Alabama Baseball Team Departs for Cuba
12/13/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Dec. 13, 2008
ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE BASEBALL
Alabama vs. Cuban Collegiate All-Stars
December 16-18, 2008
Latin American Stadium (55,000) - Havana, Cuba
2009 Alabama Baseball Quick Fatcs 
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The University of Alabama baseball team makes a historic trip to Havana, Cuba, for a three-game exhibition series with the Cuban Collegiate All-Stars this week. The team departs Sunday, Dec. 14 from Tuscaloosa and will return on Friday, Dec. 19. The Crimson Tide will play three exhibition games at the Latin American Stadium in Havana on Tuesday, Dec. 16, Wednesday, Dec. 17, and Thursday, Dec. 18. All three games will begin at 2 p.m. (CST - 3 p.m. in Havana) each day.
Alabama is making its first trip to Cuba and will be playing outside the United States for only the second time in school history. In 1957, Coach Tilden "Happy" Campbell directed the Alabama baseball team on a 20-game exhibition tour in the Far East, with games contested in Japan and Korea. The Crimson Tide is no stranger to college baseball tours, as Alabama was the first southern team to play in the New England area as Dr. J.W.H. Pollard led the Tide on a nine-game tour during the 1907 season, according to the Boston Herald.
HEAD COACH Jim Wells: Alabama head coach Jim Wells has compiled a 589-300 (.663) record in 889 games at the Capstone. The 2009 season will be his 15th in the Alabama dugout. He is the winningest coach in school history and has worked more games than any other Tide skipper. Wells has led the Crimson Tide to two SEC Championships (1996 and 2006), three College World Series appearances (1996, 1997 and 1999), three SEC Western Division titles (1996, 2002 and 2006), six SEC Tournament championships (1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2002 and 2003) and 11 NCAA Regionals. He was named 1996 and 2002 SEC Coach of the Year and the 1997 Baseball America National Coach of the Year. Overall, Wells has compiled a 783-389 (.668) record in 1,172 games as he enters his 19th season at the Division I level. Prior to Alabama, he spent five years at Northwestern (La.) State, where he compiled a 192-89 (.683) record and led the Demons to three Southland Conference championships and two NCAA Regional appearances.
THIS IS ALABAMA BASEBALL: The Alabama baseball program is one of the most successful college programs in the United States. The 2009 season marks the 117th year of intercollegiate baseball and is the school's oldest sport. Alabama's first baseball game took place on July 1, 1892 as Coach Shelby Fletcher's team beat Sewanee, 6-3, at Lakeview Park in Birmingham. Alabama has compiled a 2,277-1,369-23 (.624) all-time record in 3,669 games on the diamond. The Crimson Tide became the 17th school in NCAA history to win 2,000 games with a 12-0 win over Winthrop on March 4, 2001. Alabama has won 25 conference baseball titles, including an SEC-leading 14 championships since 1933. The Tide has also won six SEC Tournament Championships, including five under coach Jim Wells. In SEC play, Alabama has posted a 831-646 (.562) all-time ledger in 1,477 league games. The Crimson Tide has also played in 19 NCAA Tournaments, winning six NCAA Regional Championships. Alabama has five College World Series appearances and has played in the national championship game in 1983 and 1997. The Crimson Tide also boasts an impressive professional baseball history sending well over 100 former players into the pro ranks. Alabama currently has seven Major League players, including Lance Cormier (RHP, Baltimore Orioles), Tommy Hunter (RHP, Texas Rangers), Wade LeBlanc (LHP, San Diego Padres), Andy Phillips (INF, Cincinnati Reds), Paul Phillips (C, Chicago White Sox), David Robertson (RHP, New York Yankees) and Taylor Tankersley (LHP, Florida Marlins). Two former members of the Crimson Tide baseball family have been enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Joe Sewell was inducted in 1977 and broadcaster Mel Allen, who spent 39 years as "The Voice of the Yankees", won the Ford Frick Award in 1978. He also narrated the popular 30-minute weekly television special "This Week in Baseball". In all UA has produced 11 First-Team All-Americans, 22 Second and Third-Team AA picks and 12 Freshmen All-American selections. A total of 72 players have been named First-Team All-SEC and another 78 have been named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll.
