The History of Miami Hurricanes Baseball

The Miami Hurricanes baseball team represents the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. The program, established in 1940, has a rich history marked by national championships, College World Series appearances, and a legacy of outstanding coaches and players. Along with the university's other athletic teams, the baseball team became a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference during the 2004-05 academic year. Previously, the baseball program competed as an NCAA independent, even during the school's Big East Conference affiliation in other sports. Miami won its first ACC conference championship in baseball in the 2008 ACC Baseball Championship. The Hurricanes play their home games at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field on the University of Miami campus in Coral Gables.

Early Years and Coaching Changes

The University of Miami fielded its first varsity baseball team in the spring of 1940. Jack Harding, the school's head football coach, was charged with the task of putting together the first squad. The program's first game was played on March 3, 1940, at Miami Field, which was located on the southwest corner of the Miami Orange Bowl parking lot. The Hurricanes defeated Newberry, 13-12. Baseball took a six-year hiatus on the Coral Gables campus until former football standout Eddie Dunn revived the program in 1946. The relative stability the new program enjoyed under Dunn was followed by several years of coaching upheaval. The Hurricanes would see 4 different coaches in the next 8 seasons. The first of these coaches was Perry Moss, who came to Coral Gables in 1955. Moss led the team to a respectable record of 15-7 in his only season at the university. Moss was succeeded as head coach by MLB superstar Jimmie Foxx. Foxx was inducted into the Professional Baseball Hall of Fame in 1951 after a stellar career that included stops with the Athletics, Red Sox, Cubs and Phillies. His success as a player, however, did not translate to wins for the Hurricane ballclub. In 1958, Whitey Campbell became the first former Hurricane player to assume the role of head coach. Campbell lettered in football, baseball and basketball as a student at the University of Miami in the 1940s. With the exception of the 1959 season, in which former coach and athletic director Jack Harding led the team, Campbell was the skipper of the Hurricanes through the spring of 1962.

The Ron Fraser Era: Building a Dynasty

Ron Fraser arrived at the University of Miami in the fall of 1962 after spending three years as head coach of the Dutch National team. The task of turning the Hurricanes into a winner on the diamond was a daunting one. Ron Fraser's first game as skipper was a 4-3, extra inning loss to Ohio State on March 16, 1963. His first win came five days later as the Hurricanes defeated Army, 3-1. In their first seven seasons under the tutelage of Coach Fraser, the Hurricanes set school records for wins in 1964 (20), 1965 (23), 1968 (27) and 1969 (31). The program advanced to the postseason for the first time in 1971 when they competed in District III in Gastonia, North Carolina.

Mark Light Field: A Home for the Hurricanes

In 1971, Fraser's dream of building an elite on campus stadium began to take shape. George and Ethel Light came forward to support the project by making the initial donation to the stadium fund. Opening night for the brand new stadium came on February 16, 1973. A crowd of 4,235 watched as the Hurricanes defeated Florida State, 5-1. George and Ethel Light made a second donation in 1974, which was matched by other donors, in an effort to build permanent concrete seating at the new facility. The stadium was dedicated in 1977 and named for Light's son, Mark, who died of muscular dystrophy. George Light did not get to see the dedication of the stadium named for his son. As the program improved, the crowds began to grow. The Hurricanes set single season attendance records in nine of the stadium's first 10 seasons. In 1973, the program averaged 848 fans a game. By 1982 average attendance had skyrocketed to 3,217. In 2003, New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez donated $3.9 million for stadium renovations. The stadium is now named in his honor. His donation, the largest ever to the Hurricanes' baseball program, aided in the building of a new clubhouse, weight room, training room, team meeting room, academic center, video room, press box and four VIP luxury suites.

The Grand Illusion and the First National Championship (1974)

The Hurricanes came close to winning the national championship in their first College World Series appearance in 1974. Miami opened the College World Series with a 7-2 win over Maine. The Hurricanes followed up with a close-fought 2-1 victory over Texas. In what would come to be called the Grand Illusion, the Hurricanes used a hidden ball trick to pick off NCAA stolen base leader Phil Stephenson. In the 6th inning against powerhouse Wichita State, Stephenson took his usual lead from 1st base. Hurricanes pitcher Mike Kasprzak faked a throw to the bag. First baseman Steve Lusby dove to the ground then raced down towards the Hurricane bullpen where pitchers Dan Smith and Bob Walker leaped to avoid the ball. Stephenson set out for 2nd base as Kasprzak tossed the ball over to shortstop Bill Wrona for the tag. In the semifinal two days later against Maine, Miami pitcher Rob Souza threw a pickoff attempt over the head of Bill Wrona into center field. But the memory of the Grand Illusion kept the runner from trying to advance to third. In the championship game, Wichita State jumped out to an early 3-0 lead. In the top of the 5th, the Hurricanes scored 6 runs with the aid of a Phil Lane 3-run home run. Miami added a run in the 6th and 2 runs in the 8th before closer Dan Smith finished off the Shockers in the 9th for the Hurricanes first national championship.

