Tony's Take Perfection Comparisons The Butcher Broken Record
By Tony Duckworth, tonyduckworthsr@gmail.com
Perfection. 59 – 0 is the best baseball record in the history of college baseball. History didn't happen in the SEC or Big Ten. Historical runs don't happen often, so let's celebrate a small university who accomplished the unthinkable.
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While you may have never heard of LSU Shreveport, the Pilots recently won the 2025 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics National Championship. For the record, this was the 68th Annual NAIA Baseball National Championship.
LSUS won the championship game 13 – 7. In storybook fashion, the Pilots overcame a 7 – 6 deficit in the bottom of the 5th. How impressive is it that the squad embraced the pressure of the moment and kept this remarkable streak alive to win the hardware? Go Pilots!
Comparisons. The most successful seasons in college baseball history include the 2019 Vanderbilt team (59-12), the 1975 Texas team (59-6), and the 1995 Cal State Fullerton team (57-9). Other notable seasons include the 2011 South Carolina team (55-14), the 1978 USC team (54-9), and the 1983 Texas team (66-14). 66 wins will never happen again, but that season didn't top the 59-0 LSUS season. It does make you wonder how many classes the 1983 team attended given they played 80 games. This was well before remote learning options. Gotta love it.
Dynasty. One of the newest members of the SEC achieve dynasty status several season ago. While they have been eliminated from winning the 2025 national championship, the Oklahoma Sooner's recent successes under Patty Gasso are remarkable.
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OU has won eight national championships including four in a row between 2021 – 2024. While the Sooners have taken advantage of playing in front of a home crowd, no one will argue the remarkable run they are on. The college softball world series has been played in Oklahoma City since 1990.
The standard of excellence of winning four naty's in a row is the best in college softball history.
The Butcher. As the AD at Northeastern State University, I told my Senior Associate AD my feelings following meetings with one of our highly successful head coaches. My right-hand man heard me say on more than one occasion that Coach ____ better be glad he wins at a high level. Meaning, this coach's on-the-field success kept me from moving in a different direction.
The New York Knicks have been irrelevant for a quarter of a century until the arrival of Tom Thibodeau. The Butcher led the Knickerbockers to their first Eastern Conference finals since 2000. According to ESPN Research, Thib's led New York to 24 playoff wins which is 17 more than the team's past 13 coaches combined. Re-read the last sentence.
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While Thib's isn't without flaws, it is hard to imagine the Knicks making a change despite the dysfunctional ownership. The Butcher made the NYK's relevant again while making the center of the basketball universe, Madison Square Garden, a high-energy home-court advantage again. I, along with the rest of the hoops community, will be watching what direction the organization goes.
Broken Record. The Atlanta Braves do not get hits when runners are in scoring position.
Follow Tony Duckworth on the X platform at @tonyduckworthsr. Duckworth is a native of Macon and serves as the President and CEO of the Albany Area YMCA. Tony worked in intercollegiate athletics for thirty-one years. He was an NCAA Division II Director of Athletics at three universities, including Albany State, following ten years as a head men's basketball coach at two colleges.
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