Clemson Baseball: What Could Have Been
The Clemson baseball program has a long, storied tradition that includes 12 trips to the College World Series, three Dick Howser Trophy winners and a Golden Spikes Award winner.
It has also been the home of two legendary Hall of Fame coaches: Bill Wilhelm and Jack Leggett.
However, once prominent, it is a program that has slipped in the national landscape over the past decade. Clemson hasn't made it out of the regional round since 2010, the programs longest drought since the 1980s.
When Monte Lee took over for Jack Leggett following the 2015 season, he did so fully aware of the expectations surrounding a program of this caliber.
“I’m ready to get to work," Lee said after being hired. "And begin our journey towards bringing a national championship to Clemson. We’re building on a strong foundation and our goals are attainable. We will work together, alongside our student-athletes, fans and alumni to reach our new heights."
The argument can be made that Lee's first three teams at Clemson overachieved. All three won more than 40 games and hosted a regional — despite having no pitching depth.
That lack of depth was exposed in all three of those home regionals, as it was readily apparent the team just didn't have enough quality arms to get through the losers bracket each year.
This season the Tigers looked like they finally had that key ingredient they had been lacking. They had pitching depth, and it was quality depth. The kind that could get you through the losers bracket in a regional if the need arose.
Throughout the shortened 2020 season, that pitching was without question the strength of this team. In fact, it was strong enough to overcome an extremely slow start at the plate for the team.
It is impossible to project just how high the ceiling was for this team, especially when you factor in the remaining schedule.
The Tigers still had road trips to Louisville, Duke, Miami and Wake Forest, along with home series against Florida State and Georgia Tech.
With a schedule that tough, however, this team had gotten off to exactly the kind of start it needed, winning 14 of their first 17, including a sweep of Boston College to open ACC play.
There is very little doubt this team was capable of making the 64 team postseason field. With a deep pitching staff full of not only quality arms, but quality power arms, all this team would have needed to make a run at hosting is to have found a way to scratch across four to six runs per game.
Over their final nine games, it looked as if the coaches had started to figure out who needed to be in the lineup and where. Clemson scored five runs or more in six of those final nine games after failing to do so six times in the first eight games.
How far this team could have gone is impossible to know. With a lineup that was starting to come around, confidence starting to build, and the kind of pitching the Tigers have lacked during Lee's first four seasons, this team might have been the Tigers best chance yet to win a regional under the current regime.
There is no question that this team lacked the pop in the lineup that Lee's first four teams had. However, it was a lineup full of guys that put the ball in play and featured plenty of speed.
It's conceivable to think it was an offense that could do just enough to allow the strong pitching to carry it. Unfortunately, for the fans, and more importantly the coaches and players, they won't get the chance to find out.