Mizzou Baseball: Jersey Numbers

Ian Kinsler (22) & Tony Vitello (24) at 2003 Big 12 Tournament

When Nolan Gromacki, he of the hand-warming flaming red hair, first stepped on to the mound at Simmons Field, he reminded me of Phil McCormick, whom I had watched many times on that same mound. The two of them don't look anything alike, and their pitching styles are certainly not similar (McCormick transformed himself into a sidewinder and resuscitated his career). No, what they had in common was the number on their jerseys, #27. Both of them wore the number well and served the Missouri Tigers with distinction.

Now Kam Durnin is wearing #27. He's not likely to see time on the pitching mound, but I expect he'll make a name for himself as a Tiger wearing that number.  

Only someone who has been around Mizzou Baseball as long as I have (or longer) would make a connection like that, and probably even many long-time fans don't remember uniform numbers.

Being a Mizzou Baseball History nut, I've been doing some research into historical jersey numbers.

Here's my list as it stands so far. The list goes back through most of the Tim Jamieson years, plus a few odds and ends of numbers and names I've managed to rummage up from earlier years.

If anyone has resources with other earlier rosters with numbers, I'd be delighted to include them. Or if you find an error, let me know. Contact me at simmonsfield@hotmail.com.

Players who were drafted or spent time in the affiliated minor leagues are in BOLD. Players who made it to the Major Leagues are in BLUE. Players/Coaches with Retired Numbers are in RED.

#0 Jabari Brown (asst Coach 24-26)

#00 Rex Meyr (08-09)

#1 Cameron Benson (25-26), Juju Stevens (22-24), Josh Holt, Jr (19-21), AJ Lewis (17), Jerry Houston (15)

#2 Brock Daniels (25), Bryson Leblanc (Asst Coach 24), Dylan Leach (23), Mike Coletta (21-22), Thomas Broyles (19-20) Andy Toelken (17-18), Trey Harris (16), Brett Peel (15); Dillon Everett (13-14), Landon Lucansky (12),  Russell Lafleur (08-10 ), John Kruse (06-07), Jeff Zelenoviceh (05),  Lee Laskowski (01-04), Dustin Barnes (99-00) , Jason Williams (98), Henry Warden (97), C.A. Sweeney (95), Gary Greene (92-94), Greg King (88-91), Bill Hansel (86),  Mike Visina (84-85), Tom Ciombor (82-83), Phil Fix (82), Scott Collins (79-81), Ken Sigman (63), Terry L'Ange (65-66)

#3 Peyton Basler (25-26), Danny Corona (24), Tre Morris (20-23), Paul Gomez (19), Alex Samples (17-18), Shane Benes (15-16); Kendall Keeton (14), Michael McGraw (12-13 ), Andrew Thigpen (08-11), Evan Frey (05-07), Chaz Ebert (04), Brent Lacy (02-03), Mike Rallo (97-00), Justin Towe (93-96), Bill Mondrella (88-92), Mike Potthoff (87-89), Tim Clark (85-88), Mike Visina (84), Jay Cox (82-83), Mark Maurer (78-81), Ron Cummins (65) 

#4 Jayce Tingler

#4  Gherig Goldbeck (26), Jedier Hernandex (25), Matt Garcia (23-24), Nander De Sedas (22), Tommy Springer (19-21), Brian Sharp (17-18), Jerry Zulli (04, Coach), Case Munson (12-15), Ryan Ampleman (08-11), Brock Bond (06-07), Dustin Braud (04-05), Jayce Tingler (00-03), Jeff Terrell (95-97), Steve Ball (91-94), Joe Silvestri (89-90),  Dave Silvestri (86-88), Mike Domenick (82-85), Joe Corrigan (80-81),  Joe Corrigan (79), Raymond Thorpe (65)

#5 Pierre Seals (25-26), Brock Daniels (23-24), Joshua Day (22), Tre Morris (19), Brett Bond (15-18);  Brett Graves (13-14), C.J. Jarvis (11), Michael Liberto (09-10), Kurt Calvert (06-08), Tyrone Roberson (03-05), Jon Williams (98-01), Justin Haley (95-96), Mike Fenley (93-95), Phil Neff (89-92), Bobby Tye (85-88), Dave Kelly (84-85), Shane Fairbanks (80-83), Mike Hankins (76-80), John Thomas (65)

#6  Tyler Macon (26). Jeric Curtis (24-25), Cam Chick (23), Dexter Swims (22), Art Schoenstadt (20-21), Seth Halvorsen (19), Cade Bormet (18), Ian Nelson (16-17), Trey Harris (15); Brett Peel (14- ), Brannon Champagne (10-12), Sam Lind (09),  Lee Fischer (07-08), Trevor Helms (03-06), Brian Desch (00-01), Matt Meinert (99),  Ryan Fry (95-98), Scott Swift (91-94), John Simone (87-89), Scott Black (86), John Schnurbusch (86), Todd Ashmore (84-85), Cary Eades (82-83), Kent Keiser (80),  Mike Lally (76-78), Barry Lubeck (65), Richard Toft (58)

#7  Kaden Peer (25-26), Drew Culbertson (24), Ross Lovich (22-23), Jackson Lancaster (20-21),  Chris Cornelius (18-19), Kirby McGuire (16-17), Logan Bone (14-15), Brannon Champagne (13), Brett Graves (12), Matt Stites (11), Kale Gaden (10), Kyle Mach (06-09), Tyler Williams (03-05), Wes Fewell (99-02), Corby Jones (96-98), Ryan Vincent (96), Rob Fullerton (94-95), Chris Wyrick (90-93),  Jon Pittenger (87-89), Dave Van Iten (84-85), Mike Hufhand (82-83), Brad Bollinger (82), Jim Leavitt (75-78), Ken Sigman (65), Raymond Uriarte (58), 

#8  Mateo Serna (26), Tucker Moore (24), Zach Franklin (23), Spencer Miles (22), Seth Halvorsen (20-21), Connor Brumfeld (17-19), Ryan Howard (14-16), Rob Zastryzny (11-13 ), Scooter Hicks (07-09), Bryson Leblanc (05-06), Adam Garrett (03-04), Chris Julo (02), Shaun Marcum (01), Paul Bisonettte (00), Mike Ketelsen (95-99), Jamie Cooley (91), Jeff Johnson (90), John Hay (89), Jerry Beckerman (87-88), Jerry Beckerman (86),  Todd Richmond (84-86), Fred Ambs (81-83), Rick Hereth (77-81), John Kruse (76-77),  Mike Strode (65)

#9  Ty Wilmsmeyer (22-23), Mark Vierling (18-21), Robbie Glendinning (17), Tim Jamieson (Coach 95-16; Asst Coach 24), Brad Womack (88-90),  Gary Cooper (87), Chris Benak (82-86), Marty Brown (82), Danny Iseminger (80-81), Jeff Haferkamp (76),  Jim English (77-81), Bob Robben (65-67), Robert Cooper (58-59)

#10  Trey Lawrence (26), Jose Carballo (26), Gehrig Goldbeck (25), Jackson Beaman (22-24), Clayton Peterson (19-21), Matt Berler (17-18), Kaelan Crisosto (16), Jace James (13-15), Eric Garcia (10-12 ), Greg Folgia (07-09), Taylor Parker (03-06), Nick Wilfong (98-00), Justin Hellman (96), Jerry Vansell (95), Chris Shockley (91-94), Bill Eckert (90), Jonathan Voss (89),  Gary Barth (87-88), Nick Rallo (82-86), Russ Perkins (82), Jack Heeter (81), Steve Milhouse (79-81), Greg Cypret (75-78), Ronnie Shy (65)

#11  Aeneas Clark (26), Austin Henry (25), Jack Holubowski (24), Luke Mann (22-23), Konnor Ash (18-21), Tanner Houck (15-17); Shane Segovia (14), Brandon Platts (12-13), Myles Smith (11), Brett Nicholas (10), Steve Gray (08-09), Dan Wise (07), Greg O'Neill (05), Bo Davis (02-04), Landon Brandes (00), Matt Bremehr (98-99), Rich McGuire (92-94), Mark Adair (89-91),  Kevin Uhrhan (85-88), Scott Goudy (84), John Marquardt (81-83), Lindy Duncan (78-81), Neil Basse (77-78), Mark Thiel (74-76), Dan Rudanovich (65)

