BB: SCIAC: Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Purple Heys]

If I were a coach - especially of 1-4 -  I would hate it.

[Richard Hamstocks]

I am not a trophy for everybody type, but, I thought it would be fun to extend it...imagine and nothing to lose Cal Tech getting a playoff taste and in one parallel universe of infinite parallel universes, they upset the first place team...Not saying it ever would happen, but you can't say it can't ever happen.

I bet some of those boys at Cal Tech could write the mathematical proof to that...

This is just the (second) Borel-Cantelli lemma. 

[Purple Heys]

I am not a trophy for everybody type, but, I thought it would be fun to extend it...imagine a nothing to lose Cal Tech getting a playoff taste and in one parallel universe of infinite parallel universes, they upset the first place team...Not saying it ever would happen, but you can't say it can't ever happen.

I bet some of those boys at Cal Tech could write the mathematical proof to that...

This is just the (second) Borel-Cantelli lemma.

...but not to be conflated with the special case infinite monkey theorem.

[Richard Hamstocks]

I am not a trophy for everybody type, but, I thought it would be fun to extend it...imagine a nothing to lose Cal Tech getting a playoff taste and in one parallel universe of infinite parallel universes, they upset the first place team...Not saying it ever would happen, but you can't say it can't ever happen.

I bet some of those boys at Cal Tech could write the mathematical proof to that...

This is just the (second) Borel-Cantelli lemma.

...but not to be conflated with the special case infinite monkey theorem.

No, same result: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infinite_monkey_theorem
One of the earliest instances of the use of the "monkey metaphor" is that of French mathematician Émile Borel in 1913...

[CrashDavisD3]

Cal Tech really needs to consider moving to Club baseball. Not being competitive just does not work.

[Teddy_Ballgame]

Cal Tech really needs to consider moving to Club baseball. Not being competitive just does not work.

This is brought up pretty much every year. One potential issue is how it would affect the rest of their athletics programs. Can one team move to club? Or one team move out of SCIAC? Would there be funding/Title IX issues? Granted they already don't compete in several SCIAC sports so maybe it wouldn't be that big a deal...

The club route is something I've always thought would be a good idea, though. I think there are several club teams in the area and it wouldn't be difficult to build a schedule that's probably more appropriate for their workload.

Just because I was curious:
Men's Cross Country finished ahead of CLU and Chapman (and tied with ULV)
Men's Basketball actually snagged three wins this year after a couple very well-publicized decades of futility
Men's Soccer managed a SCIAC tie and as I recall they're usually able to snag a game or two each year
Men's Swimming and Diving went 1-7
Men's Tennis was 5-10 overall
Men's Track finished ahead of Chapman in dual points (SCIAC Champs upcoming)
Women's Basketball won two games, tied with Oxy in SCIAC
Women's Tennis went 1-7, finished above Oxy

[Purple Heys]

Should Cal Tech continue to play D3 Baseball?

While Cal Tech might not (ever) be competitive in the SCIAC, there is reasonable evidence to suggest that they would be very competitive in other D3 Baseball Leagues.

Fact 1: They beat Drew, sweeping a doubleheader.  Drew is 10-17 overall and 8-7 in their league.  There are other leagues where Cal Tech would be right in the middle of the competition.

Fact 2:  Look at MIT - a similar institution in terms of academic rigor - they field a football team.  If MIT can do this, there is, apparently, a road map that Cal Tech could follow if it so chooses.

Unfortunately for Cal Tech there aren't any conference choices out West to align themselves more competitively.  As an example, Cornell College in Iowa moved back the MWC from the IIAC where most of their athletic teams were savaged by schools with more emphasis on athletics and bigger student populations.  The recent athletic successes, in all sports, Cornell has experienced, for the most part is directly related to this move.

I would not be an advocate of drumming them out of the league, but I will stipulate that it gets a bit farcical - until that day when the Beavers catch lightning in a bottle and some SCIAC team is the butt of jokes on ESPN.  There won't be a case of wine from Pop waiting for that coach....

