December Baseball News

Enrico Palazzo · December 20, 2012, 03:29:33 PM

Plenty of reason for holiday cheer around Emory G. Bauer: for one, the team scored a collective 3.27 GPA in the classroom for the first semester. Most - if not all - here are aware of the rigorous academics at Valpo, which makes this all the more impressive.

Secondly, Collegiate Baseball Newspaper released their preseason Top 40 poll today. Happy to relay that the Crusaders received votes. Valpo was the only Horizon League school to do so, and if you look through the list, you'll see it's an awfully BCS-heavy poll. Arizona State (#16), Long Beach State, South Florida, Notre Dame all the made the list are on the 2013 schedule. http://www.baseballnews.com/polls/divI/currentpolldivI.htm

Finally, as I mentioned in another thread - some of the national media are picking up on senior infielder Tanner Vavra's story. (If you're unfamiliar with it, I recommend checking out the story in the Vavra thread.) Anyway, College Baseball Daily should have something out in the coming weeks on him. I'll be doing a feature for the site in January/February, too. I'll be passing along links as they become available.

Valposter · December 20, 2012, 03:42:33 PM

Thanks for the update Enrico!!! It's always great to get off-sesason Valpo baseball news! 3.27 seems like a very high overall team GPA! Great to see the team getting the job done in the classroom as well!

That's fantastic news to see Valpo getting votes for the Pre-Season Top 40 Poll. An obvious show of respect on the national scene. Like you said, not many mid-major programs on the list having recieved votes. Good to see people taking notice of what is being built by Coach Woodson and the Coaching Staff with Valpo Baseball!

I am looking forward to your Tanner Vavra feature. This is a great story that deserves to told in as many forums as possible!

Enrico, keep up the good work keeping us baseball entusiasts updated!

valpotx · December 21, 2012, 12:40:11 AM

Glad to hear about the academics and national recognition for the program. I believe this will probably be the last year for Woodson here, as he received attention from William & Mary this last offseason, and will get bigger/better names with another successful stint. It is highly possible a program will be able to sway him/his wife away from her Valpo connections, so let's enjoy it while it lasts, and hope we are positioned well for the future

jetz · December 21, 2012, 11:59:03 AM

Had a chance to spend some time talking with the Valpo coaches last week. My takeaway was that they are cautiously optimistic about the pitching for this season. Starters are still TBD, but apparently they like the strides that some have made in late fall workouts. During this time of year, there always is lots of fund raising talk, and this is a bigger priority this year with a Dominican trip in the works for next fall.

We will have a good season this year. Anything less than a NCAA bid would be considered a disappointment. I agree that more schools will offer TW (and maybe Schmack) with continued success, but I'm selfishly hoping that there's enough upside at VU to keep him there for a couple more seasons, given the continued planning for next year and beyond. However, I understand your point Valpotx. We were led to believe that only one job could lure him out of Valpo, but I fully realize that situations change. (Kent State, for example, just extended their head coach's contract for $300K per year. Not football money by any means, but things are looking up for college baseball coaches.)

Also, there are plans being made to put up a sign in right field at EGB for last year's Regional appearance in Gary. Not sure of the "unveiling" date, but I think it may be the home opener. For those that wonder, there currently is no mention of any past NCAA tourney appearances/conference championships at EGB.

valpotx · December 21, 2012, 12:04:40 PM

Yep, and that is a bone of contention for people on those teams that made it in. Even though our last D-1/large college appearance before last season was 1966 or so, we had several D-2/small college appearances in the 60s/70s. It would be nice to include something for those appearances as well.

Also, I assume that it is North Carolina State that was originally the one school that he would leave for? I am sure money may talk to him next offseason, making it hard to stick to that

Enrico Palazzo · December 21, 2012, 12:42:47 PM

I believe this will probably be the last year for Woodson here, as he received attention from William & Mary this last offseason, and will get bigger/better names with another successful stint. It is highly possible a program will be able to sway him/his wife away from her Valpo connections, so let's enjoy it while it lasts, and hope we are positioned well for the future

To be candid, it would surprise me. Of course any speculation is predicated on the result of the upcoming season. If the Crusaders can rattle off another 35-win season - especially with this schedule - and claim another HL title, his stock will increase substantially.