#12  Keegan Knutson (26), Tyler Macon (25), Justin Colon (22-24), Joshua Day (21), Blake Jackson (20), Tyler LaPlante (18-19), Nelson Mompierre (17), Jack Klages (14-16), Ryan Yuengel (11-13), Dan Wise (06), John Kruse (05),  Brad Flanders (03-04), Luke Cassis (99-02), Brian Barnes (95-98), Kevin McIntosh (94), Shawn Lemmons (92-93), Steve Hahn (89-91), John Matquardt (Asst Coach, 88), Steve Hahn (88-92), Tom Ciombor (84-87), Scott Little (82-83), Kevin LeCompte (83).  Jim Lumpe (79-82), Steve Dowler (77-78),  Jim English (76), Jim Pace (65), Gordon Nevers (58)

#13  Sam Parker (26), Brady Picarelli (25), Jacob Peaden (24), Rorik Maltrud (23), Garrett Rice (22), Cameron Swanger (19-21), Michael Plassmeyer (18), Jacob Franklin (17), Zach Lavy (16), Breckin Williams (13-15), Neil Hugenberg (10), Cole Mazurek (08-09), Cody Arzola (05-06),  Landon Scales (04), Adam Jones (03), PJ McGinnis (99-00), Torre Tyson (95-98), Jay Thompson (92-94), Chad Marion ((91), Eric Austin (85-87), John Weber (82-85), Orville Hollrah (65-67)

#14 Isaiah Frost (22-26), Drew Dickinson (26), Alex Peterson (19-21), Zach Levy (14-15), Shane Segovia (13), Drew Carlile (11), Aaron Blunt (10), Trevor Coleman (07-09), Brett Harvel (05-06), Scott Fisher (03-04), Kevin Henry (00), Jake Epstein (97-99), Chris Giuliani (94-96), Rodney Weary (92-93), Grant Ingram (90-91), Mike Ruth (Asst Coach, 84-88), Bill Hance (81-83), Mark Armstrong (78), Rick Hereth (77), Frank Shellenback (76), Ernest Tebbe (65), James Cotter (58)

#15 Phil Bradley (79-81), Ryan Rallo (00-02), Gabe Craighead (97-98),  Tom Buchman (95-96), Jarry Vansell (91-94), Tim Pinkowski (87-90), Mark Patek (83-86), Todd Miller (82), Al Hightower (76-79), Bob Carpenter (65), Hank Kuhlman (58)

#16 Luke Mann (19-21), Ryan Ricket (18), Alex del Rio (15-17); Reggie Johnson (14), Kendall Keeton (13), Dillon Everett (11-12), Tyler Clark (08-10), Gary Arndt (04-07), Felipe Tetelboin (01-02), Brian Ackerson (99-00),  Griffin Moore (97-98), Jay White (92-96), Darnel Hawkins (89-90), Rob Traupmann (88), Jason Woodcock (86-87),   John Rallo (84-86), Greg Larsen (83), Paul Summers (79-82), Kevin Knop (78), Dave Tunney (77),  Mike Eader (65)

#17 Chris Patterson (25-26), Ben Pedersen (21-24), TJ Sikkema (17-19), Josh Lester (13-15), Dusty Ross (11-12), Aaron Senne (07-10), Nick Admire (03-06), Ryan Pickett (99-00) , Nick Schweider (96-98), Ron Hudson (92-95), Rich Reisdorf (88-91), Todd Richmond (86),   Paul James (85), Greg Larsen (82-85), Kevin Knop (78-81), Rob Schmidt (76-78), Lloyd Carr (65), Jim Pace (63), Gene McArtor (62), 

#18 Eric Maisonet (26), Jackson Lovich (23-25), Shea McGahan (22), Jared Simpson (21), Art Joven (19-20), Paul Gomez (18), Conner Brumfield (16), Steven Diehl (14), Justin Byrd (13), Ben Turner (09-12 ), Sean Finley (07-08), Zane Taylor (03-06), Kurt Propst (99-02),  Brian Bax (98), Bryan Seymour (94), Chopper Littrell (92-93), Jason Owen (89-91), Tim Dressler (87-88), Scott Brown (85-86), Dewey Robinson (Asst Coach, 84), Bob Todd (Asst Coach, 80-83), Steve Dowler (76), Larry Goodman (63), John Boise (62)

#19 Blaize Ward (26), Keegan Knutson (25), Trevor Austin (22-24), Luke Anderson (18-20), Armaan Painter (17), Marquise Doherty (16), Alec Rash (13-15), Justin Byrd (12), Zach Hardoin (11), TJ Schieber (08-10), Cosme Caballero (04-05), Stephan Holst (03), Logan Dale (98-01), BJ Windhorst (97), Tim Mueth (96), Neal Daney (94-95), John Chambliss (92-93),  Brad Womack (91), Mitch Ingold (86-89), Roger Johnson (82-85), Steve Madden (81), Kevin Knop (79-81), Jeff Cornell (76-78), Rudy Stroupe (68),  Jack Stroud (64)

#20 PJ Green (26), Trey Lawrence (25), Kaden Peer (24), Tyler Packanik (Asst Coach, 23), Jacob Kush (22), Chad McDaniel (18-21), Jeff Emens (Coach 13-15), Jeff Emens (09-12), Ryan Lollis (06-09), Stephen Spaugh (05), Dustin Wernecke (04),  Andy Shipman (03), Garrett Bauer (01-03), Jody Harris (99) Jeremy Callier (95-98), David Sanderson (92-94), Bunky Moeller (88-91), Doug Bock (86-87), Brad Bollinger (83-85), Dave Gross (79-81),  Jim Maddock (79-82), Curt Brown (76-78),  Dave Harvey (62-63)

#21 Jamal George (26), Sam Horn (23-25). Brandt Belk (21), Jacob Cantleberry (19), Ian Nelson (18), Dillon Lawson (17); Grant Macciocchi (16), Jake Ivory (12-15), Kelly Fick (08-11), David Cales (o6),  James Boone (03-05), Dan Bane (00), Justin Stine (96-99), J.J. Hansen (95),  Jason Meyhoff (92-94), Joe Winkler (90-91), Mark "Chili" Adair (88-90), Tony Chailland (88), Pat Carda (86-87), Kevin Uhrhan (85-87), Paul Martin (82-85), Mark Maurer (78-81), Bruce Whitesides (76-77), Steve Smith (62), Ronald Sieck (63)

Tigers playing with Joplin on mind (Columbia Tribune, 5/28/2011)

Hanging in Missouri's home dugout is a No. 21 jersey from the 2002-03 era that was discovered among the rubble in Joplin.

A photo was posted online, and catcher Ben Turner sent a text message to his father, Mark, who had driven into St. Louis on Friday to watch his younger son play a high school game. Mark Turner stopped in Joplin between 11 p.m. and midnight on the drive back to Oklahoma City to pick up the tattered jersey.

That was the only piece of property former KOMU reporter Brandon Spiegel, now working in Joplin, could find in the remains, miles away from his home.

“He goes, 'Take it and put it in their dugout,'” Mark Turner said. “ 'It kind of represents what you guys have done this year between the first half and the second half of the season.'”

The jersey design is from '00-'03, from the James Boone era. Kelly Fick, who wore #21 in 2011, pitched the game of his career in Game #4 of the Big 12 Tournament to send the Tigers in the championship game, while the Joplin jersey hung in the dugout.