[Purple Heys]

Should Cal Tech continue to play D3 Baseball?

While Cal Tech might not (ever) be competitive in the SCIAC, there is reasonable evidence to suggest that they would be very competitive in other D3 Baseball Leagues.

Fact 1: They beat Drew, sweeping a doubleheader.  Drew is 10-17 overall and 8-7 in their league.  There are other leagues where Cal Tech  would be right in the middle of the competition.

Fact 2:  Look at MIT - a similar institution in terms of academic rigor - they field a football team.  If MIT can do this, there is, apparently, a road map that Cal Tech could follow if it so chooses.

Unfortunately for Cal Tech there aren't any conference choices out West to align themselves more competitively.  As an example, Cornell College in Iowa moved back the MWC from the IIAC where most of their athletic teams were savaged by schools with more emphasis on athletics and bigger student populations.  The recent athletic successes, in all sports, Cornell has experienced, for the most part is directly related to this move.

I would not be an advocate of drumming them out of the league, but I will stipulate that it gets a bit farcical - until that day when the Beavers catch lightning in a bottle and some SCIAC team is the butt of jokes on ESPN.  There won't be a case of wine from Pop waiting for that coach....

[Purple Heys]

Should Cal Tech continue to play D3 Baseball?

While Cal Tech might not (ever) be competitive in the SCIAC, there is reasonable evidence to suggest that they would be very competitive in other D3 Baseball Leagues.

Fact 1: They beat Drew, sweeping a doubleheader.  Drew is 10-17 overall and 8-7 in their league.  There are other leagues where Cal Tech would be right in the middle of the competition.

Fact 2:  Look at MIT - a similar institution in terms of academic rigor - they field a football team.  If MIT can do this, there is, apparently, a road map that Cal Tech could follow if it so chooses.

Unfortunately for Cal Tech there aren't any conference choices out West to align themselves more competitively.  As an example, Cornell College in Iowa moved back the MWC from the IIAC where most of their athletic teams were savaged by schools with more emphasis on athletics and bigger student populations.  The recent athletic successes, in all sports, Cornell has experienced, for the most part is directly related to this move.

I would not be an advocate of drumming them out of the league, but I will stipulate that it gets a bit farcical - until that day when the Beavers catch lightning in a bottle and some SCIAC team is the butt of jokes on ESPN.  There won't be a case of wine from Pop waiting for that coach....

Maybe the Cal Tech student/athletes should use Presence Bots to attend class during their respective seasons while they compete elsewhere in a league more in their class.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJym01sqI4Q

[Bishopleftiesdad]

Should Cal Tech continue to play D3 Baseball?

While Cal Tech might not (ever) be competitive in the SCIAC, there is reasonable evidence to suggest that they would be very competitive in other D3 Baseball Leagues.

Fact 1: They beat Drew, sweeping a doubleheader.  Drew is 10-17 overall and 8-7 in their league.  There are other leagues where Cal Tech would be right in the middle of the competition.

Fact 2:  Look at MIT - a similar institution in terms of academic rigor - they field a football team.  If MIT can do this, there is, apparently, a road map that Cal Tech could follow if it so chooses.

Unfortunately for Cal Tech there aren't any conference choices out West to align themselves more competitively.  As an example, Cornell College in Iowa moved back the MWC from the IIAC where most of their athletic teams were savaged by schools with more emphasis on athletics and bigger student populations.  The recent athletic successes, in all sports, Cornell has experienced, for the most part is directly related to this move.

I would not be an advocate of drumming them out of the league, but I will stipulate that it gets a bit farcical - until that day when the Beavers catch lightning in a bottle and some SCIAC team is the butt of jokes on ESPN.  There won't be a case of wine from Pop waiting for that coach....

