The All-Tanner Team
posted by David Cloninger, 2/19/2010 10:56:00 AM
-------------- TENACIOUS D
Me and Ray Tanner go back a ways. His first year at South Carolina was my first year covering the team.
As his 14th season dawns, he looks about the same while I’ve got a lot of gray hair, including some greatly disturbing ones in my beard. His team, naturally, looks completely different than the first one I saw back in 1997.
Although I doubt this team’s season result will be any different than what it always has been under Tanner – a winner.
Feel free to disagree, but after a great deal of perusing the old scorebooks and such, I believe I have the list.
The All-Tanner Team.
C: LANDON POWELL (2001-04): Hard to find a better defensive catcher, and he could flat-out rake it as well. He lived up to the hype.
1B: JUSTIN SMOAK (2006-08): School leader in home runs, RBIs and total bases. The first time he stepped in, I turned to my buddy and said, “Good God. That boy just looks like a ballplayer.”
2B: KEVIN MELILLO (2001-04): Four-year player who split time with some other distinguished all-stars, but anchored three College World Series teams with some slick fielding. Only bad part was that awful orange-juice stain of a mustache he tried to grow.
3B: BRIAN BUSCHER (2002-03): Yet another star off the junior-college pipeline. They ought to re-name it the Tanner Minor Leagues.
SS: DREW MEYER (2000-02): So many deserving candidates, but Meyer started from Day 1 and played for three years. Remember his first collegiate hit? Homer dented the right-field light pole down in Charleston.
OF: MICHAEL CAMPBELL (2003-06): Career chart-topper in games played, at-bats and second in hits.
OF: DERICK URQUHART (1995-98): One of Tanner’s first great players when he took the job. Urk could do it all – career average of .327, 20 homers his senior year along with 77 RBIs and 18 stolen bases.
OF: WHIT MERRIFIELD (2008-present): Talk about the heart and soul of a team.
DH: TREY DYSON (1999-02): Captain Clutch. I can still see that homer disappearing into one of the palmettos behind the right-field fence to beat Clemson.
SP: KIP BOUKNIGHT (1998-01): Duh.
SP: MATT CAMPBELL (2002-04): A tough decision, but three years ending in Omaha puts the strikeout artist ahead.
CLOSER: BLAKE TAYLOR (2001-02): The best of that three-closer run the Gamecocks had, it was automatic once the Blade came out of the pen.
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“This is just a tribute.”
-------------- TENACIOUS D
Me and Ray Tanner go back a ways. His first year at South Carolina was my first year covering the team.
As his 14th season dawns, he looks about the same while I’ve got a lot of gray hair, including some greatly disturbing ones in my beard. His team, naturally, looks completely different than the first one I saw back in 1997.
Although I doubt this team’s season result will be any different than what it always has been under Tanner – a winner.
Feel free to disagree, but after a great deal of perusing the old scorebooks and such, I believe I have the list.
The All-Tanner Team.
C: LANDON POWELL (2001-04): Hard to find a better defensive catcher, and he could flat-out rake it as well. He lived up to the hype.
1B: JUSTIN SMOAK (2006-08): School leader in home runs, RBIs and total bases. The first time he stepped in, I turned to my buddy and said, “Good God. That boy just looks like a ballplayer.”
2B: KEVIN MELILLO (2001-04): Four-year player who split time with some other distinguished all-stars, but anchored three College World Series teams with some slick fielding. Only bad part was that awful orange-juice stain of a mustache he tried to grow.
3B: BRIAN BUSCHER (2002-03): Yet another star off the junior-college pipeline. They ought to re-name it the Tanner Minor Leagues.
SS: DREW MEYER (2000-02): So many deserving candidates, but Meyer started from Day 1 and played for three years. Remember his first collegiate hit? Homer dented the right-field light pole down in Charleston.
OF: MICHAEL CAMPBELL (2003-06): Career chart-topper in games played, at-bats and second in hits.
OF: DERICK URQUHART (1995-98): One of Tanner’s first great players when he took the job. Urk could do it all – career average of .327, 20 homers his senior year along with 77 RBIs and 18 stolen bases.
OF: WHIT MERRIFIELD (2008-present): Talk about the heart and soul of a team.
DH: TREY DYSON (1999-02): Captain Clutch. I can still see that homer disappearing into one of the palmettos behind the right-field fence to beat Clemson.
SP: KIP BOUKNIGHT (1998-01): Duh.
SP: MATT CAMPBELL (2002-04): A tough decision, but three years ending in Omaha puts the strikeout artist ahead.
CLOSER: BLAKE TAYLOR (2001-02): The best of that three-closer run the Gamecocks had, it was automatic once the Blade came out of the pen.
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David Cloninger. David is a full-time staff writer for GamecockCentral, and covers Gamecock football, men's basketball, baseball and recruiting. He may be reached by email at david(at)gamecockcentral.com. Replace (at) with @.