November 24 - Fourteen years before Jim Larranaga led the George Mason University basketball team on their Cinderella run to the Final Four, coach Bill Brown and his 1992 Patriots created a little magic of their own on the diamond.
That spring, the Patriots went 39-18, setting a school record for victories while winning the Colonial Athletic Association tournament title and picking up the lone NCAA Tournament win in program history.
Entering the team's 25th-year silver anniversary, Brown puts his ‘92 group on a very short list.
“There’s no question that the ‘92 team was one of the two best teams we’ve ever had here,” the longtime Patriots skipper said with a nod to the 2009 NCAA team that set a new program mark with 42 victories. “We expected to win.”
Coming off a 30-win season in ‘91, the Patriots returned a talented and experienced group.
“Back then we all played together on the same summer teams,” said first baseman Chris Burr, the CAA’s Player of the Year that season who would be drafted by the Texas Rangers. “The nucleus of the team had played together for at least two or three years.”
The Patriots hit .301 as a team, stole a then-program record 95 bases, and had a pitching staff that compiled an earned run average of 3.79 and limited opposing batters to a .260 average, both marks that remain second in program history. Just as importantly, Brown said the team prided itself on doing the little things right and played the game the right way.
“We were really sound and experienced across the board with our position players,” said Brown, who is entering his 34th season at the helm of the program. “And we had more than a couple really outstanding starters.”
That lineup was paced by Burr, who hit .384 with 17 home runs and 67 RBI, and catcher Chris Widger, who hit 18 homers and also had 67 RBI. Lonnie Goldberg swiped a program-record 36 bases - including five in one game.
“Widger could have won [Player of the Year] just as well as I did,” Burr said. “Lonnie and Edson [Hoffman] also had great seasons. All those guys could have won player of the year.”
“You don’t see that very often on any college team,” Brown said. “When you get 35 home runs out of your three and four holes, you’re in business.”
George Mason went 13-4 in the CAA, then one of the top baseball conferences in the country, won the first of back-to-back conference titles, and beat Rider, 10-2, in the Gainesville, FL, regional for the program’s first NCAA win. Jamie Campbell tossed a complete game in the victory, while Goldberg drove in four runs and had three of the Patriots’ school-record nine steals.
Five players from the team - Burr, Widger, Goldberg, Ken Munoz and Alex Roth - went on to play professionally. Widger was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the third round that year and played over 600 games in the Major Leagues, winning a World Series with the Chicago White Sox in 2005. Burr played professionally in the minor leagues for four years before coaching several Patriots players during the summer months while managing the Vienna Senators in the now-defunct Clark Griffith Collegiate Baseball League.
One of the team’s assistant coaches, Dayton Moore, is now the general manager of the Kansas City Royals. Goldberg, Munoz, Widger and J.J. Picollo, who joined the program the following year, now also work in the Royals’ organization.
“I was proud of our conference with as many big leaguers at that time in the CAA,” Burr said. “I think it is an honor to represent the conference [as Player of the Year]. I still look back at that and cherish it.”
Goldberg and Munoz were table setters at the top of the lineup in front of Burr and Widger. The duo combined for 56 steals and had a knack of being in scoring position when the middle of the order came up.
“I would always let those guys try and run,” Burr said. “Anytime they can move into scoring position it’s easier to drive in runs for myself and for Widger too.”
Added Brown: “It was a lot of fun. We could do a lot of different things from an offensive standpoint and really be productive.”
Edson Hoffman anchored the pitching staff, going 12-2 with a 2.32 ERA to set a program mark for wins. Campbell went 8-1 with a 1.86 ERA - the lowest in school history at the time - and Bobby Walker went 8-4.
As good as the team was offensively and on the mound, their first opponent in regionals loomed large. Georgia Tech - led by future big league All-Stars Nomar Garciaparra and Jason Varitek - was an up-and-coming team that would win the national title two years later.
“They were loaded with talent,” Burr said. “Nomar was the best player on the field and he was only a freshman. I remember watching him play infield and looking to Lonnie and saying, ‘Who the hell is that?’.
“I thought Widger was better than Varitek though.”
“It was just the confidence we had all year, that our guys were better,” Burr said. “We had a belief in one another that was very strong and unique.”
The Patriots gained even more confidence after jumping out to a 4-2 lead.
“When we got up I remember looking at Lonnie and saying, ‘We are going to do this’,” Burr said. “We really believed that.”
Mason ended up losing, 5-4, the game ending on a strikeout-throw-him-out double play with Burr at the plate. Widger was on deck.
“I will never forget it,” Burr said. “It was heartbreaking for us because we had it and it kind of got away from us. But in no way did we feel they were any better than us.”
After beating Rider the following day, the Patriots’ season ended with a 16-5 loss to California, who would win the regional and advance to the College World Series.
The ’92 Patriots had a lasting impact on the program’s ability to recruit locally. Burr, a graduate of Madison High School, and Campbell, a Fairfax grad, helped make the program more appealing for other Northern Virginia players such as Shawn Camp (Robinson), Mike Colangelo (C.D. Hylton) and Justin Bour (Westfield) that would come play for Brown before moving on to the big leagues.
“That team was the one that really got us going and got us jump started and made us a decent option for some of the best local talent,” Brown said. “This ‘92 team really put us on the map from the standpoint of having respect outside of our league.”
Burr agrees with his former coach, pointing at the success of both the ‘92 and ‘93 teams as a jumping off point for the program.
“Those years really solidified Mason for those kids that came after,” Burr said. “It was building block for the team to culminate with the talent that came in and kept it at a high level.”
Photos of - from left, Chris Burr, Chris Widger and Lonnie Goldberg - and Patriots coach Bill Brown courtesy of George Mason Athletics
