Illinois Baseball announced this week that the updated 2019 Illinois Baseball Record Book has been released!
I always enjoy going through the Record Book and believe me, it takes a while. There is a lot of info packed in it. It’s a whopping 138 pages long! If it’s not in the Record Book, it’s probably not relevant to Illini Baseball.
The Record Book begins by focusing on the current 2019 team with bios of the players and coaches, next year’s schedule and operational information. In addition, it includes a review of the 2018 season with stats and results of the Illini’s 33-20 winning season.
For me, the Illinois Baseball history section is a fun part too. I know stats are less critical in college baseball (than say, MLB) but I’m a stats geek and I can’t help myself. Looking through the all-time stats records and the single-season (both regular season and conference play) is a lot of fun.
One part I found very interesting of note is the all-time career record for ERA in Big Ten play. You’ll find a lot of recent pitchers on this list. Kevin Duchene, Cody Sedlock, Tyler Jay, Drasen Johnson and Charlie Naso have all pitched in this decade.
But hey, what’s this? Current Illini pitchers Ryan Thompson and Quinn Snarskis are on the top ten list. Thompson ranks fifth with a 2.60 ERA and Snarskis follows him with a 3.03 mark.
Quinn Snarskis 
Ryan Thompson
They’re just the guys to lead the new Illini hurler staff to another championship.
So if you have some time and want to learn about Illinois Baseball, read the 2019 Illinois Baseball Record Book. It’s worth a mention that the Record Book includes photos by Illinois Baseball Report contributor Robin McElwee and myself.