2011 Cal baseball was the single most incredible team I have ever followed as a Cal fan in any sport. It was a national story that captured the attention of Cal fans just months after the athletic department captured the attention of Cal fans for all the wrong reasons. The run to Omaha would have been a thrilling, underdog story without the program-on-the-brink background. The challenge for the 2012 Bears is to follow that unlikely performance while dealing with the aftermath of near-elimination

Unfortunately, that near-elimination will likely impact the Bears over the next few years. With the program slated to end, the coaching staff was probably more focused on finding homes for current players than recruiting new players for a program that wasn’t going to exist. Cal lost 10 players from last year’s roster to graduation, transfer, or the pros. That David Esquer managed to put together a class of seven freshmen, one JC transfer and one former footballer might be a small miracle, though a new five year contract and a World Series appearance hopefully helped convince a few recruits.

I have no idea what kind of pedigree Cal’s new recruits have. The official website didn’t discuss the freshmen class until an article announcing fall practice came out, presumably because the recruiting class had to be cobbled together at the last minute, much of it after letters of intent could be sent in.

I will say this: To each of the nine players who committed to become Bears, thank you. Committing to a program that went through so much turmoil and uncertainty probably wasn’t the easiest decision to make. But your role in keeping the program not just alive, but competitive in arguably the toughest conference in the country is something Cal fans won’t take for granted.

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After skulking about the SAHPC and watching the Cal Women's Basketball team practice, it was time to head out to the Cal baseball alumni game.  What is the Cal baseball alumni game, you ask?  Ya, it was new to me, also.  

And apparently, everybody.  I've never heard of Cal baseball hosting an alumni exhibition game before.  A quick review of schedules from previous years did not reveal another Cal baseball alumni game.  So, this appears to be an event new to this year.  I think there are a few reasons why they might have decided to do this event.

One is to thank the alumni for their help and support in keeping baseball from being cut last year.  Baseball faced an abyss a few times and thanks to the alumni, it was saved.  It is definitely important to build on that support and continue to develop that relationship for future donation purposes.  Giving the alumni a chance to relive their glory days is a great way to develop that relationship.

Another is helping heal old wounds.  The Cal baseball team labored in general obscurity up until last year.  It rarely made the tournament, got minimal media attention, and was able to be a big dysfunctional family without most people knowing.  There was a big article in the Chron last year about the resentment the former Coach Bob Milano had toward the current administration.  I am not privy to a lot of the background politics here, but it was clear to even randos like me that there was a soap opera going on behind the scenes.  

All the insanity of last year helped put those fissures into sharp focus.  The media attention was turned up to 11 and all of a sudden forgotten slights came into the fore front.  Having an alumni exhibition game (letting those alums relive their glory days) is a great way to help heal all wounds.  

Either way, having an alumni game is a great idea!  It is the first event that would have not existed if Cal baseball hadn't been saved.  And on a gorgeous October day in Berkland, the Cal baseball team (in blue) took on the Cal baseball alumni team (in yellow).

More from the afternoon after the jump!

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The season may be over, but there has been plenty of news surrounding Cal baseball that will have impacts next season and beyond.  So let’s break it all down with some goodbyes and some hellos.

Wishing a fond farewell to:

Pitching coach Dan Hubbs

Hubbs has left Cal for the same position at USC, his alma mater.  It should never be a surprise when someone returns to coach where they played, particularly when that school has as much history as USC.  Still, Hubbs had been a member of Cal’s coaching staff for all 12 years of Esquer’s tenure.  This news has inspired speculation on Esquer’s own contract situation, but without any specific knowledge I won’t be making any uneducated guesses.

Losing Hubbs is a blow for Cal.  He had a proven recent track record of producing talented high draft picks who eventually made it to the majors.  Brandon Morrow and Tyson Ross (and hopefully Erik Johnson) are both seeing differing levels of major league success and Cal’s pitching staff certainly carried the team for long stretches this year.

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Coaching contract decisions run the gamut from obvious to exceedingly difficult. Firing Tom Holmoe was a pretty clear choice. Ending the Ben Braun era wasn’t quite as simple, though it was the right move.