I am not sure you can make this direct comparison to other leagues. Yes they played Drew and won. Drew may have still working on determining their rotation, starters, or getting players playing time to see what they had. Drew had only 4 games under their belt when they played Cal Tech. Cal Tech already had played 14 games, plus they had not traveled across the country and staying in unfamiliar surroundings. Drew also played 6 games in five days.

Fly Cat Tech out to Drew with that many fewer games than Drew, and I am pretty sure Drew would sweep. Drew had also beat Oxi the day before, when was the last time Cal Tech beat OXI? Just being from the SCIAC does not automatically make them a mid tier team in another conference.

Look at Wilmington in the OAC. They are a bad team in a very good conference, that does not mean they would be mid tier anywhere else.

As to comparing MIT to Cal Tech, the rigor of their academics and their selectivity of the schools is where the comparison ends. We do not know the recruiting budget that either school has, My guess is MIT's is a bit larger. I also believe MIT has slightly more emphasis on Athletics than Cal Tech.

[Purple Heys]

I am not sure you can make this direct comparison to other leagues.

I may have picked a bad example for you, but I am certain Cal Tech could compete in the lower tier leagues - and there are lower tier leagues out there

Yes they played Drew and won. Drew may have still working on determining their rotation, starters, or getting players playing time to see what they had. Drew had only 4 games under their belt when they played Cal Tech. Cal Tech already had played 14 games, plus they had not traveled across the country and staying in unfamiliar surroundings. Drew also played 6 games in five days.

Fly Cal Tech out to Drew with that many fewer games than Drew, and I am pretty sure Drew would sweep. Drew had also beat Oxi the day before, when was the last time Cal Tech beat OXI? Just being from the SCIAC does not automatically make them a mid tier team in another conference.

Exactly my point that Drew is no slouch, but even they needed to be in a higher ready state to beat Cal Tech - it speaks to my point that Cal Tech is not a total walk over

Look at Wilmington in the OAC. They are a bad team in a very good conference, that does not mean they would be mid tier anywhere else.

This is a matter of opinion, however I have cited a case, Cornell's, that resulted in just that...a bottom team of abigger/better conference that is now competitve - mid to upper echelon - in a lower level conference

And finally...

As to comparing MIT to Cal Tech, the rigor of their academics and their selectivity of the schools is where the comparison ends. We do not know the recruiting budget that either school has, My guess is MIT's is a bit larger. I also believe MIT has slightly more emphasis on Athletics than Cal Tech.

As I said, " If MIT can do this, there is, apparently, a road map that Cal Tech could follow if it so chooses."  They appear to me to be precisely aligned in academics and selectivity...but that is not mutually exclusive from athletic success.  But it is a result of other things such as budgets, recruiting emphasis, or what referred to as the road map.

[Bishopleftiesdad]

If you are saying that Cal Tech can have success, if they follow MIT's model I agree. But drop them as is in almost any d3 conference in the country, and they would still be near the bottom. All I am saying is you cannot use the example of them beating Drew to say they would be a midfl8ng team in other conferences, as is. The Drew win is too small a sample size.

[Whatagame]

MIT has just over 4,500 undergraduates, while Caltech has about 900 - a significant difference that would impact athletics.  Also, while MIT is incredibly selective, Caltech is kind of in another universe - basically 25% + of the incoming CIT Frosh classes have perfect SAT scores (M + CR)

[108 Stitches]

We should stop beating a dead horse, Cal Tech will NEVER field a competitive baseball team, regardless of conference. Since they are only in the SCIAC region it is pointless to discuss if they would compete elsewhere. (BTW they would not)

MIT has an enrollment of 11,300 and Cal Tech is 2,200. Both are extremely selective, but MIT has a significant advantage in terms of student body size, and probably facilities. (I am assuming here)

They field some other sports and good for them, but the baseball program realistically should go club, I can't imagine it is much fun going out and getting your electrons kicked in week in and week out.

[108 Stitches]

Whata game and I are in a parallel universe.....