University of North Carolina Athletics
What a Class!
June 21, 1999 | Baseball
June 14, 1999
By: Travis Everette, Carolina Baseball
When I walked into the UNC Baseball offices for the first time during my C-TOPS freshman orientation, I couldn't have possibly dreamed of the caliber of company I had entered. When the first team meeting took place in August, I met the Carolina recruiting class of 1996. Most notably, there was a gangly, 6'8" righty pitcher from Sarasota, Florida, whose inseam probably outmeasured his waist by about eight inches. Then, there was that other Floridian pitcher who I thought looked exactly like the Yankee's Andy Petite. Finally, I was introduced to the short stop from Chapel Hill who just happened to have the same last name as the head coach.
What a difference three years can make. Little did I know that Kyle Snyder, the awkward looking (Sorry Snyde!) righty, would turn out to be the seventh pick overall and the second college player taken in the 1999 Major League Baseball draft. It wasn't until I saw the press conference in Kansas City last week and heard of the mind boggling $2.1 million signing bonus that I realized how lucky everyone involved with the Tar Heel program was to have witnessed the rise of this potential super-star. Kyle always just went on with his every day routine. I wonder just how many times he was clocked by a radar gun in the past five months. There were sometimes 25-30 scouts in the stands just to see him throw. But none of the hoopla ever seemed to bother him. He was the first to ask questions of the coaching staff on how to improve and always did his best to tune out the outside distractions.
Just having met one first round pick would have been enough to make my lifetime, but having three come in at the same time as myself is absolutely incredible. The second on this illustrious list is lefty Mike Bynum. Bynum, taken 49th overall in the 1st round sandwich picks by San Diego, proved to be one of Carolina's most hard-nosed, effective starters in recent memory over his three years in baby blue. The lasting memory of Bynum for many involved with the Carolina program will always be the game in which he gave up two grand slams in the first inning against Georgia Tech. The fact that he allowed nine runs in the first frame surely isn't his calling card, but that he came back to throw eight complete innings and not allow another run the rest of the game is unheard of. Then when you throw in the added stresses of the Jackets being ranked second in the nation at the time and that Bynum was only a freshman throwing in the 1997 ACC opener, you see why Mike was so special to UNC. His abilities will undoubtedly carry him into big league play where he will be in the five man rotation for a very lucky Padre squad.
Finally, when you examine the Carolina recruiting class of '96, you have to mention Brian Roberts. Even though Brian chose to transfer to South Carolina following his father's departure from Carolina as head coach, the program still looks upon him as one of it's own. Brian may be the only player to hold offensive conference records in the two toughest conferences in the country, the ACC and SEC. Having led the nation two years running in stolen bases, he owns the record for most steals per season in both leagues. Being drafted by Baltimore immediately following Bynum as the 50th pick, Brian Roberts is the epitome of what can be accomplished with years of hard work. In the days of every big name player being huge and physically daunting, here's this 5' nothing kid setting the world on fire offensively. He does it with an outstanding combination of knowledge of the game and maximizing his skills. Brian will certainly never be a home run hitter, and he may not ever be a Golden Glove winner, but he will consistently contribute a healthy bat and lots of base running savvy to whatever club he plays with.
I have thought long and hard about the recruting classes that produced such greats as B.J. Surhoff, Walt Weiss, Paul Shuey, Scott Bankhead, Dave Lemonds, and many others, but no one class really stands up to the one that is now departing its days in Chapel Hill. The great news is that the two men most directly responsible for attracting this top talent, recruting coordinator Chad Holbrook and pitching coach Roger Williams, are still on the trail of the high school game's hottest players. They'll draw many more players to "The Bosh" in the near future.
In closing, these three young men handled themselves as gentlemen and carried the burden of their popularity and fame with dignity at all times. So, tomorrow when I package up those #21 and #39 game jerseys to send to the executive offices of the agent who brokered Snyder's deal so that they may be framed and hung side by side in a place of honor, I'll do it with pride knowing that they belonged to two great people who represented the University of North Carolina for three great years and who gave us all some wonderful memories.
