March 24, 2009
AUSTIN, Texas -- Two former Texas Longhorns were among the 10 players and coaches comprising the 2009 National College Baseball Hall of Fame Induction Class, the College Baseball Foundation announced on Tuesday. Texas Exes Kirk Dressendorfer and Keith Moreland are slated to join the prestigious group.
Dressendorfer and Moreland are joined by Wichita State’s Joe Carter and Darren Dreifort, Mississippi State’s Rafael Palmeiro, Michigan’s Barry Larkin, LSU’s Todd Walker and former Georgia Southern, Mississippi State and Georgia coach Ron Polk. Branch Rickey, player and coach from Ohio Wesleyan and Michigan is the Vintage-Era inductee and University of St. Francis head coach Gordie Gillespie is the small-school inductee.
Dressendorfer ranks second on UT’s career list for wins (45), third in strikeouts (462) and second in complete games (33). He highlighted UT’s pitching staff from 1988-90, posting a 45-8 record. He was a three-time first-team All-America, three-time Southwest Conference Player of the Year and the 1988 Baseball America Freshman of the Year.
As a freshman in 1988, Dressendorfer posted a 15-2 record with two saves, 134 strikeouts, two shutouts and a 2.26 ERA in 135.2 innings. He helped lead the Longhorns to a 58-11-1 record, including an 18-2-1 mark in SWC play.
During his sophomore campaign the right-hander went 18-2 with 176 strikeouts, three shutouts and a 2.35 ERA in 168.2 innings. He helped guide Texas to a 54-18 mark and a national runner-up finish at the 1989 College World Series.
As a junior in 1990, Dressendorfer went 12-4 with two saves, 152 strikeouts and a 3.16 ERA in 125.1 innings. He led Texas to a 51-17 mark, including a 15-5 record in SWC play.
Moreland, a three-time first-team All-America on the Forty Acres, led the Longhorns to a College World Series in each of his three seasons (1973-75) on the varsity and was one of the key components of Texas’ 1975 College World Series championship team.
The Carrollton, Texas, native ranks third in Texas annals with a career .388 batting average. He also ranks second in hits (274), seventh in RBI (183) and eighth in doubles (53).
As a freshman in 1973, Moreland hit .349 with 11 doubles, two triples, five home runs and 42 RBI. He guided the squad to a 50-7 mark, 15-3 record in SWC play and a third-place national finish.
In 1974, he hit .399 with 69 runs, 25 doubles, three triples, six home runs and 72 RBI. He paced Texas to a 54-8 record, 20-4 SWC ledger and a fourth-place finish at the College World Series.
As a junior in 1975, Moreland batted .410 with 57 runs, 17 doubles, two triples, four home runs and 69 RBI. He led Texas to a 56-6 record, 23-1 mark in SWC play and a national title.
Moreland had a hit in every post-season game he played in at Texas and his 25 hits in College World Series still rank as the second highest career total.
Moreland went on to a 12-year Major League Baseball career with the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres, Detroit Tigers and Baltimore Orioles. He racked up 1,279 hits, 121 home runs and 674 RBI in his career. His best season came in 1985 when he hit .307 with 30 doubles, 14 home runs and 106 RBI and finished 17th in the NL Most Valuable Player balloting. In 1984, he helped the Cubs win the NL Eastern Division title and hit .333 in the five-game NLCS against the San Diego Padres. Moreland was also a member of the Phillies 1980 World Series championship squad, and hit .333 in three games.
The duo will give Texas eight members in the College Baseball Hall of Fame. Former coach Cliff Gustafson and pitcher and designated hitter Brooks Kieschnick were part of the inaugural class of 2006. In 2007, former coach Bibb Falk was inducted and the 2008 class included Billy Disch, Burt Hooton and Greg Swindell.
To be eligible for the College Baseball Hall of Fame ballot, players must have completed one year of competition at a four-year institution and made an All-American team (post-1947) or an All-League team (pre-1947) and/or earned verifiable national acclaim.
Ballot-eligible coaches must have achieved 300 wins or won at least 65 percent of their games.
The 2009 inductees will be honored on July 3 as part of the College Baseball Foundation’s annual celebration of both the past and present of college baseball from July 2-4.
KIRK DRESSENDORFER, 1988-90 (Pitcher)
• Three-time first-team All-American, making him one of only 11 in history to be so honored.
• Three-time All-Southwest Conference
• Posted 45 career wins (45-8) overall), good for second on the Longhorn career list.
• Set UT single-season record with 15 complete games.
• Three-time SWC Most Valuable Player
• Three-time member of All-SWC Tournament Team
• 1988 SWC Newcomer of the Year
• Named MVP of 1989 NCAA Midwest Regional
• Drafted in the first round by the Oakland Athletics
KEITH MORELAND, 1973-75 (Third Baseman)
• First-team All-Southwest Conference performer and All-American (1973-75) as a third baseman.
• Helped lead the Longhorns to three consecutive Southwest Conference crowns, three straight NCAA Regional/District titles, a trio of College World Series appearances and the 1975 National Championship.
• Three UT teams he played on posted a minimum 50 wins each season as his clubs went a combined 160-21 over his three seasons.
• Member of the 1974 UT team that holds the school season record for slugging percentage (.508) and the 1975 Longhorns club that boasts the Texas season marks for triples (51) and batting average (.325).
• Headlined Texas in overall batting average (.349 in 1973, .399 in 1974, .410 in 1975), hits (73 in 1973, 103 in 1974, 98 in 1975), doubles (25 in 1974, 17 in 1975), runs scored (69 in 1974) and RBI (72 in 1974, 69 in 1975) in one or more of his three seasons.
• Currently has third highest career batting average (.388) in Texas baseball history while ranking 17th in slugging percentage (.561), ninth in at-bats (706), eighth in doubles (53), 10th in triples (12), ninth in extra-base hits (80) and fourth in total bases (396) all-time.
• Ranks fourth all-time in school single-season history for batting average (.410) and among UT’s single-season top 10 for hits (103 -8th) and doubles (25 – 10th)
• Played 12 seasons at the Major League level with five different teams after being drafted in the seventh round of the 1975 MLB First-Year Player Draft.
|
|
 |