Read also: A Colorful Legacy: Miami Football

The 1980s: Continued Success

Miami was unable to reach Omaha to defend their championship in 1983. The Hurricanes reached the 1985 College World Series by beating Florida, 12-9 in the final game of the Atlantic Regional. Miami began play in Omaha by thumping Stanford, 17-3 before losing to Texas, 8-4 in game 2. The loss to Texas put the Hurricanes in the losers bracket. The Hurricanes responded by pulling off three straight one run victories over Oklahoma State, Mississippi State and Texas. In a game delayed a full day by inclement weather, the Hurricanes jumped out to an early 2-0 lead and never trailed the rest of the way. Miami closer Rick Raether pitched the final 2.1 innings to finish off the Longhorns, 10-6, and give the Hurricanes their second national championship. Ron Fraser led the Hurricanes to Omaha four more times before his retirement at the end of the 1992 season. In all, coach Fraser won 1,271 games while leading his team to the College World Series 12 times. Coach Fraser was known as the Wizard of College Baseball due to his creative and innovative promotions geared towards generating interest in the college game. Major League Baseball stars such as Stan Musial and Ted Williams headlined several events to help raise money for Fraser's program. In one instance, Fraser ventured to Bristol, Connecticut, to promote college baseball to the brass at ESPN.

Post-Fraser Era: New Leadership

University of Miami athletic director Dave Maggard hired longtime assistant Brad Kelley to replace Ron Fraser. But after a subpar season and allegations that Kelley allowed under age drinking among his players on a road trip, he resigned. The new athletic director, Paul Dee, opened up a national search for his replacement. On November 4, 1993, Morris was named head coach of the Miami Hurricanes. In 12 seasons at Georgia Tech, Morris won 504 games and 4 straight ACC Championships. However, he never led the Yellow Jackets to a College World Series. Gino DiMare, who played college baseball under Ron Fraser at the University of Miami from 1989 to 1992, was hired as the University of Miami's baseball team in 2019. He had been named the head-coach-in-waiting by Morris in 2014. On two separate occasions prior to 2019 (1997 until 2008) and (2012 until 2018), DiMare served as an assistant head coach for the University of Miami baseball team. In his three seasons as head coach, DiMare accumulated a record of 86 wins and 45 losses. In the 2023 season, the Hurricanes were eliminated in the first round of the Regional Division I tournament.

J.D. Arteaga: The New Era

On June 26, 2023, longtime Hurricanes associate head coach J. D. Arteaga was hired as the Miami Hurricanes new baseball coach.

Individual Accolades

The program has produced numerous outstanding players who have been recognized with prestigious awards, including:

Golden Spikes Award: Given annually to the best amateur baseball player in the United States.
Dick Howser Trophy: Given annually to the college baseball player of the year.
Johnny Bench Award: Created in 2000 to honor college baseball's top Catcher.
Stopper of the Year Award: Created in 2005 to honor college baseball's top relief pitcher.
ACC Player of the Year: An award given to the Atlantic Coast Conference's most outstanding player.
ACC Pitcher of the Year: An award given to the Atlantic Coast Conference's most outstanding pitcher.
ACC Coach of the Year: An award given to the Atlantic Coast Conference's most outstanding coach.

The College Baseball Hall of Fame is operated by the College Baseball Foundation and was founded in 2006.

Miami University (Ohio) Baseball History

Beginning play in 1915, and Mid-American Conference (MAC) play in 1948, Miami has made the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship 7 times.

Notable Players and Coaches

Walter Alston lettered three years for Miami in both baseball and basketball. He played professionally for the St. Louis Cardinals organization, playing just one game at the major league level (two innings, one at bat) in 1936. Alston won seven National League pennants in his 23-year tenure as Dodgers manager. The franchise won four world championships as well-in 1955 with Brooklyn and in 1959, 1963 and 1965 with Los Angeles. Named Manager of the Year three times, Alston also guided a victorious National League All-Star squad a record seven times. Alston is a charter member of the Miami Athletics Hall of Fame, inducted in 1969.

Charlie Liebrandt, Royals, 1988 The first Miamian to play in the major leagues was Eddie Morgan of Lakewood, Ohio who played for two seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals (1936) and Brooklyn Dodgers (1937). Buddy Schultz, an All-American for Miami in 1972, played for 5 seasons with the Chicago Cubs and St. Charlie Liebrandt, First Team All-MAC in 1978, won 140 games in a stellar 14-year MLB career, including helping the Kansas City Royals to a World Series title in 1985. Steve Fireovid pitched for 6 seasons in the majors, but is perhaps best known as the subject of the book The 26th Man: One Minor League Pitcher's Pursuit of a Dream, written with fellow Miami alumnus Mark Winegardner. In 1990, while pitching for the Montreal Expos’ Triple-A affiliate Indianapolis Indians, Fireovid composed a journal of his experiences. And Miami continues to serve as a launching pad for coaches. Tracy Smith played for Miami (1985-1988), coached the RedHawks (1997-2005), including the 2005 MAC regular season and MAC Tournament championship team, and has also led Arizona State, Indiana and the Michigan Wolverines. Smith was named the Big Ten and National Coach of the Year in 2014.

Hall of Famers

Miami University's baseball program boasts several alumni who have achieved the pinnacle of success in the sport, earning induction into prestigious halls of fame:

Walter Alston

A three-year letterman in both baseball and basketball at Miami, Alston went on to a remarkable career as manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers. He led the Dodgers to four World Series titles and seven National League pennants, solidifying his place as one of the greatest managers in baseball history. Alston's contributions to the sport were recognized with his induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1983.

Retired Numbers

To honor the exceptional contributions of its most legendary players, the Miami University baseball program has retired the following jersey numbers:

Neal Heaton

Nicknamed "The Heater" during his time with the Hurricanes, Neal Heaton dominated opposing hitters with his blazing fastball and unwavering determination. Heaton's number 20 was retired in recognition of his outstanding accomplishments on the mound, including setting numerous school records for wins, strikeouts, and earned run average.

Doug Shields

A defensive wizard in center field and a clutch hitter at the plate, Doug Shields was a key component of Miami's championship teams in the 1980s. Shields' number 8 was retired to commemorate his exceptional all-around play and his unwavering commitment to the program.

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