#22 Kadden Drew (24-26), Chandler Murphy (23), Cade Bormet (19), Trey Harris (17-18), Chris Akmon (15-16); Sal Belfonte (11-13), Tony Vitello (Coach), Ian Kinsler (03), Ryan Jamison (97-99), Brian Jorgensen (93-96), Roman Bormet (87-91), Russ Perkins (83-86), Jay Pennell (81), Fred Ambs (80), Rob Lauer (77-81), Tony Lange (76), Wayde Fredrickson (62), Ron Shy (63), Norm Stewart (54-56)

Trey Harris #22 

#23 Ian Lohse (22-26), Andrew Keefer (21), Austin James (19-20), Zach Diewert (18), Johnny Balsamo (16-17), Hunter Mense (15/coach); Ryan Phillips (13), Evan Pratte (Coach), Jeremy Hale (98),  Aaron Akin (96), Brent Chamberlain (94-95), Steve Milholen (92-93),  Chuck Fletcher (89-91),  Dave Slavin (85-88), Dave Spreckels (81-84), Ron Mathis (78-80), Carroll McDannold (62-63),

#24 Keyler Gonzalez (26), Trey Callaway (25), Jedier Harnandez (24), Hector Mangual (22), Dalton McNamara (20-21), Nick Swanson (19), Nile Ball (18), Chris Cornelius (17), Reggie McClain (15-16); Jordan Getzelman (14), Dane Opel (13), Kenny Burton (10-12), Nathan Culp (04-06), Tony Vitello (03/coach) Abel Newton (02), Andy Powers (00), Aaron Wilson (98-99), Nick Chweider (96), Bryan Seymour  (94-97), Jason Leath (93-94), Brian Conaty (91),  John Simmons (88-90),  John Schnurbusch (86-88),  Dave Otto (83-85), Dave Gross (81-82), Ed Woelbel (77-81), Nick Leon (76), Gene Stephenson (65-68),  Jim Nelson (62-63)

#25 Jase Woita (26), Brock Lucas (24-25), Austin Troesser (23), Paul Winland (21), Eric Rinzel (20), Ty Olejnik (19), Blake Charlton (17), Jake Ring (14-16), Gerrion Grim (13), Blake Holovach (12), Jonah Schmidt (08-11), Dan Quinn (07), Derek Chambers (05-06), Jeremy Hernandez (03-04), Ryan Rothford (02), Ryan Stegall (99-01),Coby Cambell (8), William Mosley (96-97),  Michael Hunt (93-95),  Lee Rodriguez (91-92), Brian Bredensteiner (90), Tim Hawkins (87-89), Mike Rogers (84-87), Bob Baker (81-82), Rob Schmidt (79-81), Jim Werner (78), John Sweeney (76-77), Dan Reilly (62), Keith Weber (63)

#26 Eli Skidmore (26), Victor Christal (25), Ryan Magdic (24), Jacob Hasty (23), Torin Montgomery (21-22), Bret Marden (20), Trevor Mallett (18), Michael Plassmeyer (16-17), Dan Pietroburgo (05-08), Jody Roughton (02), Matt Stallings (03), Mike Weiss (98-00), Matt Nivens (94-97), Tim Siegel (90-93), Tim Danze (Asst Coach, 88),  Mike Parker (85-86), Rich Wiesner (81-85), Joe Beason (79-81),  Rob Pietroburgo (75-78), George Hulett (62), Jack Stroud (63)

#27 Kam Durnin (26), PJ Green (25), Tyler Macon (24), Carlos Pena (22-23), Andrew Vail (21), Jake Matheny (19), Nolan Gromacki (15-18); Nick Moore (12), Phil McCormick (07-11), JC Field (05-06), Grant Kohlstaedt (04),  Derek Roper (02-03), Aaron Peterik (00), Justin Hellmann (97), Seth Wright (96-98),  Seth Wright (97), Justin Hellmann (95-96), Grant Ingram (92-94), Mike Keck (91),  Mark Steinmetz (88-90), Dave Biscan (82-85),  Mike Rogers (85-87), Craig Fitzpatrick (80), Jim Maddock (79-81),  Tom Bloemke (77-78), Tom Wild (76), Steve Silverman (62-63)

#28 Juan Villarreal (26), Josh Kirchoff (25), RJ Jimerson (24), Tucker Moore (23), Garrison Bennett (20-22), Tony Ortiz (18-19), Liam Carter (15-17); Sean Ullrich (13), Conner Mach (09-12), Sean Young (08), John McKee (04-07), Brian Bilica (03), Mick Weiss (00), Jay Bell (96-98), Greg Lindstrom (91-95), Jeff Harrington (90), Todd Moseley (88-89),  Matt Greer (83-87), Pat Daly (82), Kurt Moody (79-81), Dave Gross (79-80),  Pete Woods (75-77), Jim Card (62-63)

#29 Dane Bjorn (26), James Vaughn (25), Cameron Benson (24), Shane Wilhelm (20-21), Steve Bieser (Head Coach, 17-19), Zach Henderson (15); Keaton Steele (13-14), Ryan Clubb (09-12), Erik Dessau (04-05), Josiah Holst (03),  Jon Harris (00), Paul Couleur (98), Jason Calkins (95-96), Chris Robertson (91-94), Steve Powers (87-90), Marcus Adler (83-86), Greg McDonald (82), Jim Underhill (81), Steve Saulich (79-81), Jim Werner (76-78), Gary Woods (62-63)

Celebrating his 3️⃣0️⃣th year as the voice of #Mizzou Baseball, @TexLittleSS threw out the ceremonial first pitch at last night’s home opener❗️#C2E 🐯⚾️ pic.twitter.com/FWBelaCPql

— Mizzou Baseball (@MizzouBaseball) March 7, 2020

#30 Luke Sullivan (26), Will Libbert (25), Carter Rustad (22-24), Ty Wilmsmeyer (20-21), Kameron Misner (17-19), Matt Feldt (15-16); Gavin Stark (12-13), Kevin Mahler (10), Bill Disselhoff (o6), Josiah Holst (03-04), Ralph McCasland (98-00), Robert Darrow (97), Keith Raines (30), Keith Massa (93-96), Mike Munro (89-92), David Black (88), Kevin LeCompte (84-87), Dan Durst (82-83), Pat Daly (81), Mark Kruse (80), Ron Mathis (77-81),  Jim Sevcik (62-63)

#31 Gio Lopez (18), Max Scherzer (04-06), Stephen Cole (03), Mitch Kiler (98-01), Mike Haverty (93-97),  John Dettmer (89-92),  Chuck Fletcher (88-91), Tony Russo (87) Bob Faron (82-86). Tom Heckman (78-81), John Piechocinski (76-77), John Simmons Jr (63-64), Jim Estes (62).

Interesting note:  Scherzer and Heckman, both #31, were both inducted into the MU Athletics Hall of fame at the same time, on February 10, 2012.

#31 Max Scherzer

#32  Richie Swain (26), Kaden Jacobi (24-25), Jason Hagerty (Asst Coach, 23), Drew Garrett (21-22), Ian Bedell (19-20), Isaiah Cullum (18), Bryant Jordan (16), Logan Pearson (13-15), Matt Linderer (11), Ryan Gargano (07-09), Matt Wulfers (06), Abel Newton (05), Kyle Johnson (03-04), Abel Newton (02) , Matt Podjenski (96), Jake Filip (91-95),  Scott Black (87-90), Tim Danze (83-86), Sammy James (81),  Mike Pfautsch (77-81), Mike Moffo (76), Barry Koeneke (72-73),  Larry Bohannon (62-63)

#33 Gene McArtor (Coach)

#34 Rich Kretzschmar (62), Mike Strode (63), John "Hi" Simmons (Coach)

#35 Luke Fricker (26), Daniel Wissler (23-25), Nathan Landry (22), Spencer Miles (20-21), Cameron Dulle (17-19), Tyler Hunt (16), Brandon Baker (14-15), Jake Walsh (13), Brian Carr (11), Andre Rodriguez (09-10), Ryan Dawson (08), Lendsey Thompson (07), Brett Reynolds (06), Andy Swayze (05),  Mark Alexander (00-04), Chris George (98-99), Brian Benson (95-97), Brian Woodrick (93), John Hay (89), Grover Musser (88), Dewey Robinson (Asst. Coach, 85), John Buss (84-85), Steve Southerland (79-82), Steve Shockey (76-78),  Tim Heintzelman (63), Tom Seal (), Douglas Gulick (58), 