2009 ALABAMA BASEBALL OUTLOOK: The Alabama baseball team returns 19 lettermen and seven position starters off last year's club that posted a 35-28 overall record and played in the school's 19th NCAA Regional Tournament. Alabama returns eight players with 40 or more starts in 2008 and 12 players that started at least 15 games last season. The Crimson Tide also returns nine pitchers off last year's squad, including two weekend starters. The 35-man roster contains 10 seniors, 11 juniors, six sophomores and eight freshmen. The senior class consists of Vin DiFazio, Wes Henderson, Austin Hyatt, Casey Kebodeaux, Alex Kubal, Kent Matthes, Kyle Moore, Tyler Odle, Miers Quigley and Ryan Rhoden. Below is a brief breakdown of the Alabama hitters and pitchers.
ALABAMA HITTERS: The Crimson Tide returns nearly 70 percent of its offense from last year's squad, including 65.5 percent of its home runs, 71.2 percent of its RBI, 76.1 percent of its total hits and 77.5 percent of its runs scored ... Sophomore shortstop Josh Rutledge (Cullman, Ala.), junior infielder/outfielder Brandon May (Marietta, Ga.) and sophomore second baseman Ross Wilson (Hoover, Ala.) hit a collective .343 (267-for-778) last year with 21 home runs and 128 RBI ... The trio also contributed 182 runs scored, 38 doubles, six triples an 28 stolen bases ... Rutledge was a 2008 Freshman All-American after leading Alabama with a .369 (99-for-268) with 62 runs scored and 31 RBI ... It was the second-highest batting average in school history by an Alabama freshman ... David Magadan, who currently serves as the hitting instructor for the Boston Red Sox, hit a school-record .389 as a freshman in 1981 ... May was a First-Team All-SEC selection after a banner season in 2008 ... He hit .365 (92-for-262) with nine home runs and 50 RBI ... Rutledge and May led the Tide with 31 multi-hit games last season ... Wilson, the younger brother of Alabama senior quarterback John Parker Wilson, tied the UA freshman record with 15 home runs last year ... Wilson capped his remarkable freshman season by earning NCAA All-Regional Team honors at the Conway (S.C.) Regional, where he tied a UA record with two home runs in a post-season game ... Wilson hit .295 (76-for-258) with 15 home runs and 47 RBI as a freshman ... Senior outfielder Kent Matthes (Orlando, Fla.) had his best season for the Tide in 2008 ... He hit .303 (69-for-228) with 11 home runs and 52 RBI ... He was named to the 2008 SEC Good Works Team for his dedicated community service ... Junior third baseman Jake Smith (Shannon, Ala.) was named to the 2008 SEC All-Defensive Team after making just 10 errors (.945 fielding mark) in 181 chances at the "hot corner" last season ... Smith is also an offensive threat and hit .240 (52-for-217) with eight home runs and 34 RBI ... Senior center fielder Alex Kubal has earned the reputation as an excellent defensive outfielder ... His speed has also helped his offensive game as he hit .329 (48-for-146) last year with five home runs and 23 RBI. The Crimson Tide also returns veterans Vin DiFazio (C, Hampton, N.J.), Wes Henderson (1B, Oxford, Ala.), Kyle Moore (C, Wetumpka, Ala.), Tyler Odle (OF, Vestavia Hills, Ala.) and Ryan Rhoden (OF, Tuscaloosa). One newcomer who looks to make an immediate impact with the Tide this season is freshman outfielder Taylor Dugas (Lafayette, La.), who earned Louisville Slugger/Collegiate Baseball All-American honors as a prep senior. Dugas hit .519 with 19 home runs and 159 RBI in his four-year career at Teurlings Catholic High School.
