This is an opinion column.

Don’t bet against them. It’s a cheap joke and sound advice, a laugh line and a sober reminder of a season unlike any other. It’s the story of the 2023 Alabama baseball season, which is far from over and won’t be done even after the last out in June.

If you can’t appreciate these guys without putting money on them, you may have a gambling problem. Seek help immediately.

The team that lost its first four SEC series won five of its last six, the final three straight, and is all but assured of playing host to an NCAA Regional next weekend. It’ll be the first time the NCAA Baseball Tournament has come to town since 2006. More on that in a minute, although perhaps the less said about that bitter memory the better.

The team that lost its head coach May 4 when he was fired after allegedly communicating with a bettor just before that individual placed a large wager against the Crimson Tide in its series opener at LSU has responded in the best possible way. Alabama is 10-4 since Brad Bohannon’s betrayal and dismissal, news that sent shockwaves through a sport generally light on off-field scandal.

While the extent of and motivation for Bohannon’s dereliction of duty has yet to be detailed, there has been no suggestion that any Alabama players ran afoul of the NCAA’s strict rules against placing wagers or sharing inside information. Quite the opposite, and quite the contradiction. While their coach disgraced himself, the players he recruited and developed in rebuilding a floundering program have distinguished themselves.