Induction Weekend

Congratulations to former Michigan Wolverine All American Barry Larkin on his well deserved induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

1974 Topps Horizontal template here

Leaders and Best.

Jason Castro double play

I took this one at the 2008 College World Series.

I took this one in Round Rock in 2010 before he was called up to the Astros.

I had hoped that I would be able to complete the Jason Castro "triple play" this season when I go to Houston to shoot the Astros, but thanks to a serious knee injury this spring, I will have to wait for 2012.

College All American: Gerrit Cole

If for some reason Anthony Rendon is not the Pirates #1 pick in the upcoming MLB draft, Pittsburgh will likely pick UCLA pitcher Gerrit Cole.

Cole was the New York Yankees #1 pick in 2008 out of high school, and they were willing to pay in excess of $4M to sign him, but he never even negotiated, instead he went to UCLA instead.

In his freshman year (2009), Cole recorded a pedestrian 4-8 record with a 3.49 ERA, collecting 104 strikeouts in 85 innings. During his sophomore season (2010), he was a key member of the best Bruin baseball team (51-17 record) in school history. His team went on to play in the 2010 College World Series where they were defeated by South Carolina in the finals. Cole went 11-4 with a 3.37 ERA, collecting 153 strikeouts in 123.0 innings.

College All American: Anthony Rendon

Rice's All Everything 3B Anthony Rendon is expected by almost everyone to be the #1 overall pick by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the upcoming MLB draft. In 2009 he was named National Freshman of the Year and in 2010 he was awarded the Dick Howser Award and the Baseball America National Player of the year. According the prodraftcentral.com:

Anyone who’s seen Rendon play has witnessed a complete player, one of the best hitters to come along in nearly a decade, and a Gold Glove caliber third-baseman.

With a sad recent history of bad draft picks, the pressure is on the Pirates. The last time the Pirates had the #1 overall pick was in 1996 -- when they selected a right handed pitcher from Clemson named Kris Benson. That did not work out so well for the Buccos. He spent 5 years with them in the majors before going onto the Mets, Orioles, Rangers, and D-Backs. His career was highlighted by mediocre performances and the antics of his outrageous wife. He retired with a 70-75 record and a career ERA of 4.42.

College All American: Huston Street

The current Colorado Rockies closer burst onto the baseball scene in 2002 as a Texas freshman when he was named the Most Outstanding Player of the College World Series. That season he was also named an all-american.

During his three years playing for the Longhorns, he led them on three trips to Omaha and was named to at least one all-american team each season. In 2010, Street was named to the NCAA College World Series Legends Team.

He was a first round pick of the Athletics in 2004 and spent a few months in the minors before he was called up to Oakland. In 2005 Huston became the A's closer when Octavio Dotel went down in May with an elbow injury. Street saved 23 games in 27 chances with a 1.72 ERA. Only Mariano Rivera's 1.38 ERA for the Yankees was better among American League relievers. Street had 72 strikeouts in 78 1/3 innings pitched, and opposing hitters batted only .194 against him. He was rewarded for his effort by being named Rookie of the Year.

College All American: Matt Wieters

Before he became the starting catcher for the Baltimore Orioles, Matt Wieters was a two-way star for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.

Wieters played catcher for three seasons and also served as their primary closer for most of his college career. He finished his Georgia Tech career with a .359 batting average, 253 hits, 35 home runs and and 418 total bases. He also delivered 16 saves.

Wieters was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles with the 5th overall pick of the 2007 amateur draft.

College All American: Buster Posey

The current National League Rookie of the year started his college career at Florida State as a shortstop. He played there his entire freshman year and was named a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American. He switched to catcher for his sophomore year and was a finalist for the Johnny Bench Award the first season of playing the position.

In 2008, as a junior, he hit .463 with 26 home runs and 93 RBIs, won the Johnny Bench Award, The Dick Howser Trophy, the Golden Spikes Award, and was named the Collegiate Baseball Player of the Year.

In the 2008 MLB Draft he was drafted 5th overall by the San Francisco Giants.

College All American: Gordon Beckham

I am going to be posting a couple of these today. Let's start with current White Sox infielder Gordon Beckham.

In 2008, as a Junior at the University of Georgia he was the only unanimous selection to the All-SEC First Team and was selected as the SEC Player of the Year. He hit a ridiculous .411 with an eye-popping OPS of 1323. He led the NCAA in home runs that year while setting his school's single season home run record (26). He finished college with 53 home runs, the most ever by a Bulldog player. His team lost in the finals of the "all bulldog" College World Series to a cinderella story Fresno State team.

He was the 8th overall pick in the 2008 MLB draft.

College All American: Jackie Bradley Jr.

In the spring and early summer, I photograph a lot of NCAA baseball. I have been trying to come up with a creative way to start featuring some of my own baseball images here. This idea is to utilize the popular 1971 Topps template with some of the great college baseball players I have shot over the years.

My initial attempt at this "College All American" series is South Carolina's Jackie Bradley Jr. Anyone who watched the College World Series last summer knows that Jackie is a special player. He led the Gamecocks to the NCAA title and took home the Most Outstanding Player award for the 2010 CWS. He is projected as a first round draft pick in the upcoming MLB draft.