By Will Vandervort.
By Will Vandervort
While watching the MLB Network the other day, Clemson assistant coach Bradley LeCroy took notice when he heard Hall of Fame third baseman George Brett describe his formula for success as a baseball player.
Brett, who led the Kansas City Royals to a World Series Championship in 1985, said if he made an error at third baseball and allowed a run to score, then he needed to drive in at least one run to make up for it.
“The goal was to either be even or plus at the end of the night,” LeCroy said. “If he made an error that allowed a run to score, but he had two RBIs that night, then he was plus one. That was his goal. We kind of tell all the guys that.”
Monday night’s victory over top-ranked North Carolina in Chapel Hill, NC is a perfect example of that theory. Though an error by Jay Baum did not lead to a UNC run, the sophomore made up for the mistake in the top of the 11th inning when he beat out a throw on a bunt single and then scored the eventual game-winner moments later on a Garret Boulware grounder to shortstop.
Baum, who was playing second base for an injured Steve Wilkerson instead of his normal position at third, more than made up for Clemson’s only error of the night with the hustle it took to get on the base pads.
“We tell the guys, be even or plus. If you are even or plus then we will win the ballgame,” LeCroy said.
Though the Tigers have made their fair share of errors this season with 32, they are still plus-eight on the year, which explains their 17-11 record at the halfway point of the 2013 season. In case you are keeping count, that’s a two-game improvement in the win column from this time last season and the 6-6 mark in the ACC is one more victory in conference play.
“We feel like we are in good shape, but obviously we are not where we want to be expectation wise as far as the program and that kind of stuff,” LeCroy said.
Though the coaching staff feels like there is still work to be done and there is more on the table to accomplish, there is no denying that this year’s team is exceeding what most fans and media expected. Considering Clemson has had to rely on freshman and sophomores in many key situations, it has held its own against ACC favorites NC State, Virginia and North Carolina as well as against South Carolina, who has spent much of the year in the top 10.
“We have done okay on the road against South Carolina, NC State and North Carolina. I think we are in a good place,” LeCroy said. “We are not exactly where we want to be because we have given a few games away that we should not have lost. Winthrop and Virginia are two that we feel we definitely should have won. That’s a two game swing.
“But overall, we feel good. The younger guys have grown up and some of the older guys are starting to pick their game up so we feel good with where we are at.”
The older guys that picked up their games, especially at the plate, have been first baseman Jon McGibbon and left fielder Tyler Slaton, though it is hard to call Slaton an older player as a sophomore. Regardless, the left fielder has really got it going lately. After going 1-for-15 to start the season, he has upped his average to .317, which is second on the team.
“Tyler Slaton is leading off for us and he has become a spark plug at the top of the order and is getting on for Garrett, Kennedy, Gibby and those guys,” LeCroy said. “They have done a good job. We challenged them after the South Carolina weekend, where we did not swing the bats at all, and since then we have been very competitive offensively.”
McGibbon has raised his average seventy five points after also starting the season in a slump. He is now hitting .245 and is only an RBI off from being second on the team in that category. He has 15 RBIs.
“He is the key to our team,” LeCroy said. “When he hits, we win. He has been great. He did not panic. He is doing really well.”
No one is doing better than catcher Garrett Boulware, who at the halfway point of the season is clearly the Tigers’ most valuable player. The sophomore from Anderson, SC is hitting a team-best .347 with a team-high 25 RBIs and four home runs. His .547 slug percentage also leads the team and his .404 on-base percentage is second on the squad.
But Boulware hasn’t just surprised at the plate. His play at catcher has also been a welcome surprised, considering there were so many question marks at that position heading into the season.
“We knew he was a good player, but he is playing at an elite level right now,” LeCroy said. “He is hitting in the four-hole for us and is leading the team in RBIs. He is doing a great job with the pitching staff, you know catching, blocking and throwing guys out.
“He has been a tremendous surprise. He has a lot of pressure on him, too, because our catching is a little thin. Backup Matt Reed is out with an injury. Kevin Bradley is our second string emergency catcher so Garrett knows going in that it is all him and he has to stay healthy. He is doing a good job.”
So is the defense as a whole. Clemson has turned 28 double plays so far this season, while Baum, a sophomore, and Tyler Krieger, a freshman, have more than made up for their combined 10 errors with their spectacular play at third base and at shortstop.
“Some guys are getting better. There is no doubt,” LeCroy said. “Some of the younger guys are starting to make an adjustment to college baseball and now know what it takes to be successful.
“We have played well defensively, and I mean really well at times, and we have made a couple of mistakes. However, the guys continue to turn the double plays, which is key for pitchers and getting out of big innings.
“The outfielders have played really, really well throwing guys out and making the plays they need,” he continued. “We just have to continue to be solid. Tyler Krieger has been really good at short. Gibby has been good at first and Baum has been really good at third. Stevie (Wilkerson) has made some mistakes at second, but he is a really, really good player so we are not worried about him at all.”
And why should they? Wilkerson obviously plays by the same set of rules as George Brett once did, and right now he is plus-two when it comes to RBIs (16) and errors committed (8).