The Oregon baseball roster lists Jack Marder as an infielder, but the talented sophomore from Calabasas, Calif., is a man of many talents. Last year, Marder split time between right field and first base, while also filling in at times at both shortstop and second base.
This fall, Marder is again adding to his versatility by working out at a new position: catcher.
“When people ask me what position I play, I say I don’t know,” Marder said with a laugh. “Whatever position I play is where coach wants me … it doesn’t matter to me. I’ll just go after it as hard as I can, and I’m all for it.”
“He’s playing all over the place,” head coach George Horton said. “But we see him in the middle of our lineup. The domino effect is, where does Jack play … It helps our team in flexibility and depth. If someone goes down, he has experience there.”
Trying Marder out at catcher is something Horton planned originally for last fall.
In 2009, the Ducks platooned the catching position between a few guys, but he was intent on finding a solid starter.
Not long after Marder arrived on campus for his freshman year, he injured his ankle. Senior Eddie Rodriguez emerged as an apt offensive player, but was sometimes suspect defensively.
This fall, Horton returned to molding Marder into a catcher, and he will have plenty of competition to evaluate. Junior Paul Eshleman and senior Mitch Karraker both filled in the past two years and three new recruits have been added to the mix.
It’s a luxury Horton loves to have.
“It’s wide open right now because of quality … we think whoever wins that job is going to be a tremendous player,” he said.
In fact, Horton is finding this fall season to be different because of the amount of depth he has all around the diamond. His third recruiting class at Oregon was named the fifth best in the nation by Baseball America, and he believes it will go down as one of the most decorated groups he’s ever recruited.
“My prediction is we will look back on this as one of the most spectacular classes as a whole I’ve ever had,” Horton said. “I’ve had good players where I come from and two good classes here, but when all the dust settles, these guys and the impact they made is going to be spectacular.”
The Ducks were able to persuade six athletes from signing contracts with MLB teams, but perhaps the most impressive feat was that two of those had offers of more than $750,000.
To Horton, it’s an encouraging indication. The team was able to sign some more offensive-minded players, which has been lacking the past two seasons. The head coach even mentioned the Ducks might have focused too much on pitching at first.
“We had good pitching depth in the first two years — probably too many good pitchers, really,” Horton said. “I never thought I would hear myself say that, but we didn’t have enough quality hitters. Now, the tide has turned a little bit and we probably have 20 kids fighting for nine spots”
The added offensive output will be a relief for the Ducks, who look to make a run at winning a NCAA Regional and even surprising a team in the Super Regionals. According to Marder, the experience of the Connecticut Regional last year, where the Ducks lost to Florida State in the final pairing, has helped this unit. Two years into Horton’s program, things have definitely settled down.
“We have a system that accomplishes things a lot more efficiently now and guys who set the tone, showing how to do things the right way,” Marder said. “We have a solid group here. Lots of leadership.”
Horton said the leadership has emerged this fall under the slog of 30 days of practice. He called the practices a “grind,” but it’s in the middle of October where a championship can be won or lost.
“The good news is that we’re one of 25 teams that could win a national championship this year because the culture is there and the talent level is there and the experience is there,” Horton said. “But the difference between those 25 teams is probably going to be a practice on October 14 and how they go about weight training and conditioning instead of waiting until January.”
Now, Oregon wants to make last year’s success a reoccurring theme. Horton’s teams are expected to make the playoffs every year. It’s what they do in the postseason that really matters.
“We’re a tough team,” Marder said. “We’re not going to be flying under the radar now. People know who we are.”
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