The decision to retain or fire head baseball coach David Esquer might be the most complicated I’ve ever seen. Depending on who you ask, Coach Esquer has been on the proverbial hot seat for a long time.  Heck, there was evidently substantial opposition to his initial hiring! Then, suddenly, a College World Series appearance and a National Coach of the Year award.

To break this down we’re going to have to go into full point/counterpoint. Note that we will be playing devil’s advocate with many of the following arguments on both sides of the debate.

Point: This isn’t a serious debate, right? How can we actually consider firing the national coach of the year after he led a team facing massive internal turmoil to Omaha?

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Part One can be found here.  Italics denote changes/updates from the original SB Nation Bay Area feature.

With the bleak backdrop of elimination, the season finally began on February 20th. And despite so much uncertainty, Cal raced to a 19-6 start that saw them earn a ranking as high as #13 in the nation. The Bears were delivering on their promise behind a pitching staff that was dominating opposing batters and an offense that had a knack for delivering in the clutch.

Cal fans who made the drive to San Francisco to watch the Bears take on #18 Rice at AT&T Park probably felt that something special was happening. The Bears fell behind 6-1 after five innings, then scored four runs over the last three innings to tie the game before finally winning in the 15th inning with Tony Renda scoring the final run. We didn’t know it at the time, but it was a performance that typified the Bears at their best.

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Note: After Cal defeated Dallas Baptist to advance to the College World Series, I was asked by David Fucillo of SB Nation Bay Area to write a feature on Cal baseball's 2011 season - the story of their elimination, regular season and post-season run.  It was designed in part to be an introduction for those who hadn't been following the team all year, unlike many CGB readers.  We didn't link to it in part because we've been saving it as a season review post.

With the season now over we can now look back at the entire story.  I've made a few changes to my original article - mostly updates of events that occurred after the first draft ran.  Any additions are in italics.  This post was particularly satisfying to write because it gave me a chance to look back on everything that has happened in the last year.  It's hard to believe that we went from this, to this, and then unbelievably, to this.  I hope you enjoy looking back as much as I did.

For the first time in my memory, Cal has captured the attention of the college baseball world. That has happened because two parallel stories have converged into a perfect storm of improbable joy. One part of the story is a baseball team, practicing and playing games, taking classes and living the lives of college students just like thousands of others. The other part of the story is a little more complicated. It combines economics and education policy, hurt feelings and fund-raising. When they both began back in 2010, neither story seemed destined for a happy ending.

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To send your thoughts and thanks to Cal baseball, click here.

All season long Cal faced a series of seemingly overwhelming odds, some handed to them by outside forces, and some they created themselves.  Today the Bears finally dug themselves a hole too big to escape, falling 8-1 to the Virginia Cavaliers.  Cal fans held some optimism that the Bears would do more damage against a less heralded Virginia pitcher, but Tyler Wilson turned in an even better performance than Danny Hultzen's World Series opener.

Unlike Sunday's opener, Cal's pitching and defense wasn't able to keep the game close.  Virginia certainly earned a number of their base runners, but the Bears handed them a few breaks to make things easier.  Three plays in particular stand out: Dixon Anderson's throwing error on a 3rd inning sacrifice bunt attempt that put runners at 2nd and 3rd with no outs, Anderson's wild pitch that allowed both runners to advance, and Darrell Matthew's three base error that allowed Kenny Swab to come all the way around the bases after singling.

It's disappointing that the Bears were eliminated without playing their best baseball, but that's the only thing anybody should be disappointed about.  Their talent, grit, and effort turned the darkest year of Cal baseball into what must be the single most successful, entertaining season in memory for the vast majority of Bear backers.  There's no shame when your season ends in Omaha, particularly when both losses come at the hands of a very deserving #1 team in the nation.

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Virginia scored twice in the 3rd behind a throwing error and a wild pitch.  Cal hasn't seen Tyler Wilson well and he's looking pretty good.  Kevin Miller has thrown well, stabilizing Cal's pitching situation after Anderson was pulled after three innings.  It all adds up to a new gamethread to change the mojo.  Bring some energy Cal fans!