#36 Keagen Kohlhoff (26), Aeneas Clark (25), Parker Wright (21-23), Cole Bartlett (14-17), Patrick Quintanilla (12-13), Garrison McLagan (09-10 ), Travis Wendte (03-06), Pete Sansone (98-01), Scott Blue (97), Kalin Sharkey (95-96), John Hay (90-93),  Mike Potthoff (88-89),  Doug Bock (85-87), Dave Slavin (84), Dave Holder (82-83), Barry Koeneke (74), Rich Peterson (62-63)

#37 Leo Humbert (26), Aden Malpass (25), Brock Lucas (23), Holden Phelps (21-22), Evan Stoll (17), Peter Fairbanks (13-15), Jeff Cline (12), Ryan Gebhart (09-11), Aaron Paterson (02) , Meade Hedricks (04-05), Meade Smith (99-00), Steve Brewster (96-98), Donnie Charles (94-95), John Moulton (93), Matt McLaughlin (91), Roger Bowers (89-90), Jeff Plunkett (87), John Hopson (84-86), Kreg Brown (82-83), Dave Spreckels (80), Bobby Jenkins (62), Hubie Molitor (63)

#37 Peter Fairbanks

 #38 Juliomar Campos (26), Blake Simpson (25), Bryce Mayer (23-24), Jacob Kush (21), Aaron Armstrong (16-17), Zach Hardoin (10), Matt Hobbs (99-02; 11-14 Coach),  Jeff Emens (09), Stephen Holst (06-07), Bryan Rider (04-05), John Gamble (98), Ray Yaeger (93-96), Brent Schneiders (90-92). Jason Weddle (89), Troy Girrens (88), Larry Pierson (86-87), Vic Kurtz (85), Kent Baur (83-85), Kurt Moody (79-82), Tim Laudner (77-81) , Gene McArtor (61-63)

#39 Ethan Johnson (26), Charlie Miller (24-25), Shane Wilhelm (22), Lukas Veinbergs (19-21), Cody Siebenberger (18), Griffin Goodrich (13-16),  Blake Brown (10-12 ), Brian Carr (09), Darrell Goodwin (63)

#40 Brady Kehlenbrink (25-26), Victor Quinn (24), Hank Zeisler (23), Austin Troesser (21-22), Brian DeLunas (06-09, 21-22 coach),  Peter Zimmerman (19-20), Jonathan Roof (18 asst. coach), Ty Shoaff (16-17), Tyler House (12), Brad Buehler (08-11),  Brandt Combs (05-07), Garrett Broshuis (02-04), Joe Rooney (99-00), Bob Price (62-63)

#41 Nic Smith (23-26), Zach Hise (21-22), Nick Lomen (19), Brad Jones (18), John Miles (12-15), Jesse Santo (10-11), Ian Berger (07-09), Scott Dunwoody (05),  Cody Ehlers (01-04), Reid Warner (99-00), Eddie Sutton (65)

#42 Wil Libbert (24), Fox Leum (22), Cameron Pferrer (18-21), Andrew Schwab (14-15), Brett Thomas (12-13), Jeff Scardino (10-11), Austin Holt (08-09), Michael Cole (04-05), Alain Quijano (03), W.T. Hoover (99-02), John Hi Simmons (62, 63), Gene Stephenson (65)

#43 Javyn Pimental (23-26), Austin Marozas (22), Spencer Juergens (19-21), Bryce Montes de Oca (15-18); Aaron Crow (06-08), Tony Vitello (00-02), John Sevcik (62-63), Roger Lindstrom (65), Dave Grossman (58-59)

#44 Jackson Sobel (26), Xavier Lovett (24-25), Kyle Brown (22), Trevor Austin (21), Kyle Potthoff (20), Zach Hanna (18-19), Luke Boyster (17), Brian Sharp (16), Hunter Mense (15,coach); Eric Anderson (10-14), Kyle Gibson (07-09), Hunter Mense (04-06), Justin James (02-03), J.R. Warner (98-00), Aaron Jaworowsi (95-97)

#45 Kerrick Jackson (23-25 ), Aiden Heberlie (23), Christian Wall (22), CJ Cepicky (21), Tom Skoro (20), Josh Konecek (17), Kerrick Jackson (15/coach); Kyle Barbeck (12-13 ), Jeff Lusardi (10-11 ), Andrew Mueller (06-09), Andrew Johnston (05), Danny Hill (03-04), Drew Endicott (00), Brad Garrett (99)

#46 Ian Lohse (21), Zach McManus (20), Lake Dabney (15-17); James Hudelson (11), Nick Tepesch (08-10), John Thies (06-07)

#47 Sam Rosand (26), Ben Pederson (24-25), Kyle Potthoff (22-23), Trey Dillard (19-21), Austin Tribby (13-16; 18 staff), Dane Opel (10-12), Ryan Allen (07-09)

#48 Kadin Muckley (26), Cayden Nicoletto (25), Logan Lunceford (23-24), Trae Robertson (19-22), Ryan Lee (15-17); Travis Wendte (Coach)

#49 Isaiah Salas (26), Tony Neubeck (22-25), Garrett Rice (21), Steven Sanchez (20), Jordan Gubelman (18-19), Scott Sommerfeld (10-13), Eric Darkow (08)

#50 Ben Smith (24-26), Dalton Bargo (23), Rick Zagone (06)

#51 JD Dohrmann (26), Jaylen Merchant (25), Jack Mosh (23), Brenner Maloney (20-22), Brandon Couzens (18), Lance Rhodes (17-19); Jeff Oracion (13), Kerrick Jackson (Coach), Jacob Priday (05-08), Ryan Rallo (03-04)

#52 Cam Careswell (22-23), Ross Lovich (21), Andrew Hohn (13), Jake Walsh (12), Rodger Brodbeck (58-59)

#53 Donovan Jordan (26). Seth McCartney (24), Jack Mosh (23)

#54 Josh McDevitt (24-26), Daniel Wissler (23), Jackson Beaman (21), Vinnie Losorelli (07), TJ Sinovich (06)

#55 Austin Cheeley (22), Jake Epstein (Asst Coach, 19), Graham Ruopp (16-17), Brandon Mahovlich (15); Dylan Kelly (13-14), Andreas Plackis (09-11), Rick Zagone (07-08), Doug Mathis (05)

#56 Ray Schroeder (22), Nathan Chester (21)

#57 Sam Bryan (22), William Fricker (21)

#58 Seth McCartney (25), Miles Garrett (24), Caden Griffin (21)

#59 Christian Long (21)

#61 Gabe Nutter (21)

#62 Kyle Pothoff (21)

#63 Eric Rinzell (21)

#64 Steven Sanchez (21)

#65 Nick Schmit (21)

#68 Chase Van Dyk (21)

#88 Mateo Serna (24-26), Ricky Meinhold (23, Pitching Coach)

#99 Travis Crow (07)

Updated 1/19/26

2013 Intended Strength of Schedule

Here are the final 2012 RPI numbers for the teams on MU's official 2013 schedule (ranked highest to lowest).  RPI numbers are from Boyd's World Pseudo-RPI final ranking. MU's 2012 RPI is also listed, for comparison purposes.

Figures often beguile me, particularly when I have
the arranging of them myself; in which case the remark
 attributed to Disraeli would often apply with justice and force:
 "There are three kinds of lies:
lies, damned lies and statistics."
- Mark Twain

As we do every year, we've adapted a statistic used by Boyd Nation at BoydsWorld.com which he calls the Intended Schedule Strength. We're taking a look at the average final RPI numbers for the teams on the schedule (counting each team's RPI as many times as they will play MU on the schedule), with the goal of seeing what the Tiger coaches are expecting from their assemblage of opponents. Of course, neither they nor we have any way of knowing how well MU's opponents will actually perform in 2013 as compared to 2012, but these most recent statistics are all we have to go on.

