In his effort to cover the Big Ten Baseball scene, Chris Webb asked me if I could answer some questions for his blog, B1G Baseball. No one needs to ask me twice to talk about Illini Baseball so I told him I was happy to do so. You can check…
I was just thinking the other day “Hmm, I wonder when the Hot Stove Banquet Banquet will be this year?”. Lo and behold, in my inbox tonight was an email from John Santas announcing the event. For those unfamiliar with the Illinois Baseball Hot Stove Banquet, it’s an annual tradition…
On January 2, former Illini head coach Lee Eilbracht passed away at the age of 88. With 515 wins in his 27 years as skipper, Eilbracht is the winningest coach in Illini history. “We have lost a great part of our Illini family,” head coach Dan Hartleb said. “Lee was…
Brandon Hohl and Davis Hendrickson: Two of only five Illinois seniors Only a month and a half from now, the Illinois baseball team will begin their new season against Tennessee Tech. No time like the present to start to get to know our players of 2013. Before I get into…
A week or two ago, I posted an article about former Illini infielder Shawn Roof getting picked up by the Baltimore Oriole organization. Now, it seems like there is more to the story. I exchanged communication with Shawn before the holidays and he tells me that the Orioles did sign…
Former Illini outfielder draftee Willie Argo was touted in a Tampa Bay Rays prospect wrap-up on milb.com: Willie Argo, Princeton (64 games), Bowling Green (five games): A largely unheralded 22nd-round pick out of Illinois in June, Argo debuted at Rookie-level Princeton and became a star in the middle of the…
More good news for a former Illini baseball player. For the second time in as many weeks, an Illinois alum signed a new minor league contract with an organization. This time it was Shawn Roof. From Baseball America: Baltimore Orioles Signed: RHP Adam Russell, C Jose Gil, C Jim Vahalik…
Congrats to former Illini catcher Chris Robinson. He just re-upped with the Baltimore Orioles organization for the 2013 season. That comes complete with an invite to 2013 Spring Training, by the way. In 2012, Robinson batted .232 with 18 rbis with the Triple-A Norfolk Tides. A little background on Robinson……
When I grew up, it was the Big Ten proper. At the time, the last team to join the conference was Michigan State back in 1950. When Penn State joined the conference in 1990 it was a bit of a culture shock accompanied by a bit of snickering. Sure their…
Coach Hartleb seemed pleased during the press conference where he announced the signing class of 2013 yesterday. The six ‘athletic’ players that have signed letters of intent to play baseball for the University of Illinois are ‘successful’ and will be ‘impact’ players for the team. The focus this recruiting year…