|
Bailey's
Take on Pirate Sports
-----
|
From the Anchor Desk
Wednesday, June 8, 2005
-----
By Brian Bailey |
 |
Draft, turnover keep
baseball in the news
©2005 Bonesville.net
At
first glance, I didn’t recognize the 95th player in the Major
League Baseball Amateur Players Draft.
On
second glance, Richard Brooks from East Carolina came into focus as
Ricky Brooks.
Brooks was first drafted out of high school by the Chicago White Sox in the
11th round. This
time out, his name was called in round three. The Sox took Ricky with the 95th
overall.
With ECU's appearance
in the Tempe regional barely off the front pages, Brooks
was one of three Pirates to go in the first day of the draft.
The
San Diego Padres took Billy Richardson with the 428th pick in the 14th
round. During his senior year, Richardson hit four home runs, collected 48
hits and scored 44 runs in 46 games. He finished with a .308 batting
average.
In a 14-0 win over Navy, Richardson hit for the cycle and pitched
one complete inning of relief.
Mark
Minicozzi, who led the Pirates with 48 RBI's on the season, was taken in the
17th round by the San Francisco Giants. On the season, Minicozzi had six
home runs, 70 hits and scored 42 runs in 54 games.
Exodus
Word
had been leaking for some time that Randy Mazey would be looking for at
least two assistant coaches in the off-season.
Alan
Osborne left ECU to go back to Georgia. Tommy Eason has also departed, with
destination still to be determined.
Coach Oz’s departure is
at least understandable. He spent three years on the Georgia staff
before coming to Greenville.
In just his second year
at ECU, the Pirates put up incredible offensive numbers, setting school records
in at-bats (2,277), hits (725), doubles (153), home runs (100), RBI's (481)
and total bases (1,200).
No
one is really commenting on the situation, including Coach Randy Mazey. For
Eason to leave his alma mater, though, tells me that something is amiss.
I
still think Tommy Eason will be the next head coach at East Carolina. He is
a Pirate and an eastern Carolinian from deep inside his soul.
I believe
Coach Mazey will continue to win, and when he leaves, Eason should be a
shoe-in.
Understandably, my calls to Eason were not returned. No one wants to burn a
bridge, especially one as dear to Eason as the bridge to East
Carolina.
Eason
has an eight-year investment as an assistant coach at East Carolina.
During his tenure with the
Pirates, the team's pitching staff has produced four
All-America selections, three Freshman All-America choices, and six
all-conference selections.
He
ranks as one of the top catchers and players in ECU baseball history. He
was a two-time All-CAA selection, finishing his three-year career at ECU
with a .336 batting average.
Eason also helped the Pirates gain an NCAA
Regional berth in three consecutive seasons. During those seasons, ECU won
at least one game at each Regional Tournament.
Mazey is now in the market for a pair of assistant coaches. His hires could
mean the difference between a good season and a great one next year.
 Send an e-mail message to
Brian Bailey.
Click here to dig into Brian Bailey's Bonesville
archives.
02/23/2007 01:31:55 AM |
