
{"id":24865,"date":"2012-04-05T10:22:16","date_gmt":"2012-04-05T14:22:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.carrborocitizen.com\/main\/?p=24865"},"modified":"2012-04-04T16:45:03","modified_gmt":"2012-04-04T20:45:03","slug":"stallings-delivers-total-package","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/2012\/04\/05\/stallings-delivers-total-package\/","title":{"rendered":"Stallings delivers total package"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_20318\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-20318\" style=\"width: 100px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.carrborocitizen.com\/main\/2011\/08\/18\/support-the-players-by-filling-kenan-stadium\/landreth-mug-30\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-20318\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.carrborocitizen.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/landreth-mug1.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"landreth-mug\" width=\"100\" height=\"134\" class=\"size-full wp-image-20318\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/landreth-mug1.jpg 100w, https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/landreth-mug1-84x113.jpg 84w, https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/landreth-mug1-74x100.jpg 74w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 100px) 100vw, 100px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-20318\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Eddy Landreth<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>By Eddy Landreth<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>Staff Writer<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Senior catcher Jacob Stallings assured Carolina baseball of a hefty bonus when he decided to return to college for his senior season instead of entering the Major League Baseball draft in 2011.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been really good in the clutch, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve had times when I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t get it done,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Stallings said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The times when you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t get it done are when you really learn. You go back and think, \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcWhat was I thinking? What was my mentality?\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 You try to make adjustments.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I just try to stay as calm as I can, especially in big situations. What I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve learned is you can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be on deck and say to yourself, \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcOh, crap, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m up with the bases loaded.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Now I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been preparing myself one or two innings ahead of time, when I say I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m going to have a big at-bat coming up; I need to get ready for it.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>Much of the Tar Heels\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 ultimate success rests on Stallings\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 mature shoulders, coach Mike Fox said.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_24866\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-24866\" style=\"width: 500px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.carrborocitizen.com\/main\/2012\/04\/05\/stallings-delivers-total-package\/eddy-stallings_web\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-24866\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.carrborocitizen.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/Eddy-Stallings_web.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"Eddy-Stallings_web\" width=\"500\" height=\"330\" class=\"size-full wp-image-24866\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/Eddy-Stallings_web.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/Eddy-Stallings_web-113x74.jpg 113w, https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/Eddy-Stallings_web-150x99.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/Eddy-Stallings_web-100x66.jpg 100w, https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/Eddy-Stallings_web-360x237.jpg 360w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-24866\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">UNC baseball senior catcher Jacob Stallings has helped lead his team through adversity this season.  Photo courtesy of Jeffrey Camarati, UNC Athletics<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a warrior,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Fox said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153He loves to win. He loves to win so much. We would not be where we are if that boy had not come back to school. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a winner. There is probably nobody who I would want in the [batter\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s] box in a crucial situation more than him.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153He gives you everything he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s got, and sometimes it ain\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t real pretty. But he gets the job done. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s our spiritual leader. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the emotional leader of our team. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s most definitely the leader on our team. Everybody looks to him for some guidance when things aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t going so well.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<br \/>\nAll has not gone well.<\/p>\n<p>All-American third baseman Colin Moran broke his right hand and underwent surgery. He is expected to miss as much as a month of the season, if not more.<\/p>\n<p>There is simply no easy replacement for one of the best hitters in collegiate baseball. But Stallings said this team will not just roll over and die for anyone.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153As poorly as we may be playing, as many mistakes as we may be making, we haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t lost a series the whole year,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Stallings said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We lost the first game to N.C. State and we lost the first game to Wake [Forest], but we still managed to win the series. That is what it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s all about. The past couple of weeks without Colin, we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve had some close games, and \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 we found a way to win.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>One way to win is through pitching.<\/p>\n<p>The Tar Heels\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 young pitchers benefit from Stallings\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 experience.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Our pitchers feel really comfortable throwing to him,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Fox said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We just have to keep him healthy and keep him strong. Jacob is really smart. He knows the strengths and weaknesses of all those pitchers. We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re trying not to micromanage every single pitch.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>Stallings is a classic example of a genuine student-athlete: an intelligent, effective producer on the field and a leader on and off of it.<\/p>\n<p>He could have entered the 2011 baseball draft. Major League Baseball still utilizes a huge number of rounds in its draft, while both the National Basketball Association and the National Football League have cut the number of rounds in their drafts to far fewer than in the past.<\/p>\n<p>The NBA has dropped to two rounds, even as the league added more teams. The NFL has not cut its draft that much, but it still drafts far fewer players than it did for many years.<\/p>\n<p>Stallings comes from a coach\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s family (his father, Kevin, is head men\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s basketball coach at Vanderbilt), which helps him understand the value of an education, even as so many of the game\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s best athletes could care less given the amount of money they could make playing ball.<\/p>\n<p>A coach\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s son is more likely to see how short a career can be because of injuries and the odds against anyone earning a spot on a professional roster. This is especially true for baseball. The degree of difficulty in this game stalls many a career.<\/p>\n<p>Then there is the pure enjoyment of being a collegiate athlete. Stallings enjoys being a Tar Heel.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I love this school,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Stallings said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I love our team. I love everything about Carolina and about Carolina baseball. I knew I wanted to come back for my senior year even before the draft last year. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m going to graduate.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I look forward to every single day. I look forward to coming down to the stadium and being around my teammates. I wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t trade that for anything.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>But he would like to add a national championship to his resume, not just another trip to the College World Series.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Last year we knew we were going to beat Stanford twice,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Stallings said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We knew we were going to win the first two games of that series and go to Omaha. That is something you build over the course of a season, that kind of confidence.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153They were one of the most talented teams in the country last year,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Stallings said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153and we didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t care. We were going to win no matter what. We knew that. We have a bunch of new guys in our program, and as leaders, Mike [Morin] and Jimmy [Messer] have really tried to instill the emphasis that we don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to just go to Omaha this year.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153We want to win the national championship. We felt it was important to emphasize that so early because we have so many young guys. To help them learn that is the goal, that is the expectation and that is the intensity they need to play with every day.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Senior catcher Jacob Stallings assured Carolina baseball of a hefty bonus when he decided to return to college for his senior season instead of entering the Major League Baseball draft in 2011.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":24866,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[431],"class_list":["post-24865","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24865","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24865"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24865\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24872,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24865\/revisions\/24872"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24866"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24865"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24865"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24865"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}