Here's a more detailed description of the theory behind the ISS at BoydsWorld.com.  When all the 2013 schedules are out, Boyd will publish his own ISS list, which will be much more statistically refined than mine.  But then, a game of 52-Pickup is more refined than my statistical skills.

Based on that approach, Missouri's intended schedule strength for 2013 comes out to .541. In 2012, a team with an RPI of 0.541 would have finished in 65th place in the RPI rankings. Basically, this schedule averages out to MU playing a full schedule against Tulane or Liberty.

This shows a significant statistical increase over the past couple of years.  Mizzou Baseball's switch from the Big 12 to the SEC has a lot to do with that increase, as evidenced by the list below, which shows 24 of the top 26 RPIs on Missouri's 2013 schedule belonging to SEC opponents.  (By the way, that list also shows that Missouri Baseball should not be automatically considered a basement dweller among the exalted Southeastern Conference.  A 9th place RPI among the SEC teams on our schedule is not fantastic, but it's far better than some of the critics would have us believe.)

It's also possible that some teams like Southern Mississippi and Arkansas State are somewhat more interested in playing Missouri as a member of the SEC.

.632  Florida
.632  Florida
.632  Florida
.611  South Carolina
.611  South Carolina
.611  South Carolina
.606  LSU
.606  LSU
.606  LSU
.590  Texas A&M
.590  Texas A&M
.590  Texas A&M
.590  Kentucky
.590  Kentucky
.590  Kentucky
.578  Vanderbilt
.578  Vanderbilt
.578  Vanderbilt
.565  Missouri State
.565  Missouri State
.549  Auburn
.549  Auburn
.549  Auburn
.547  Georgia
.547  Georgia
.547  Georgia
.541  Average.535  Missouri.533  Memphis
.533  Memphis
.533  Memphis
.530  Illinois
.529  Southern Mississippi
.529  Southern Mississippi
.529  Southern Mississippi
.514  Arkansas State
.514  Arkansas State
.514  San Francisco
.514  San Francisco
.514  San Francisco
.513  Tennessee
.513  Tennessee
.513  Tennessee
.508  Alabama
.508  Alabama
.508  Alabama
.417  Murray State
.469  Eastern Michigan
.469  Eastern Michigan
.463  SEMO
.451  Jackson State
.451  Northwestern
.451  Northwestern
.451  Northwestern
.410  Nebraska-Omaha

Previous Years Intended Strength of Schedule for Mizzou:

2012: .522
2011: .533
2010: .540
2009: .541
2008: .537
2007: .534
2006: .532
2005: .528
2004: .528

How accurate does the Intended Strength of Schedule usually turn out to be?  A year ago we calculated the Intended Strength of Schedule as a .522  RPI, but by season's end, BoydsWorld.com listed MU as having a .535 RPI.  So there's an obvious margin of error, since the rosters and performance of any of these teams may vary significantly from year to year.

As I say every year, I won't at all be surprised if someone writes me an e-mail to tell me I've made some colossal error in my calculations. I'm not a statistician but I sometimes do pretend to be one on the internet.

A Tip of the Cap 2012: And the Winner is . . .

On the final day of our 2012 Tip of the Cap series, we take note of some of the special achievements by players, fans and others involved with the Tigers' 2012 season.

The Ian Kinsler Base Cadet Award

The nimble Ben Turner

For the first time in years there was no one player who stands out in my mind as being a true "base cadet" on the basepaths.  Sure, there were players who got caught between bases, but you never really know whether that was their fault or if the batter didn't come through on a called play.  Even the time Jake Ivory was inserted as a pinch runner and almost immediately got himself caught in a rundown between first and third - even that wasn't extraordinary.

And while the biggest base running blunder of the year was probably the full-speed-ahead charge toward home by Andreas Plackis in the season's final game, I think I'd have to give that award to Coach J.

So this year we're awarding the coveted honor to the Tiger who was without a doubt the most entertaining base-runner on the team:  Ben Turner.  The 6'4" catcher runs somewhat better than most catchers, but the sight of him lumbering around the bases at full speed would be enough to make any infielder or catcher think twice about getting in his way.  Kind of like trying to reason with a stampeding rhinoceros.

So here's a tip of the cap to "Big Ben", less of a Porsche and more of a Hummer on the basepaths.

Black & Gold Glove

I could go the easy route and pick Blake Brown for this one: 1 error in 59 games.  He's surely deserving.

But I doubt even Blake will blame me for choosing instead the player who is now playing with him in the Atlanta Braves organization:  Eric Garcia. The Tiger player with the most errors on the season: 22.

Garcia started at shortstop in every game of the season from Auburn through Tucson.  In the first 22 games, he piled up an incredible 13 errors.  Much of that was played out during the long March home stand, in front of the home town crowd.  That fumbling streak stuck in the minds of many fans, who remember only the missed grounders, the overthrown balls past first base.

But starting with the two games against Central Arkansas, and carrying on through the bulk of the Big 12 season, Garcia was a different man.  (See Garcia uses glove, bat to lead MU Baseball, Columbia Tribune)  He made some amazing plays so deep you'd have thought he was the left fielder.  And no one who was at the 2nd game of the Tigers' sweep of Kansas State will forget the incredible grab-and-flip play behind second base (see video below).

He did make another 9 errors . . . in 39 games.  But for a college shortstop and the most demanding position on the field, that's a great achievement.

Garcia's glove work in the Big 12 Tournament was as impressive as his .500 batting average, and probably went a long way to getting the attention of the scouts and boosting his draft ranking a bit higher.

So here's a Tip of the Cap and a Black & Gold Glove to Eric Garcia, the Tiger player with the most errors.

Jay Bell Award

This award is given annually to the player who achieves the greatest success against the Kansas Jayhawks, named in honor a former Tiger pitcher who mowed down the KU batters during a mid-week game back in the 90s.

Dane Opel (#47) and teammates

The final conference match-up between Missouri and Kansas turned into a depressing experience for the first two games, as the Mizzou offense picked a poor time to be "off again" rather than "on again".  They did salvage Game 3, though, which was billed as the final match-up between the two Big 12 rivals.

Except it wasn't.  MU and KU met again in the semi-final game of the Big 12 Tournament.  OF Dane Opel led the Tigers' charge, going 3-for-5 with 5 RBI and 3 runs scored.  He lacked just a home run in a shot at hitting for the cycle.

Dane earned the Jay Bell Award for that performance, but especially for driving the nail in the coffin of the rivalry, scoring the final run that put the Tigers up 12-2, run-ruling the Jayhawks.

John McKee HBP Award

Dillon Everett got himself hit 15 times in 2012, accounting for over 17% of the team's 86 HBPs.   Missouri led the Big 12 in offensive HBPs.

An example of the value of an HBP came in the March 9th game against Charlotte, when the Tigers racked up 5 HBP.   In the second inning, Dillon Everett reached base with one out after getting hit by a pitch, then stole second on the following pitch. Everett reached third on Brown's groundout to the left side, and Champagne walked to put runners on the corners with two outs. Mach's single to center scored Everett

Mark Alexander Phoenix Award

A year ago in my 2011 Tip of the Cap series, Jake Walsh's picture was prominently featured, sitting with some of his fellow former Tiger players, holding up the tradition of the "Simmons Savages" heckling group. Apparently, between opportunities to sit in Taylor Stadium's Section B and laugh at the Tiers' opponents, Walsh was dominating opponents as a member of the Missouri Club Team.  So much so that when he convinced Tim Jamieson and the MU coaching staff to give him a tryout, they were impressed by his newfound discipline and improved "stuff".

Walsh went on to post the third best ERA on the team, 3.44, and led the team in appearances on the way to a  2-3 record with 8 saves.  He had the 2nd best opponents' batting average at .240.

Read the details of Jake's comeback at Missouri Student Athlete Spotlight: Jake Walsh (Big12Sports.com)

Here's a hearty tip of the cap to the Cinderella Man, Jake Walsh.

