By: Tom Popadak Editor of Canespace.com
After a dominating 2008 season that saw the #1 ranked University of Miami baseball team win their first ACC title, the Hurricanes went home disappointed from the College World Series after being eliminated by the Stanford Cardinal. Miami’s bats went cold at the wrong time and their stellar pitching faltered leaving the Canes to trudge home from Omaha a tired and tattered team. Ironically, it was the baseball team and not the more recognized and popular Miami football team that won the Canes first ever ACC title in any sport since joining the conference.
Now that we are in the heart of Summer and football is just around the corner, it’s time for a final update on what’s happening with the Canes baseball team and coaches. Several Coaching changes have occurred at Miami that will impact the team heading into next season. Popular UM Assistant Coach and Recruiting Coordinator Gino DiMare resigned in June to “spend more time with his family”. DiMare was a former star outfielder for the Canes from 1989 to 1992 and led the team with a .351 average. He is still among the all-time record leaders in several statistical categories.
The following excerpt is from www.hurricanesports.com on Dimare’s achievements during the 2008 season at UM:
Miami has had some of the best offensive teams under DiMare’s direction. UM’s offense has ranked among the top 10 in school history in seven of DiMare’s nine seasons as the club’s hitting instructor. His 2008 squad hit .320 and finished with the second-most home runs (106) in school history. The 711 hits were 10th all-time while the 2008 squad also ranked ninth in doubles (135), eighth in RBI (517), eighth in total bases (1,202) and fourth in slugging percentage (.541). It also featured first round selections Yonder Alonso, the seventh overall pick in the 2008 Major League Baseball Draft by the Cincinnati Reds, and Jemile Weeks, the 12th overall pick to the Oakland A’s. Alonso’s 24 homers fell just one shy of tying the school record. Three other Hurricane hitters went in the first four rounds of the 2008 MLB draft as Dennis Raben (second round to Seattle Mariners), Blake Tekotte (third round to the San Diego Padres) and Mark Sobolewski (fourth round to the Toronto Blue Jays) were selected.
UM pitching coach J.D. Arteaga, another former Hurricane player, was promoted by Head Coach Jim Morris to take DiMare’s place. Arteaga, who pitched for the Canes from 1994-1997 and finished his career at Miami as the all-time leader in starts (72) and wins (43), will remain in charge of the pitching staff and will add the titles of Assistant Head Coach and Recruiting Coordinator to his resume.
Assistant Coach Joe Mercadante, who spent the last four seasons as a volunteer assistant at UM, was promoted to Assistant Coach and will continue to oversee the hitters and catchers. He will also assist Coach Arteaga in recruiting efforts and other related support duties.
Lastly, Rey Fuentes was hired as an assistant coach. Fuentes, who spent the last 10 seasons at Barry University – four as a player and six as a coach – will coach first base and assist with hitting instruction and the outfielders.
In other Canes baseball news…Chris Hernandez was named Baseball America’s 2008 Freshman of the year. Hernandez who went 11-0 with a 2.72 ERA finished his first season at Miami as the Canes all-time win leader for a freshman. And, on another positive note, Ryan Jackson and Dave DiNatalie were named to the ACC All-Academic Team.
