Georgia Tech closer than ever

March 30, 1994 | Baseball Weekly | By Rick Lawes

 

Georgia Tech job opens up after longtime Yellow Jackets skipper Jim Morris heads to Miami. But it isn't as if your rebuilding talents are needed: At the heart of your new team are catcher Jason Varitek, who turned down the Minnesota Twins after they picked him in the first round last June, and shortstop Nomar Garciaparra, who could be a first-rounder this June and probably will be the first middle infielder taken.

But this Georgia Tech team is more than Varitek and Garciaparra; in fact, Morris said before heading to Miami that this was his best team ever.

The Yellow Jackets have a 19-4 record and a No. 3 ranking. If they make the trip to Omaha in June, Hall would be the first coach to reach the College World Series in his first season in charge of a new team.

"It's been fun," Hall said. "The best thing about these guys is not only their tremendous talent but that they work hard, they really compete." Though the team has depth, the two Olympians are still at the center of any hopes Georgia Tech has of going to Omaha. In 11 seasons at the helm, Morris came close, but was never quite able to take the school on its first-ever trip to the CWS. Eight consecutive years, Georgia Tech advanced to the regionals. Twice it hosted the tournament, including last year. Once, in 1986, the Rambling Wreck got as far as the regional final before losing to Miami 15-9. Last season, Tech was ranked No. 1 as late as two weeks prior to the regional, yet went out at home with a 5-4 loss to eventual national runner-up Wichita State. "We had high hopes, playing at home in a regional," Garciaparra said. "We were really disappointed not to do it, but I think this year we're on a mission. We've got all the talent in the world."

The return of Varitek was a major surprise. Drafted 21st overall by the Twins, he was the first catcher selected after hitting .404 with 22 homers and 72 RBI in his junior year. The major league club offered a contract reportedly worth $450,000; Varitek's family countered with a request closer to the $625,000 that fellow Olympic team catcher Charles Johnson reportedly got from the Marlins a year earlier. Both sides essentially stopped talking, and by August, Varitek went off to play in Cape Cod. On Sept. 22, he returned for his senior season. "I have to let all that fade away. If I don't do that, it might really start to mess with what I'm trying to do for this team," Varitek said. "What's going to happen with the draft is going to happen in June, and there's nothing I can do about it."

Varitek has found the going a little tougher this season, though he's still hitting .365. Through the Jackets' first 23 games, he walked 31 times - five intentionally, as most teams won't give him a chance to beat them. "I'm working hard to get comfortable but I'm still trying to find the comfort zone," Varitek said.

Yet for all the attention the senior backstop has brought, he points to junior Garciaparra as the key to Tech's fortunes. The 6-0 shortstop was only a freshman when he tried out for the 1992 Olympic team without being named to the 40-man trials squad. One of 10 walk-ons to make the trials, Garciaparra was the only one still around when the team headed to Barcelona. "Our strength is our defense. If we play tough defense, we have a chance," said Varitek. "But when you have someone like Nomar in the middle playing the way he's been playing, it's incredible. great arm, you're almost like, surprised, when he makes an error."

Last year, Garciaparra made 19 errors in 49 games in an injury-plagued season. This season, he's committed just three in 116 chances. "I think (the Olympic experience) really helped me as far as my maturity and showing me what I had to play at a higher level," Garciaparra said. "I saw what I had to do to play at the college level (that spring) and then to play at the Olympic level." Garciaparra's bat is also impressive. He leads the Yellow Jackets with a .459 average, with four homers and 19 extra-base hits among his 45 hits. He had a streak of 35 consecutive steals snapped in a win against Minnesota earlier this season. Garciaparra was a fifth-round pick of the Brewers out of high school. That's almost certain to go higher this June. "I made the right choice. (College) has really given me more preparation; I don't know if I was ready for (pro ball)," Garciaparra said. "Omaha - that would be the capper."