OLD VandyMania.com (ARCHIVE)

Maldonado has now pitched 30 innings in 58 games.

Well, he didn't pitch in 58. Corbs uses him when we need a save.

Used TOO sparingly in my opinion that doesn’t count.

Most college teams go with their best guy when they need a stop and it’s not always the last inning.

I think of a guy like Kevin Kopps of Arkansas who was SEC Pitcher-of-the-Year in 2021 (National P-O-Y?). He pitched in 33 games with just one start (may have been a staff game; I don't know). Pitched 89 2/3 innings and registered 11 saves. He averaged nearly 3 innings per game. Kopps didn't just enter the game in the ninth inning with a lead of 3 runs or less like so many MLB closers.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/regi ... pps-000kev

But then I looked around the current SEC teams. Could be that most of the them do not have one primary closer. And there are not a lot of Saves in college baseball. Tennessee, for example, had ONLY THREE SAVES the entire season. I guess when you win by scores like 17-1 you don't need a closer. The run-rule games also cut down on opportunities to get 3-inning saves (Vanderbilt under Corbs used to get those frequently).

Innings Pitched by SEC Closers
(based on most Saves)

LSU ............. 46.1
Auburn .......... 46.1
Texas A&M ....... 45.1
Tennessee ....... 42.2
Miss. State ..... 42.0 / 39.0 / 20.1 (tie with 2 saves)
Kentucky ........ 40.2
Florida ......... 39.2
Missouri ........ 38.2
Ole Miss ........ 38.0
Alabama ......... 30.1
Arkansas ........ 28.1
Georgia ......... 27.1
South Carolina .. 23.2


edit for format and to include Kopps reference

Versus75 wrote: ↑Sat May 27, 2023 8:51 pm
I think of a guy like Kevin Kopps of Arkansas who was SEC Pitcher-of-the-Year in 2021 (National P-O-Y?). He pitched in 33 games with just one start (may have been a staff game; I don't know). Pitched 89 2/3 innings and registered 11 saves. He averaged nearly 3 innings per game. Kopps didn't just enter the game in the ninth inning with a lead of 3 runs or less like so many MLB closers.

Kopp was 24 years old in 2021, so his body was much more mature and that makes a big difference in how that may be used.