OMAHA, Neb. – During his eight-year career in the major leagues, Jedd Gyorko played in some of the finest and history-driven baseball cathedrals in the nation.
Dodgers Stadium has more than twice the capacity of Charles Schwab Field, where WVU (46-15) will continue its march through history at 7 p.m. Sunday to face North Carolina in a winner’s bracket game of the College World Series.
The newer Yankees Stadium may no longer be the House that Ruth Built, but the lore of the Sultan of Swat, Mickey Mantle and Joe DiMaggio are still present. Gyorko played there, too.
That didn’t keep the Morgantown native from pausing for just a second Friday, just prior to the Mountaineers’ 7-5 victory against Troy in the World Series opener, to soak in his new baseball surroundings.
“It was cool. It was definitely cool,” said Gyorko, a former University High standout and WVU Hall of Famer. “I’ve been in every stadium. I’ve been in so many different situations, but it’s just different when you’re now out there coaching and you see the players experiencing something like this for the first time. I’m not going to lie, it was something different for me, too.”
Gyorko is in his second season as a Mountaineers’ assistant, with his official title being special assistant to WVU head coach Steve Sabins
The WVU baseball program Gyorko once knew as a player is but a shell of what it is now. The school’s move to the Big 12 in 2012 – two years after Gyorko was selected by the San Diego Padres with the 59th overall pick in 2010 – brought with it a higher commitment to funding the program by the university.
Kendrick Family Ballpark was opened in 2015. Hawley Field, where Gyorko once lit up the scoreboard with a .404 career batting average and a school-record 19 home runs during his junior season, is now used as mostly VIP parking for WVU men’s and women’s soccer games.
That hasn’t in the slightest diminished Gyorko’s accomplishments at the school. WVU players are reminded of them almost daily – sometimes jokingly by Gyorko himself, according to shortstop Matt Ineich – or by the fact that whenever WVU players show up for practice, workouts and games at the Ken, they do so by turning onto 2040 Gyorko Drive.
“He’s a legend at West Virginia,” is how Ineich put it.
A legend that does a lot of his work behind the scenes.
“Especially in the fall, when I was working with him in the infield, he taught me so much,” Ineich continued. “A lot of what he does is under the radar. His name is not out there a lot, but I can tell you he’s helped me out a ton and he’s helped so many of the other guys.”
Under the radar suits Gyorko just fine. On most game days, the only real sight of him is while throwing batting practice pitches to WVU players. Gyorko uses the occasional moment to cross up the players with his famous knuckleball, rather than just always serving up a down-the-middle pitch.
“His BP is good,” Ineich said. “His knuckleball is nasty.”
Gyorko’s celebration time following the Troy victory did not last long. Just a few minutes after WVU had poured into its locker room, Gyorko was hustling out of it heading for a plane ride back to Morgantown.
“My son has games this weekend, so I’m flying back for that,” he said. “I’ll be back for the next (WVU) game.”
Depending on the results of Sunday’s game against the Tar Heels (50-12-1), the Mountaineers are now either two or three wins shy of playing for a national championship.
If you would have told Gyorko back in 2010 what would happen 16 years later, sure, he may not have been able to picture it, but this is a different time for the program.
WVU is now a baseball team that has played in four consecutive NCAA tournaments. The Mountaineers have played in three straight super regionals. The only other team in the country that can make that same boast is North Carolina.
“The team is playing well. They’re playing great baseball,” Gyorko said. “It’s just cool to be a part of it. Anytime you can be a part of something that’s never been done before, it’s something you’ll always remember.
“It’s something we talk about all the time. Two straight years we were just two games away from getting here, but we got knocked out in the supers. We used it as motivation. Now, our kids are battle-tested. There’s nothing that’s going to surprise us. This is something that started once we returned after losing to LSU last season. Our goal was to get here. Not only to get here, but to win this thing.”