Stand By Your Son Award

I have to tip my cap to all the parents of the Tiger ballplayers.  They go to the games, they support their sons, they talk proudly about them with a light in their eyes that has been burning for 18+ years.    Dave and Regina Mach have been driving to Columbia and following their sons, Kyle and Conner, around the country for more than half a decade.  Elwood and Robin Brown, along with others, have been organizing tailgates and picnics and other events to support not only their son, but the Mizzou Baseball program.

But the parents who stand out in my mind are Tim and Sheryl Clubb.  They've been showing up at Ryan's ballgames for four years now, faithfully.  Even over the past two years, when they knew very well that it was a near certainty that their son would not be playing, they have been there week after week, supporting him and cheering on his team.

Here's a Tip if the Cap to the Clubbs, and to all the parents who have given so much to their sons.

Superfan Award

Brandon Weiss and Gracie Duggan, spurred on by Baseball SID Shawn Davis, created a new student fan group for MU Baseball, Tigers on Deck.  Here's a tip of the cap for their efforts and strong hopes taht they will continue to develop the program leading up to the Tigers' first SEC season.

"by a landslide"

The day after the final home game, Brandon tweeted the following "Non-Important Baseball Team Superlatives":

Best walk-up (batters): 1) Scott Sommerfeld 2) Blake Brown 3) Ben Turner

Best walk-up (pitchers): 1) Jake Walsh 2) John Miles 3) Dusty Ross 4) Jeff Emens 5) Rob Z. Solid showing from pitching staff.

Worst walk-up (batters): 1) Patrick Quintanilla 2) Dane Opel 3) Decades Weekend (all of them were bad, considering what could have been)

Worst walk-up (pitchers): All solid, but have to go with Ryan Yuengel for a two-year-old song that lacks creativity.

Worst Headshot: 1) Ben Turner (by a landslide), 2) Nick Moore. Everyone else looked like a real headshot.

Most Memorable Game

I already talked about the run-rule drubbing of the Jayhawks above, so instead I'll recall a game much earlier in the season that had all the drama, action, and occasional slapstick humor that any sports fan could ask for. 

The Charlotte 49ers came to Taylor Stadium on a chilly Friday night (March 9th).  The Tigers were ready to avenge the arrogant running up of the score by the 49ers a year ago.

Eric Anderson started the game, but he left in 5th with an elbow problem (the beginning of the end for EA's season).

Jeff Emens took over, pitched through to the 9th, giving up just 4 hits and a single run.  At one point a ball was hit like rocket back to the mound.  Emens dropped his glove hand down behind him and the ball hit the glove and dropped to the mound.  Emens calmly picked it up and threw the runner out at 1st.

The whole game was a comedy of errors by the 49ers (4 official, several more not classified as an error).  More than one 49er ended up on the ground due to collisions or missteps on the basepaths.

Ben Turner had a memorable, albeit painful, game.  At one point a batter hits a short dink in front of the plate and runs into Ben Turner, the immovable force. Turner threw out the runer going from 1st to 2nd, and the ump called out the batter for interfering with Ben's right to field and throw the ball.

Another batter overswung (overswang?  overswinged?) and lost hold of the bat, which went spinning into Turner, hitting him in the face and body.  Ben shook it off and got back behind the plate.

Just a minute or so later, a runner coming from third came in hard to the plate and bowled Turner over.  Ben tagged him out.

The Tigers won, 10-4, and went on to sweep the series.

Most Memorable Defensive Play

Many of the Tigers made great plays in 2012 (see Eric Garcia's above), but only one of them ended up on ESPN SportsCenter's Top 10 Plays.   First baseman Gavin Stark, in the seventh inning of the Tigers' 4-1 victory over Oklahoma State, chased after a foul ball into foul territory and flipped head over heels into the dugout while making the catch for the out. That earned him the No. 5 spot on SportsCenter's Top 10 plays that night.

TAKE TWO: MU first baseman earns his 15 minutes of fame (Columbia Tribune)

"We were all going crazy. I was on the phone with my mom," Stark said. "The first thing she asked was if my teeth were OK."

Roommate Turner was not among the crowd.

"I went to bed," the senior said. "He said, 'Dude, I'm going to be on "SportsCenter." ' I was like, 'I'm going to bed, dude.' "

Junior outfielder Brannon Champagne got his own dig in.

"I said, 'Way to make "SportsCenter." Way to make the Top 10. But you didn't have to jump.' It was awesome, though," he said.

Pwned 

Michael Wacha, Texas A&M's #1 pitcher, was drafted by the At. Louis Cardinals in the 1st round, the 19th overall pick.  It's a good pick for the Cards.  Wacha had an impressive 2.06 ERA on the season. 

On the other hand, in the two times Wacha faced the the Tigers, back on March 30th for 6.1 innings and then again at the Big 12 Tournament for 7 innings, he limped away with a 5.50 ERA

Worst Ballpark

It's a toss-up between the second place the Tigers played in 2012 vs. the last place they played.

Back on the second weekend of the year, the Tigers traveled to the University of San Francisco and Benedetti Diamond, a ballpark without field lights, with an off-center press box, and with the surrounding neighborhood so close the entire field was surrounded with high fences like acage match.  See some pictures HERE.

But that ballpark seemed absolutely hospitable compared to the brand spanking new Hi Corbett Field in Tucson, with a playing surface as hard as rock.  The Arizona Wildcats had spent all season long getting used to the heat and to the playing surface, learning to take advantage of the hard earth in the infield to deliver multiple Baltimore chops bouncing over the heads of the fielders.  Dan Pietroburgo's tweet while watching the Tucson Super Regional says it all:

"Hi Corbett strikes again... #worstfieldever #joke #waterplease"

Mizzou '39 Award

Andreas Plackis

Mizzou first baseman Andreas Plackis was the recipient of the 2012 Mizzou `39 Award, an award given to 39 seniors at the University of Missouri based on their outstanding service, academic achievement and leadership.  By the end of the season his teammates and the fans were calling him "Doc" and "Doctor Plackis", after he let it be known he would forego playing baseball next year in his final season of eligibility, in order to devote himself fully to Medical school.

Great Ballpark Conversations

1. Tim Wolfe, University of Missouri President
   
2. Frank Graham, former Tiger pitcher (1940-1942)
   
3. Robert J. Lipscomb, Kansas State Superfan:  I sat near Robert during the Sunday K-State game and asked him about the teams, players and coaches he'd seen.  He declared Mizzou's Mike Kelly "the best radio announcer in the conference."
   
4. A family from Iowa, here with their son on an official recruiting visit, who asked a lot of questions about Mizzou Baseball, and told me a lot about the unusual summer schedule of high school baseball in Iowa.
   
5. The Tri- Delta sorority, the whole lot of them, who showed up for a mid-week game en masse and chose to fill Section E - except for my seat and the seat next to me.  Heard and participated in some unexpected ballpark conversations while I tried to keep my allergies from going crazy amid the excess of perfume.
   
6. Flavio Garcia, Tim Clubb, Elwood Brown, and many other family members of the ballplayers.
   
7. Tyler McSparran, the Mizzou student from San Diego who I catapulted into his 15 minutes of fame as a new MU Baseball recruit last November.  We laughed, we talked about how crazy it all was, we went back to watching the game.
   
8. The Tigerboard All Sports guys in Section B - "where everybody knows your name, but not your real name"
   
9. Larry Wyatt II - a true Mizzou Baseball treasure, and a true friend.  Always good for a chat about the team, or whatever else is on his mind.  And always enthusiastic about the Missouri Baseball Tigers.

That's it for the 2012 season.

Bring on the SEC.

Bring on some fresh faces and another shot at living the dream.

A Tip of the Cap 2012: Getting the Word Out

Every year we tip our cap to the folks in the media who cover and promote Missouri Tiger Baseball.

Viral Mizzou

2012 was the year Mizzou Baseball went viral.  The media that got people's attention the most this season weren't the newspapers or the TV stations or even the blogs and websites online.

