It’s probably not surprising that Cardinal players dominated the Stanford Regional All-Tournament team given the squad’s eventual victory over the field and its advancing to the Super Regional to face Cal State-Fullerton. But the balance, depth, and versatility of the Stanford team evinced by the honors have been a Cardinal hallmark all season long, and provide Stanford with its greatest chance in recent years to make some noise on the national stage.

Junior catcher Jason Castro, junior second baseman Cord Phelps, junior centerfielder Sean Ratliff, sophomore corner outfielder Toby Gerhart, senior designated hitter Randy Molina and freshman right-hander Danny Sandbrink made up the sextet of players named to the All-Tournament team from the Stanford Regional, with Ratliff picking up “Most Outstanding Player” honors as well. Pepperdine and UC-Davis came closest to matching the Cardinal with two players apiece named to the Team.

While Sandbrink’s one-run complete game speaks for itself, and the Cardinal have had numerous contributions from other pitchers over the course of the season, it has been the emergence of a balanced and potent offense that has truly shocked many observers.

The departure of rightfielder Michael Taylor, who anchored the Cardinal’s offense in 2007 with a .979 OPS (and is currently having a red hot season for the Phillies Single-A affiliate in Lakewood, NJ with a .994 OPS) left some doubt as to where the Stanford offense would turn for its run production in 2008.

What followed was an offensive explosion from Castro, Molina, junior first baseman Brent Milleville, Ratliff and Phelps that served to carry the Cardinal quite ably through the 2008 season. Led by its multitude of offensive talents, the Cardinal is hitting .300 as a team through 61 games played and has scored 457 runs compared to its opponents’ cumulative mark of 324.

Yet of those players, only Milleville’s and Ratliff’s offensive dominance could have been predicted by an outsider heading into this season. Ratliff is the Cardinal’s biggest power threat, with 20 homeruns on the year (Phelps is second with 13) while Milleville has posted solid all around numbers, consistent late-game heroics and a valuable right-handed bat for the lefty-heavy middle of the Cardinal lineup.

Meanwhile, Castro who has been the Cardinal’s best all around offensive threat in ‘08 and figures to be the first Stanford player selected in Thursday’s MLB Draft (possibly as early as 18th overall to the Mets, as some draft gurus have speculated) struggled through an injury marred 2007 season in which he hit .167 in 102 at bats. Neither did his freshman year, while solid with a .283 average and on base percentage just over .360, offer much hint that such an emergence was in store.

The story is much the same for Molina, who could only eke out a .662 OPS in 44 at bats last season. His sophomore numbers are more encouraging, though, with a .773 OPS, but his slugging percentage was still a lackluster .346.

Even Cord Phelps, Stanford’s leadoff man extraordinaire this season, emerged from relative obscurity as a sophomore to his current status as a team cornerstone. His OBP has jumped by more than 70 points to his team leading .447 while his batting average has risen from just over .300 to .357.

While the impact of the recent hot streak provided by Toby Gerhart, the depth of Stanford’s pitching, and defense and solid overall play by numerous other players cannot be denied, the emergence of such a vast array of legitimately potent threats has been the true cause of the Cardinal’s resurgence from a .500 record in 2007 to the Super Regionals and possibly beyond in ‘08.

So when you’re looking to assign credit for baseball’s latest romp through the postseason, don’t forget the veteran coaching staff assembled by Mark Marquess and the work they’ve done in bringing the Stanford offense along. This season, perhaps more than any other in recent memory, is a testament of just how much players can improve with a little luck and plenty of hard work.

It’s enough to lend some hope to the notion that even with the impending departure of so many contributors to professional baseball following this season, the Cardinal just might be okay in 2009 if it can develop its own talent as well as it did this season.