Eric Wedge on Shocker baseball picked last in AAC poll: ‘It doesn’t mean a whole lot’
Preseason polls have never mattered to Eric Wedge, so he had no idea that the American Athletic Conference baseball poll, selected by league coaches, was released on Monday evening.
That is, until his cell phone was flooded with text messages making sure Wedge was aware of what the rest of the league thought of the Shockers program he was taking over.
Wichita State was picked last by the coaches in the nine-team American, receiving just 12 points — seven fewer than any other team. East Carolina was picked as the favorite.
So is this the exception to not caring about preseason polls to Wedge? Could this serve as bulletin board material for the Shockers this season? Wedge says the answers are no and no.
“If we were picked to be first, it wouldn’t mean a whole lot, so if we’re picked to be last, it wouldn’t mean a whole lot,” Wedge said. “It’s about what these players know about themselves and each other that matters the most. I’ve never known a poll that ever had anything to do with that. So I’m guessing this is something we will move on by.”
WSU did receive some form of respect with junior Paxton Wallace included as one of the 14 players to earn preseason all-conference honors. Wallace batted .256 last season with 13 doubles and a team-best nine home runs to go along with 35 RBIs and 20 walks.
The Shockers open the 2020 season under Wedge with a three-game series at Northwestern State starting on Feb. 14 in Louisiana. WSU’s home opening series is Feb. 21-23 against Texas Southern at Eck Stadium.
With the players still on winter break, Wedge said there hasn’t been any news since the Shockers wrapped up their Fall World Series. The team’s first practice is Jan. 15.
“I feel good about what we accomplished this fall and I made sure they knew that before they took off for Christmas break,” Wedge said. “The recovery time is extremely important and getting away from baseball is extremely important. Putting your mind at work in a more normal fashion is healthy. But ultimately, their work ethic and their focus and buying into what we’re doing and how we’re going to go about it is going to be the most important thing.”
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