Peter Mooney played only one season of baseball at South Carolina, but what a year it was! After transferring from Palm Beach Community College in Florida, Mooney was the starting shortstop for the Gamecocks during the 2011 College World Series Championship season and was selected in the 21st round of the Major League Baseball Draft by Toronto. Now he’s coaching in the St. Louis Cardinals organization.

“Being at South Carolina helped me a lot, and it was really difficult to leave,” said Mooney, who started every game for the Gamecocks in 2011, batting .280 with four home runs and 37 RBI. “It was nerve-wracking when I first got there because I thought there was a lot of pressure on me. There were three open positions coming from the previous national championship team. I put some extra pressure on myself. As the season went on, I realized we were going to be good, and some of the nerves went away. Then I started to enjoy it a lot more. I really liked where the program was headed. That made it a hard decision to go to pro ball.

“I really enjoyed my teammates. We had a bunch of JUCO bandits, as I called them. Robert Beary, Adrian Morales, Bryan Harper and I were all coming from junior college. What I miss the most is just the team stuff. I still keep in touch with a lot of the guys. Turning double plays with Scott Wingo was one of the things I’ll never forget. We turned (a school record) 81 double plays that year. I had a lot of passion for defense, and that’s where a lot of my passion is in professional ball.”

His steady glovework in the middle infield was a big part of the team’s success. He previously earned the prestigious Rawlings Gold Glove award as the top player nationally at his position after both years at Palm Beach CC and opted not to sign to play professionally after being selected in the 46th round by St. Louis in 2010. There were challenges in playing in the SEC, but one of the biggest challenges came from the rule changes in college baseball in 2011 where bats were made to perform more like wood to improve player safety.

“I remember (Coach) Ray Tanner coming into the batting cages one day, and he takes the bat out of my hands and says you have to use this. He gave me a steel pipe that was like a prototype of the new bat. There were no logos on it. I hit with it for about 10 minutes and thought, oh boy. I knew it was going to be rough. The loss of power for everyone, especially for me being a little guy, was something we were going to have to overcome. Coach Tanner made us more of a small-ball team, and we weren’t going to make any mistakes defensively. I took it to heart and had 14 sac bunts that year. That’s how I learned, and that’s what I’m using in coaching.”

Mooney played professional baseball for 11 years, with several stints at the triple-A level before retiring after the 2021 season. He didn’t hang up his ball cap however. Mooney was hired as a coach by the New York Mets, working the next three years in that organization and has spent the last two years as the bench coach with the Memphis Redbirds, the triple-A team in the St. Louis Cardinals organization.

“It’s still baseball. It’s my passion. I’ve been doing it ever since I left Carolina. As the bench coach, I coach a little of everything – part time hitting coach, infield coach, coach first base, and work with the catchers. This past week I managed because our manager was on vacation.

“What I learned from Coach Tanner is to let the players play until you need to step in. Don’t overcoach. Ray Tanner was really good at that.”

Mooney noted that making the transition from player to coach wasn’t too difficult.

“I was considered a little bit older when I retired for the level I was at,” Mooney said. “I was 27 and in double-A when I retired. A lot of the players would come to me and ask questions. They just thought I had a good understanding of the game. That started me thinking that coaching was probably the route for me since I didn’t have a real resume at 27 other than baseball. My second daughter was born then, and that was one of the other reasons I retired.”

Having played and worked in professional baseball ever since leaving South Carolina in 2011, Mooney hasn’t had many opportunities to return for team reunions. With the 2010 and 2011 teams being inducted in the USC Association of Lettermen’s Athletics Hall of Fame in November, he can’t wait to be back on campus.

“I know I was only there for a year, but to be the first teams put in there, it’s pretty special,” Mooney said. “I can only imagine what it means to the four-year players, like Scott Wingo. I feel honored, and I’m excited to go back and see all the guys again.”

Mooney and his wife, Ashley, have two daughters, Emma (6) and Elle (5).