2014BB Pages 2-61.Indd
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
CCOACHINGOACHING SSTAFFTAFF Savage is one of eight head coaches in the history of college baseball to have led his team to a College World Series, produced a No. 1 overall MLB Draft selection and coached a Golden Spikes Award winner. Savage JJOHNOHN is joined in that illustrious circle by former head coaches Skip Bertman (LSU) and Jim Brock (Arizona State) 2222 and current head coaches Tim Corbin (Vanderbilt), Augie Garrido (Cal State Fullerton, now at Texas), Jack SAVAGE Leggett (Clemson), Mike Martin (Florida State) and Jim Morris (Miami). In 2011, the Bruins captured their first outright Pac-10 Conference title since 1986. After hosting an NCAA Regional at Jackie Robinson Stadium, top right-handed pitchers Gerrit Cole and Trevor Bauer were selected RRecordecord aatt UUCLA:CLA: 3324-22424-224 ((99 sseasons)easons) No. 1 and No. 3, respectively, in the first round of the 2011 MLB Draft. No college program had seen two of OOverallverall RRecord:ecord: 4412-308-112-308-1 ((1212 sseasons)easons) its players selected within the draft’s first three selections since 1978 (Arizona State). In July 2011, Bauer became UCLA’s first-ever Golden Spikes Award winner, earning a coveted award presented Through nine seasons as UCLA’s head coach, John Savage has established the Bruins as a national annually by the USA Baseball Federation to the nation’s premier amateur player. Additionally, Bauer became championship contender. He has guided UCLA to the postseason in seven of the last eight seasons, leading the first player in school history to earn National Player of the Year honors from either Baseball America the Bruins to the 2013 NCAA Championship. The Bruins’ skipper has also coached the Bruins to College or Collegiate Baseball. World Series appearances in three of the last four years, and the College World Series Finals in two of the Savage helped UCLA’s 2011 pitching staff post the last four (2010 and 2013). Savage’s players have also succeeded in the professional ranks, as 65 Bruins in nation’s third-lowest ERA (2.44), the lowest mark on the last nine seasons have been selected in the MLB Draft. record in school history. Likewise, the Bruins’ staff UCLA enjoyed a banner season in 2013 under Savage, winning the program’s first national championship. The finished the year second, nationally, in strikeouts per Bruins went a perfect 10-0 in the postseason, posting a 4-0 record against national seeds in the tournament nine innings (9.8) and hits allowed per nine innings while eliminating two of them (No. 5 Cal State Fullerton, No. 1 North Carolina). During the Bruins’ postseason (6.61). In 2010, UCLA logged the nation’s second- run, Savage became UCLA’s all-time leader in postseason wins, posting his 27th postseason win in UCLA’s lowest ERA (3.00). That year, the Bruins’ 3-0 win over Cal State Fullerton on June 8 to pass Gary Adams. Savage now has a record of 32-14 in the staff ranked first in the country in strikeouts postseason as UCLA’s head coach. per nine innings (10.2) and second in hits allowed per nine innings (7.31). At the College World Series, the Bruins’ pitching staff only allowed four runs over five CWS games. In the 67-year-history of the College World Series, only one national champion gave up fewer runs than UCLA, as In 2010, Savage helped lead UCLA to its most California allowed three in 1957. The Bruins were also the first team in CWS history to allow one run or less successful season in school history while the Bruins in each of the five games they played. played the nation’s most challenging schedule, as ranked by Boyd’s World. UCLA set the school record By leading the Bruins to their second straight College World Series in 2013, Savage has become of one just for single-season wins (51) and most wins during the 10 coaches all-time from the Pac-12 to lead their teams to back-to-back College World Series appearances regular season (43) while landing their first-ever (Frank Sancet, Jerry Kindall - Arizona; Bobby Winkles, Jim Brock - Arizona State; Pat Casey - Oregon State; national seed (No. 6-seed) in the NCAA Mark Marquess - Stanford; Sam Barry, Rod Dedeaux, Mike Gillespie - USC). Tournament. During the Bruins’ run Savage guided the Bruins to a 49-17 overall record in 2013, marking the second-highest single-season win through the College World total in school history. UCLA also matched a school record with 21 conference