Long post... Now before anyone jumps me with "CWS Title or bust" to be considered the best to ever do it please just read through until then end. Then call me an idiot.
In the sport of baseball the best team does not win it all. In fact it could even be said that they rarely do. Football the best team in the country often wins it all and when they don't the 2nd best team almost assuredly does. In basketball the historically dominate teams win it all or make the final where they are beaten by the 2nd or 3rd best team almost every time.
That isn't how baseball works at the D1 level or the MLB level. That is why when having a conservation that says "Is Tennessee the most dominant team in SEC history or maybe in NCAA history" I don't think winning a CWS tells the story.
Now for legacy? Yes you need to win it all. That is any sport. To be remembered for ever you have to win. 98 Tennessee football vs 97 Tennessee football is a great example.
But IMO legacy is not dominance. And in baseball IMO the postseason is a crapshoot. We do have by the far best chance to win it all as we are clearly the best team in the country but winning it all is far from a guarantee. If this was football we could go ahead and plan our celebration. Because this would be 2020 Alabama level winning where you beat Ohio State in the national championship by 40 points.
Dominance- I don't think we ever see a team like this in our life time. I don't think any team in college baseball history has ever done this. And in the modern SEC where top to bottom is lightyears ahead of where it was 30 years ago it is more impressive. SEC will send 10 teams as an at large bid. Possibly 11.
Hitting- we are the best offense in the country. We lead the best conference in the world in HRs, walks, extra base hits, hits, runs and are 2nd in stolen bases just to show off. Most of those stats are by a wide margin.
Pitching- best starting staff AND bullpen in the country. We are literally the best in both. Think about that for a minute. In the SEC our ERA is 2.35. The next best Is Arkansas with a 3.86 ERA. The difference in that might as well by the grand canyon. We lead the SEC in strikeouts, lead in fewest walks and it is said we play in a little league park and we have given up the 3rd fewest HRs to teams with huge parks.
Defense- we are rated as the 2nd best defensive team in the SEC behind Miss State who did not qualify for their conference tournament. We combine guys who absolutely mash with insane HR total while being elite defenders. Pulling off that combination is probably the single greatest achievement of 2022. Some of these elite defenders will never sniff pro ball because their hitting is so poor. Our elite defenders are getting drafted highly BECAUSE of their bat. Incredible to think about that. Sluggers typically are in the field holding their breath they don't mess it up.
Clutch- we absolutely are.
Coaching- elite.
Depth- Christian Moore, Blake Burke, Kyle Booker, Jared Dickey, Logan Steenstra and Logan Chambers (top JUCO hitter in the country) do not start. Those kids are starting for any other school in the country.
My bottom line- there is a real chance this is the most dominant baseball team anyone has ever or will ever see.
I am fairly confident we will never see a team like this again. Tony will have teams that can win it all in the future. But this level of dominance of being the best in everything, avoiding injury and just flat out winning this many games with so few losses.... this is a once and a lifetime team we have watched for 57 games so far.
Legacy- requires winning the CWS. Those are the teams remembered and ultimately talked about as the GOAT amongest fans. But none of those teams have done what this team has.
Anyway. Just my thoughts.
In the sport of baseball the best team does not win it all. In fact it could even be said that they rarely do. Football the best team in the country often wins it all and when they don't the 2nd best team almost assuredly does. In basketball the historically dominate teams win it all or make the final where they are beaten by the 2nd or 3rd best team almost every time.
That isn't how baseball works at the D1 level or the MLB level. That is why when having a conservation that says "Is Tennessee the most dominant team in SEC history or maybe in NCAA history" I don't think winning a CWS tells the story.
Now for legacy? Yes you need to win it all. That is any sport. To be remembered for ever you have to win. 98 Tennessee football vs 97 Tennessee football is a great example.
But IMO legacy is not dominance. And in baseball IMO the postseason is a crapshoot. We do have by the far best chance to win it all as we are clearly the best team in the country but winning it all is far from a guarantee. If this was football we could go ahead and plan our celebration. Because this would be 2020 Alabama level winning where you beat Ohio State in the national championship by 40 points.
Dominance- I don't think we ever see a team like this in our life time. I don't think any team in college baseball history has ever done this. And in the modern SEC where top to bottom is lightyears ahead of where it was 30 years ago it is more impressive. SEC will send 10 teams as an at large bid. Possibly 11.
Hitting- we are the best offense in the country. We lead the best conference in the world in HRs, walks, extra base hits, hits, runs and are 2nd in stolen bases just to show off. Most of those stats are by a wide margin.
Pitching- best starting staff AND bullpen in the country. We are literally the best in both. Think about that for a minute. In the SEC our ERA is 2.35. The next best Is Arkansas with a 3.86 ERA. The difference in that might as well by the grand canyon. We lead the SEC in strikeouts, lead in fewest walks and it is said we play in a little league park and we have given up the 3rd fewest HRs to teams with huge parks.
Defense- we are rated as the 2nd best defensive team in the SEC behind Miss State who did not qualify for their conference tournament. We combine guys who absolutely mash with insane HR total while being elite defenders. Pulling off that combination is probably the single greatest achievement of 2022. Some of these elite defenders will never sniff pro ball because their hitting is so poor. Our elite defenders are getting drafted highly BECAUSE of their bat. Incredible to think about that. Sluggers typically are in the field holding their breath they don't mess it up.
Clutch- we absolutely are.
Coaching- elite.
Depth- Christian Moore, Blake Burke, Kyle Booker, Jared Dickey, Logan Steenstra and Logan Chambers (top JUCO hitter in the country) do not start. Those kids are starting for any other school in the country.
My bottom line- there is a real chance this is the most dominant baseball team anyone has ever or will ever see.
I am fairly confident we will never see a team like this again. Tony will have teams that can win it all in the future. But this level of dominance of being the best in everything, avoiding injury and just flat out winning this many games with so few losses.... this is a once and a lifetime team we have watched for 57 games so far.
Legacy- requires winning the CWS. Those are the teams remembered and ultimately talked about as the GOAT amongest fans. But none of those teams have done what this team has.
Anyway. Just my thoughts.
