I'm going to say this again . . .

[WizardofhOgZ]

I've been beating this mantra for a long time.

Very simply - IF (and it's still a big "if") Blaine goes out and wins on Monday, and then we "bring home the bacon" (coming soon to a headline near you!), HOW in the world does anyone deny him "Player of the Year" in College Baseball?

Think about it - he will (in that scenario) be 14-0 on the National Championship Team - a squad that was in the Top 10 ALL season, and in the top 5 for most of it; he will have gathered the scalps of Mize, Hjelle, Rolison, Singer, et al along the way (and, yes, I know Knight came out 1 out before getting an official "win" vs. Hjelle, but we were ahead, went on to win and he would have gotten the win if not for a line drive off his ankle).  All while posting stats very, very similar to numbers to the guy who was recently named winner of the Dick Howser Award (Singer).  And you can't say that Singer pitched against tougher competition; Arkansas and Florida have swapped the #1 and #2 SOS back and forth the last month of the season, and Knight's list of victims speaks for itself.

Keep in mind that the "Player of the year" is NOT about who will (or "might") be the better pro prospect, being drafted higher, or even who will end up having the better MLB career.  It's about who had the better year in this particular college season.  Yes, Mize had a perfect game; and both he and Singer have oodles of pro "potential", and had good years.  However, Mize lost SIX games, and Singer THREE (two of which we put on him - which is very satisfying).

But we all know that if ANY pitcher - no matter what his name was, where he was recruited from, where he ended up going in the draft, etc - put up the year Blaine has had while playing for a National Championship team at Texas, or LSU, Florida, or USC, etc. they would be the LANDSLIDE winner of all the Player of the Year awards.

That Blaine is not even a finalist is a travesty.

[Jackrabbit Hog]

Award voters hate Arkansas.

[hoofer]

Award voters hate Arkansas.

Didn't Benny get this award a few years ago? Pretty sure he got Golden Spikes Award.

Per below Blaine not even on list of finalists.

https://www.usabaseball.com/golden-spikes-award/nominees/2018

[Science Fiction Greg]

Seeing Singer and Mize get all the praise over Blaine Knight makes me furious.  Sports are not beauty contests.  You don't parade around on the field and get judged for your measurables and appearance.  Yet that's what is done with those two over and over.  You earn it by performance.  You win games.  Knight has beaten both of them and hasn't lost a single game, yet he is never mentioned as in the same league as those two.  It's infuriating.  Knight should be getting the recognition, and those two should have footnotes about being better pro prospects instead of the opposite.

[WizardofhOgZ]

Didn't Benny get this award a few years ago? Pretty sure he got Golden Spikes Award.

https://www.usabaseball.com/golden-spikes-award/nominees/2018

This has nothing to do with Benintendi, who - in fact - got ALL the awards in 2015, and deservedly so (The best pitcher on Champion Virgina that year was just 7-2; meanwhile, Benintendi lifted a "good" team to Omaha on his back).  It has everything to do with the fact that the media had their minds made up who the best players/pitchers were before the season ever began, and are simply ignoring the way the season actually played out.

How can you have an undefeated pitcher (only one in the country with double digit wins) against the TOUGHEST schedule (as measured by objective metrics) playing on the NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM (premise of post) and have them not even be the Pitcher of the Year in their own conference, let alone National Player of the Year? 

Answer: Everyone who votes on these things had their mind made up before the season.  That's just wrong.

Per below Blaine not even on list of finalists.

https://www.usabaseball.com/golden-spikes-award/nominees/2018

That Blaine is not even a finalist is a travesty.

[pigture perfect]

If Blaine wins his next start, he will be in the record books for having the best winning percentage in the history of the SEC. I don't think anyone else can say that. At least not in modern history.

[Amityvillehogger]

Let it fuel him. Chip on the shoulder.

[oldhog63]

How can you have an undefeated pitcher (only one in the country with double digit wins) against the TOUGHEST schedule (as measured by objective metrics) playing on the NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM (premise of post) and have them not even be the Pitcher of the Year in their own conference, let along National Player of the Year? 

Answer: Everyone who votes on these things had their mind made up before the season.  That's just wrong.

Which is why the awards should be given after the season is over and not during it. I also think MState coach and DVH are much more deserving of Coach of the Year than Gator coach.

[navyhog24]

No disrespect to Knight, but he is not a better pitcher than Casey Mize. Knight has a much better supporting cast than Mize. Mize has a no hitter and crazy number of K's for a college pitcher. Plus, Knight has given up a crap load of HR's. Thankfully, most were solo shots. I love Knight and am thankful he's a hog, but he is not the best player in college baseball.

[ucahogfan]

No disrespect to Knight, but he is not a better pitcher than Casey Mize. Knight has a much better supporting cast than Mize. Mize has a no hitter and crazy number of K's for a college pitcher. Plus, Knight has given up a crap load of HR's. Thankfully, most were solo shots. I love Knight and am thankful he's a hog, but he is not the best player in college baseball.

Mize also had a season ERA of 3.30.  Knight's is 2.88 and Murphy's is 3.15.  Mize is a great pro prospect, but he wore down as the year went along.  I think his ERA the back half of the year was somewhere around 5.00 which is just not very good.

[TexHog188]

But he has out performed those other guys.

