HI NOTES: Carr, Crow, Kinsler, Rash . . . and Texas

COLLEGE BASEBALL

♦ The Distiller's Dozen (College Baseball Today)

Went on a radio show this week with Bryan Eubanks in Jackson, Mississippi and was asked if I liked the increased exposure of college baseball from outlets like ESPN, the Fox channels, The Mtn., etc.

I told him I was glad to see it. The Thursday SEC games and Monday ACC games were a great addition, along with the weekly College Baseball Live on ESPNU. But I also told him that I don’t ever want it to get as big as college football or basketball. Mainly ‘coz our sport doesn’t need the type of shadiness to it like we get from the ne’er-do-wells in football and basketball. And of course, I’m not just referring to the coaches and agents, it’s also the shadiness of the players that is so crushing as a fan. There are just too many bad seeds that sour football and basketball.

Brian Carr
William Woods Owls

FORMER TIGERS HONORED

♦ Clifton, Carr named Players of the Year; Coronado earns AMC Pitcher of the Year to headline all-conference team (American Midwest Conference)

Park University third baseman Kyle Clifton and William Woods University dual-threat outfielder and pitcher Brian Carr shared AMC Player of the Year honors, headlining the 2012 AMC Baseball All-Conference Team that was announced in conjunction with the championship game of the AMC tournament Thursday in Springfield, Ill.
. . .
Carr, from Phoenix, Ariz., joined Clifton on a split vote for player of the year honors as the only AMC player to hit better than .400, entering the championship game at .456 with 14 RBIs, three triples and a home run. He also doubled 18 times and stole nine bases while serving as the Owls' primary center fielder, and he also worked on the mound for William Woods, posting a 3.69 ERA and 55 strikeouts in 63.1 innings.

Coronado and Carr also earned AMC Newcomer Pitcher and Player of the Year

♦ Butler, Crow earn Royals monthly honors (Kansas City Royals)

Billy Butler and Aaron Crow were named the Royals' Player of the Month and Pitcher of the Month, respectively, for the month of April by the Kansas City media.
. . .
Crow, a reliever, posted a 2.38 ERA and struck out 11 batters over 11 1/3 innings of work during the month. He ranked third in the AL among pitchers with at least 10 innings pitched with a batting average against of .132.

♦ Ian Kinsler: baseball's best second baseman (Fox Sports Midwest)

Kinsler is an ideal leadoff hitter. He leads the majors in runs scored. A 30/30 player last season, he poses multiple threats beginning with the game's first pitch. He's just aggressive enough, eager to crush a mistake pitch but content to take his base. Proof of that: He has the best walk-to-strikeout rate in the major leagues (1.67).

Kinsler may be the best fusion of power, patience, contact and speed in the game today. Of the top 10 players in baseball according to the FanGraphs.com WAR rankings, he's the only one who has struck out in less than 10 percent of his plate appearances.
. . .
"The more experience you get, the game slows down for you," he said. "It's not something you think about. It's something that develops. It's not like I go into spring training, saying I need to get better at strike-zone discipline. It's a matter of playing games. I was always an aggressive hitter coming up. I've been able to pull back the reins a little bit and be more patient."

GAME DAY

♦ SEC culture prompts rise of student fan section (The Maneater)

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.”

♦ Missouri baseball looks to snap losing skid against Texas (Columbia Missourian)

As bleak as things currently look for the Tigers, the situation was worse a year ago. With three series left in the regular season, the Tigers were 19-26 overall and 6-11 in conference. The team eventually went on a hot streak during the Big 12 tournament, reaching the conference championship game before losing in extra innings to Texas A&M.

To begin a potential turnaround this year, Missouri will have to figure out Texas freshman starter Parker French, who comes into Friday's game with a 5-2 record and 2.89 ERA.

MU RECRUIT

♦ Spring Top Prospects (Perfect Game)

Alec Rash (2012, RHP, ADM HS, Adel, IA): Rash was 91-93, touching 94 Sunday in front of a large scouting contingent. He has a fast arm and showed consistent run and sink in the zone. Rash flashed a quality changeup and solid slider and his continued progress of command and off-speed pitches will determine how high he is drafted in June.

MIZ-SEC

♦ OK, so it's not Baseball. But the feeling you'll get from watching this ZouDave Video applies to the future of Mizzou Baseball as well. Watch it at RockMNation.com