Bob Seddon is retiring at the end of this baseball season.
And while most people will point to his five Ivy League titles as his greatest success, he has done one of his finest coaching jobs in his 34th and final season in Philadelphia.
Although the Quakers' 9-18 record going into this weekend's home series against Princeton will impress no one, the 2005 Penn squad is far superior to the one that took the field in 2004.
Seddon has cited depth in the pitching staff as the main reason for the team's improvement.
Last year, Seddon had trouble finding a serviceable arm to pitch some games. But this year, the 70-year-old coach has a unique blend of old and young pitchers to mix and match.
The rotation is headed by senior Josh Appell. The two-sport star has a high earned run average, at 6.14, but has the capability to be a stopper for the Red and Blue, as demonstrated by his seven-inning, two-run, 13-strikeout outing earlier this season against Columbia.
Appell is a seasoned competitor and provides leadership for the pitching staff as a whole.
No. 2 starter Brian Cirri has continued his success from last season, when he went 9-4. Cirri sports a 4.64 earned run average in six starts.
Last season, that was where the positives ended for the rotation. This year, Seddon has gotten strong efforts from two pitchers in very different stages of their careers.
For senior Bill Kirk, the 2005 season was a last chance to make good on his potential. After a tough 2004 campaign, Kirk has had a quality outing in nearly every start this season. The fact that Kirk only has two wins has to do more with lack of run support than ineffectiveness.
While Kirk is putting the finishing touches on his college baseball career, Nick Francona is just beginning his.
The freshman has been thrown into the fire by Seddon and has proven to be up to the task. With Brian Winings injured for most of the season, Francona has been a find as the fourth starter.
And Seddon's options do not end there. Another freshman, Andy Console, has impressed out of the bullpen, and Remington Chin is still a dependable presence as a reliever and is versatile enough to start some games for the Quakers.
The parallel contributions of Kirk and Francona and Chin and Console highlight a very important fact about the job Seddon has done.
He has a very talented senior class, and he has a very talented freshman class. This combination of youth and experience has served the Quakers well this year, and the lessons the freshmen learn from the seniors should serve the Quakers well in the future.
Consider the Quakers' lineup. The outfield is anchored by three seniors, Alex Blagojevich, Nate Moffie and Bryan Graves. Penn also starts a senior at shortstop in Evan Sobel, and at catcher with Matt Horn.
These five seniors represent the core of the Penn lineup, as well as the core of Seddon's recruiting class four years ago. But a quick look on the horizon suggests that Seddon has left the team in good shape for at least the next couple of years.
In outfielder Jarron Smith and third baseman Kyle Armeny, the Quakers have two rookies who already are making their presences felt.
Armeny has stepped into the void left by the graduated Mike Goldblatt as the team's starter at the hot corner. The Florham, N.J., native has fit right in, batting .295 with three homers and 15 runs batted in.
In contrast to Armeny, who has provided a steady bat all season, Smith has chosen the biggest moments to take his place at center stage.
Against Lafayette on March 22, Smith's first collegiate hit went for a game-winning infield single that gave Penn a 3-2 victory over Lafayette.
Less than two weeks later, Smith ended a 10-8 win over Dartmouth with a dramatic walk-off home run in the bottom of the 10th inning.
If these two games are any indication, this is just the beginning of Smith's success at Penn.
As for Seddon, his career is technically over at the end of the year. But his legacy will continue with the accomplishments of this year's freshman class, and that of next year's freshman class, which he recruited.
And he has enjoyed the pleasure of watching the senior class develop into what he thought it would be -- a great class.
While Penn is unlikely to win Seddon a sixth Ivy League title this season, a quick trip to Murphy Field this weekend will demonstrate what is special about Penn baseball.
Moffie, Blagojevich, Appell, Graves. And an energetic, 70-year-old man standing in the third base coach's box beaming with pride.
Harry Berezin is a senior history major from San Francisco and is a former sports editor of The Daily Pennsylvanian. His e-mail address is harryb@sas.upenn.edu
