OSU Baseball is OK I Suppose

How awesome is Oregon State baseball? At this point in the year I have to say pretty darn awesome.

The Beavers have been to the College World Series three straight seasons. The last two of those three trips OSU has left Omaha with a national championship.

The first trip was in the year 2005, prior to Omaha the MLB Draft took place nabbing some Beavers from the next year’s squad. First up was Jacoby Ellsbury who was drafted No. 23 overall and received 1.4 million dollars for a signing bonus. The Madras native shot through the minor leagues making brief stops in Lowell, Wilmington, Portland and Pawtucket before making his debut with the Bo Sox. Ellsbury made the most memorable play of the year scoring from second on a wild pitch before earning a starting spot in the World Series.

The man who fans will remember running from first base to the mound during the 2005 Super Regional, Andy Jenkins was selected in the 11th round by Florida and three picks later the Rangers snatched up pitcher Nate Fogle.

A season later the Beavers were helped out in the postseason when Pac-10 rival Stanford eliminated Texas before being knocked off by OSU. The Beavers shocked the world when a fly ball settled into Tyler Graham’s glove securing OSU’s second ever national championship (first in baseball of course).

Once again professional teams pilfered Oregon State players off the roster. First up was pitcher Dallas Buck who was selected by the Diamondbacks in the third round, a few picks later the Brewers nabbed West Linn native Cole Gillespie. The fifth round was where the Braves picked up spunky closer Kevin Gunderson and the Tigers grabbed former Oregon City Pioneer Jonah Nickerson in the seventh round.

The Maddux-esque starter was not all that pro teams grabbed in the 2006 draft. The Giants picked up Graham in round 19 along with slick fielding second basemen Chris Kunda who was drafted by the Yankees. The Diamond backs wanted another OSU ballplayer when they drafted Shea McFeely in the 28th round.

As the 2007 team prepped for post-season play the draft once again came a knocking. In the supplemental first round both the Mets and Padres picked Eddie Kunz and catcher Mitch Canham respectively. Darwin Barney was nabbed in round four and in rounds 8 and 10 the Giants selected a pair of McMinnville alums when they picked up Daniel Turpen and Joe Paterson. Anton Maxwell was the final Beaver to be picked that signed a contract when in round 31 he was picked up by the Rangers.

Major League organizations have done a pretty good job restocking their farm systems with OSU talent. Not only have players been pilfered but recruits have as well. While that sucks it is a great way to show that OSU is a force to be reckoned with when it comes to recruitment.

Not only were players and recruits pulled off the Beaver roster but so was a coach. Dan Spencer who was one of head coach Pat Casey’s assistants was asked to return to the school he played at becoming the associate head coach at Texas Tech. Once again Oregon State showed its clout by getting George Fox head coach Pat Bailey to come to Corvallis from Newberg to join the staff.

The Beavers keep getting stronger however with a strong freshman class in place now, OSU also added some good junior college players. It appears now that a freshman that was set to come to OSU next season after year at a junior college in Nevada is going to come to Corvallis this year instead of next.

The Beavers are doing pretty well for themselves if I do say so and based on early signees for next season look good for next season as well.

(Info on former Beavers coming soon)