Todd Butler, Head Coach of WSU Baseball

[1972Shocker]

on sports daily he said he like big guys on the corners (1b, 3B, RF, LF) who are strong enough to get the ball into the gaps.

We have 1st base covered.

[ShockerFever]

Good point. Let's look how that is born out in the stats.

Of the 8 CWS teams this year:

Pitching/Fielding
5 of 8 were in the top 10 in the nation in ERA
7 of 8 were in the top 20 in the nation in ERA
8 of 8 were in the top 30 in the nation in ERA

2 of 8 were in the top 10 in the nation in Strikeout/Walk Ratio
3 of 8 were in the top 20 in the nation in Strikeout/Walk Ratio
5 of 8 were in the top 30 in the nation in Strikeout/Walk Ratio

2 of 8 were in the top 10 in the nation in Fielding %
2 of 8 were in the top 20 in the nation in Fielding %
3 of 8 were in the top 30 in the nation in Fielding %

Hitting
0 of 8 were in the top 10 in the nation in AVG
2 of 8 were in the top 20 in the nation in AVG
3 of 8 were in the top 30 in the nation in AVG

1 of 8 was in the top 10 in the nation in OBP
1 of 8 was in the top 20 in the nation in OBP
3 of 8 were in the top 30 in the nation in OBP

0 of 8 were in the top 10 in the nation in HR
1 of 8 was in the top 20 in the nation in HR
3 of 8 were in the top 30 in the nation in HR

I never said pitching and defense wasn't important. However, those are our two strongest areas. And yet what seems to keep us from making regionals/supers/Omaha? From what I've been hearing the last 5 years has been hitting. But I guess since not even half of this year's CWS field registered in the Top 30 in the country in hitting, I guess that means we should forego that area for improvement. Since you have the stats right in front of you, what was our rank in hitting this year? The last 5 years?

[jdmee]

How do I get a hold of audio and/or video from today's press conference?

If you goto the kansas.com article listed above the video is next to the article.

http://videos.kansas.com/vmix_hosted_apps/p/media?id=164702961

[SB Shock]

during the meet-n-greet, he was telling people he want the opportunity to be more than Baseball coach, he wants to be part of the community.

[pogo]

After watching the press conference I think the most appropriate mantra for the Todd Butler era would be "5 wins".

[SB Shock]

After watching the press conference I think the most appropriate mantra for the Todd Butler era would be "5 wins".

that was the last thing he said to me - "5 wins"

[pogo]

during the meet-n-greet, he was telling people he want the opportunity to be more than Baseball coach, he wants to be part of the community.

I noticed he took quite a bit of time talking to your son. I was impressed with that as well as how he took time with everyone that was in line.

[SB Shock]

I noticed he took quite a bit of time talking to your son. I was impressed with that as well as how he took time with everyone that was in line.

Yeah, he is pretty impressive. Now all he has to do is win - which I have no doubt he will. He is a great hire for the WSU.

[molly jabali]

Ok, I missed it...what is the '5 wins' thing?

[SB Shock]

Ok, I missed it...what is the '5 wins' thing?

that is how many wins it takes to get back to Omaha

[pogo]

Ok, I missed it...what is the '5 wins' thing?

Thats the wins it takes to get to Omaha. And its the number of wins it takes to win it all. But there are 56 games before those games.

[DPruett2333]

I don't think I've ever been as excited for Shocker baseball(I'm 28 years old) as I am right now!

[pogo]

Going to the meet n greet I was listening to kgso and even tho PS thought ES should hire a "Shockerman" he felt this was a very good hire. Next breath he was wondering how long WSU could hold onto him. He said it was the city of Wichita's mission to make TB and his family feel at home in Wichita. I don't disagree but really the guy has just been introduced and they are talking about how long we can hold onto him.

[The Mad Hatter]

I never said pitching and defense wasn't important. However, those are our two strongest areas. And yet what seems to keep us from making regionals/supers/Omaha? From what I've been hearing the last 5 years has been hitting. But I guess since not even half of this year's CWS field registered in the Top 30 in the country in hitting, I guess that means we should forego that area for improvement. Since you have the stats right in front of you, what was our rank in hitting this year? The last 5 years?

I don't think anyone is saying that either pitching/defense or offense isn't important, just that in baseball in general, and especially with the changes in bats that have reduced the power game in college, Butler's suggestion that an emphasis on pitching first probably makes sense and this is born out by what kind of teams are in the CWS.

In terms of WSU's issues, I believe our problem has not been that we have emphasized pitching over hitting in how we recruit/use resources, but that we need to upgrade our talent across the board and we need better player development of the players we have. There is reason to think that Butler will be a better closer with recruits than Gene has been of late, which should help us upgrade our talent, and we will see how our player development changes, which will obviously be impacted by the choice of the 3rd member of the coaching staff.

As to WSU's hitting statistics:

2013: 47th in AVG, 92nd in Scoring
2012: 136th in AVG, 130th in Scoring
2011: 147th in AVG, 68th in Scoring
2010: 193rd in AVG, 103rd in Scoring
2009: 258th in AVG, 265th in Scoring

In addition, here are WSU's pitching stats:

2013: 58th in ERA, 101st in Strikeouts/9
2012: 51st in ERA, 189th in Strikeouts/9
2011: 31st in ERA, 63rd in Strikeouts/9
2010: 37th in ERA, 64th in Strikeouts/9
2009: 19th in ERA, 15th in Strikeouts/9

It sure looks to me like WSU has been pursuing the exact opposite strategy as the one Butler has proposed given that we have seen improved offense over the last 5 years at the expense of our pitching. The idea that the diminished quality of pitching is a talent, not coaching, issue is supported by the strikeout numbers. It is hard to be an elite strikeout pitcher without an elite arm, regardless of coaching. Obviously we can't have the absolutely atrocious offense we have had at times over the past 5 years, but IMHO we need to get back to getting a stable full of top notch pitchers as the core identity of this program, coupled with enough well coached hitters that we can execute to get the runs we need to win.

[ShockTalk]

Going to the meet n greet I was listening to kgso and even tho PS thought ES should hire a "Shockerman" he felt this was a very good hire. Next breath he was wondering how long WSU could hold onto him. He said it was the city of Wichita's mission to make TB and his family feel at home in Wichita. I don't disagree but really the guy has just been introduced and they are talking about how long we can hold onto him.

Did you really expect anything different from PS?