victories, finishing third in the Pac-12. The Bruins have finished in the top three in the Pac-12 Conference in each of the last eight seasons, the only Pac-12 team to do so. Additionally, Savage coached pitcher David Berg and infielder Pat Valaika to Pac-12 Pitcher and Defensive Player of the Year honors respectively. Berg became the first reliever in the history of the conference to win Pitcher of the Year honors while Valaika became the first UCLA player to win Defensive Player of the Year. Under Savage’s tutelage, pitchers Adam Plutko and Nick Vander Tuig earned All-Pac-12 honors in 2013 and became the winningest pitching tandem in school history, combining for 56 wins in their three-year careers. Overall, Savage coached a pitching staff that posted a 2.55 ERA and held opponents to a .222 batting average, both the second-lowest marks in the Pac-12. UCLA’s pitchers also allowed the fewest runs in the conference (196) and held opponents to two runs or fewer in half of the Bruins’ games (33 out of 66). Savage also reached a couple of coaching benchmarks in 2013, winning his 300th game at UCLA in the Bruins’ 1-0 victory at Oregon on April 20 and his 400th career game in UCLA’s 5-2 win at USC on May 19. Since 2010, Savage’s teams have won 183 of 257 games played, giving UCLA’s coach a winning percentage of .712. Finally, Savage capped off the 2013 season by being named the National Coach of the Year by Collegiate Baseball, Baseball America, the ABCA and Perfect Game USA. He also saw seven of his players get selected in the 2013 MLB Draft and four be named to the All-Pac-12 team. In 2012, Savage helped UCLA posted a 48-16 mark, culminating in the program’s fourth appearance in the College World Series. UCLA won the Pac-12 co-championship (tied with Arizona), marking the first time in school history that the Bruins had won back-to-back conference titles. UCLA finished with at least 48 wins for the second time in three seasons, and reached the 40-win plateau for the eighth time in school history. In addition, UCLA’s 2012 ballclub hosted the NCAA Los Angeles Super Regional for the second time in three seasons and the NCAA Los Angeles Regional for the third consecutive season. Spearheaded by hitting coach Rex Peters, UCLA raised its batting average by 41 points in 2012. Over the past four seasons, Savage has led UCLA to remarkable heights. In 2012, the Bruins earned the NCAA Tournament’s No. 2 national seed, swept an NCAA Regional at home, and won two games against TCU in the NCAA Los Angeles Super Regional. UCLA won the Pac-12 co-championship in 2012 by winning eight of its final nine Pac-12 games, including a three-game sweep of crosstown rival USC during the final weekend of the regular season. At season’s end, seven players were selected within the first 15 rounds of the MLB Draft. Six Bruins captured All-Pac-12 Team honors, the highest number of selections at UCLA since 1997. Savage’s Year-by-Year Head Coaching Record Year School Record Pct. Conf. Pct. Postseason 2013 UCLA 49-17 .742 21-9 .700 NCAA Champions 2012 UCLA 48-16 .750 20-10 .667 College World Series (Pac-12 Co-Champions) 2011 UCLA 35-24 .593 18-9 .667 Los Angeles Regional (Pac-10 Champions) 2010 UCLA 51-17 .750 18-9 .667 College World Series runner-up 2009 UCLA 27-29 .482 15-12 .555 2008 UCLA 33-27 .550 13-11 .542 Fullerton Regional 2007 UCLA 33-28 .541 14-10 .583 Fullerton Super Regional 2006 UCLA 33-25 .560 13-10 .565 Malibu Regional 2005 UCLA 15-41 .260 4-20 .167 2004 UC Irvine 34-23-1 .595 10-11 .476 Midwest Regional 2003 UC Irvine 21-35 .375 8-13 .381 2002 UC Irvine 33-26 .559 14-10 .583 Career 12 years 412-308-1 .572 168-134 .556 1 title, 3 CWS, 4 Super Reg., 8 Reg. UCLA 9 years 324-224 .591 136-100 .576 1 title, 3 CWS, 4 Super Reg., 7 Reg. UC Irvine 3 years 88-84-1 .509 32-34 .485 1 Regional Savage’s Year-by-Year Assistant Coaching Record Year School Record Pct. Conf. Pct. Postseason 2000 USC 44-20 .688 16-8 .667 College World Series 1999 USC 36-26 .581 17-7 .708 West Super Regional 1998 USC 49-17 .742 21-9 .700 NCAA Champions 1997 USC 42-20 .677 17-13 .567 South II Regional Final 1996 Nevada 30-19 .612 8-13 .381 1995 Nevada 35-18 .660 12-9 .571 1994 Nevada 41-15 .732 16-5 .761 Midwest Regional (Big West Champions) 1993 Nevada 28-19-1 .615 7-14 .333 1992* Nevada 43-11-1 .791 ---- ---- Totals 9 years 348-165-2 .677 114-78 .594 1 NCAA Championship 2 Super Regionals, 5 Regionals *Nevada maintained an independent affiliation in 1992.