Da Boot Sports
6/7/2024
By: Terrill J. Weil


   This Q&A was originally done on 5/6/2022.....  Enjoy


   Former LSU baseball head coach Paul Mainieri sat down with us at Da Boot Sports for a Q & A session. Mainieri has a 1,501-774-8 (.659) career record that includes six seasons at St. Thomas (1983-88), six seasons at Air Force (1989-94), 12 seasons at Notre Dame (1995-2006) and 15 seasons at LSU (2007-21). He is No. 7 all-time among NCAA Division I Baseball coaches in career wins.
He is one of only five coaches in NCAA Division I Baseball history to win 1,500 games and a national championship. The others are Augie Garrido (Cal State Fullerton/Texas), Gene Stephenson (Wichita State), Jim Morris (Miami, Fla.) and Mark Marquess (Stanford).
During Mainieri’s 15 seasons at LSU, the Tigers have captured an incredible 30 team championships, including the 2009 NCAA title, eight NCAA Regional championships, five College World Series appearances/NCAA Super Regional championships, four Southeastern Conference championships, six SEC Tournament titles and six SEC Western Division crowns. His six SEC tournament titles tie him with former LSU coach Skip Bertman and former Alabama coach Jim Wells for the most in league history.



Q - I see you were born in Morgantown, West Virginia. How long did you live there until your family relocated?

Mainieri - Yes, that's something Nick Saban and I have in common, we were both born in West Virginia. The difference is he was raised there but we moved away when I was two weeks old, so I don't remember much about living there.
My father married my mom who was a West Virginia graduate. My father, Demie Mainieri was from New Jersey but went to West Virginia and played baseball there. He went into coaching and got tired of the cold weather and was able to get a job in Miami, Florida and that's where I was raised.
I was the luckiest kid in the world because I grew up loving sports and my father was actually a teacher and a coach. When he retired from coaching, he was generally regarded as the greatest junior college coach in history.
He was the coach at a school called Miami Dade Community College and he was first junior college coach in history to win
1,000 games. He also won a national championship and had about 35 of his former players make it to the Major Leagues.
So I grew up in a very intense baseball environment watching players like Steve Carlton, a hall of famer left handed pitcher. So my father's range of players stretched from the 60s with Steve Carlton all the way into the 90s with Mike Piazza and a lot of great players in between there.





Q - When you were a little boy, what did you want to grow up to be?

Mainieri - Most kids grow up wanting to be Major League baseball player but I just knew in my mind that I wanted to be
a college baseball coach like my father. I was very fortunate to have an opportunity eventually to coach at four wonderful institutions, ultimately at LSU.





Q - At what age did you start playing organized sports and what sports did you play?

Mainieri - I remember being in a uniform when I was four years old, but that was as a bat boy for my father's team. My mother made the uniform. She has a lot of pictures me at four years old being in a dugout wearing a uniform for Miami Dade Community College.
I really don't remember the exact dates of my first team but it was probably when I was six or seven years old. The only thing I played organized when I was young was baseball, but I loved football and we had a lot of pick up games in my neighborhood in those days and I always wanted to be the quarterback. My idols were Johnny Unitus and Joe Namath.





Q - When you attended Christopher Columbus High in Miami did you play multiple sports?

Mainieri - I played quarterback on the football team and I played short stop on the baseball team. I knew I wasn't big enough or good enough to play college football so baseball was going to be my direction.
My dad was a wonderful father and a great mentor for me as an athlete.




Q - Any personal or team accomplishments in high school that you would like to mention?

Mainieri - In baseball we did make it to the high school state championship game in my sophomore and senior years but lost both times. In the State of Florida that's a pretty big deal because there are so many great baseball teams and great players.
Our football team didn't have a stellar record. We were a small school playing amoung all the big public schools in Miami so we were outmanned in those days. Today, Columbus High School has one of the best football programs in the State, so I guess I was lucky through high school and to graduate in 1975, because I probably wouldn't be able to make the team they have today. They have so many great athletes.





Q - Tell us about your recruiting process and why did you choose LSU?

