Reader Contributions - Greg Van Zant and WVU Baseball

Our favorite reader contribution, from Jack:
Three prominent baseball people substantiated what I learned from your site. They would not send their sons there, and I would not send my son there.

The following contributions were submitted by former players and coaches from WVU, or from other people familiar with the program. If you'd like to add a story, email greg.vanzant@gmail.com. Note: this email address is not Greg Van Zant.

J says: I can't believe how accurate this website is. GVZ is a terrible coach, completely out of touch with how baseball is played. The 2012 team is going to be destroyed.
BillyB_WannaB says: I just saw the movie Moneyball and had to think about similarities to GVZ and his awful coaching. Throwing away outs with bunts and failed hit-and-runs, pretending baseball is a team game and not an individual sport, on and on. Greg's futility now is as bad as it was 15 years ago. It's pathetic.
Brad says: Thank you so much for this site! Especially now that GVZ is nearing 500 wins, people are questioning my "he is the worst ever" comments, that I stand by to this day. Your site is absolutely correct. I love the breakdowns of his wins over some of the worst teams in baseball. GVZ is a terrible coach, a horrible man, and has 500 wins only because the school won't fire him. Not a quality win in a long time.
Coach34 says: Where do I start? [GVZ epitomizes the] definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over again while expecting different results. GVZ's propensity is to play for the small inning: one here and there and hope the opponent doesn't score. This is not a strategy. Let the 3, 4, and 5 batters swing and see if the team can get a crooked number on the board. And if you get a lead, let all the players hit!
My Biggest Mistake says: Ever see The Bad News Bears where everyone chants "let them play?" WVU baseball is like this: Greg never lets them play. A typical inning (WVU fifth inning vs. Illinois in 2011) has three guys bunt and one guy hit into a double play. How many outs can a coach just give away? How many runs would be scored if the kids could actually swing the bat?
Early 90s player says: There was never a good thing to be said at practice, or during games, or even between double headers. [The emphasis on not taking a called third strike] made us have more strikeouts swinging than I can even count. What a great plan, coach! The coaching methods are counterproductive, and all they instill is fear and doubt.
The R Man says: I commend you for finally talking about the elephant in the room. As a student I've seen a ton of games and listened to a fair few on the radio. The mismanagement of talent at WVU is outrageous. Jedd Gyorko batting in the lead-off spot was insane. I don't care that he led the team in at-bats, Gyorko should have been driving in runs in the 3 or 4 spot. And then failing to play the big power hitter Matt Frazer most of [the 2010] season. Or perhaps ending a loss to Louisville last year with an attempted tag-up with one of the team's most average base runners from just beyond foul territory next to first base. Seriously? Turning a win into a loss is a simple thing for GVZ. [2010] was one of the most telling signs of his poor coaching. The lineup decisions were just piss poor. I wish WVU would find another coach, but I guess mediocrity is just what we'll have to settle for. It's embarrassing that in 2009 [a team with all that talent] didn't make it further in the Big East tournament.
"2009player" says: Clearly WVU is not a good program. They would be an average or maybe above-average team in NCAA Division II. In Division I they are a joke: all my summer league coaches laughed when I said I played for Greg Van Zant. Everyone knows.
Anonymous says: In the history of any baseball program, you have never seen more rallies killed on any team than West Virginia. Overcoaching, in the form of bunts and hit-and-runs, have killed WVU baseball for almost two decades. He never just lets the kids play. Without question, Greg Van Zant has turned more wins into losses than the other way around.
"411 man" has emailed to inform us that "it's rumored that [GVZ's] father and mother are big donors and whatever they give to WVU is GVZ's salary". It has also been stated that his parents' involvement with WVU is the sole reason why he maintains a position at the school.
A former assistant coach says: We [leaving coaches] tell Greg how his players hate playing for him, and how coaches from other teams have no respect for him. Yet, Greg is still too smug or too stupid to change his ways.
WVU Quarterback Pat White says: Every player I've talked to doesn't like him. He's not a well-liked coach, but I guess he has tenure so they never got rid of him. They're not successful at all.
"LawnMan" emails with this story: I bumped into the baseball head coach of a Division II school in West Virginia. I told him that my son went to WVU for baseball, and I started to say "but the head coach...". The D-II coach immediately cut me off and said, "You don't need to say anything else. I know the stories. Everyone knows the stories. He's a bad coach, but he's been there 15 years and they are afraid to get rid of him. No one likes him."
Anonymous says: Percentages show that a team is more likely to score with a man on first and no outs than a man on second and one out. Yet, GVZ continues to waste out after out thinking that the bunt is the greatest play of all time. Watching WVU baseball is painful - he tries to turn the game and its strategy into something that was never intended. You don't see any other team on any level play like this. I'm sorry I was duped into playing there.
Perry says: I really enjoyed the web site and I commend you for posting it!
Former Player "RK" says: I played for the [jerk] GVZ. I'll bet your life was 100% better once you left that God-forsaken program. They will never be successful as long as GVZ is there. Kudos to you for bringing the issue to the forefront.
Former Player "BT" says: [The editorial article] is tooo funny! So much was true!
Eliot says: I'm a student at WVU and I don't doubt anything on this site.