Watched a few Wyatt videos and found this gem that I had never seen.
Will Bednar our best player ever?
- Thread starter Ranchdawg
- Start date
Not our best player ever but definitely delivered the biggest moment in state history.
I wouldn’t say the best player but he is one of the clutchest pitchers I’ve ever seen pitch for State.
I would love to know the behind the scenes information about his health that season. He missed his opening start in a tournament due to waking up with a “stiff neck“ and then didn’t pitch for awhile. Once he came back, he was up and down, with one of his worst starts late in the year, just before post season. Foxhall said his mechanics were all out of whack. After that he was pretty good and then came Omaha and we all know how that went.
Dude was almost unhittable in the CWS.
He also delivered the most epic Horns Down in the history of hating Texas.
Bednar had the best CWS 2 weeks so far for State. Not open for debate.
Also this body language from Griff McGarry watching Kellum Clark's 2 run homer leave the ballpark, the first hit of the game, is about as pitiful as it gets, felt bad for him kinda but not really.
Also, I would not trade our run to the CWS for anything. Taking down a very good Notre Dame team in the Supers at Starkville. Taking down Virginia in dramatic fashion in Omaha, with the most State swagger I have ever seen in Omaha, followed by knocking down Texas out of Omaha, a fantastic team that year, on to Vandy who had ALL of the advantages of rest and arms on the mound, us knocking an undefeated Rocker off the mound for our first ever natty. That is a magical Omaha run. Don't tell me the recent Omaha title runs from LSU or Ole Miss are similar, they are not even in the same baseball lore as ours, not even in the same conversation.
Also this body language from Griff McGarry watching Kellum Clark's 2 run homer leave the ballpark, the first hit of the game, is about as pitiful as it gets, felt bad for him kinda but not really.
Also, I would not trade our run to the CWS for anything. Taking down a very good Notre Dame team in the Supers at Starkville. Taking down Virginia in dramatic fashion in Omaha, with the most State swagger I have ever seen in Omaha, followed by knocking down Texas out of Omaha, a fantastic team that year, on to Vandy who had ALL of the advantages of rest and arms on the mound, us knocking an undefeated Rocker off the mound for our first ever natty. That is a magical Omaha run. Don't tell me the recent Omaha title runs from LSU or Ole Miss are similar, they are not even in the same baseball lore as ours, not even in the same conversation.
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That week and a half for Bednar will forever be legendary and he was a deserving Most Outstanding Player.
But Sims is who made that team lethal. Literally, we did not lose a single game all season where Sims entered with us leading or tied. I don’t think I have ever trusted a State pitcher more than I trusted 2021 Landon Sims and it will be hard to ever top that.
We also don’t win it all without Houston Harding stepping up in the postseason and becoming a reliable source of 4-5 quality innings every time he pitched. That flies under the radar a little, but he was on the mound for multiple elimination games for us and also the Regional clincher against Campbell. Threw in the Texas game we lost too but that wasn’t on him.
But Sims is who made that team lethal. Literally, we did not lose a single game all season where Sims entered with us leading or tied. I don’t think I have ever trusted a State pitcher more than I trusted 2021 Landon Sims and it will be hard to ever top that.
We also don’t win it all without Houston Harding stepping up in the postseason and becoming a reliable source of 4-5 quality innings every time he pitched. That flies under the radar a little, but he was on the mound for multiple elimination games for us and also the Regional clincher against Campbell. Threw in the Texas game we lost too but that wasn’t on him.
I named my Boykin Spaniel puppy, Hooty (Houston when he's in trouble) after him. Definitely an unsung hero of that magical pennant run.
He's now a lovable pain the a$$ with serious separation anxiety, but he's great with my toddler with an extra chromosome.
Especially for LSU this year, their "run" was complete oppo of ours in 2021. I love how our own Chris Curry beat the midget in BR once. And then getting to play DVCholk in Omaha for a trip to the finals, c'mon.
Ole Miss was even worse. They just rode whatshisname all the way. Even ole miss fans dont remember that guys name. haha. **
Winners want the ball when the game is on the line.
lots of guys did their part. You have to have contribution from almost everyone, but I agree with you. When sims came in with a lead, it was over. He gave up a few dingers late but never when he had only a 1 run lead. Can’t remember any blown saves. Oh the girado’s on that man. When it called for hard located strikes, he did it, mixed a breaking ball here or there. Think about that, You get a lead in the 7th and it’s over.
Bednar was a stud in the CWS. But we had a few.
Clutch at bats.
Sims unhittable.
Bednar is far from our best ever, but we wouldn't have won it all without him. His start against Texas in the CWS was nails.
Clutch at bats.
Sims unhittable.
Bednar is far from our best ever, but we wouldn't have won it all without him. His start against Texas in the CWS was nails.
Hard to even say who our “best player ever”, is, especially considering differences in sport, position, and level of competition.
But if you’re talking about who had the best or most memorable 2-3 week stretch ever as an MSU athlete, it’s pretty much Bednar in the 2021 CWS, or Dontae Jones from the 1996 SEC Tourney through the Elite Eight.
That’s the whole list.
But if you’re talking about who had the best or most memorable 2-3 week stretch ever as an MSU athlete, it’s pretty much Bednar in the 2021 CWS, or Dontae Jones from the 1996 SEC Tourney through the Elite Eight.
That’s the whole list.
Bednar won the MOP award for the 2021 CWS championship. Jones was our best player for the 1996 Final Four team. Both good choices but I have to give the nod to the guy who brought home the hardware. It was definitely a team effort in both cases and that 2021 CWS team did something that hasn't been done before. They played error free baseball through the entire series.
Love me some Dontae Jones. He was a liability on D for the final 4 game.
Lot of hero’s on that team. Maybe not the most talented team we’ve had, though but had talent. But the best team we’ve e had.
I went down a rabbit hole to see just how good Bednar was in that CWS. It’s pretty ridiculous.
Before even looking at his performance, it’s worth looking at the competition. Texas (who he faced twice) won 50 games, averaged 6.7 runs per game. Hit .275 as a team. Vandy won 49 games, averaged 6.8 runs per game in the SEC, and hit .285 as a team. Both of those squads were pretty damn good offensively.
So what did Bednar do against that elite competition?
3 games
18.1 innings (at least 6 innings each game). So he pitched the equivalent of 2 complete games in Omaha. The last 6 of those innings were in the national championship game, on short rest.
5 hits allowed
3 runs allowed (1.47 ERA)
26 strikeouts
7 BB/HBP
58 total batters faced, who had a combined batting against Bednar of .086.
Perhaps that last one bears repeating….2 top 5 teams, playing in 3 total games against a pitcher, combined for a batting average of zero point 17-ing zero 86…..over 18 innings.
It wasn’t just the best multi-game pitching performance in the 2021 CWS. It wasn’t just the best MSU pitching performance historically in the CWS. It’s very likely that it was the best multi-game performance for any pitcher in the CWS in college baseball history.