This wasn’t the first time this new team had assembled. But Friday did mark the Arizona Wildcats’ first official practice since the calendar flipped to 2017. As magical as last year was, it’s time write the next chapter.
Yes, the Wildcats can take many positives from their improbable run to the College World Series finals. But about half that team is gone. None of the freshmen or transfers endured the ups and downs of Omaha.
Recapturing what that squad ultimately achieved in terms of production and chemistry will take time.
“This is this team, and 2016 was that team,” second-year coach Jay Johnson said, standing on the dirt at Hi Corbett Field after a nine-inning intrasquad scrimmage.
“There’s a lot of positives in terms of building a program and a culture and a foundation that we can really benefit from and learn from. There are certainly some things that we continue to take from that. With that being said, there’s no pitch, no inning, no at-bat from last year that will help us win one game this year.”
That might not be entirely true. The Wildcats’ run to within one hit of the national championship provided the returning veterans with an experience that only can help them this year and beyond.
“Maybe the experience,” senior pitcher JC Cloney conceded. “Maybe the gratitude of all the fans coming out to see you. Maybe if we ever play in a park where there’s a lot of people, a lot of us will understand what it’s like.
“But … we have 16 new guys. A lot of them weren’t there last year.”
No one knows better than Johnson that building a team is a painstaking process.
Arizona was a good team during the regular season last year but didn’t become a great team until the postseason. The Wildcats were 32-20 heading into their Pac-12 finale; they won 17 of their final 21 games.
Specifically regarding team chemistry — a critical component to the 2016 squad’s success — Johnson said Friday:
“Any time you’re building that, you have to go through things together, both good and bad. We’re still in the initial phases of that. But we’re off to a really good start.”
Rankings redux
Last season, Arizona used its place in the rankings – or absence from them – as motivational fuel. Pac-12 coaches picked the Wildcats to finish ninth in the league, and that snub stuck with them.
The conference poll isn’t out yet, but Top 25s are sprouting up across the internet. Arizona appears in all of the most respected ones — which should come as no surprise, according to Johnson.
“What preseason rankings are is generally a validation of a job well done from a previous team,” he said. “There’s no question it was a job well done by that team.
“How do we utilize them? When you talk about building a program over, say, 10 or 20 years, the more positive things that are out there, it helps. We absolutely use it for those purposes.”
But as far as 2017 goes, the preseason rankings hold little if any relevance.
“In terms of our team and this year, it all comes back to the play,” Johnson said. “And the play all goes back to preparation. So it doesn’t mean anything as far as the immediate group.
“The hype will not win you a game. One of the things we’ll talk about is, ‘Success is not owned; it’s rented. And the rent is owed every day.’ ”
Arizona is ranked between 15th and 22nd in three major polls: 15th by USA Today (coaches), 19th by D1Baseball.com and 22nd by Baseball America. Oregon State is the highest-ranked Pac-12 team, landing in the top 10 in all three polls.
Inside pitch
- Hi Corbett Field is undergoing some significant renovations in advance of the Feb. 17 opener against Eastern Kentucky. New seats are being installed in the first five rows between the dugouts. Additionally, the backstop netting is being replaced. The new netting will stretch from one dugout to the other, and no views will be obstructed. The stadium upgrades are courtesy of the $1 million anonymous donation the program received shortly after its postseason run.
- Redshirt freshman Randy Labaut will be “a huge part of the pitching staff,” Johnson said. Labaut, a left-hander, also will contribute offensively as a DH and pinch hitter.
- Right-handed pitcher Matt Hartman has transferred to Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California. Hartman made 10 appearances last season as a sophomore, posting a 6.55 ERA in 11 innings.
