1967 Arizona State University Sun Devils, 53-13 (10-6 WAC), College World Series Champions.

The 1967 Sun Devils got off to a slow start to their season, losing four of their first five Western Athletic Conference games before rallying to go 9-2 the rest of the way to capture the WAC conference title.  In a game still considered by many the greatest in school history, the 11th-ranked Sun Devils beat 9th ranked Arizona, 3-2, in a one-game Southern Division playoff held at a packed Phoenix Municipal Stadium. Sun Devil pitcher Gary Gentry, who had shut out the Wildcats, 3-0, in the final regular-season game, pitched all 15 innings of the four-hour, 17-minute marathon. Working on just two days’ rest, Gentry scattered nine hits, walked five and struck out 18, while throwing 208 pitches in the Phoenix heat.  The Sun Devils then won two of three from Air Force in the regional playoffs in Phoenix to earn a spot in Omaha.  

1967 Arizona State University Sun Devils

With three teams remaining in the CWS, each with one defeat, Houston drew a bye into the finals; ASU and No. 1 ranked Stanford (who had earlier lost to ASU sophomore Larry Gura) staged a rematch for the right to move to the final game against Houston. What resulted was a classic battle of two evenly matched squads, as ASU and Stanford struggled 14 innings before A-State won a 4-3 decision. ASU starter Gary Gentry and Stanford starter Rod Poteete locked horns in a pitcher’s duel that lasted over three and one-half hours. Gentry was the man who eventually scored the winning run, after singling in the 14th inning. One out later, Scott Reid sent a fly ball deep to center that Stanford center fielder Jeff Rohlfing misjudged and was unable to recover and field. Reid’s hit dropped in, and Stanford dropped out of the tournament.  ASU then won its second NCAA championship in three years, with an 11-2 drubbing of Houston in the CWS finale.  ASU starter Tom Burgess allowed 12 hits and four walks but struck out 15 men, including three whiffs of Cougar All-America Tom Paciorek for the Devils win.  This was the middle squad of a Sun Devil dynasty that won 3 CWS titles in five years, but was distinguished by Gentry's stellar ironman performance--which might have appreciably shortened his promising MLB career.

Greatest college baseball team of all time?

Rosenblatt Stadium, home of the College World Series, 1950-2010

What was the greatest college baseball team of all time?   At the major league level, this question has been addressed in numerous essays, studies, and simulations, with a general consensus that the 1927 Yankees seem to merit that distinction.  But, for the college game, there has been little discussion and no consensus whatsoever.  The very question raises many complicating issues.  Even limiting consideration to the past five decades because of the lack of statistical information prior to that time (which removes from consideration some legendary teams from schools such as Fordham, or Lou Gehrig’s Columbia team) there are still distinct “eras” in college baseball, and a number of factors make it difficult to compare teams across these eras.  Differences in equipment, such as the shift from wooden to metal bats in 1975, or the introduction of composite bats and associated restrictions in 2011, have played a major role; over the years, use of 7-inning games or “mercy” run rules have varied, and there have also been concerns about use of performance enhancing drugs that parallel similar concerns at the major league level, despite very strict substance policies for college baseball set by the NCAA. 

Despite these challenges, one has to sample across different decades of college baseball to consider the all-time great teams, with an initial goal of narrowing the list to a preliminary “Top Ten” squads.  In doing this sampling, I considered some broad guidelines for selection.  First, only one team could be selected per school.  Fact is, certain schools have had several teams that merit consideration—USC alone won five consecutive College World Series championships from 1970 to 1975, and many other schools have presented multiple CWS champions over the years.  But, sorry, one per customer.  Second, although there have been many successful teams, I felt that some teams also had more interesting stories—there was something unique about each of them that solidified their spot in the lore around college baseball.   Third, I wanted to attempt to include some of the greatest college players of all time—not necessarily those who went on to have successful MLB careers, although many did do so, but those who were legends of the college game.  And, finally, to be included, it was not necessary that the team win the College World Series championship.  Although many of the teams that were ultimately included did win the CWS, the format of that tournament (2 losses and out) heavily favors teams with a few great pitchers.  I wanted to include great “teams”—squads that were solid top to bottom, that had the depth necessary to be successful over the long haul of a season, in the belief that the season is the true test of the quality of a baseball team.  And so, perhaps controversially, I included multiple teams on this list that did not win the CWS, and one that did not even make it to Omaha.  No doubt others will disagree with the list—so, make your own! 

Once I assembled an interesting list of 10 great teams, the question remained—how to select “the best” from among them?   To address it, all 10 teams were combined into a single league, and a 162-game season was created using Digital Diamond Baseball, an excellent program that simulates individual baseball games using the real-life batting, pitching, and fielding statistics for individual players.  Although the MLB-standard 162 game schedule far exceeds that of the college baseball season, that number represents a foundation for the benchmarks of excellence familiar to most baseball fans—the 100 win season, the 20-game winner, the 100 RBI line.  And such a grueling schedule separates great teams from those teams with one or two great players.  

So, under these conditions and with these qualifications, let’s now turn to the 10 contenders for the crown.  Succeeding entries will present, in chronological order—ten of college baseball’s all time great teams.