Jan. 21, 2010
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Former All-Americans and current major-league players David Murphy and Kelly Shoppach highlight the Baylor Baseball All-Decade Team.
To say that this was a decade to remember for Baylor baseball would be a huge understatement. The Bears made their first World Series appearance in 27 years, two Super Regionals and eight NCAA Regionals, won two Big 12 Conference championships, made it to three Big 12 Tournament finals and posted an overall record of 372-250 (.598 winning percentage).
The decade opened with an undisputed Big 12 championship in 2000 and closed with an unforgettable 3-2, 10-inning loss to No. 2 LSU in the 2009 Baton Rouge Regional. A first-team All-American in 2003, when he hit .413 with 11 homers and 67 RBIs, Murphy was a first-round pick by the Boston Red Sox and is entering his third year with the Texas Rangers.
Shoppach, the inaugural winner of the Johnny Bench Award as the nation's top collegiate catcher and first-team All-American in 2000, signed a two-year, $5.5 million deal with the Tampa Bay Rays earlier this month after stints with the Red Sox and Cleveland Indians.
(I want to personally thank former media relations assistant director Larry Little, who handled home scorekeeping duties throughout most of the decade, for his help in selecting the team. Actually, other than one player, this was the team that Larry picked. And in his defense and mine, I won't tell you which player it was.)
Here are the capsule bios for the 2000-09 Baylor All-Decade Baseball Team:
C Kelly Shoppach (1999-2001): Unanimous 1st-team All-American and Big 12 Conference Player of the Year in 2001, when he hit .397 with 12 homers, 69 RBIs; also inaugural winner of Johnny Bench Award as nation's top collegiate catcher and Easton Defensive Player of the Year; 2nd-round pick by Boston Red Sox in '01. Career: .333, 39 doubles, 26 homers, 121 RBIs, .576 slugging percentage
1B Mike Huggins (2000-02): 1st-team All-Big 12 and All-Region in '02, when he hit .338 with 10 homers, 62 RBIs and .579 slugging percentage; also named to All-Tournament team at Austin Regional; started 169 games as 3-year starter at 1B; ranks 3rd in Big 12 career doubles with 29; 13th-round pick by Baltimore in '02. Career: .319, 50 doubles, 17 homers, 133 RBIs
2B Michael Griffin (2002-05): Versatile player who started at 3B, 1B and left field. . . . 1st-team All-Big 12 in '03, when he hit .350 with 11 homers and team-high 76 RBIs. . . . made region All-Tournament teams in '03 and '05; No. 1 all-time in games (259) and at-bats (1,076) and No. 2 in hits (329), doubles (66) and RBIs (200); 14th-round pick by Cincinnati in '05. Career: .306, 66 doubles, 14 triples, 35 homers, 200 RBIs
3B Matt Williams (2000-01): Four-year starter who played both 3B and 1B; 2nd-team All-Big 12 in 2001, when he hit .280 with 13 homers, 45 RBIs; as sophomore, hit .318 with 19 homers, 67 RBIs and .623 slugging percentage; set school records for hits by pitch for season (23 in 2000) and career (47) and ranks 2nd in homers (43), 5th in doubles (59) and 4th in RBIs (179); 15th-round pick by St. Louis in 2001. Career: .291, 43 homers, 179 RBIs, .528 slugging percentage
SS Beamer Weems (2006-08): Unanimous 1st-team All-Big 12 in '07, when he hit .321 with nine homers and 59 RBIs; 2nd-team All-Big 12 and Freshman All-American by Collegiate Baseball in '06, when he hit .297 overall and .323 in Big 12 play; made NCAA regional and Big 12 All-Tournament teams as freshman and sophomore; team MVP in '07 and '08; 8th-round pick by San Diego in '08. Career: .296, 41 doubles, 12 triples, 24 homers, 136 RBIs
OF Chris Durbin (2000-03): 3rd-team All-American by Baseball America in '03, when he hit .346 with 18 homers and 50 RBIs; 1st-team All-Big 12 in 2001 and '03; 2nd-team All-Big 12 in '02; ranks 1st in career doubles (79), 5th in career batting average (.345) and 4th in career Big 12 batting average (.356). Career: .345, 79 doubles, 41 homers, 169 RBIs, 31 stolen bases
OF David Murphy (2001-03): 1st-team All-American and All-Big 12 pick in '03, when he hit .413 with 11 homers and 67 RBIs; also named to Big 12 All-Tournament team and Most Outstanding Player at 2003 NCAA Hattiesburg Regional; 3rd in career batting average (.346) and sixth-best single-season batting average in school history (.413); 17th pick overall by Boston Red Sox in '03. Career: .346, 44 doubles, 22 homers, 142 RBIs, .544 slugging percentage
