Just the Fact, Man, on Trojan Baseball

I was surprised by Bill Plaschke’s column of Dec. 21, when he stated that UCLA ruled USC in baseball in the 1990s. Here are a few pertinent facts regarding USC baseball during the current decade compared to other Pac-10 Southern Division opponents.

* USC has the best winning percentage (.655);

* USC is tied with Stanford for most wins (150);

* USC is the only school with 40 or more wins six times in this decade, including the last four seasons;

* USC and Stanford have won three conference championships;

* USC has reached the NCAA playoffs a league-best seven times (tied with Stanford)--and advanced to the regional finals in six of those years (including the last five);

* USC is the only Pac-10 team to reach the College World Series championship game in the ‘90s.

MIKE GILLESPIE

USC baseball coach