Mainieri - Recruiting back in those days was so much different then it is now. Now the players get so much exposure through all the different travel ball teams and show cases. They had none of that when I was coming out of high school. My dream was always to play for my father at Miami Dade Community College. The dream of most players back then was hoping they were good enough for local schools to invite you to be a part of their team. So I grew up hoping that one day I would be good enough to play for my dad at Miami Dade.
When I was in high school I was always a huge Pete Maravich fan. I wasn't a basketball player but I loved Pistol Pete. Whenever a LSU football game was on TV, I'd watch it. Mike Miley was always someone who I thought was really cool and lets face it, the purple and gold colors just grab ya.
So what happened in the spring of my junior year, LSU made a trip down to Miami to play the Hurricanes in a three game series. But they came in town a day early. So on Thursday they ended up playing an exhibition game against my father's team before their three games against Miami. I was at the field for this game. I met the LSU coach, Jim Smith that day and he said he was going to keep an eye on me because of what he heard about me as a ball player. He said he wanted me to visit LSU in the fall so I went to LSU for a football game and saw the campus and fell in love with LSU. It was a real big decision coming out of high school whether to accept the scholarship to LSU or to play for my dad. I decided to accept the scholarship to LSU to help my family financially, besides really liking LSU.
Just to mention, LSU baseball wasn't the power house back then that it is today. Jim Smith had a duel job. He was the head baseball coach, but he was also the equipment manager for the football team. I know that's hard to believe, but that's where SEC baseball was back then. It didn't become a big deal until Skip Bertman came to LSU and transformed the program into a national power.





Q - Did you play any other positions besides second base?

Mainieri - Actually primarily I was a short stop all the way until I got to LSU as a freshman during the 1976 season. When I got to LSU they had a returning short stop by the name of, Tony Tupps who was a good ball player. I wanted to get into the lineup somehow so the coach ended up putting me in left field my freshman year to give me an opportunity to play. Coach Smith planned on moving me to short stop for my sophomore season, but I decided to leave to play for my dad.





Q - After one season at LSU you decided to head back home to play for your dad at Miami Dade Community College and then ended up at UNO. Tell us about those decisions?

Mainieri - After my freshman year at LSU my heart strings started tugging on me, because I've always wanted to play for my father. That was always my goal while growing up. But the opportunity to go to LSU was so attractive that I decided to go there out of high school. Also with the LSU baseball head coach being a part time position, the program wasn't a challenging one. It wasn't going to push me to fulfill my potential, because coach wasn't out there for fall practice while being involved with the football team. I didn't want to go through my life wondering whether I was good enough to be a Major League baseball player and I wanted to be pushed and challenged. I knew I'd be challenged at Miami Dade Community College by the way my father ran the baseball program there.
So I transferred away from LSU and played for him my sophomore year. Again, I was back at short stop. After my sophomore season at Miami Dade concluded, so was my community college eligibility. So I needed to find another school to attend to finish my college career. By the grace of God I ended up back in the State of Louisiana and went to the University of New Orleans. I played for a wonderful coach by the name was Ron Maestri who became like a second father to me and gave me another coaching role model that I could develop my future coaching philosophy by having played for him.
When I got to UNO, they had a returning short stop who was a tremendous player by the name of Manny Coletti, so
Coach Maestri moved me over to second base and we ended up having a pretty good infield. We had great teams at UNO in 1978 and 1979.





Q - I see that in the summer of 1978 you played in the College Summer Baseball League in Cape Cod and was named a League All-Star?

Maineiri - Yes. That was a great experience. The Cape Cod Summer League is known as the best college summer league out there. It's where all college players want to play summer ball. If you can't play for the USA team, then Cape Cod is the place to play. I was very fortunate. I had a pretty good summer and made the all-star team there.





Q - Tell us about your two season in the Minor Leagues for the Chicago White Socks organization?

​ Mainieri - I was drafted by the Chicago White Socks after my senior year at UNO and I'm really glad I had the experience to play professional baseball. It was a good thing to have on my resume. It probably helped vault my coaching career, to have that experience.
I really didn't like professional baseball personally. I was really into the 'team concept' where everyone was striving to win the game that day and trying to win a championship. But the reality is, in the minor leagues your only concern is the advancement of your own career. It leans towards players being selfish and being only concerned about themselves and winning is not the goal. It's all about player development.
Personally, professional baseball was not for me. I didn't really like it. I loved high school baseball. I loved college
baseball.
When I decided to be a coach and perused coaching I much preferred the collage level then I would have enjoyed coaching
in professional baseball. I could have gone into professional baseball. I had many friends that became executives in professional baseball and I think if I wanted to do that I probably could have been a big league manager. But that wasn't my goal. My goal was to be a college baseball coach.
Like I mentioned, I really enjoy the team concept, but I also enjoyed getting players in informative years where you can mold them into men. Not just baseball players and filling their potential, but seeing a youngster come to you at 18 years old and then leaving you as a productive adult for society.
So I'm glad I had the experience of pro ball because it made it very clear to me that my personal professional goal was going to be on the collage level, not in professional baseball.





