Heartbreaker
by Matthew NameeJune 06, 2004
Wichita State lost two dramatic games to Arkansas (the first one ridiculously dramatic), eliminating them from NCAA tournament play. It was a great season for WSU, and I'm obviously sad to see it end. A bunch of good position players will be gone -- Drew Moffitt, Logan Sorensen, Nick Blasi, Brandon Green, Shawn Smarsh -- but only one outstanding pitcher, super-reliever Tommy Hottovy.
Those of you who read THT Live often know that I'm a big Tommy Hottovy fan. The lefty finished the year with a 9-3 record, a 2.25 ERA, and a 92-10 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 76 innings. Pressed into the rotation toward the end of the season, Hottovy proved to be as good as a starter as he was out of the pen, which only increases his value as a pro.
Next year, the Shockers will retain pretty much all of their pitching staff (excepting Hottovy), including potential #1 pick Mike Pelfrey (about whom you can expect to hear a lot more in the next year at THT Live). I'll update here on how the Shockers fare in the upcoming amateur draft. It's been a fun season, and I'm looking forward to 2005.
Matthew Namee cofounded The Hardball Times in 2004, when he was working as the assistant to baseball author and Red Sox executive Bill James. Matthew still lives in Kansas, where he is currently pursuing a law degree. He can be reached at mfnamee [at] gmail [dot] com.