Last year Jacksonville State’s Clay
Whittemore emerged as one of the premier hitters in college
baseball, earning All Ping! and Louisville Slugger/TPX All-American
status as well was being named the Ohio Valley Conference
Player of the Year after leading the OVC in hits (93), RBI
(69), multiple-hit games (31), multiple-RBI games (20) and
doubles (20). Whittemore flirted with the .400 mark the
entire season, finishing at an OVC second best .391 and
his 69 RBI tied for 19th in the nation.
Originally
a Georgia Bulldog, things never quite meshed in Athens prompting
a move to JSU where he settled in nicely earning Second-Team
All-OVC honors after finishing second on the Gamecocks with
a .319 average and 40 RBI.
A senior this season, Whittemore’s
stock is expected to continue to rise and he has been named
to the pre-season 2008 Brooks Wallace Player of the Year
Award Watch List, one of only three OVC players named to
the list.
Whittemore and the Gamecocks will be looking
to build upon their last season's successes in which the
team finshed second in OVC during both the regular season
and the conference tournament, ending the year at 33-27
(18-9). Before they hit field however, Whittemore sat down
to answer some questions from Ping!.
PING!: You
had a tough freshman season at Georgia, hitting .186 in
22 games as a Bulldog. What do you attribute your first
year struggles to?
Whittemore: I think you
can attribute that to a couple of different things but I
think the thing that hurt me the most was not being in there
on a regular basis. Going a week to 10 days between AB's
can really keep you out of a groove, so it was a tough situation.
PING!: Why
did you decide to transfer to Jacksonville State?
Whittemore: Transferring
to another in-conference school would have kept me from
playing right away, which is something I definetly wanted
to do. Being in-state was another big issue for me. I knew
a few of the players at Jacksonville State and after meeting
with the coaching staff I knew it would provide the best
situation for me.
PING!: Your
teammate Bert Smith also had a great 2007 collegiate season
batting .359 and going 31-34 in stolen bases. He followed
it up with an outstanding effort over the summer, playing
along side you once again for the Bethesda Big Train (team
leading .301 average, 20-20 in stolen bases). How much has
his success helped you in compiling your stout offensive
numbers?
Whittemore: I really wished
guys like Bert got more credit for setting the table like
he does. I'll bet if you took a good look at some of my
numbers, you'd find that he was in on at least half of them.
It seems like every time I came to the plate Bert was already
in scoring position, so he makes my job really easy.
PING!: With
another successful season, your name will likely be called
in next June's Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.
Are there any parts of your game you're working on developing
to increase your chances of being selected?
Whittemore: Arm strength
is an area that I've given extra attention this fall. I've
also done some extra work from a speed and agility standpoint
as well.
PING!: Last
year JSU suffered a tough defeat, losing a lead in Starkville
against eventual CWS participant Mississippi State, hung
with the Texas A&M Aggies in College Station, losing
a game due to unearned runs and also lost a game by a single
run against Troy who received an at large invite to the
NCAA postseason. How difficult is it coming so close to
earning a win over a big name program, but falling just
short?
Whittemore: Losing close
games is tough, but coming so close to beating some of these
great teams and coming up short is especially tough. To
beat those type teams, you really have to play 9 innings
of your best baseball, and I think that's why we schedule
these games. Some of the goals we've set for our program
include success in the NCAA post-season, and that's why
we schedule games with programs like Mississippi State and
Texas A&M. Even though we lost those games, I think
we are more prepared to play in that post-season atmosphere.
PING!: Speaking
of name programs, the Gamecocks will lock up with your former
school Georgia for a game in March. Considering your history
in Athens, are you looking especially forward to the game?
Whittemore: Definetly,
I like playing bigger schools from conferences like the
SEC,
and the fact that I used to play for Georgia makes it really
exciting. I guess I kind of know how professional players
feel when they move to another team and play against old
teammates.
