Thursday, May 23
Eugene, Ore.
6:00 PM
University of Oregon
vs
UCLA
Photo by: Deborah Mundorff
Steer Entering Elite Company
05/22/19 | Baseball, @GoDucksMoseley
Oregon's junior third baseman is playing at a level rarely seen in the history of the program, entering Thursday's series opener at home against No. 1 UCLA (6 p.m., Pac-12).
Entering the final weekend of the 2019 regular season, the Oregon baseball team is on the outside looking in on the postseason bubble.
That's certainly through no fault of junior third baseman Spencer Steer.
The Ducks (27-27) host top-ranked UCLA for a three-game series at PK Park starting Thursday (6 p.m., Pac-12 Network). Barring a miraculous confluence of circumstances, Oregon is at most playing for the chance to finish above .500 on the season. But it will be worth coming out to the ballpark this weekend if for no other reason than to enjoy the exploits of the Ducks' star at the hot corner, Steer.
For the season, the junior from Long Beach, Calif., is hitting .356. In Pac-12 play, his average is .383, and he leads the conference with 41 RBIs. And isolating just the last three series of Pac-12 games, Steer is absolutely raking to the tune of a .444 average, with 14 RBIs.
"I feel good," Steer acknowledged Wednesday, before potentially the final practice of the season for the Ducks. "I just think I've been able to stay consistent, which is the biggest thing for me. Just getting a couple hits every game; not having any of those 0-fors helps in being able to stay consistent. I've been pretty pleased with how I've been playing."
He's not alone. UO coach George Horton was confident enough in Steer's output this season to nominate him for Pac-12 player of the year. Steer's numbers stand up to anybody's in the league, including reigning Golden Spikes Award winner Andrew Vaughn of California, and the projected No. 1 pick in next month's MLB draft, Adley Rutschman of Oregon State.
"I'm sure there are other worthy guys, on teams that have been more successful," Horton said. "But he's had a player-of-the-year type of season, and in the Pac(-12) — especially this year, because of the tremendous players and teams — that's saying a lot."
Steer's big junior season has helped him launch an assault on the UO record books. He enters Thursday's game tied for the single-season RBI record of 56 set by Ryon Healy in 2013, and tied for the career record of 128 set by Mitchell Tolman from 2013-15. Since the program's reboot in 2009, Healy and Tolman have been the standard bearers as offensive threats produced by the program; after this year, Steer has entered that pantheon.
"He's made some incredible plays, and he's been hitting the ball square," sophomore outfielder Jonny DeLuca said. "That's a player we can all look up to, to try and mimic."
As DeLuca pointed out, Steer's defense only adds to his value. If there's a better defensive third baseman in the country, Horton has yet to see it this season. The UO coach moved Steer from shortstop back to his natural position against Oregon State on May 10, and Steer promptly made several highlight-reel plays in that night's Civil War game. Then, last week at USC, he made two nearly identical plays on foul popups, falling over a chain-link fence while securing the catches.
Steer has been so good, the odds that he'll be drafted high enough to leave Oregon after this season have spiked dramatically the last few weeks.
"Since the Beaver series, him moving back over to third, his body of work has been tremendous," Horton said. "I think the only thing we have to hang onto is his love for being a Duck, his love for being a leader, and his distaste for not ever being in a playoff series here at the University of Oregon. … We're hanging onto the glimmer of hope he might consider it."
Indeed, Steer said the sting of probably going a third straight year with qualifying for the postseason would be acute. But would it be enough to make him consider returning for one more go-round, and the chance to right that wrong? That's a decision for another day.
"I try not to think about it," Steer said. "I'm just gonna go out and really enjoy it, not take these three games for granted, because it's our last three games with this specific group of guys. I think the mindset is just to go out and enjoy it with these guys the last couple games."
That's certainly through no fault of junior third baseman Spencer Steer.
The Ducks (27-27) host top-ranked UCLA for a three-game series at PK Park starting Thursday (6 p.m., Pac-12 Network). Barring a miraculous confluence of circumstances, Oregon is at most playing for the chance to finish above .500 on the season. But it will be worth coming out to the ballpark this weekend if for no other reason than to enjoy the exploits of the Ducks' star at the hot corner, Steer.
For the season, the junior from Long Beach, Calif., is hitting .356. In Pac-12 play, his average is .383, and he leads the conference with 41 RBIs. And isolating just the last three series of Pac-12 games, Steer is absolutely raking to the tune of a .444 average, with 14 RBIs.
"I feel good," Steer acknowledged Wednesday, before potentially the final practice of the season for the Ducks. "I just think I've been able to stay consistent, which is the biggest thing for me. Just getting a couple hits every game; not having any of those 0-fors helps in being able to stay consistent. I've been pretty pleased with how I've been playing."
He's not alone. UO coach George Horton was confident enough in Steer's output this season to nominate him for Pac-12 player of the year. Steer's numbers stand up to anybody's in the league, including reigning Golden Spikes Award winner Andrew Vaughn of California, and the projected No. 1 pick in next month's MLB draft, Adley Rutschman of Oregon State.
"I'm sure there are other worthy guys, on teams that have been more successful," Horton said. "But he's had a player-of-the-year type of season, and in the Pac(-12) — especially this year, because of the tremendous players and teams — that's saying a lot."
Steer's big junior season has helped him launch an assault on the UO record books. He enters Thursday's game tied for the single-season RBI record of 56 set by Ryon Healy in 2013, and tied for the career record of 128 set by Mitchell Tolman from 2013-15. Since the program's reboot in 2009, Healy and Tolman have been the standard bearers as offensive threats produced by the program; after this year, Steer has entered that pantheon.
"He's made some incredible plays, and he's been hitting the ball square," sophomore outfielder Jonny DeLuca said. "That's a player we can all look up to, to try and mimic."
As DeLuca pointed out, Steer's defense only adds to his value. If there's a better defensive third baseman in the country, Horton has yet to see it this season. The UO coach moved Steer from shortstop back to his natural position against Oregon State on May 10, and Steer promptly made several highlight-reel plays in that night's Civil War game. Then, last week at USC, he made two nearly identical plays on foul popups, falling over a chain-link fence while securing the catches.
Steer has been so good, the odds that he'll be drafted high enough to leave Oregon after this season have spiked dramatically the last few weeks.
"Since the Beaver series, him moving back over to third, his body of work has been tremendous," Horton said. "I think the only thing we have to hang onto is his love for being a Duck, his love for being a leader, and his distaste for not ever being in a playoff series here at the University of Oregon. … We're hanging onto the glimmer of hope he might consider it."
Indeed, Steer said the sting of probably going a third straight year with qualifying for the postseason would be acute. But would it be enough to make him consider returning for one more go-round, and the chance to right that wrong? That's a decision for another day.
"I try not to think about it," Steer said. "I'm just gonna go out and really enjoy it, not take these three games for granted, because it's our last three games with this specific group of guys. I think the mindset is just to go out and enjoy it with these guys the last couple games."
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