadium in September after the Yankees play Baltimore?  Or what if Dustin Pedroia’s college team, Arizona State, played Rhode Island at Fenway Park?
   

   Boston's Fenway Park

The biggest objection to something like this would likely come from the schools like Texas, LSU and ASU who would have to pick up the bill for the extra travel in September.  But look at it this way:  Those three traditional powers will average about 36 home games next spring.  Michigan, St. John’s, Notre Dame, and Ohio State averaged 24 home games last spring.

Ohio State played its first 21 games in Florida in 2009 before its first home game on March 31st.  Next season Texas will play its first nine games in Austin, and won’t leave the Lone Star state until a 3-game set at Oklahoma the first weekend in April.  The Longhorn’s only other trip out of Texas during the regular season is at Kansas State in early May.

In other words, it shouldn’t be too much to ask the biggest programs in the sport to make an extra trip or two in September to help the growth of the sport.

Have you ever been in a campus basketball arena when the Tennessee or UConn women’s basketball teams come to town?  Those teams are treated like rock stars by adoring young fans in front of sell out crowds, because they are the teams that are on national TV all the time.  If the Vols and Huskies are the Pied Pipers of women’s hoops, the Longhorns and Tigers can take the “ping” to the people on Saturdays in September.

LePage

The UConn second baseman took the Cape Cod League by storm this summer with his gritty play.  He was named the Cape’s 10th Player of the Year and also received the League’s Daniel J. Silva Sportsmanship Award while helping the Bourne Braves to their first ever championship.

LePage talks with Sean Stires about his summer as well as his lofty goals for he and his UConn teammates in 2010.

5’8 – Jr. – 2B – Wolcott, CT    Head Coach: Jim Penders