D1 vs DII

He is correct..it is just like Michigan playing Appalachian State in football. What did Michigan have to gain from playing a champion from a smaller division? Absolutely nothing. If they win people will talk about how they schedule cupcakes and refuse to play bigger opponents out of conference. If they barely win, people will talk about how overrated they are, how they are lucky they were playing a weaker opponent, and if they lose, well they'll be the laughing stalk of college football. Sure, football and baseball do not exactly relate, but there is a reason UNC never schedules D2 schools, and it is because they have nothing to gain. Sure you can learn what to do better, how to improve, etc..but you can do that against a D1 opponent. If UNC wins, then nobody will say anything about it, or care..but if they lose, then they will be laughed at, called overrated, etc..Sure it might not be fair, but it is the truth.

 

That's correct. the same principle applies why UNC basketball, for a long time, would not schedule in-state out of conference games. There was no advantage to do that.

I don't expect and there is no reason for any D1 school to play a D2. It wouldn't make any sense. But the best part of them not playing each other.....it gives us something to talk about

 

To lcleftyo4- If you read what I originally posted you would realize I was backing you up. Then all the sudden you are arguing with me about mt olive versus Carolina. Carolina would beat the dog 345t out of Mt olive. Does Mt olive have a few players good enough to start at UNC? absolutely yes. That's it.
Would Mt olive beat boston college or V tech maybe if they pitched the game of their lives. Could some of Mt olive's team play for those two teams. Absolutely yes.
There is a huge difference between team abilities in D2 and D1, but not necessarily between the top guys in d2. Mt olive, belmont abbey, catawba, tusculum, and carson newman aren't gonna win a weekend series ever. but a bunch of the players on all these teams could play in the d1 leagues.

Braves- no castallenos is the best. and dallas tarrleton is proably the best catcher in d1

 

In playing DII ball myself "back in the day", I always thought the two main overall differences were pitching (velocity mostly) and power. In my experience most DII guys were low to mid 80s guys and DI guys were more 90s guys. Also, overall I thought one through nine, DI teams had much more power in the lineup. I always thought that defense at both levels was comparable.

Just my observations and opinions.

 

There are alot of guys that

play D2 baseball that could play at any level of D1 baseball. There are some D2 teams that could compete with any level of D1 baseball on a given day but not day in and day out. There are some D2 teams that could compete with some D1 teams day in and day out.

I do take exception with people who for some reason think if you do not play D1 baseball you are not good enough to compete at the D1 level. There are many at that level that could have but chose other options for many reasons. There are many at that level that were a little slow , maybe didn't quite throw hard enough etc etc but developed into players that could play for anyone anytime. And there are guys that are just overlooked for whatever reasons.

What also bothers me is when I hear people talking about D2 baseball like its another form of hs baseball compared to D1. And then I find out they have never even been to a D2 baseball game in their life. Its like when you hear someone say "He is definitely D1 material." And they have never been to a college game in their life of any level. There is a very fine line for posistion players at these levels. The big difference to me when I watch is the quality of the pitching depth. But that is just my opinion. But it is based on more than just what I want to think or what I have heard. It is based on actually going and watching games.

To me any kid that plays past hs at any level has accomplished a tremendous amount. When you look at the amount of guys playing hs baseball and then you see just how few move on , come on lets be real about it. There are a lot of hs players that say "I want to play D1 baseball." I hate to hear this. Its like they are saying if they can not play D1 they dont want to continue to play. Many of the kids you hear say this could not hold the jock of a kid playing at a D2 school. You either want to play in college - whatever level you can play at - or you dont want to play at all. If your decision to continue to play is based on what level you get to play at then you dont love the game enough to stick around if you get there in the first place. You better love baseball a whole lot if you want to play in college. Because if you don't you will not be playing very long.

 

999- you brought up a good point. The quality in pitching depth, the overall speed, size and athleticism of elite D1 programs separates them from all divisions. But people still are of the belief that all major D1's pitchers are 90's guys, when in reality, that is not true. Sure, there are some programs (UNC being one) that have a slew of successful pitchers that are the 90's guys, but most do not. Miami ran out a pitcher that can't break 80. Wake Forest #1 pitcher on a good day may reach 85 (I call it the John Hendricks syndrome at Wake ). There are more examples of outstanding pitchers that throw under 90, than those that are 90+. But what makes these guys successful at a high level is their capability to mix pitches, hit spots and can throw any pitch for a strike. That's it! The fact that a kid throws 90+ is irrelevant. The high level of quality hitters love those guys. It makes the ball go farther.

But the one's that can achieve 90+ and be able to mix pitches and throw strikes are the exception and they are drafted.

Watch the College World Series this weekend. This is the cream of the crop this year. Take note how many pitchers aren't the 90's guy. I suspect you will find the majority are not......unless you are only watching UNC play (The best pitching staff in the country)

 

Check out the summer wood bat leagues. Players from all divisons on the same field. I can see no real differnces.

 

I think also you have to look at it this way. There are more good baseball players now because of the specialized training and all the travel ball. imo

Because of this there are not enough spots on D1 teams for all of the players. That is also another reason some may think they wouldn't get playing time on D1 teams even if they are D1 material. So they go to a D2 school that has a need for their position. There are so many variables now it is hard to figure why each player went where.

In football they have D1 and what used to be called D1A and D1AA. I think the baseball teams that are D1 but are really AA teams are a step below the D1 teams and these teams are about even with some D2 schools. Do any of these teams make it to the world series? Coastal came close this year. Western Carolina came close last year against UNC who made it to the championship. The competition is getting closer and it is getting closer between the D2 schools and the smaller D1 schools because the players are getting better and there are more good players to go around.

As far as Georgia Tech or somebody like that playing a D2 school I think they should. Why? Because they should return the favor. Don't they play the Atlanta Braves every year? Yes they do. And sometimes a college team beats a major league team in an exibition game but that's baseball.

 

Coastal Plain League 2007 Allstars. It looks to me that some DII players and even DIII players could play on DI teams.


DI 31
DII 14
DIII 3

 

I think the key point is that the TOP LEVEL D2 talent could play D1 without a problem but the difference is depth and that's why D1 would prevail most of the time.

Also, I think it's somewhat absurd to argue ACC vs. D2 because the ACC IS THE BEST D1 LEAGUE IN THE COUNTRY (4 in the supers, 3 in Omaha). A much better and, IMO, more interesting argument would be if we discussed the SoCon (or some comparable conference) to the top level D2 conferences.