Tony Thompson, Big-12 Player of the Year? I’ll let the numbers do the talking.
by James Quinn on May 11, 2009 1:24 PM CDT
in Kansas Jayhawk Baseball
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17 Homeruns, leads conference. Tied for second most homers in a single season in KU history with Russ Blaylock (1981). One short of KU all-time single season record of 18 held by Travis Metcalf.
71 RBIs, leads conference by 10! Tied for second most single season RBIs in KU history with Darryl Monroe (1994). Josh Kliner (1996) has the record with 85.
Tony plays plus defense at the most difficult position in college baseball, third base.
Tony hits fifth in a line-up that does not stand out by Big-12 standards. KU scores 7.3 runs per game, 0.3 above the conference average. Normally monster RBI numbers like Tony’s come from guys hitting 3rd or 4th in a hyper-powered line-up such as Oklahoma's. Tony also has worked with less "protection" than most. Casey Lytle hits behind him most games, and while Lytle hits for good average, he is far from beastly.
Tony is having an amazing year. Maybe the best offensive year ever seen in Lawrence.
A few other numbers to toss around.
20 doubles puts him in second place in the conference by one.
75 hits also puts him in second by one.
146 total bases leads the Big-12 by 14!
How does Tony stack up with other players in the running?
| Name | Year | Pos | BA | OBP | Slug% |
Total Bases |
Home Runs |
RBI's |
Stolen Bases |
| Tony Thompson (KU) | So. | 3B | .362 | .416 | .705 | 146 | 17 | 71 | 1 |
| Carter Jurica (KSU) | So. | 2B | .369 | .444 | .517 | 105 | 4 | 41 | 21 |
| Greg Folgia (MU) | Jr. | CF | .342 | .442 | .637 | 123 | 12 | 61 | 0 |
| J.T. Wise (OU) | Sr. | C | .376 | .434 | .711 | 123 | 16 | 52 | 2 |
In my eyes the only thing that will keep Tony from winning player of the year is KU's position in the final standings. If KU finishes above Oklahoma I think Tony will get the honor. If OU finishes ahead of KU, J.T. Wise will be the favorite. If KSU wins next weekend's series with KU then Carter Jurica (KSU) will be a dark horse candidate. Greg Folgia can't be written off, especially if MU holds on to 2nd place in the conference. UT won the conference but they have no viable candidate for POY.
If you are still gettng to know Tony and wondering who this guy is, here is a profile published a couple of months back. It is worth a click.
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I'd been wondering about this...
and like you said, the numbers really speak for themselves. A good weekend for Tony and a series win (be it 2-1 or a sweep) really should put him in great position.
I don't want to scoop myself
but I think it’s going to be AJ Morris. I don’t know where you stand on pitchers winning player of the year awards, but Morris has been pretty dominant. I think Thompson should be 2nd though.
stop by Waving the Wheat (http://wavingthewheat.wordpress.com/) and The College Hockey Blog (http://thecollegehockeyblog.wordpress.com/)
There is a seperate award for Pitcher of the Year.
Player of the year always goes to a position player or a DH.
The pitcher of the year award will be a battle between A.J. Morris and Kyle Gibson. I think that one will go down to the final week.
www.rockchalktalk.com for pretty good KU baseball coverage
by James Quinn on May 12, 2009 10:48 AM CDT up reply actions
Oh really
Shows how smart I am :)
Wow it might have to be him then. I knew he was having a good year but I didn’t know it was this good
stop by Waving the Wheat (http://wavingthewheat.wordpress.com/) and The College Hockey Blog (http://thecollegehockeyblog.wordpress.com/)
Yeah, no one saw this coming. Certainly not me.
Although Aman was telling me back in January that Tony would have a great year. I should listen to him more often. Honestly, I can’t think of a single time he has been very wrong.
www.rockchalktalk.com for pretty good KU baseball coverage
next year
Next year will be a huge year for Tony. He will be on all the pre-season awards lists and the national media will know his name. He will have an opportunity to really entrench himself in some serious draft considerations for the early rounds.
L J World story
Jessie Newell published a story today about Tony Thompson in the LJ World. Link here.
www.rockchalktalk.com for pretty good KU baseball coverage
nice
that was actually a good writeup this time. A nice job of telling a truly great story.
It almost produced a couple tears.
Get your T2 autographs soon because you will soon have to wait in line.
You are watching the best Jayhawk baseball player to ever wear the Crimson and Blue!
and Sunday
free caps and t-shirts will be given to the first 1,000 fans!
Hmm, kids.
They get all the breaks. What have they done!
I’ll just wait for a foul ball to land in the parking lot. While all the “kids” are distracted and running down the stairs to grab it I’ll make my move. I should come home with a bag full of new KU gear. Hopefully it will fit.
www.rockchalktalk.com for pretty good KU baseball coverage
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