But a lot of factors surrounding the current situation shouldn't be overlooked. Coach Woodson and Mark LaBarbera have a strong relationship. A great deal of mutual respect exists there. In 2006, Mark gave him the freedom to take the program and run with it. And now all parties are reaping the rewards. A coach's relationship with his/her AD can make or break the job.

Coach Woodson and his family are happy here too. Tracy's wife has family in the area. Their two children are enrolled in grade school and active in all sorts of extra-curricular activities in the community.

With that being said, Tracy is from Virginia and his mother and father both live there. His father has had some health issues in the past couple years. If he were to leave - and again I have no reason to believe that day is soon - it would be done with the objective of returning closer to home. And understandably so.

Of course, if NC State called, a mental evaluation would be in order if he wasn't on the first plane to Raleigh to listen. It's the dream job of hundreds of coaches across the country. It's a destination job. It's his alma mater. But there are a few more HL titles and some NCAA Tournament wins to be had before that call from Debbie Yow is placed.

Valposter · December 24, 2012, 07:59:13 AM

I'm not sure if this has been mentioned on any post here, but I don't think so. Just a heads-up that the new team picture for the 2012-13 Valpo baseball team is on the website, along with updated 2012 individual player bios. The link is below for anyone that wants to take a look. A very good team picutre!

http://www.valpoathletics.com/baseball/roster/

Also, kudos to the person who wrote the bios. A very nice job detailing the highlights of each individual player for the 2012 season. There were a lot of individual accomplishments from a very successful 2011-12 season and I think they were highlighted very well.

Go Valpo Baseball!!!!

Enrico Palazzo · December 31, 2012, 11:59:30 AM

The Vavra article is up on College Baseball Daily. Happy New Year to everyone. Looking forward to an even better 2013 in Valpo.

Link:

http://ht.ly/2u14QL

vu72 · December 31, 2012, 12:26:56 PM

Quote from: Enrico Palazzo on December 31, 2012, 11:59:30 AM
The Vavra article is up on College Baseball Daily. Happy New Year to everyone. Looking forward to an even better 2013 in Valpo.

Link:

http://ht.ly/2u14QL

Uh, this is a very strange article which mixes a story about Tanner with research on viagra. Very unusual to say the least!

LaPorteAveApostle · December 31, 2012, 12:51:39 PM

in the event of a game lasting longer than four hours, call an umpire

Enrico Palazzo · December 31, 2012, 01:14:33 PM

Well, that's awfully embarrassing. It's on the homepage of collegebaseballdaily.com. I would assume you can get to the story there, too, sans the male-enhancement angle. Nevertheless, this is the text:

Most coaches and players agree that making the jump from Junior College up to Division 1 baseball is not an easy transition. But junior infielder Tanner Vavra, who is blind in one eye, made the shift seamlessly this past season, helping lead Valparaiso University to a Horizon League Championship and gain a bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Vavra, whose father coaches for the Minnesota Twins, sustained two major injuries as a child that left him without vision in his right eye. When he was just three years old, his family took a trip to Washington to spend the day fly fishing. Just as his father was casting his line, Vavra unknowingly ran off towards his mother and got a hook caught into his right eye, tearing the cornea and the lens.

Vavra had multiple surgeries in an attempt to repair the damage and ultimately ended up wearing a patch over his good eye, in hopes that his impaired right eye would be strengthened in the process. The doctors told him that he could only remove the patch for one hour a day.

Vavra continued to play sports as a child until a second serious incident occurred at 10 years old. Participating in a game of touch football, he was accidentally poked in his damaged eye by a friend, shattering his contact lens into fragments. Doctors were able to remove most of the fragments, but were not able to stop his retina from detaching. The damage was beyond the point of repair. Vavra lost full vision in his right eye.

Despite having just one good eye at such a young age, Vavra never thought that the injury would jeopardize his dream of playing professional baseball.

"I didn't really think about that too much," Vavra said. "I was upset because the surgeries were happening over summer and I was going to miss that summer of baseball, that's how far my thought process was in terms of affecting my career. When you're a little kid you don't really think that far into the future. I think the only people who really understood were my parents."

Vavra continued to play baseball through high school and played two years at Madison Area Technical College before transferring to Valparaiso this past season. He never had any doubt that he would have success in Division I, especially after having two stellar seasons at the junior college level, posting a .421 batting average with 25 RBI and 18 steals in 50 games in 2011.