My Twitter feed was exploding this season with information and promotions and links to other media about Missouri Tiger Baseball.  Some of the tweets originated within the MU Athletic Department - the Ticket office, Strategic Communications (even the new title reflects a new approach), the Baseball office.  But others originated with members of the team, the Tiger Crew, student fans, the new Tigers on Deck and more.

If you wanted to know about a rain delay or a schedule change or special events, the place to be the first to know was on Twitter.

And online videos also came into their own for Mizzou this season.  The Mizzou Network literally flooded their website with updates, interviews and features.  And other videos popped up all season long on YouTube and other venues.

And so we tip our cap to some of the people who made Mizzou Baseball "pop".

Shawn Davis, leaning on what
appears to be a toilet.

ShawnDizzle

I reflexively think of Shawn Davis as ShawnDizzle, because I see/read/interact with him most on Twitter, where he goes by @ShawnDizzle77.  I have to be honest that at first this 55 year old traditionalist thought Shawn was a little too "out there" to be an SID.  Of course, he's not an SID, he is an Assistant Director of Strategic Communications - Media.  And, of course, he's he's exactly the kind of young lunatic MU Baseball needed.

I've complained for years that the Baseball program doesn't get enough promotion and publicity.  Here's a Tip of the Cap to "Big Time" Shawn Davis (as Tex and Hunter call him) and to the rest of the staff and interns in the "Strategic Communications" department for daring to think outside the box.

@ShawnDizzle77 on Twitter:

June 3rd: 'Tiger' is trending nationally on twitter. People really must be pumped up for our game against Loisville today. Watch live on ESPN3

June 2nd: Arizona: Where umbrellas are sold for sun instead of rain.

June 1st: I love baseball more than any sport I think.

June 1st: I can't believe I had to leave the pool to go write a press release. #ToughLife

May 29: Screw nameplates...this is how people know who's office this is http://t.co/Zfk3hEpI

May 27th: I love the fire that Ben Turner plays with.

May 15th: In honor of that walkoff, I am shaving my head and growing a mohawk like #Yadi

May 13th: The best part of #Mizzou baseball games is when the crowd gets loud and proud for the Stadium grill t-shirt toss.

May 1st: I think Tex just insulted me on the air. Something about my height

April 28th: Tex makes like 19 different noises when he snores. #HowAmISupposedToSleep

April 13th: Awesome. Tornadoes and baseball.

April 5th: Alright tweeps: What are some of the best songs you like to hear at baseball games?

MArch 21st: Apparently my students thought it would be a good idea to create a twitter with the crazy things I say. Follow it @IshShawnSays

Ashley Arp

Ashley Arp

I've never actually spoken to Ashley Arp, but I've seen her a lot.  I've seen her at nearly every home game as co-captain of the Tiger Crew.  I saw her on TV, celebrating at Bricktown after the Tigers won the Big 12 Championship.

Mostly, though, I've seen through her videos.  She's a broadcast journalism major at MU, and has produced several videos promoting Mizzou Baseball this year, which have found their way onto Twitter (@AshleyArp92), YouTube, to her own blog, and anywhere else modern media could take them.

Here's some samples of her work (you can see more at her blog):

And an attention-grabbing still shot promo by Ashley:

So here's a Tip of the Cap to Ashley Arp.  This summer she's a media intern with the Texas Rangers.

While we're on the subject, here's a Tip of the Cap to the rest of the hard-working ladies of the Tiger Crew. They not only are bat girls, but they do the promotional games and t-shirt tosses and such during the games, they assist the grounds crew, and they do a lot more to promote Mizzou Baseball. They even were represented at the Big 12 tournament.

2012 Tiger Crew

Tiger Crew on Twitter:

@B_Turner18: Big shout out to @mutigercrew for there great work this weekend. #MIZ

@MUTigersOnDeck: We will be handing out flyers and candy with @mutigercrew today in Speakers Circle at 1:30 Stop by and see us! #OneTeam #OneField #OneMizzou

Word on the Tweet

Hunter Mense: Go ahead everyone and jump on that @MUTigerBaseball bandwagon. There's still some room...

Jesse Santo: @BSQUARED39 1....parking garage 0.

James Abey: @MUTigerBaseball do me a huge favor and sweep the trash talkin chicken hawks #MIZSEC#big12bust

@MZUMAT: Mizzou probably won't win this game, but it's better than being kansas.

@Hunter_Mense: Tremendous effort from the Tigers today... I get goosebumps watchin stuff like that!

@B_Turner18: Unbelievable game today. Great win with everyone battling. #winaseries #hewasout #MIZ

@KendallRogersPG: #Mizzou takes both ends of a doubleheader at #Auburn to win that series today. Tim Jamieson always has his #tigers ready to play. #Big12

@EASports44 (Eric Anderson): A cowboy rode into town on Friday, stayed 3 days and 3 nights and left on Friday.. how is this possible??

@GavinStark30: To all the people who watched me push my car off stadium today in traffic. You suck.

Dan Pietroburgo: Just found a bum sleeping in our stadium... That's a first! Kinda looked like this guy... pic.twitter.com/NKlQg9VN

Talking Heads

James Abey, aka Jim Shorts, debuted this year as the PA Announcer at Taylor Stadium.  He brought some life and energy to the job, perking up the stadium atmosphere.

@JimShorts923:

• Watching baseball should be a requirement to even be American #lovethisgame
• Baseball is a great way to spend the evening

Hunter Mense and Tex Little
at 2012 Big 12 Tournament

Tex & Hunter

Tex Little & Hunter Mense gelled in their second season together in the KTGR broadcast booth.  So much so that sometimes they sound like big brother and little brother, pushing each other's buttons, needling each other.  And Hunter figured out how to tactfully and gently correct the occasional malapropism that escapes Tex's lips (although now and then, like a true sibling, Hunter uses the skewer a bit more directly).  All in all, it makes for a great listen for MU Baseball fans.

No word yet on whether Hunter will be back - not sure he himself knows.  But considering it has taken him 8 years to get this far in his pursuit of a degree, we should maybe expect to have him around for awhile longer.

Tex Messages

A few of my favorite quotes from Tex on the air this years:

• "That's a hooker down the left field line!"
• "Swing and a smash hit to Conner Mach at third!   He rights himself and throws to first for the out.  That ball was hammered! Conner hung in there and put his nose on it and picked it cleanly."
• "He fills that uniform out very nicely!"

And a tweet from @Hunter_Mense:

This kid has been staring at @TexLittleSS with the "Are you my daddy" look for the entire game.

Nattering Nabobs of the Press

Caitlin Sweica
Columbia Missourian

Best Newspaper Article of 2012

Missouri baseball player prepares to move on to medical school
(by Caitlin Swieca, Columbia Missourian)

When Plackis was a redshirt freshman, he traveled with the baseball team to a series at Kansas State because the team needed a bullpen catcher. Wiederholt made the trip to Manhattan and invited her son out for dinner after the game.

"He said, 'I can't, I've got two tests on Monday, but I'm going to stay in my room and you can bring me a sandwich,'" Wiederholt said.

Sure enough, when Wiederholt found his hotel room, Plackis was sitting with his computer, studying. His teammates were nowhere to be found. (5/8)

Quotes and Snippets from 2012

Columbia Daily Tribune

"When I heard someone was trying to bring shells on the plane, I was thinking, 'OK, it's gotta be Dusty,' " sophomore pitcher Rob Zastryzny said. "Because he's the most country kid I know. His name's Dusty."

Although teammates say they never know what kind of high jinks to expect from Ross off the field — a dollar bill, a fourth-floor perch, a reel of fishing line and Nebraska hotel bar patrons feature prominently in another tale — once the senior right-hander enters the game, they know they can breathe easy (4/27)

Columbia Missourian

“Do you ever get tired of chasing foul balls?” an usher asks as a winded Joens jogs back into the stadium.

“Never,” he says. He returns to his post in the right bleachers.

A lot goes into Joens’ ballhawking hobby.

