Sept. 21, 2007
Three trips to the NCAA Tournament. Two conference tournament titles. A combined 173-76 record. And a lasting impression.
UCF's baseball teams from 1999-02 were filled with some of the best players to ever put on a Black and Gold uniform. Student-athletes such as Dustin Brisson, Justin Pope, Jason Arnold, Mike Fox, Dee Brown and Clay Timpner all graced the diamond at one point in that stretch. But one player served as a leader on the field in each of those four seasons: Jeremy Frost.
While it has been over five years since he competed with the Knights, fans will always remember watching Frost and his teammates dominate opponents every night. These days the catcher is in his first campaign at the Double-A level, suiting up with the Birmingham Barons of the Chicago White Sox organization. A 10th round selection by the Milwaukee Brewers in 2002, Frost's jump to the Barons came after spending time in Arizona, Utah, Montana, California and even Minnesota in 2005-06.
"Birmingham is not bad. We are playing in front of 5,000-7,000 almost every night," said Frost, who was born in Fort Walton Beach, Fla. "But I played in St. Paul last year which is independent ball and we would play in front of 10,000-12,000 each night and the atmosphere was a lot different then it is here. People in St. Paul just love baseball. We would outdraw the Minnesota Twins sometimes. Up there it was a gorgeous 76 degrees or so and people didn't want to go inside (the Metrodome) to watch a game. They wanted to spend their summers outdoors. And we always had a good team up there.
"With the Saints, it was different because there wasn't a team in Double-A or Triple-A above you. So you were back towards the college atmosphere and that was playing to win games. I would play in St. Paul the rest of the life because it was a great place to play, but it's only a one-two year stint and I knew that going into it.
"When I got released from Milwaukee I went up to St. Paul and had a decent year in 2005. I then went to spring training with the Nationals and the Blue Jays and went back to St. Paul for my second year in 2006. Getting back into affiliated ball was a goal because I felt like I could still play and have a chance to make the majors eventually. So I figured I'd play in St. Paul and if something works out where I could sign with an affiliated team, then that would be awesome. But I had some pretty good years up there and got signed on with Birmingham and I'm enjoying it. The White Sox are giving me a legitimate opportunity and I can't complain."
Playing professionally might be a dream for most youngsters. Frost, however, loved the college scene and admits that the minor leagues are a completely different animal.
"All of my buddies grew up watching the big leagues, and I grew up watching college ball," explained Frost, a graduate of Oviedo High School. "I always went to Florida State, Florida and UCF games. I just loved the atmosphere of college ball and the College World Series. Playing in the pros wasn't a priority for me. It was go to college, play ball and get a degree.
"I do love playing this game and the next step after college was the pros. This is night and day from the college game. Since I'm a catcher and also play third, outfield and first, it's a lot of work. In the whole scheme of things it is a grind because it is seven days a week. We might get one or two days off during the month and those are just travel days so you're on a bus. You get to the park early, you get your work in, you stretch and you hit the cages. But when 7 p.m. rolls around, the lights come on, the stadium is filled with people and the game starts. That's what you play minor league ball for. Those three hours from seven to 10, it's you and your team against the other guys and that makes it all worth while."
Along with the constant work he puts in, one aspect that Frost has to deal with today that he did not have to contend with at UCF is money.
"When it comes to professional baseball, anytime someone is paying you money to play a game, the hardest thing to deal with is the politics of it," said Frost. "When you have guys who sign for a lot of money and guys who sign for a little, they are all playing the same game. One might outplay the other, so someone is going to answer the question as to `why are we paying this guy more money when this other guy is doing better?'
"I've bounced around from team to team and you don't get signing bonuses, so every time you sign with a team, you have to prove yourself everywhere you go. Then you are competing with guys who are above and below you who did sign for a lot of money or who are regarding as top prospects. That sort of thing can wear on you a bit."
Another difference Frost has uncovered is that it is almost impossible for minor league clubs to gel, unlike his teams in college.
"We had great teams overall at UCF," reflected Frost. "We had strong pitching, strong hitting and great defense. And the chemistry on those teams was ridiculous. They were some of the tightest teams I had ever been on in terms of chemistry. Everybody had the same goal in mind. Everyone wanted to win games and no one was worrying about playing time or getting drafted.
"When we started playing at the beginning of a season, we didn't realize how good we were. But eventually we had the same mindset of the fact that we really were a great team. So everyone went out there and played hard to win games. That was the main focus. I've been on other teams where people are worried about getting drafted and stuff like that. Anything that steers into a different direction can throw off a team from the overall goal and that's to win.
"Any team in minor league ball will be tough to have good chemistry. For one, you have so many guys who have been here the whole season, others who come in late and some just keep getting moved up and down. It does split your team up since every couple of weeks there are changes made. A lot of times the goal here is not necessarily about winning, it's more about developing players to get them to move to the next level and eventually help the big league club. That's the whole point of the minor leagues. If you win that's awesome because the club pushes for it, but the main goal is to develop players. It does take away from the camaraderie, the atmosphere and the overall goal of winning like I had in college."
Comparing them to any baseball team at every level, those UCF teams were a special breed. Not counting the 1985 team that played 87 games, Frost's 2001 squad alone had a team-best 51 wins and set the school record for a .335 team batting average and a .503 slugging percentage. It also scored 543 runs, an average of over eight runs a game. The pitching staff, meanwhile, struck out a record 597 batters and had a 3.62 ERA as a staff.
Frost eventually finished his college career with a .290 average, a .512 slugging percentage and a .985 fielding percentage for the Knights. He does seem a little envious, though, of all the exciting events surrounding the current UCF program.
"Conference USA looks like a better conference than the Atlantic Sun when it comes to travel and the bigger schools they play," said Frost. "When you're in college you always want to play against the best teams and it looks like UCF can do that now. I would hope that those teams I was on kind of put UCF on the map, I mean we were No. 7 in the nation at one time. Whenever someone mentions UCF, I always say, `yeah, we were seventh in the nation.' It's a good bragging tool to use. But we had an incredible team. And for these guys now, I think it's awesome that they are in C-USA because that definitely keeps UCF on the map."
Frost can feel very comfortable about where UCF stands in Division I since those teams from 1999-02 not only put the Knights on the map, they forever changed the landscape of college baseball.