One ultimate decision by one school may turn out to be a blessing for some of the other schools in the state.
In a heart-wrenching twist, the California Golden Bears will not be strapping on the spikes and hitting the diamond after this season. The school announced today the 118-year-old baseball team will be eliminated at the end of this academic year. According to the Oakland Tribune, the team failed to raise the $8 million required to save the program.
It’s a sad day if you are a Cal fan, but you have to ask the question… Where are all these players going to go?
Cal Poly? I bet head coach Larry Lee certainly hopes so.
The Mustangs have been on the rise the past couple of years — not including last year’s 23-32 season. Two seasons ago, the Mustangs went 37-21 en route to the program’s first ever NCAA Regional bid. And with hopes of repeating that success, a few of the right Pac-10 recruits could turn Cal Poly from a Big West contender to one of the better programs in the state.
Which is all the more reason you could see Lee do his best to get some Cal baseball players to head south and put on the green and gold.
It’s like the case of wrestler Barret Abel. After a shocking decision by the UC Davis athletics department to cut its wrestling program, Abel was left in limbo for what should have been his senior season with the Aggies. And in the midst of thousands of calls from different coaches, the former Pac-10 champ turned to his rival, and came to Cal Poly.
While the Golden Bears and the Mustangs don’t share the same type of connection, it certainly could happen with these baseball players.
Cal currently has 32 California-bred players on its roster, with 21 being underclassmen. Most should be looking for schools to continue their careers with, once this final season is over.
I mean, it is somewhat of a long shot, but you can’t help but wonder.