Clemson hits diamond under new coach
Clemson’s first season under Monte Lee officially begins when the Tigers host Maine on Feb. 19.
Don’t tell the former College of Charleston coach that. As far as Lee is concerned, Clemson’s 2016 campaign got underway Friday when his team held the first full practice of the year with a scrimmage at Doug Kingsmore Stadium on a sunny day that felt a tad like baseball season.
“This time of year is a big part for me because I’ve only got three weeks to implement everything I want to implement with this team,” Lee said on Friday in the first base dugout. “When the season starts and you’re playing, if I come down here in right field after the game talking about we screwed this area up, we didn’t do this area very good, I haven’t done my job. When we start playing, our guys need to have been put in every situation that they’re going to be put in when the season starts and they know how to respond. Every day counts. Every situation counts. Every detail. Time is running out for me as a coach.”
Lee, who took over for longtime coach Jack Leggett last June, used the fall practice season to get to know his players and install his philosophies. And at the end of the last fall scrimmage, Lee challenged them to come back this month physically ready to start the season.
“They did a great job training and staying in baseball shape over Christmas break,” Lee said. “On Jan. 6 when we were able to start conditioning and skill-work segment, our guys hit the ground running and were in really good shape. We’ve gotten all our fundamental work out of the way. Now it’s time to cross the white lines and compete against each other and solidify some jobs going into Feb. 19 and getting ready for opening day. But I feel like we’re in season right now.”
The Tigers, who finished 32-29 and went 0-2 in an NCAA Regional in 2015, have a lot to figure out before this year’s games start counting. Clemson returns six of its top nine hitters, including All-American candidate and junior catcher Chris Okey, but the entire weekend rotation must be replaced - along with several bullpen roles.
But Lee’s focus is also on defense. He teaches a pitch-to-contact style that will rely on a fielding unit that looks to improve fundamentally from last year.
“Our success this year will be dictated by how well we play defense,” Lee said. “We’re going to ask our guys to execute pitches and get weak contact, and if we get weak contact, we have to trust that our defenders are going to make the routine play. So defense is going to be a big factor in our success.”
To help that, Lee’s biggest move has been sliding Weston Wilson from third base to second base, which set off a “domino effect” in the rest of the field. Wren product Eli White is back to man the shortstop position and said his chemistry is good with roommate Wilson, who along with White made 19 errors each last year, and Lee likes how Wilson has looked at a crucial position.
“Weston’s a great second baseman so it’s going to fun playing up the middle with him,” White said. “We’ve clicked right away and we seem to be playing really well together.”
Lee says those two up the middle give the defense “serious range.” He also moved Chase Pinder, who played second last year until he suffered a shoulder injury, to center field. Because Pinder wasn’t healthy enough to hit during the fall, Lee had him spend all of his time in the outfield getting comfortable.
Adam Renwick, who had a strong fall, moves to third. The other two outfield spots are open, and freshman Seth Beer, who enrolled earlier this month and didn’t go through fall ball, could see early playing time in right if he doesn’t win the starting job at a crowded first base.
“This is a guy who’ supposed to be a senior in high school and he’s playing at the ACC level,” Lee said. “It’s a very tough transition. I’ve only seen a couple of guys who have done it. But Seth has serious raw power. We’ve got to develop him defensively because I think the bat is really going to play.”
Reed Rohlman, who played left field and led the Tigers with 84 hits and 58 RBIs a year ago, will get the first crack at first base. Chris Williams, who a JUCO transfer who Lee signed last summer, Jackson Campana and Andrew Cox, a B-HP product, are also battling there. Lee says it’s a very important defensive role and not a place he can just stick a hot bat.
“To me the most important decision I have to make is figuring out who is going to play first,” Lee said.
This story was originally published January 29, 2016 at 9:46 PM with the headline "Clemson hits diamond under new coach."