Wizard of College Baseball

Regular price €32.50
1992 Olympic baseball history
A01=David Brauer
Age Group_Uncategorized
Age Group_Uncategorized
Author_David Brauer
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Category1=Non-Fiction
Category=BGS
Category=DNBS
Category=SCG
Category=SCX
Category=SFC
Category=WSBX
Category=WSD
Category=WSJT
Coaching
college baseball biography
college baseball broadcasting history
college baseball history
college baseball national championship
College Coach
College Sports
college world series history
COP=United States
Delivery_Pre-order
eq_biography-true-stories
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_non-fiction
eq_sports-fitness
Language_English
Miami Hurricanes baseball
PA=Not yet available
Price_€20 to €50
PS=Active
Ron Fraser
softlaunch
Sports History
Team Building
Team Development
University of Miami baseball

Product details

  • ISBN 9781496220431
  • Dimensions: 152 x 229mm
  • Publication Date: 24 Mar 2025
  • Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
  • Publication City/Country: US
  • Product Form: Hardback
  • Language: English
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Named a Top 20 Best College Baseball Book of All Time by Book Authority

No one changed the landscape of college baseball like Ron Fraser. The sport enjoyed little national interest until Fraser arrived at the University of Miami in 1963 and built his program into an entertainment empire and a national champion. Nationally televised college baseball games on ESPN can be traced back to Fraser’s lobbying work in the network’s early days. His efforts resulted in coverage growth and paved the way to making the College World Series one of ESPN’s marquee events. He created zany, one‑of‑a‑kind promotions, such as an open-heart surgery for one “lucky” fan (redeemable in a five‑year window) and the first mascot devoted to a college baseball team (the Miami Maniac). Aimed at gaining attention for his program and putting fans in the seats, his innovations achieved desired results on both fronts. Miami Hurricanes baseball became widely popular as the sport’s main draw in South Florida long before Major League Baseball expanded to the market full time.

Fraser’s biggest impact was on the field. Before the Miami Hurricanes football program became a household name, he put the school’s athletics program on the map by winning its first national championship. Fraser inherited a floundering baseball program that had no equipment or following and could pay him only as a part-time employee; he built that program into a perennial national power that made regular appearances at the College World Series. Along the way, he developed countless players into All‑Americans, MLB Draft picks, and eventual Major Leaguers. While some coaches have matched his wins and championships, none compare to his trailblazing and impact on an entire sport. David Brauer traces the roots of modern-day college baseball’s success to Fraser’s work at Miami. The Wizard of College Baseball is an inspirational and entertaining reflection on how one man forever changed college baseball—accelerating the sport’s growth and setting a new standard for modern college baseball well ahead of his time.
David Brauer is a communications, public relations, and marketing professional with more than two decades spent in the sports industry. His experience includes leadership in NCAA Division I athletics and summer collegiate baseball. A former baseball publicist at two Division I schools, he is a longtime college baseball aficionado and twenty-plus year College World Series attendee and season ticket holder. He is a University of Illinois graduate, who currently lives in Mahomet, Illinois, with his wife and two children.