Q - When did you realize that you wanted to be a baseball coach?

Mainieri - At a very young age I decided that I wanted to be college baseball coach like my father. I think I was maybe 15 years old when I went to my father and told him what I wanted to do with my life. He mentored me through that whole decision.
Honestly, I don't remember much about my childhood or growing up other than that I was always on the ball field with my dad or playing myself with whatever team I was a member of. It was a wonderful childhood. Maybe it was a little bit limited as far as other people may look at it, but I was so in love with sports, playing baseball and watching my father coach, that it was a wonderful childhood growing up.
The most important thing that I got from my father was he told me that if I wanted to go into coaching, you have to do it for the right reasons. You can't do it for prestige. You can't do it for the idea of a lot of money. You can't do it because of ambition or because you love baseball or you enjoy winning. The reason that you want to go into coaching is to feel like you can make an impact in young people's lives and teach them how to be successful. Today it might be on the baseball field, but those qualities that they learn will later be useful in life. To allow them to be a successful husband, father, or in any walk of life that they choose to do. So that was always my guiding light throughout my coaching career.





Q - When did you get your first head coaching job?

Mainieri - While I started playing professional baseball during the summer I moved back to Miami got married in December after my senior year and started coaching in the off-season at my alma mater Columbus High School. When I got released from pro baseball they put me on as a full time teacher and coach. That's how I started my coaching career.





Q - Tell us about your first collage head coaching position?

Mainieri - I received my first college head coaching job at St. Thomas University when I was 25 years old.
I had already been married for three years and I took that head coaching job for the whopping $3,200 a year. I laugh now because of the salaries coaches are receiving now in college baseball. How many people would take a leap of faith into a profession for $3,200? But I was the happiest guy in the world because I had fulfilled my dream of becoming a college baseball coach.
I didn't dwell on the fact that I was hardly making any money. I didn't dwell on the fact that we only had two scholarships and that we had a very below par facility. I was just happy to be a coach.
I worked day and night to try and develop a program there. I worked with the players and impacted their lives. It's amazing that through a lot of will, belief and hard work eventually I became full time at the University.
After being the coach there for three years they made me the athletic director. I became a 27 year old athletic director after teaching sports administration for a couple of years.
We improved the facility and the field is now actually named after me. Since the team is now in the NAIA, they are now actually
competing for national championships at the highest level of NAIA baseball.
I feel very proud of the time that I put in there. I guess you could say we were the pioneers of the program. We laid the ground work for what they are accomplishing now.
Back then it was a low budget university. We didn't have much money. The school only had 1,200 students. I had to
do everything. I had to fix the field. I had to write the press releases. I had to do it all. That was great training for me. It was a wonderful experience and then I ended up as the head coach at the Air Force Academy at the age of 30.

**Coach Mainieri coached at St. Thomas from 1983-1988. He is in the St. Thomas Hall of Fame and has had his jersey number retired by the school.





Q - How did you become interested in the Air Force head coach position?

Mainieri - When I was coaching at St. Thomas we played the Air Force Academy in what turned out to be my last year. The coach of their team explained to me that he was an active duty Captain in the Air Force and he was going back into Operation Air Force and that they were going to civilianize the head coach position. He thought that I would be a good candidate for the job if I was interested in taking it.
Every year that I was at St. Thomas we would play the Naval Academy and I had become friends with the Navy coach even though there was a large age difference. I thought, not only are you a baseball coach, but you're such an important person in those cadets' lives at this service academy because your teaching them how to be successful and how to be leaders.
These were young men. You had them at 18 and 22 years old and they were going to go onto serve our country in vital roles. In leadership roles. So that really appealed to me. I went into coaching because I wanted to impact young people's lives. Well, what more important thing can you do then to impact the lives of a future officer that were going to be the custodians of our way of life.
I'm proud to tell you, I'm probably the only former coach that has five former players that became general officers in the Air Force and probably 25 former players that are colonels. Most of the players that played for me became fighter pilots and fought in wars. They have done real heroic things in defense of our country. That was an unbelievable honor to be named the head coach at the United States Air Force Academy.





