If one were to label John Olerud’s sophomore season at Washington State in 1988 as merely “pretty good”, it would be as gross of an understatement as to saying Jared Fogel simply lost “a couple of pounds” by eating Subway sandwiches. In simple terms, Olerud was a statistical freak. He feasted on opposing pitchers, devouring them like Fogel disposed of footlong veggies. Olerud hit .464 with 108 hits (both of which are still WSU records) in just 233 at bats and clubbed 23 homeruns with 21 doubles and three triples. He scored 83 times and drove in 81 RBI – a number which also still stands after twenty years still stands as the highest in school history. Based on those numbers alone Olerud was a shoo-in for unanimous All American honors. However that’s just half the story. The Washington native was also a lights out pitcher, starting 16 games and appearing in 19 for the Cougars. He went a perfect 15-0 on the mound, compiling 113 strikeouts and allowing just 100 hits in 122.2 innings. His pitching prowess was unprecedented in Cougar history and not eclipsed until future MLB All Star Aaron Sele appeared in Pullman in the early 90’s and eclipsed his strikeout totals. (Ping!Baseball Spotlight Flashback...)

UNDERDOGS TO WONDERDOGS!

It's a Dog eat Dawg world out there! If you don't believe me, just ask the Georgia Bulldogs who were absolutely manhandled by the Fresno State Bulldogs in the last two games of the 2008 College World Series. As often as the term "Cinderella Story" is used, it couldn't have been truer than in this year’s edition of the CWS Champion. Just three weeks ago Fresno State had an RPI hovering around the century mark and barely squeaked in to the Long Beach Regional as the #4 seed. In fact, had they not the Western Athletic Conference Tournament to receive the automatic bid, Fresno State would most certainly been home for the summer.

Season over with a pat on the back! Right? Nope, not even close. The Fresno State Bulldogs weren't satisfied with the old "two and barbecue". The WonderDogs had to beat a who's who of college baseball. Listen to this incredible list of teams the dogs systematically overpowered to win their first college baseball national championship; #23 Long Beach State, #18 San Diego (twice), #9 Arizona State (twice), #5 Rice, #3 North Carolina (twice), and #2 Georgia (twice). That’s like beating Apollo Creed, Clubber Lang, Ivan Drago, Tommy Gunn and Mason Dixon in back to back fights with an exhibition match with Thunderlips mixed in just for fun. When all was said and done, Fresno State made history and became the lowest seeded team in any sport to win a national championship as well as won the first men’s title for the school.

For every Cinderella team, there’s usually a knight in shining amour leading the team. Well, how about Steve Detwiler? The sophomore outfielder crushed two homeruns and smoked a double off the left-field wall to drive in all six Fresno State runs - all with an injured hand . Or how about third baseman Tommy Mendoca? Mendoca played lights out both offensively and defensively with dislocated fingers on his throwing hand to win the CWS MVP. What about pitcher Justin Miller? The junior hurler played in the last two games of the championship series, including an incredible eight inning outing in the deciding game to emerge as the saving grace for an exhausted pitching staff to finish the CWS with a 2-0 record. Or what about All American Steve Susdorf who turned down an opportunity to play pro to came back to campus and lead the Fresno State crusade? The bottom line is there was no single hero. This incredible and historic run by the Bulldogs of Fresno State was a true team effort with every player making a contribution to the team, each member critical to the team’s success.

Hats off to the 2008 College Baseball National Champions, the Fresno State Bulldogs!!!

2008 PING!BASEBALL ALL PING! TEAMS

Selecting the 2008 All Ping!Baseball Teams is one of the most difficult and time consuming tasks possible. With nearly 300 teams and approximately 30 players per ball club, that’s nearly 9,000 players to choose from for about 100 All Ping! positions. Thus, you’re narrowing down the list to the top 1% of college players. With that being said, the student-athletes on this list can really play some serious hardball.

The three teams are chock full of conference players of the year, first round draft picks, league leaders and very possibly, future MLB Hall of Famers. Check over the list now and start remembering these names. In your rotisserie baseball drafts the next few seasons, you’ll want some of these players on your club to help earn you bragging rights in the office.

(All Ping!Baseball 2008)

Sequels are rarely the equal of the original, with The Godfather II, Aliens, The Empire Strikes Back and Terminator 2: Judgment Day being a few of the second stories which match the original. For every equally captivating Toy Story 2, there are ten unnecessary and substandard second telling of a story which leaves people wishing they’d stayed home as producers hatched another movie to make a quick buck. This year’s All Ping! Freshman Team, the second ever, is certainly more Kill Bill II than Breakin’ 2: Electric Booglaoo featuring a number of players who will most certainly find their names on All American rosters which aren’t proceeded by the “freshman” delimiter.

(All Ping!Baseball 2008 Freshman Team)