ALABAMA PITCHERS: Alabama returns nine pitchers off last season's NCAA Regional squad and they account for almost 70 percent of the Tide's pitching numbers in 2008 ... The Tide returns 54.5 percent of its saves, 64.1 percent of its total appearances, 70.2 percent of its innings, 70.9 percent of its strikeouts and 71.1 percent of the team's wins ... The bulk of the experience comes from fifth-year seniors Austin Hyatt (RHP, Marietta, Ga.) and Casey Kebodeaux (RHP, Mandeville, La.), senior Miers Quigley (LHP, Roswell, Ga.) and junior Austin Graham (RHP, Hoover, Ala.) ... Those four pitchers are a combined 33-31 (.517) with a 4.95 ERA in 143 appearances (83 starts) for the Tide ... The quartet has logged more than 500 career innings and recorded more than 420 strikeouts ... Sophomore Nathan Kilcrease (RHP, Phenix City, Ala.) was 3-0 with a 3.27 ERA in 14 games last season ... He has the lowest ERA among the Tide's returning pitchers ... Graham led the staff in wins (6) and saves (4) in 24 appearances last season ... Junior Del Howell (LHP, Tuscaloosa, Ala.) and sophomore Jimmy Nelson (RHP, Niceville, Fla.) were among the top prospects in the Texas Collegiate League this summer ... Howell was the No. 1 prospect in the league, while Nelson was third ... Howell was 1-1 with a 6.65 ERA in seven games last year, but did record 24 strikeouts in 23 innings on the mound ... He is also a two-way player and will see action as an outfielder and designated hitter this week ... Howell had two home runs and 10 RBI in 17 games last year ... Nelson went 3-3 with a 6.26 ERA in 18 games last season and seemed to have more success in a relief role ... Alabama will also rely on a quartet of newcomers including junior Scott Hays, junior David Head, freshman Adam Morgan and junior Adam Scott this season on the mound ... Hays (LHP, Odessa College) went 7-3 with a 2.91 ERA in 13 games last season in junior college ... Head (LHP, Chattahoochee Valley CC) posted an 8-3 record and 2.83 ERA last season ... Morgan (LHP, Kell HS) was the biggest surprise on the pitching staff this fall for the Tide ... He was a member of four AAU national championship teams during his prep career ... Scott (RHP, Shelton State CC) pitched on two World Series teams during his JuCo career ... In 55 games, he posted a 13-5 record and 3.01 ERA with six saves for the Bucs.
1907 NEW ENGLAND TOUR: According to the Boston Herald, Alabama was the "first southern baseball team to invade New England." Dr. J.W.H. Pollard took the Crimson Tide up the eastern seaboard from May 26-June 19, 1907 for a nine-game tour against other collegiate teams in the New England area. Alabama posted a perfect 9-0 record on the tour, which included two wins over both Dartmouth and Brown and one win each against Fordham, Lehigh, Amherst, Tufts and Williams College. The team traveled 4,269 miles for the 23-day event.
1957 FAR EAST TOUR: Alabama compiled a 15-5 (.750) record on its 20-game Goodwill Far East Tour from June 25-August 6, 1957. The Crimson Tide outscored the opposition, 134-45 on the tour. Alabama played two games in Seoul, Korea, three games in Honolulu, Hawai'i, four games in Okinawa, Japan and 11 games in Tokyo, Japan mainly against U.S. Military bases and Japanese Universities. In addition, the Tide had eight other games rained out. Alabama's trip to the Far East was the third in three years for a U.S. collegiate baseball team. Southern California played a Far East Tour in 1955 and Ohio State played a similar schedule in 1956. The Tide also encountered some heartache along the way as 21 of the 24 members of the travel party were affected by an Asian flu siege that at one point on the trip sidelined Coach Campbell and limited UA's roster to just 12 healthy players. All-American Frank Roland played 11 games as an outfielder and pitcher and led the team with a .343 batting average. The Memphis, Tenn., native also collected two triples, three home runs and knocked in 17 runs for the Tide. He also posted a 3-1 record on the mound. First baseman Fred Frickie led the Tide with 23 RBI and 30 total bases. Pitcher Bobby Ledford went 5-1 on the mound and led UA 49 innings pitched and 48 strikeouts. He also paced the team with 20 runs scored on offense. The Escort Officer was First Lt. Jack Smalley, a Tuscaloosa native and former Alabama football star, who was stationed in the United States Air Force in Japan.
LATIN AMERICAN STADIUM: Alabama's three exhibition games will take place in historic Latin American Stadium (Estadio Latinoamericano) in Havana, Cuba. Latin American Stadium, a spacious pitchers' park with prevailing winds blowing in and boasting a playing surface and lighting system of major-league quality, was built in 1946 as the top baseball park in Latin America. It is located in the Cerro neighborhood, it opened with the name Estadio del Cerro and currently holds about 55,000 people. The stadium has served as home to the Havana Sugar Kings (International League, 1954-60) and spring training for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Jackie Robinson (1947) and Pittsburgh Pirates (1953). In 1999, it also hosted an exhibition series between the Cuban National Team and the Baltimore Orioles.
