Kyle Peterson ’97, Baseball
One of the best pitchers in Stanford history, Kyle Peterson was named the National Freshman of the Year in 1995, recording a 14-1 record and 2.96 ERA. In 1995 and 1996, he was an All-American and Pac-10 Pitcher of the Year, and led the Cardinal to the College World Series both seasons. Peterson is tied for second with Jack McDowell for career wins with 35, is tied for second in strikeouts with 363, and ranks third in innings pitched with 398.1. He was the 13th overall pick in the first round of the 1997 Major League Draft by the Milwaukee Brewers and played professionally for five years. Peterson earned his bachelor of arts degree in communication, at Stanford, in 2001, and now works at ESPN as an analyst on regular and post-season college baseball telecasts, including the College World Series, Little League World Series, and Major League Playoffs. He is also President/CEO of Colliers International/Nebraska. Peterson will be inducted into the Stanford Athletics Hall of Fame on October 16, 2015.
I think my proudest moment with Stanford baseball was the run that we had in 1995. Having grown up in Omaha and been around the College World Series my whole life, and then to have a chance to get back there my freshman year was pretty special. We had another Omaha guy that year in Todd Bartels. That sticks out the most just because one of the main reasons you go to a place like Stanford from a baseball standpoint is because you want to have a chance to get back to Omaha, but you don’t know how hard it is or whether you really will. And that run that we had two years later was phenomenal, but the first time will always stick out.
I learned a lot of lessons from Coach (Mark) Marquess that I didn’t really realize until after I left. If you’re not early, you’re late; the running everywhere; and the attention to detail that he had. A lot of those things were not necessarily my personality. I probably wasn’t his favorite guy to deal with at times because we had a different way of doing things and I probably pushed back a little bit too much at times. He taught me an awful lot of things off the field that I didn’t really realize until I was gone. I learned a lot from him and I realize it more every year.
"When you’re surrounded by that, I think that almost by osmosis, you have to get better, because if you don’t get better, you’re going to get left in the dust." » Kyle Peterson
My parents were phenomenal. One of the things they did—my sister went to Stanford, as well—was really allowed us to fail. I think it’s important for kids to do growing up. You realize immediately when you get to Stanford that regardless of what you do, there are other people within an arm’s reach that do things equally or better. When I showed up at my freshman dorm, I was surrounded by people who were incredibly talented in their chosen fields. When you’re surrounded by that, I think that almost by osmosis, you have to get better, because if you don’t get better, you’re going to get left in the dust.
Coming from the middle of the country and being exposed to a lot of things at Stanford that I didn’t really know existed in the world, I got to grow up in an environment where I kind of had a safety net the entire time. It forces you to grow in ways you don’t really think about going into it.
I was in the Sixth Man Club standing at half-court during the basketball games. I attended every home football game, volleyball games, and softball games—I went to a ton. I wanted to be at those type of events because I went to them my whole life. And it’s so easy, because everything is so close. The Sixth Man Club I loved. We’d roll in and they’d let us go to half-court, and that’s when UCLA had the O’Bannon brothers and Tobey Baily. It was awesome, because it was big-time college athletics.
I got humbled before I got to Stanford. Assistant baseball coach Dean Stotz called me on July 1, the first day that coaches could call before my senior year. I had flown out to Stanford to attend camp because at the time there wasn’t nearly as much exposure. So I got recruited somewhat out of that, but there was a question on the questionnaire that said, ‘Can your parents afford Stanford if you don’t get financial aid?’ Well, I didn’t really talk to my parents and just put yes. I didn’t really know. Stotz comes to our house and sits in our living room and says one of the most important parts of the recruiting process is that some families have the ability to pay more than others, and Kyle put down that your family has the ability to pay for a Stanford education. My dad looked a hole through me and said, ‘Well, hold on, Dean.’ Then Stotz looked at me and said, ‘I don’t know if you’ll ever play. I don’t know if you’re good enough. We like some of the things we’ve seen and we think you’ve got a chance and we’ll give you the opportunity. But we recruit a lot of good players.’ It was so different than every other school that had recruited me and it was appealing.
I will always follow the program. Part of it is my ESPN component. I want to make sure I have a good pulse on the country. Brodie Van Wagenen, one of the guys I played with, is now one of the top baseball agents in the country, so he keeps me informed about what’s going on. Last year, I had Stanford in the Super Regional. I don’t know if I ever told Coach Marquess this, but it was refreshing to see him in a different way than I had when I played. It was one of the best conversations I’ve ever had with him.
I never knew I would get into broadcasting. In high school, a few of us would mess around on the bench and essentially did it because sometimes baseball can be a little boring and it gave us something to do. In the back of my mind, I always kind of wanted to, but I didn’t really know how. Of course, when you sign in pro ball, in your mind you’re going to play for 15 years and all is right in the world. And then you have a few shoulder surgeries, and it doesn’t work anymore, and I couldn’t run and I couldn’t hit. So it was time to find something else.
Honestly, it’s the Buck/Cardinal Club and the people that give back to Stanford Athletics that give kids like me a chance to come out and play.» Kyle Peterson
I took a job on the trading floor in Minneapolis in 2003 when I got released. Scott Boras was my agent and he called ESPN on a whim and said if you need anybody on the college side, Kyle would have an interest. They asked me to send them tape and I said, ‘Well, I’ve never done a game.’ They were doing Super Regionals for the first time and it was Pay-for-View, which meant nobody was going to watch. So they sent me to Stanford, and it was Stanford and Long Beach State. It was the first game I ever did and I had no clue. I talked incessantly for three hours. I would try and talk to the truck and push the wrong button and it would come out on the air. I thought I would do two or three games and go back and work on the trading floor and start a career. And ESPN called after that and said they wanted me to come to the College World Series. And they called after the series and said we’d really like you to do more. So I did a lot of Major League coverage and Little League World Series coverage, and then it kind of took off. I didn’t go into it thinking this was going to be career; I went into it thinking this is kind of a bucket list deal and something I’ve always wanted to do. Now, 13 years later, they haven’t run me out yet.
Honestly, it’s the Buck/Cardinal Club and the people that give back to Stanford Athletics that give kids like me a chance to come out and play. The scholarships and financial support they provide have helped make Stanford the best athletic program in the country. There is nothing close to it. The opportunities it has given kids from all around the world is massive. Being a student-athlete at Stanford introduced me to an environment that I never knew existed. I look back on it now and think, ‘Man, I have no idea what my life would look like now if I wasn’t given that opportunity.’ It sets people up for life.
