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CWS Notebook Jimerson finishes CWS as Most Outstanding Player
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) -- Charlton Jimerson did a little bit of everything during the College World Series. The Hurricanes center fielder hit for power, ran the bases at will and was fabulous in the field to earn the CWS Most Outstanding Player award. "I'm very honored to receive the trophy," Jimerson said after the Hurricanes won their fourth national title by beating Stanford 12-1 Saturday. "But I thought a lot of our other guys deserved it as well." Jimerson batted .333 during Miami's four-game run, scored five times, stole seven bases and made the catch of the tournament when he robbed Southern California's Brian Barre of a homer on Tuesday. "I hustle. I go all out. I try to be mentally and physically exhausted at the end of the game so I know I played my hardest," he said. "I never want to go home and say 'Man, I'm not tired today.' That means I didn't play my hardest." Jimerson, whose nickname is "Chewey," didn't have to hustle on two of his six hits in the series. He led off Miami's first two games with homers. Jimerson, who graduated last month and was drafted in the fifth round by the Houston Astros, was 1-for-5 in his final college game. His older sister Lanette, who raised him from the time he was 15, was beaming on the field at Rosenblatt Stadium, wearing an orange Hurricanes jersey with "Jimerson" on the back. "It's a great story," Miami coach Jim Morris said. "I don't know if Chewey will ever play in the big leagues or not. I think he's got a chance to, but I know one thing. He'll be very successful in life."
Family traditionAfter the New York Giants beat the Denver Broncos in the 1987 Super Bowl, defensive lineman Jim Burt celebrated by carrying his 5-year-old son, Jim, across the field on national television. On Saturday, the younger Burt was the one doing the celebrating. Jim Jr. was a freshman backup outfielder who played in each CWS game for Miami and had a hit in his only at-bat on Saturday. "This doesn't happen every day. This is like winning the Super Bowl," said the elder Burt, who played football for the Hurricanes. "It's great to be part of this whole thing. It's great stuff sitting back as a parent. I can enjoy it more." But there was no ride across the field this time for the younger Burt, who is 5-foot-11, 220 pounds. "I couldn't carry him now," the father said. "I'm sure he can carry me. He's strong like a bull."
Graduation dayNo baseball players were missing from commencement ceremonies at Stanford on Saturday because of the College World Series. That's because none of the Cardinal players were seniors. Ten juniors, nine sophomores and six freshmen got Stanford to the College World Series championship game for the fourth time. "It's a very special team for me because of the youth and inexperience that this ball club had," coach Mark Marquess said.
Canes' challengeWinning the College World Series has Miami feeling pretty confident that it can beat any team. Hurricanes coach Jim Morris issued a friendly challenge to President Bush, who threw out the first pitch before the first game of the series and has been playing host to T-ball games on the White House lawn. "We do want to meet President Bush again and we'd like to challenge his Little League team to a game right there on the lawn," Morris said. "So, if he'd like to schedule that, we'll come on up."
Rewriting recordsThe NCAA's record keepers were kept busy at this year's College World Series. There were 13 records broken, and 18 tied -- and that was just a tentative count. Stanford broke the championship game records for most pitchers used (six) and most players used (19) in its 12-1 loss to Miami on Saturday. The Hurricanes tied championship game records with an 11-run margin of victory and four doubles in a game, and also set a series mark by averaging 12.3 runs per game. This year's series also saw a record number of balk calls, with 11, and hit batters (29).
Attendance dropsEven with Nebraska making its College World Series debut, attendance for the 2001 CWS dropped a bit for the second straight year. Attendance for the 13 games was 196,515, down slightly from last year's total of 200,917. The record was set two years ago when 206,639 attended.
Around the basesMiami's 12-1 win Saturday matched the worst defeat in CWS championship game history. Minnesota beat Arizona by the same score in the 1956 title game. ... Before Saturday, Stanford was 4-0 in elimination games this postseason. ... Miami finished the season on a 17-game winning streak. The Hurricanes' last loss was to Jacksonville 3-2 on May 4. ... Miami first baseman Kevin Brown's three-run homer Saturday gave him five home runs in eight career CWS games.
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