"I feel like you need to have a lot of confidence," said Vavra. "There's a big difference between being cocky and being confident. I feel like I have a high level of confidence in my abilities. I wasn't as worried about the transfer as I think the coaches were, because a lot of times the transition just doesn't work out as well as people hoped for."

Crusader Head Coach Tracy Woodson, who was named the Horizon League Coach of the year for 2012, believed Vavra was the kind of player his team needed to reach new heights.

"We needed his type of player, someone who not scared and knew the game," Woodson stated. "We knew what kind of kid we were getting there. Playing wise, the only thing we were worried about it was him facing guys in Arkansas throwing 93 to 97, because he goes to right field a lot. But it didn't affect him. Once that weekend in Arkansas was over we knew we had a good baseball player on our hands."

Vavra posted a .332 batting average to go along with a .425 OBP and 15 steals for the Crusaders in 2012. Coach Woodson recognized Vavra as one of the most important pieces to his team's Horizon League Championship run.

"He is one of the hardest workers I know. He's hard on himself and disappointed in himself when doesn't do well. I think he plays with a chip on his shoulder," said Woodson. "For our team he is a role model to the younger guys just because of the way he plays. He doesn't bring up his injury as an excuse and you'd never know he has this injury if you watch him play. Every guy on our team can watch him play and take something from it."

But Vavra isn't satisfied with his numbers; in fact he believes he can have an even more successful campaign in 2013. He strongly believes in trying to find holes in his game and working hard to strengthen his weaknesses.

"Never be satisfied with how good you are now, always try to be better tomorrow" Vavra firmly said. "That's the biggest thing I have learned – you can always be better in some aspect, you just need to find that aspect and develop it."

Vavra was quick to give credit to his father for helping him through the tough times he has faced in his baseball career and pushing him to improve even when he is enjoying success.

"From the time before I could walk, I was still throwing the baseball with him while I was crawling around," said Vavra. "It starts and ends with him. He's going to be the first person I talk to about something and the last person I run something by. He'll always find something new for me to fix. Even if I think I'm doing something well, he'll find something I can do better. That's a perk of having a big league coach as your dad."

Ultimately, Vavra has aspirations of playing at the big league level, and his coach believes that his dream is within reach.
"I hope somebody gives him a chance," Woodson added "Because of the type of kid he is and the effort he gives you as a player. I think down the road he's going to be a great coach. I think and organization would be lucky to have him".

Vavra understands that the odds are stacked against him, but refuses to give in to the critics.

"You give it everything you have, and somehow, some way it will be good back to you. You don't really know what way it will be," a determined Vavra stated. "I'm sure when I look back in 20 years, whether I played pro ball or not, I'm going to say I accomplished a lot. But right now I have to keep working harder and getting to the next level because I'm not done. If you stay determined, stay focused and motivated and good things will happen."

For Vavra, his faith in his abilities, and determination to prove the doubters wrong, has driven him to great success thus far in his career. But it is his respect for his coaches and teammates has allowed him to stay humble and be a leader on the diamond.

"It's just one of those things where everyone has stuck their neck out for me," Vavra said. "I mean my high school coach, my junior college coach and now Coach Woodson at Valpo. They all took a chance on letting me play, and I take that to heart. When somebody does that and says they believe in your abilities, regardless of the eye, I work that much harder because I don't want to make somebody else look bad because I didn't perform."

"I want to be successful for myself, for my family and for the person who gave me the opportunity," said Vavra. "I'm going to give you my best and hopefully I can wow you a little bit."

The 2013 season will be a crucial year for Tanner Vavra and a fantastic opportunity to for him to showcase his talents to scouts from the next level. Only time will tell whether or not he makes it to the major leagues, but the baseball community is already impressed with this young man and the obstacles he has overcome to this point in his career.

Kat Hasenauer Cornetta also contributed to this report.

Valposter · January 03, 2013, 10:11:06 AM

Quote from: Enrico Palazzo on December 31, 2012, 11:59:30 AMThe Vavra article is up on College Baseball Daily. Happy New Year to everyone. Looking forward to an even better 2013 in Valpo. Link: http://ht.ly/2u14QL

This link should work for the Columbus Baseball Daily article on Tanner Vavra that came out on December 31st if anyone wants to reference the original source. (I hope this link works......there were problems when we tried to post the link originally).

http://www.collegebaseballdaily.com/2012/12/31/valpos-tanner-vavra-overcomes-obstacles/