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FSU Baseball: 3 things that need to improve in 2019

By Kelvin Hunt

Omaha, NE - JUNE 23: A general view of a bag of baseballs before the start of the game between the Virginia Cavaliers and the Vanderbilt Commodores during game two of the College World Series Championship Series on June 23, 2015 at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Nebraska. (Photo by Peter Aiken/Getty Images) Omaha, NE - JUNE 23: A general view of the away jersey of the Vanderbilt Commodores and the home jersey of the Virginia Cavaliers before the start of game two of the College World Series Championship Series on June 23, 2015 at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Nebraska. (Photo by Peter Aiken/Getty Images)
Omaha, NE - JUNE 23: A general view of a bag of baseballs before the start of the game between the Virginia Cavaliers and the Vanderbilt Commodores during game two of the College World Series Championship Series on June 23, 2015 at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Nebraska. (Photo by Peter Aiken/Getty Images) Omaha, NE - JUNE 23: A general view of the away jersey of the Vanderbilt Commodores and the home jersey of the Virginia Cavaliers before the start of game two of the College World Series Championship Series on June 23, 2015 at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Nebraska. (Photo by Peter Aiken/Getty Images) /
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FSU baseball had a disappointing ending to its 2018 season. I look at three things they need to improve for Mike Martin to potentially win it all.

FSU baseball will begin the 2019 as a top 10 team by most pundits, taking on the Maine Black Bears Friday at 4 p.m. to start the season.

It’ll be the final year for legendary skipper Mike Martin to chase that elusive College World Series title.

The Noles will have a talented team as always, but it’ll be the little things that ultimately define how good they are.

I wanted to take a look at three things the Noles must improve upon if they wish to put Mike Martin in a position to get that title.  Here we go:

  • Fielding/Defense-As as former pitcher, nothing is more frustrating than humming along only to have your defense commit an error. The Noles have been awful in recent years and last year had a fielding percentage of .969. They averaged over an error per game. Teams can’t afford to give good teams extra outs, so this is something they need to fix in 2019.
  • Runners Left On Base-FSU baseball left 538 runners on base last season compared to just 459 by opposing teams. That’s an average of almost nine runners left on base per game or one per inning. That’s too many runs left on the table to not capitalize upon.
  • Power-Obviously FSU does a great job of getting on base with a .396 on base percentage and we see how many runners they left on base. Only 36 percent of their hits last season went for extra bases. The Noles are not an aggressive team on the base paths, so they need to improve their power numbers.

Final Thoughts

These issues have been persistent the last few years, so I’m not sure if the 2019 season will be any different. I do know these are big reasons why they continue to come up short each year. The Power thing isn’t necessarily something you can actively change since it’s dependent upon personnel.

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However, really focusing on driving runners in and making the routine plays on defense are definitely things that can be addressed.

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