In the place where Mark Kingston coached before coming to South Carolina, a baseball revolution played out this past season.
Kingston advanced to two NCAA regionals in three years while in Tampa, coaching the University of South Florida, but it was the MLB’s Tampa Bay Rays, not USF, who ignited controversy and challenged conventional wisdom by having an “opener” — a relief pitcher who started games only to go one or two innings before yielding to the conventional starter.
That trend has, in a modified form, even made it to the MLB playoffs thanks to the Milwaukee Brewers.