Whether it means scaling fences, sprinting across parking lots or outwitting a kid or two, Joens is willing to do almost anything to get that elusive foul ball. He even disguises himself by staying clean-shaven and wearing ball caps and T-shirts from his high school to make himself look younger. Kids get more tosses from players. (4/26)

The Maneater

With the bases loaded and two outs, Champagne walked up to the plate. He fell behind the count early but battled back to earn a full count. In front of a jam-packed Taylor Stadium and with the game on the line, Champagne watched as the 3-2 pitch came in and a ball was called and the winning run walked to the plate. The run sealed the team’s first sweep of a conference opponent since 2010.

“Any way you get the win is always nice,” Champagne said. “You want to hit and you want to be aggressive but you also have to keep the same mindset and be patient.”

Champagne’s streak of reaching base in 30 straight games is the second-longest active streak in the Big 12, a feat Jamieson said is a result of all of Champagne’s attributes. (4/24)

It’s opening day for the Missouri baseball team, and it finds itself inside Samford Stadium in Auburn, Ala., facing its Southeastern Conference foe, Auburn.

The teams played in front of 3,577 people into the late afternoon, and Auburn walked away with the 5-2 win. Of the 44 games Missouri has played this season, most would view its first contest simply as one extra tally in the loss column. For Shawn Davis, the team’s sports information director, something else was taken from that game.

“They had a great student section,” he said. “They were loud. They had pom-poms and T-shirts, and they were cheering. The thing I noticed was that they really added to the overall feeling of the ballpark.”

Following the Tigers’ opening road stretch, the atmosphere changed when Davis and the team returned to Columbia. Soon after the trip, Taylor Stadium hosted a two-game set with Central Arkansas that attracted an average attendance of just 376.

“If you talk to people who are really attracted to collegiate sports, they come for the atmosphere,” Davis said.
. . .
An SEC-type atmosphere is exactly what Tigers on Deck is striving for, Davis said.

“We want to start doing tailgates,” Davis said. “We want to encourage kids to come out to the games and tailgate, grill out, have a barbecue, play catch in the parking lot, play washers or play bags. We want to create a football Saturday type of atmosphere. That’s the way it is in the SEC.”

Duggan reiterated Davis’s thoughts, saying the growth of Tigers on Deck and the team as a whole depends largely on the fan base itself.

“Tigers on Deck is a step toward getting a similar atmosphere to the SEC,” Duggan said. “We realize we are starting from a very low fan base, but we know that there are students on this campus that love baseball and are interested in Mizzou baseball. We know that Taylor Stadium is not up to par with other SEC schools, but the stadium will only grow as the team and the fan base grows.” (5/4)

KBIA Sports Extra has always distinguished itself with great photos and graphics, including this one from a May 8th article:

A Tip of the Cap 2012: By the Numbers

Two big numbers in 2012: 18 and 39

3 Number of home games I missed this season, compared to 15 in 2011

73 Mizzou's final official NCAA RPI ranking (5/29/12)

66  MU's Strength of Schedule ranking among D-1 teams (BoydsWorld.com)

33-28  Final W-L record

18  Games in 27 days during the long March home stand.  It would have been 19, but the final game of the Charlotte series was cancelled due to weather.  The March home stand will be shorter in 2012, because of the longer SEC conference schedule.

59.7   Average temperature in March 2012 in Columbia, highest in 122 years

10  Longest MU winning streak, 3/3-3/17 vs. Ball State, Nebraska-Omaha, Charlotte, North Dakota, High Point

5 Longest MU losing streak, 4/28-5/4, against Texas Tech, Arkansas and Texas

7   Number of games MU lost by just 1 run

8   Number of games MU lost by just 2 runs

40-21   MU's record if they had won just 7 of those 15 close games

32 Consecutive games reaching base safely by Brannon Champagne, tying Aaron Senne for longest streak all-time at MU

6 Blake Brown's ranking in all-time career steals at MU (40)

8 Eric Garcia's ranking in all-time career steals at MU (38, tied with Phil Bradley)

4 Jeff Emen's ranking in all-time career pitching appearance at MU (103)

93 Percentage of innings Ben Turner caught in 2012 (495.2 of 534.1)

24  Mizzou's 2012 D-1 ranking in Hit-by-Pitch, with 86 total.  The #1 school, Delaware State collected an all-time record 152 HBPs

215-132-2   Mizzou's all-time record against Kansas

XII   Number at the end of the the Big 12's name

IX  Number of Big 12 teams actually playing baseball in 2012 (and 2013)

XIV  Number of SEC teams that will play baseball in 2013

6  MU's final regular season ranking in the Big 12

5  Tigers named to the All Big 12 Team (Dusty Ross 2nd Team; Blake Brown, Dane Opel, Ben Turner, Rob Zastryzny Honorable Mention)

1.91  Mizzou Bullpen ERA in 22 games from from April 21through May 27 19 earned runs in 89.1 innings)

2.68 MU's regular season batting average

4.16  MU's regular season ERA

.359  MU's batting average in the Big 12 Tournament

2.83  MU's ERA in the Big 12 Tournament

.265  MU's batting average in the Tucson Regional

9.96  MU's ERA in the Tucson Regional

.500  Eric Garcia's MVP batting average in the Big 12 Tournament

15-6   The score of Louisville's win over MU in the Tucson Regional


16-6   The score of Louisville's win over MU in the 2007 Columbia Regional

8   NCAA Regional appearances in the past decade

603  Career wins by Tim Jamieson, second only to Gene McArtor (733)

4   Big 12's Conference RPI ranking, 2012 (1-ACC, 2-SEC, 3-PAC 12)

7,718  The difference between Mizzou's home opener crowd of 524 and South Carolina's 8,242

2,210   Taylor Stadium attendance on Saturday, May 5th, vs. Texas; 5th largest all-time regular season crowd

26,357   2012 Total Attendance

824   2012 Average Attendance

Past Years' Regular Season Home Attendance

2011: Total: 13,334; Average: 476
2010: Total: 19,310; Average: 715
2009: Total: 23,848; Average: 852
2008: Total: 30,687; Average: 1,136
2007: Total: 14,190; Average: 645
2006:Total: 23,906; Average: 885
2005:Total: 16,965; Average: 707

2012 Home Attendance Detail

ATT - DAY DATE  OPP
2210 - SAT 5/5/12  TEX
2049 - SAT 4/21/12  K ST
1387 - FRI 5/4/12 TEX
1314 - SAT 3/3/12  BALL ST
1249 - SUN 3/4/12    BALL ST
1140 - SUN 5/6/12  TEX
1072 - SUN 3/25/12  OK ST
1032 - SAT 3/24/12  OK ST
1032 - SAT 3/24/12    OK ST
1004 - WED 5/9/12  MIS ST
1003 - FRI 4/6/12 BAY
886 - FRI 5/11/12  MEM
880 - SUN 5/13/12  MEM
779 - SAT 5/12/12  MEM
752 - SUN 4/22/12  K ST
744 - SAT 3/10/12  CHAR
744 - SAT 3/10/12  CHAR
677 - SAT 4/7/12  BAY
586 - SUN 3/18/12  HIGH PT
584 - FRI 4/20/12    K ST
543 - TUE 3/6/12  NEB-O
539 - FRI 3/9/12  CHAR
524 - FRI 3/2/12  BALL ST
502 - TUE 3/13/12  N DAK
486 - THU 4/5/12  BAY
482 - WED 3/14/12  N DAK
451 - FRI 3/16/12  HIGH PT
434 - SAT 3/17/12  HIGH PT
383 - TUE 3/27/12  C ARK
370 - WED 3/28/12    C ARK
360 - TUE 4/10/12  UALR
159 - WED 3/21/12  IND ST

Top 10 All-Time Home Attendance

6/2/07 Louisville (Regional) 3,630
6/1/07 Kent St (Regional) 3,481
6/3/07 Louisville (Regional) 3,457
5/17/08 Nebraska 3,126
5/18/08 Nebraska 2,418
4/25/98 Texas 2,347
4/24/98 Texas 2,372
5/5/12 Texas 2,2104/5/08 Okla St 2,205
6/4/07 Louisville-MU (Regional) 2,199

5/14/05 Kansas 2,143 dropped out of the top 10