Former Longhorns to enter National College Baseball Hall of Fame
July 3, 2009
Janice Lu, Texas Media Relations Texas Exes Kirk Dressendorfer and Keith Moreland will become the seventh and eighth Longhorns to join the National College Baseball Hall of Fame, honored in ceremonies this July 4th weekend by the College Baseball Foundation. "It's obviously an honor and privilege to be included with some of the names that have been inducted, especially from the University of Texas, because it's one of the elite programs, if not the elite program, in college baseball," said Moreland. 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. 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) and was one of the key components of Texas' 1975 College World Series championship team. The Carrollton, Texas, native ranks third in the Texas annals with a career .388 batting average. Moreland also ranks second in hits (274), seventh in RBI (183) and eighth in doubles (53). Their accomplishments do not end at the college level however. Moreland went on to a 12-year Major League Baseball career that included a 1980 World Series championship title with the Philadelphia Phillies. Since retiring from baseball in 1989, Moreland has remained in athletics industry. Most notably, Longhorns fans may recognize Moreland as the color analyst for the radio broadcasts of Texas Football and Baseball games. After being selected in the first round by the Oakland Athletics in 1990, Dressendorfer spent a year with the Athletics. Since hanging up his glove, he has remained in Austin working, formerly with the Round Rock Express as the Director of Baseball Operations and Outreach and is currently a Business Development Project Manager for Dell Inc.
A crucial component to the two Longhorns' career success is the degrees they earned from the University. "One thing that was really special to me was to come back and get my degree from the University of Texas. That was something I wanted to do when I started school," Moreland said. "To come back and get my degree in 1991 was probably something as special as there is compared to anything I've been involved in." In addition, both give credit to their teammates and coaches for helping them find success. "I wouldn't be receiving this honor without the guys around me, no doubt. All my teammates and coaching staff helped me understand how to play the game," Moreland said. "I learned a lot from Coach Gustafson, but I also have to thank Coach Royal for giving me the opportunity to come to the University of Texas. Without him inviting me to play football and offering me a scholarship, I probably wouldn't be here to play baseball." The induction ceremony is part of the College Baseball Foundation's annual celebration of both the past and present of college baseball from July 2-4. Other Longhorns in the Hall include former coach Cliff Gustafson and pitcher and designated hitter Brooks Kieschnick, who were part of the inaugural class of 2006, former coaches Bibb Falk and Billy Disch, and former pitchers Burt Hooton and Greg Swindell. Selected by the College Baseball Foundation, other members of the 2009 class include 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. |
|
