Fresno State Athletics
Putting the Bat on the Ball
3/8/2000 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 8, 2000
Putting the Bat on the Ball
by Curtis Webb
A first-team All-WAC selection roams the grassy expanse at Beiden Field. He is an All-District performer who also has received Honorable Mention All-America praise from the American Baseball Coaches Association. He is a kinesiology major from Bakersfield, Calif., where he attended Highland High and Bakersfield College before transferring to Fresno State. In fact, he was named the West State Conference MVP, earning All-America honors while batting .443 with 26 doubles, three homers and 50 RBIs his sophomore season for former Fresno State assistant Tim Painton at Bakersfield College.
Who is he?
He may not be flamboyant or notably emotional, but with his 6-foot-5 frame and a stick of dynamite, you cannot miss him.
Senior left fielder Anthony Acevedo was the king of the bases for the Bulldogs last season. Unmistakably the team's most valuable player, Acevedo led the team in almost every major offensive category with his .383 batting average and 61 RBIs standing out. A gap hitter who roped 24 doubles, five triples and six round-trippers, he led the team in extra base hits with 35.
Acevedo came to Fresno State in fall 1998 and made an immediate impact. In the second game of the season-opening series at No. 6 Stanford, Acevedo, playing in only his second game wearing Bulldog red and blue, went 3-for-5 with two runs scored and two RBIs to capture player of the game honors.
"That was the highlight of my career up to that point," Acevedo said, referring to his solid performance against the Cardinal. "I really didn't know what to expect, playing against more polished players and Division I pitching. The first series of the season really got me going and from there everything has just fallen into place."
During the fall last year, Acevedo admits he struggled. He realized the pitching was drastically different. In junior college, he would see a mediocre pitcher once a week, where at Fresno State, he now is facing three quality pitchers in every series. In Division I baseball, the pitchers have better location, have more action on off-speed balls and throw harder.
In Acevedo's freshman year at Bakersfield College, Painton altered the southpaw's swing considerably. Painton got Acevedo to make some adjustments that would give him an idea of what to expect at the Division I level. When he arrived at Fresno State, the left fielder said he had to make only minor modifications to his swing.
Working with Painton absolutely assisted his progress towards becoming a great player. "As long as I'm consistent I think I'll be able to be an asset to my team and that's my main objective," Acevedo said. "We have nine hitters throughout the lineup that are going to be able to get the job done. As long as I stay focused and play steady, I can help this team to be successful."
It is apparent that Acevedo is the ultimate team player. He will not worry about his status on the stat sheet or a future in professional baseball. "I'm going to not try to set goals, statistically speaking," Acevedo said. "I don't know if it is unfair to say .400 is a reasonable goal, but at the same time, I say to myself, 'I had it up until the last two weeks of the season, why can't I do it this year?'"
He only will put pressure on himself to push his teammates the distance and with Ace in the middle of the lineup, who knows how far that could be. "We have high expectations this year," Acevedo said. "We have the starting nine coming back and only have lost one starting pitcher. Although we came upon some hard times last year, we learned what it meant to lose and we also learned what it takes to win."
Acevedo said the team's first and most important goal is to win the WAC championship. The Bulldogs, however, will not sell themselves short because they know the College World Series is definitely within reach. As long as Acevedo is putting the bat on the ball, there is no question Beiden Field will be rocking again this season.
