Miami Baseball Opens Fall Practice at Alex Rodriguez Park
Oct. 15, 2009
PHOTO GALLERY: BASEBALL OPENS FALL PRACTICE
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The University of Miami baseball team officially opened fall practice Thursday afternoon, holding a nine-inning intrasquad scrimmage at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field. The Hurricanes – coming off an NCAA record 37th straight trip to NCAA Regionals in 2009 – enter the fall with a 35-man roster consisting of 21 returning players and 14 newcomers.
“We are excited,” head coach Jim Morris said prior to the start of practice. “We have some holes to fill from the number of players we’ve lost the last few years from our 2008 World Series team but I think we have a talented group heading into the fall.”
After stretching and working through some individual drills, the team spent the rest of the afternoon scrimmaging under clear skies and temperatures in the mid-to-upper 80’s.
“We have a lot of work ahead of us but we have a lot of good, young players,” Morris said. “We have proven that we can go to Omaha with young players or old players so our goals are very high for this club.”
The `Canes return 17 letterwinners from last year’s 38-22 team, including 2009 All-ACC performers Chris Hernandez, Yasmani Grandal and Scott Lawson. In addition, two-time All-ACC performer Eric Erickson returns after missing the 2009 season rehabilitating from an injury.
Erickson re-joins a pitching staff that returns 84 percent of its innings pitched from last season (446 of 531). All three 2009 weekend starters (Hernandez, David Gutierrez and Iden Nazario) are back, in addition to mid-week starter Jason Santana, veteran reliever Michael Rudman and an impressive sophomore class that includes Daniel Miranda, Travis Miller and Sam Robinson. Taylor Wulf – UM’s set-up man to All-America closer Kyle Bellamy last year – also returns to the back end of the bullpen after missing the second half of the 2009 campaign.
Five players return from the starting lineup. Grandal – a 2009 USA National Team member – will enter the 2010 season as one of the nation’s top catchers after hitting a team-high 16 home runs in 2009. Second baseman Lawson is back for his senior year after leading the team in hitting most of last season while sophomores Harold Martinez, Nathan Melendres and Ted Blackman are all back after productive rookie seasons.
The staff has high hopes for the 13-man incoming class that includes six players selected over the summer in the 2009 Major League Baseball Draft. South Florida products Stephen Perez (18th round/Cincinnati Reds) – a switch-hitting infielder out of Gulliver Prep – and E.J. Encinosa (23rd round/Minnesota Twins) – a big right-handed pitcher out of Coral Park High School – headline the group of six draftees in the group.
In total, the incoming class includes 12 players from the state of Florida and eight from South Florida. The group is made up of five infielders, three left-handed pitchers, three right-handed pitchers and two outfielders.
The entire 2009 fall roster consists of six seniors, five juniors, 11 sophomores and 13 freshmen.
With UM’s fall break beginning on Friday, the team will hold a morning practice in lieu of its typical late afternoon session.
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Players and coaches met with members of the media on Thursday to discuss the upcoming fall season. All-ACC performers Chris Hernandez and Yasmani Grandal were among the players that spoke just prior to start of the afternoon session.
Junior catcher Yasmani Grandal
On his role as a leader
“Once you get here as a freshman and you are here for three years, I think you take on that role of a leader. I am going to keep doing what I’ve always been doing. I’ve learned from guys like Yonder [Alonso] and Blake [Tekotte], [Jason] Hagerty and [Kyle] Bellamy and I’m hoping I can do the same for the young guys now so they can do it a few years from now.”
On what he worked on in the offseason
“The first thing I tried doing this summer was work on my defense. I thought I could have done a better job last year so that is where I put my focus. I’ve been working on throwing people out and blocking here and there. I know my hitting will come around when the season rolls around so I’ve focused on defense for the most part.”
On what the team will focus on this fall
“We are here to get bigger, faster and stronger. Work on everything we need to work on from last year. We are a young group of guys so we’ll have to work on bunting and small ball. We have a couple guys that can hit the long ball too though.”
On playing “small ball”
“If I could play a little bit of small ball, I would too. I am working on getting faster….. if I see somebody playing back on me this year because they think I am going for the long ball, I might drop one down too. If I can contribute to the small ball (strategy), I will.”
On Boston College catcher Tony Sanchez being drafted in the first round
“I talked to him the day before. It was something I didn’t expect. Once I saw him get picked with the fourth pick I thought, if I work as hard as he did I will have a chance to go in the Top 10. I am trying to do my best right now. I asked him for advice and he said just to work hard. You look at a guy from Miami that worked hard to get to where he is you start to think about yourself. If you can do the same thing as him, there is no reason why you shouldn’t be in the first round.”
Junior left-hander Chris Hernandez
On starting fall practice
“Last year left us with a sour taste in our mouth. We want to come out this year and really show everyone that we are still the University of Miami and we still got it. The young guys are hungry for a spot and hungry to play and the older guys are hungry to get back out there and start playing again…. really show people their true colors.”
On the incoming group of players
“There are a lot of young faces, a lot of new guys. I think that is better for us. They really don’t know what happened last year so they don’t really have to try and forget about it. They just have to try and come in and show everyone what they have.”
On practicing this fall after resting his arm last fall
“This year I am getting ready in the fall and throwing innings in the fall like I did freshman year. I’m not making the same mistake twice.”
On how he feels heading into fall practice
“It’s still early. It will be the first time I throw in a game today, but I feel good. I feel good right now with the work I’ve been getting in.”
On what he did over the summer
“I took the summer off, got ready, worked out and got stronger. Now I am getting ready for the season…throwing pitches.”
On improved team chemistry
“I think so. I think it is a lot better this year. Everyone seems to be getting along real well, going out as a team and spending time off the field together. I think it’s good.”
