University Southern California Trojans
Baseball Players Kept Playing Through Summer
June 21, 1999 | Baseball
October 12, 1998
Within days of winning the school's 12th national championship, members of the USC baseball team scattered across the country, leaving the Trojans without much time to celebrate their accomplishment.
Some players signed professional contracts and went into the minor leagues, some players left to play summer ball, some joined up with the USA National Team and some just took the summer off. For Coach Mike Gillespie, it was a hectic time as he got back into his office.
"I would presume that I received more than 300 letters and more than 200 phone calls," he said. "I couldn't have anticipated how many people wanted to express their thoughts. It was overwhelming. I tried to respond to everyone but probably failed. There's probably still a few sitting here on my desk."
Gillespie, and what Trojans remained in Los Angeles, were recognized several times after winning the championship. "I would say that the receptions both at the airport and in Heritage Hall, as well as the opportunity to be honored at Dodger Stadium and Edison Field were really great thrills," he said.
Not all of the players were around for those celebrations, however. Here's what some of them did last summer:
USC had 11 players taken in the June professional draft, more than any other school. Ten of those players signed professional contracts. Most of them were assigned to Rookie leagues to begin with.
One exception was Seth Etherton, the righthanded pitcher who earned The Sporting News' Player of the Year honors and was a first-round pick by the Anaheim Angels. After taking some time off, he signed with the Angels in early July and was sent to Midland, Tex., in the Class AA Texas League.
"It was a long year at USC and it was the most I had thrown in my career," Etherton said. "I rested for a while to let my body heal. When we began negotiations, their initial offer was very fair. We made a counter-offer, and the next thing you know, within a couple of days the deal was done and everyone was happy."
Moving to Texas during the hottest part of the year was a trying experience for Etherton.
"If the temperature was below 100 degrees at game time, that's a nice day," he said. "At 7 p.m., when we played, it was still around 102 degrees. It was a much different atmosphere.
"The main thing was adjusting to all the time off. I'd wake up around 11 or 12, head over to the gym for an hour, then come back. You wouldn't want to be outside much because of the heat. So you'd watch TV until 3:30 or so and then go to the park."
The competition that Etherton faced in the minors was at an entirely new level.
"I struggled some but that might have been expected," he said. "I hadn't pitched in a while. I was facing guys who had played in the majors. Every guy there had something special about him. But I was really pleased just to be getting the experience, and now I'll be ready for next year."
Etherton's fellow All-American first teamer, righthanded pitcher Jack Krawczyk, a draftee of the Milwaukee Brewers, went to Helena, Mont., of the Rookie-class Pioneer League, then was promoted to Beloit, Wis., and the Class A Midwest League.
Unable to take any time off, he signed with the Brewers almost immediately and was pitching in Helena a little more than a week after USC won the championship.
"It was a huge culture shock going from the big city to a couple of small towns with nothing to do," Krawczyk said. "The only thing to do there is play baseball, but that's why we signed up. "It wasn't exactly what I expected. It was an eye-opener. You really have to put your time in before you're anybody there."
One surprise for Krawczyk was that he was asked to start a few games. In his career at USC, he pitched in 114 games -- all in relief.
"The manager took me into his office and I thought he was either going to move me up, move me down or cut me," Krawczyk said. "He said, 'Jack, we need someone to start and we've selected you. What do you think?' I said OK, and my line my first start was 5 2/3 innings, one hit (a bunt single), eight strikeouts, one walk and no runs."
Seven others who were drafted and went into the minors all went into Rookie leagues. Morgan Ensberg (Auburn, N.Y./Astros), Wes Rachels (Batavia, N.Y./Phillies) and Jason Saenz (Pittsfield, Mass./Mets) went into the New York-Penn League, Jeremy Freitas (Spokane, Wash./Royals) and Robb Gorr (Yakima, Wash./Dodgers) went to the Northwest League, Mike Penney (Helena, Mont./Brewers) went to the Pioneer League and Jeff DePippo (Burlington, N.C./Indians) went to the Appalachian League. Craig Jones, who was drafted by the Royals, signed late in the summer and will begin his career in the spring.
