Pitcher Emerson Hancock didn’t want a reporter to get the wrong idea after being asked what changes for him on the days he climbs the mound for the Georgia baseball team.
The young sophomore is one of the Bulldogs' most good-natured individuals, on a roster full of nice guys. But once he peers toward home plate to pick up his signs, something happens.
“I’m really not a mean person,” Hancock smiled. “But yeah, I probably show a little more fire, a little more competitiveness when I’m out there. Once I get to the mound, I’m ready to go. I really don’t like being a mean person, but there’s a difference. It’s business.”
Hancock will tell you he experienced his share of ups and downs as a freshman in Georgia’s starting rotation.
Although his record of 6-4 included wins over the likes of Alabama, South Carolina, No. 11 Kentucky, and Tennessee, a 5.10 ERA wasn’t quite what the Cairo native was hoping for. Hancock allowed 70 hits and 34 walks with 70 strikeouts in his 77.2 innings. But at times he flashed signs of dominance, such as his first SEC start against Alabama in Tuscaloosa. In that game, he carried a one-hitter into the seventh inning against the Crimson Tide.
With the season-opener against Dayton now less than two weeks away, it’s all about becoming that consistent starter that many predicted he’d ultimately become for the Bulldogs.
Now a sophomore with a full year under his belt, Hancock feels he’s ready to make that jump.
“Last year I thought there were some good things and some bad things, but definitely a lot of learning opportunities,” Hancock said. “I’m glad there were; it made me a better pitcher. But looking back now, with a year under my belt, it’s a lot easier to come back in here. You know what to expect; you know what the standard is. It helped me in a lot of ways.”
Stricklin remains very high on what Hancock brings to the mound, just as he did a year ago.
“I think he’s a Big Leaguer. I think he’ll pitch for a major league team,” Stricklin said. “He does things the right way, and that’s what you want from a Friday night guy.”
If there’s one difference you’ll notice in Hancock this spring at Foley Field, it's that he’s a bit bigger than he was before.
Standing 6-foot-4 since the start of last summer, he’s added approximately 15 pounds and currently weighs in at 215. He can already tell the added muscle has made a difference in the way he feels.
He’s counting on that, along with his knowledge as a second-year player in the SEC, making a big difference in his performance and in eliminating some of the issues with inconsistency that plagued him last spring.
“The first start on the road at Alabama, I had no idea of what to expect. I had no idea what the atmosphere would be like, how good the hitters would be,” he said. “But now, having gone to Alabama, having gone to Ole Miss, Vanderbilt, Florida--now you feel a little bit better.”
He hopes the results will speak for themselves.
“I’m just trying to come out and execute pitches the best I can,” Hancock said. “It’s my job to come out here, use some of the things I learned last year, things I’ve worked on in the fall, and do them the best I can.”
