Mizzou Athletics is on the brink of a golden age. It’s time for Tiger Baseball to catch up

It seems like, for the majority of Mizzou sports, it’s the beginning of a golden age, a period of sustained success, optimism, and overall good feelings.

Tiger softball were just a game away from a World Series berth, and will be making a push to one-up themselves next season.

Tiger Football have all the momentum you could want for a team, and could become a giant killer in the SEC East very soon.

Tiger Wrestling are firmly in their golden age. They have become a mainstay at the top of the NCAA rankings, have won a MAC Conference Championship every year since joining, and are now re-joining the Big 12 where they will find bigger challenges and better rewards.

Tiger Men’s Golf was just snubbed of an NCAA Tournament berth, but is trending in the right direction with Redshirt Sophomore Ross Steelman putting in a great individual performance last year.

Tiger Men’s Basketball may seem uncertain, but the team just had their second NCAA Tournament berth in 4 years. If Head Coach Cuonzo Martin can utilize the new transfers, the team could surprise a lot of people.

Tiger Women’s Basketball have yet to return to the heights of the Sophie Cunningham years, but with a team chalked full of experience, including Haley Frank, Aijah Blackwell and Haley Troup, they could very well be contenders again next season.

Tiger Volleyball are approaching a golden age under Josh and Molly Taylor, and will be pushing reigning National Champions Kentucky for the top spot in the SEC every step of the way next season.

Tiger Gymnastics are in their golden age, with strong showings both during the regular season and in the NCAA Tournament, closely competing with national powerhouses like LSU and Arkansas.

Both Tiger Swim & Dive and Tiger Track & Field have just produced athletes who will feature at the Tokyo Olympics.

Even Tiger Soccer is entering a new era, with brand new head coach Stefanie Golan set to bring championship pedigree to the program.

There’s a whole lot to be excited about in Columbia, Missouri right now. There’s just one thing missing.

Tiger Baseball

Looking at the Tiger Baseball team there isn’t much to get excited about. There’s no hope of an NCAA Regional berth on the horizon, there’s no red-hot prospect on the rise, the team won just 5 of their last 23 games to end the season.

It’s hard to write anything positive about the team as of late. The team just brought in former MLB coach Brian DeLunas as a pitching coach, which should help fix the Tigers’ biggest issue but isn’t a panacea.

The team’s best conference opponents (Vanderbilt, Tennessee and Arkansas) aren’t getting any worse, and the Tigers have lagged miles behind.

Competing for a conference title in the SEC is a seemingly impossible task for Mizzou baseball right now. Even if the Tigers have a near-flawless start to the season in non-conference play, they won’t make an NCAA Tournament if they get battered every game in conference play.

The team has no hype surrounding it. Steve Beiser isn’t getting hyped on Twitter about recruiting while at a Royals game.

He’s not gassing up his players after the announcement of a big return.

In 2021 and beyond, the role of social media in recruiting and building a fan base around a team can not be overstated.

We live in the golden age of social media. Fans and prospective recruits want to be able to connect with their favorite celebrities and sports figures, and recruits want to play for someone who is interested in connecting with them.

Drinkwitz and Anderson have used social media incredibly well and it shows. Bieser has not, and it shows.

It certainly doesn’t help that Taylor Stadium is one of the most disconnected venues for Tiger sports.

There’s not a great way to walk there from campus. Yes, you can take the Tiger Line bus to Reactor Lot, but then you have to climb Mt. Everest to get to the stadium.

When it comes to parking at the stadium, you either park at the bottom of said Mt. Everest, or risk having your windshield bashed in by a wayward foul ball.

Taylor Stadium itself seems very outdated when compared to other SEC grounds like Lindsey Nelson Stadium in Knoxville or Olsen Field in College Station, despite a recent renovation in 2014.

So, it’s a disconnected venue, with a disconnected coach (on social media), with a team that has been disconnected from success for years now.

Tiger Baseball needs a resurgence, and quick. DeLunas’ appointment will certainly help, but after the last 3 years of sustained disappointment, Steve Bieser should be firmly sat on the hot seat.

There is a lot to be optimistic about in Columbia right now. Almost every team is either experiencing a sustained period of success, or is on the brink of it.

Mizzou Athletics is on the brink of a golden age. Tiger Baseball needs to get with the program.