OF Aaron Miller (2007-09): As junior, became Baylor's best two-way player since national Player of the Year Jason Jennings; 2nd-team All-Big 12 pick as utility player, he hit .310 with 12 homers, 47 RBIs and was 3-3 with two saves and a 5.12 ERA in 13 appearances; named Most Outstanding Player at QTI Baylor Classic in '09 and '08, when he tied a school record with 3 homers against Illinois; 1st-round pick by LA Dodgers in '09. Career: .301, 38 doubles, 37 homers, 127 RBIs, .544 slugging percentage
DH Josh Ford (2002-05): 2nd-team All-Region as DH in '04 and catcher in '05, when he hit .328 with nine homers and 41 RBIs; consensus 1st-team All-Big 12 catcher in '05; Johnny Bench Award semifinalist as sophomore in '03; Big 12 All-Tournament team in '03; ranks in top 10 in most of Baylor's career offensive categories, including sixth in hits (269), homers (37) and RBIs (169); 9th-round pick by Arizona in '05. Career: .305, 52 doubles, 37 homers, 169 RBIs
Utility Zach Dillon (2003-06): 1st-team All-Big 12 as DH in '05 and as catcher in '06, when he hit .364 with 47 RBIs and a school-record .496 on-base percentage; 1st-team Academic All-American; ranks 2nd in career Big 12 batting average (.360) and 1st in Big 12 on-base percentage for career (.454) and season (.504 in '06); Waco Regional All-Tournament in '05; 20th-round pick by Baltimore in '06. Career: .307, 42 doubles, 9 homers, 124 RBIs, .413 on-base percentage
P Steven White (2000-03): 1st-team All-Big 12 and All-Region in '01, when he was 10-3 with a 3.49 ERA and three complete games; 2nd-team All-Big 12 in '03; Big 12 All-Tournament in '03; still holds career records for starts (59) and Big 12 starts (28) for a pitcher and tied career mark for wins with 28; 4th-round pick by New York Yankees in '03. Career: 28-14, 4.28 ERA, 368.1 innings, 320 strikeouts
P Mark McCormick (2003-05): 1st-team All-Big 12 and 2nd-team All-Region in '05, when he was 8-4 with a 2.96 ERA and 115 strikeouts; also set school single-season record that year with 20 starts; Big 12 All-Tournament team in '03; ranked 2nd in the league and set a school record, holding Big 12 opponents to a .170 batting average; 1st-round pick by St. Louis in '05. Career: 16-10, 3.99 ERA, 223.0 innings, 223 strikeouts
P Justin Taylor (1999-2002): 1st-team All-Big 12 and 2nd-team All-Region in '02, when he was 9-2 with a 3.82 ERA and 85 strikeouts; 2nd-team All-Big 12 in '01, when he was 8-2 with a sparkling 2.86 ERA; ranks 4th all-time in career wins (26), winning percentage (26-8, .765) and Big 12 career ERA (3.78). Career: 26-8, 3.68 ERA, 298.2 innings, 229 strikeouts
P Chad Hawkins (1999-2000): Ace for 2000 Big 12 Conference champions in 2000, when he was named 1st-team All-American by The Sporting News and Big 12 Conference Pitcher of the Year; 11-5 with a 1.82 ERA, led Big 12 and ranked 3rd nationally; named to Big 12 All-Tournament team in 1999; 1st-round pick by Texas Rangers in 2000. Career: 18-8, 2.85 ERA, 214 strikeouts
RP Ryan LaMotta (2003-06): 1st-team All-Big 12 reliever in '05, when he was 5-2 with seven saves and a 2.15 ERA; threw 17 consecutive scoreless innings in postseason play before giving up a run to Texas in 1st round of '05 College World Series; Regional All-Tournament teams at Hattiesburg in '03 and Houston in '06; tied school record with 111 appearances and ranks in top 10 in career wins (21) and saves (13). Career: 21-16, 3.30 ERA, 13 saves, 316.1 innings, 259 strikeouts
RP Abe Woody (2003-05): Freshman All-American in '03, when he was 6-0 with three saves and a .208 opponent batting average; 1st-team All-Big 12 by Austin American-Statesman as a junior in '05, when he was 10-3 with 11 saves and a 2.58 ERA; ranks 1st all-time with 21 relief wins, 2nd in winning percentage (21-4, .840) and 3rd in career saves (19). Career: 21-4, 3.20 ERA, 171.1 innings, 120 strikeouts, .213 opponent batting average
RP Zane Carlson (2000-04): National Freshman of the Year by Collegiate Baseball and 1st-team Freshman All-American by Baseball America; 3rd-team All-American by Collegiate Baseball in 2000; Big 12 Conference Freshman of the Year and 1st-team All-Big 12 in 2000, when he had school-record 15 saves; 2nd-team All-Big 12 in '03; Big 12 All-Tournament in '03; also set career records with 37 overall and 17 in Big 12 games. Career: 9-16, 3.71 ERA, 37 saves, 225 strikeouts
