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I don't have to tell you that I love Mississippi State sports. My blogging about the Bulldogs almost daily should be enough to tell you that. But what you might not know is that of all the sports that the Maroon and White play, baseball is far and away my favorite. That is, in part, due to the fact that my first love has always been baseball. It's the sport I played, the sport I have always wanted to watch first, and given MSU's history on the diamond, I have always had a natural draw to Dudy Noble Field.
As baseball season is quickly approaching, I wanted to start a segment here on the blog that could help you stay informed on what everyone is saying about MSU baseball. This post will include anything from links, news, my own personal commentary, and so forth. Right now, this post will be sporadic, and as the season grows closer, it will probably move to once a week or so. During the season, I would imagine we'll try to do this once or twice a week.
In addition to the post, we'll also bring you game updates, open threads, commentary from MSU baseball guru @MsStateBaseball, and much more. Now, let's get started with our first edition of Dudy Noble Digest.
- Speaking of our friend @MsStateBaseball, I would encourage you to check out his new blog. It focuses on Mississippi State baseball, specifically keeping up with alumni and where they are in the professional ranks, as well as commits, signees, etc. Basically, a lot of the information that is hard to come by, all in one place. I would suggest bookmarking his page.
- As we mentioned yesterday, Chris Stratton was named college pitcher of the year by Perfect Game for 2012. Stratton was given the honor after completing an 11-2, 2.83 ERA season for State, and leading the Bulldogs to an SEC Tournament Championship. Despite his outstanding season, I was a bit surprised that Stratton beat out others such as Carlos Rodon of N.C. State and Mark Appel of Stanford. Congrats to Chris.
- As the season nears, the preseason All-American teams and rankings have already begun to emerge. As for rankings, Mississippi State came in 13th in the initial Collegiate Baseball Newspaper top 40 poll. MSU was one of nine SEC teams ranked in the top 26 of 40, including No. 1 Arkansas, No. 3 Vanderbilt, and No. 4 LSU.
- On the All-American side of preseason releases, MSU has been well represented so far in the Louisville Slugger and NCBWA All American teams. Here's a look at MSU's representation on the All-American teams so far:
Adam Frazier (SS) - 2nd Team
Jonathan Holder (RP) - 3rd Team
Hunter Renfroe (OF) - 3rd Team
Jonathan Holder (RP) - 1st Team
Adam Frazier (SS) - 2nd Team
- Mississippi State added two commitments to the class of 2015 yesterday as DeSoto Central teammates Austin Riley and Keegan James committed to MSU ($). Riley is a 6'2" 215 lb right handed C/P, while James is a 6'2" 180 lb right handed pitcher.