[Science Fiction Greg]

No disrespect to Knight, but he is not a better pitcher than Casey Mize. Knight has a much better supporting cast than Mize. Mize has a no hitter and crazy number of K's for a college pitcher. Plus, Knight has given up a crap load of HR's. Thankfully, most were solo shots. I love Knight and am thankful he's a hog, but he is not the best player in college baseball.

Knight might not be a better pitcher than Casey Mize, but he is pitching better than Casey Mize.  And that's what actually matters.

[WizardofhOgZ]

No disrespect to Knight, but he is not a better pitcher than Casey Mize. Knight has a much better supporting cast than Mize. Mize has a no hitter and crazy number of K's for a college pitcher. Plus, Knight has given up a crap load of HR's. Thankfully, most were solo shots. I love Knight and am thankful he's a hog, but he is not the best player in college baseball.

Didn't say he was; said he HAD THE BEST YEAR. 

Objectively, if you had a blind comparison of the stat lines, opponent's SOS and accomplishments (Omaha, Conference Champions, etc.) I believe Blain's numbers/accomplishments would be picked by knowledgeable voters.  Again, if it were blind.

Hell . . . compare Sean Hjelle's junior year (2017, when he was named SEC Pitcher of the Year) to Blaine's season this year.

https://d1baseball.com/player/dor0flVX/sean-hjelle/

https://d1baseball.com/player/uYqgW3M4/blaine-knight/

And then look, objectively, at Singer and Mize . . .

https://d1baseball.com/player/uSsPbD94/brady-singer/

https://d1baseball.com/player/BjPGeeGl/casey-mize/

There's really not all that much to separate them.  In that case, you go with the guy who's had the most success.

[HardCore]

Award voters hate Arkansas.

Just ask DMAC...

[daBoar]

That Blaine is not even a finalist is a travesty.

I agree. I also concur that the Hog pitchers had a pretty nice supporting cast (certainly better than Mize had), but Blaine's record greatly overshadowed those of Murphy and Campbell (8-5, 6-6) who also had that great supporting cast.

[89ALUM]

Blaine getting screwed at the hands of a Florida athlete who objectively wasn't as good?

Does this remind anyone of another Razorback getting snubbed in favor of a Gator who wasn't as good?

*Darren McFadden raises hand*

[BroyledNutts]

Blaine getting screwed at the hands of a Florida athlete who objectively wasn't as good?

Does this remind anyone of another Razorback getting snubbed in favor of a Gator who wasn't as good?

*Darren McFadden raises hand*

Yes ... but remember, we're not a Heisman program ... we're a non-Heisman program, I think was the exact quote ...

[Dirty]

And D-Mac meant more to our team then baby Jesus down in Florida.

[Mikey]

Keep in mind that the "Player of the year" is NOT about who will (or "might") be the better pro prospect, being drafted higher, or even who will end up having the better MLB career.

True, but let's face it: the pool of players from which the player of the year is going to be chosen 99% of the time is informally pre-determined at the beginning of the year and it usually just includes the top pro prospects.  As long as one of those players and his team has a good year, he's gonna win it.  Not saying I like it though.

That Blaine is not even a finalist is a travesty.

Absolutely.

[N HOG]

When you go through that list and don't see his name, it's inexplicable.

[LRHawg]

Yes ... but remember, we're not a Heisman program ... we're a non-Heisman program, I think was the exact quote ...

The Heisman is worthless. It lost any meaning it had a long time ago.

[BigBrandonAllenFan]

No disrespect to Knight, but he is not a better pitcher than Casey Mize. Knight has a much better supporting cast than Mize. Mize has a no hitter and crazy number of K's for a college pitcher. Plus, Knight has given up a crap load of HR's. Thankfully, most were solo shots. I love Knight and am thankful he's a hog, but he is not the best player in college baseball.

Kulak infiltrator NavyHog24 to the Nome Gulag.

Sentenced to the task of growing your own rations of beets and potatoes from an ice block garden.  he will also be forced to shout 3 hails 3 times a day to the Great Red Knight.

Long live Stalin.

[moses_007]

Award voters hate Arkansas.

Yes they do, or McFadden would have won the Heisman twice.

[Hatleyville454]

Didn't say he was; said he HAD THE BEST YEAR. 

Objectively, if you had a blind comparison of the stat lines, opponent's SOS and accomplishments (Omaha, Conference Champions, etc.) I believe Blain's numbers/accomplishments would be picked by knowledgeable voters.  Again, if it were blind.

Hell . . . compare Sean Hjelle's junior year (2017, when he was named SEC Pitcher of the Year) to Blaine's season this year.

https://d1baseball.com/player/dor0flVX/sean-hjelle/

https://d1baseball.com/player/uYqgW3M4/blaine-knight/

And then look, objectively, at Singer and Mize . . .

https://d1baseball.com/player/uSsPbD94/brady-singer/

https://d1baseball.com/player/BjPGeeGl/casey-mize/

There's really not all that much to separate them.  In that case, you go with the guy who's had the most success.

I gotta say, I didn't realize Blaine's ERA was 2.88 or his OPP BA .226 - both numbers lower than I would have guessed. Singer's numbers are crazy good, he just never flashed any of that against us. Imagine what his numbers would look like without the Arkansas games. Mize has those insane K and BB numbers, as well as .201 OPP BA. How in the world does he have a 3.30 ERA?? Were all the hits against him HRs? And how did Hjelle win pitcher of the year last year with that stat line?

Based on stat lines alone comparing those 4 I would go Singer/Knight/Mize/Hjelle(2017)