Two Trojans who will be returning for the 1999 season changed one letter on their jersey for the summer. Instead of playing for USC, junior catcher Eric Munson and sophomore shortstop Seth Davidson represented their country with the USA National Team.
Right after USC won the championship, Davidson left for Tucson, Ariz., and the USA Baseball training camp. Munson, who had missed 16 games during USC's season with a stress fracture in his right foot, took a month off to allow it to heal before joining the national team.
"I needed to take some time to let my foot heal," said Munson, who also played for the national team in the summer of 1997. "When I first told them about it, they said they could call me after their first trip, and that if it had healed, they would love to have me. They were pretty flexible, so I felt pretty good about it."
Davidson also missed much of the camp, which was brought together prior to the beginning of the College World Series. But that didn't stop him from making the team.
"They actually recorded the meetings that I and a couple of other guys missed, so they had us sit down and watch these movies, game plans, stuff like that," Davidson said. "Coming in that late I didn't know if I had that much of a chance, but I made the best of it."
Unfortunately, the U.S. team didn't have much success at the World Championships in Italy, placing ninth and missing out on the medal round. But Munson (who batted .300 in 17 games) and Davidson (who batted .288 in 29 games) still had a great experience.
"I never really got into a groove after sitting out so long," Munson said. "I felt really off-balance after not seeing live pitching for a month. "But like last summer, this was a lot of fun. It was an honor to play for this team and to have a chance to do these things. To go to Italy and see the Colosseum, the Sistine Chapel and the Vatican was amazing."
Said Davidson: "It was really a privilege to look down and see the 'USA' on your chest and to know that you're playing for something even bigger than the Trojans. The competition was really good."
Several other returning Trojans honed their skills in the many summer leagues scattered around the country. Among this group was senior outfielder/pitcher Jason Lane, who starred at the College World Series and set CWS records for hits (15) and total bases (31). He played for the Hyannis Mets in the prestigious Cape Cod League in New England.
"The competition was really good out there," Lane said. "It was really top of the line. We played with wood bats, so that made hitting a lot tougher. Getting two hits in a game was like going 4-for-4 with an aluminum bat. But pitching was easier because you could challenge them and make mistakes and guys weren't hitting them out."
When he wasn't playing, Lane (who lived with a host family), worked at some baseball camps for kids and did some sightseeing in Massachusetts.
"It was really a positive experience," he said. "I got to see a new part of the country and play some really good baseball."
Other Trojans who played in the Cape Cod League were sophomore pitcher Rik Currier (who made the midseason All-Star team), sophomore pitcher Tanner Eriksen, sophomore pitcher Ronald Flores, junior third baseman Justin Gemoll (a transfer from UC Santa Barbara) and sophomore pitcher Steven Smyth (a transfer from Cypress College).
Despite all of the different experiences the USC players had over the summer, they all agreed on one thing: they couldn't properly enjoy the national championship until they had a chance to stop and relax and think about it.
"So many things happened that it never really sunk in until now that I'm back at school," Etherton said. "It's hard to put into words because of the significance of it all. It all happened so perfectly. I couldn't ask for a better way to end my career at USC and a better way to start my career with the Angels. It was a storybook ending."
Said Davidson: "It was tough because we won the national championship and then I had to go try and make the USA team, and it didn't matter what I had just won because I had to start over again and work my way up. I couldn't really think about it because I didn't want to get a big head about it, plus I was playing with guys we had just beat and I was trying to become friends with them. Once I finally got home and people said, 'I saw you on television,' then I finally said, 'Wow, I can't believe it.' "
Said Munson: "Only now that I can sit back and watch the games on tape and talk to people, does it sink in that it was a pretty big deal. After we won the regional we were just so happy to get to Omaha. What we did, coming out of the losers' bracket, was pretty amazing. It was a great accomplishment. I can't wait to get a ring!"
