Dean's return is the right choice
Post by Robert Stewart —
“Don’t be a fool. Stay in school.”
Yes, it’s a line from the movie “Van Wilder,” but it’s also words of wisdom Blake Dean took to heart before this past weekend came and went.
The junior designated hitter finally made his decision about his baseball future Friday, announcing his decision to return to LSU for his senior season on his Facebook page.
He was drafted in the 10th round by the Minnesota Twins in the MLB Draft back in early June. Four teammates and four LSU signees were selected before him.
Passing up a potential lucrative contract isn’t something you make a decision on in about five minutes — it takes more like five weeks. For Dean, it took a little more than four weeks.
And guess what? He made the right choice.
Here’s a few reasons why.
Dean was on fire in 2008, hitting .353 with 20 home runs and 73 RBI. He was the Southeastern Conference tournament MVP and the Most Oustanding Player of the Baton Rouge Regional, and Rivals.com named him a First-Team All-American.
And with all the honors coming in, he probably would have been drafted by at least the fifth round.
But it just wasn’t quite the same this past go around.
I think it’s safe to say that Dean wasn’t the same hitter in 2009 as he was in 2008, which is probaby what dropped him to the 10th round. He was a first-team All-SEC selection this year, but there were no All-American honors.
He had about the same numbers in ’09 (.328, 17 HR, 71 RBI) as he had in ’08 (.353, 20 HR, 73 RBI), but there weren’t as many memorable clutch hits.
Does anybody remember any big-time hits he had this postseason? I don’t.
Another year for Dean could provide more chances for him to come up in clutch situations, which would get him more attention from MLB scouts and could possibly launch him into the first five rounds of the draft, if not the first round. Not to mention he’ll get a chance to play the field the majority of the season, something he hasn’t done since early 2008.
Dean probably just talked to his teammate Louis Coleman for a little advice. If there is anybody that knows the difference a year makes, it’s the pride of Schlater, Miss.
Coleman was LSU’s best reliever in 2008 with an 8-1 record and a 1.95 ERA. Not bad numbers, but that only warranted him a 14th-round selection by the Washington Nationals.
After putting off pro baseball for a year, Coleman flourished into one of the best pitchers in the nation. He racked up 142 strikeouts in 129 innings pitched and a 2.93 ERA on his way to SEC Pitcher of the Year honors while also garnering the love of just about every LSU baseball fan out there.
Don’t believe me? A section of Fred’s in Tigerland has been renamed “Coleman’s Corner.” That’s love my friends.
The season of his life got Coleman drafted in the fifth round this year by the Kansas City Royals.
Dean has his own chance to go down in the LSU record books as one of the more accomplished hitters in Tiger lore. He is No. 8 on the Tigers’ all-time home run list with 44 and No. 6 on the all-time RBI list with 190.
Will he catch either of those records? No. He would need a monster of a season to catch those numbers, and that would be impossible considering offensive numbers in college baseball haven’t been the same since the NCAA modified its aluminum bat regulations toward the end of the ’90s.
So Dean will have another year to enjoy college life, something most people wish they could say.
And now he can offer seven words of advice to any future teammates who get drafted as underclassmen.
“Don’t be a fool. Stay in school.”