Q - Tell us how you ended up as the head coach at Notre Dame after six successful seasons at the Air Force Academy?

Mainieri - Honestly I thought I'd be at the Air Force Academy for the rest of my life. Then one day I was sitting at my desk and the phone rang. It was the athletic director at the University of Notre Dame. He told me that he wanted me to be the baseball coach at Notre Dame.
Like I mentioned I played quarterback at an all boys Catholic high school, dreaming of being the quarterback at Notre Dame someday. Of course I wasn't good enough to be that, but now they think I'm good enough to be their baseball head coach. It was just something that I needed to do.
Of course the University of Notre Dame means the University of Our Mother, and I thought, well I do want to go to heaven. So you can't turn Our Mother down, (laughing)… So I thought I'd better take the job. I ended up being their for 12 years and it was a tremendous experience.





Q - Tell us about the challenges of coaching baseball in such a cold weather environment?

Mainieri - For a boy who grew up in Miami, Florida and spent the first 30 years of my life there with the exception of the three years I went north to Louisiana for college, going to Colorado Springs and then South Bend, Indiana was a big adjustment for me.
I had never seen snow before I went to the Air Force Academy and of course the winter in the Mid-West could be very treacherous. It presented a big challenge to deal with the weather.
Notre Dame was also a very selective university, as was the Air Force Academy. It was difficult to find quality baseball players that were of the caliber of student that could gain admission into the university and it was also a very expensive university.
There were a lot of reasons why we shouldn't have been successful at Notre Dame. But my attitude was nothing is going to stop us and we're not going to make excuses. We were going to get players that understood that there will be things that we will need to overcome, but through hard work and belief in ourselves, we will overcome them.
I felt like during the 12 years I was there we probably were universally regarded as the strongest northern
baseball program in the country. We actually had a team in 2001 that held the #1 ranking in the college baseball polls for about a three week period. Then in 2002 we advanced to the College World Series. Our time there was very successful and very rewarding. I loved it.





Q - Please tell us about your opportunity to become the head coach at LSU?

Mainieri - I actually turned down several other jobs in warm weather climates, including in the SEC, the Big 12 and even at UNO to stay at Notre Dame. But when LSU called that was the one school that I just couldn't turn down. It was the only school that I would consider leaving Notre Dame for. I took a leap of faith, because as much as I loved Notre Dame, and I thought I'd be there for the rest of my life, I knew that if I turned LSU down that I'd regret it for the rest of my life.
Skip Bertman contacted me about the position. I actually knew Skip for decades before he became the coach at LSU. He was a dominate high school coach in Miami, Florida at Miami Beach High School. He use to send players to my dad's college. So he and my father were friends and I knew him well. Then he went from there to being the associate head coach at the University of Miami. I actually coached against him when I was the coach at St. Thomas University my first year, so Skip knew of me. I also followed LSU baseball program from a distance all those years, having gone to school there and from knowing Skip. I followed them very closely, never dreaming that someday I'd be the baseball coach here. It ended up happening. It was just an opportunity that you can't pass up. I was very flattered that Skip felt that I was the guy that would help restore the glory to LSU baseball, so it was virtually impossible to say no to him.
When we got to LSU it was a little bit of a challenge at first but we stuck with it . Our very first recruiting class at LSU which didn't come in until my second year was the #1 recruiting class. So the foundation was laid with the first team. Then we added to it, going to Omaha in my second year. Then in my third year we won the national championship. It was really a script played out and I was very proud of the way it happened. I wish we would have won another championship or two, because I felt like we had the teams to do it, but it's really hard to win national championships. A lot of things need to fall your way. We almost won another one in 2017 when we lost in the finals to Florida. We had some really great teams, especially when Alex Bregman was here. We just couldn't finish it up to get another one or two. I think we had a lot of success here and I'm very proud of the things that we did. I'm very honored that I was able to be the coach here for 15 years.





Q - Looking back at your first three seasons, your first season finished with a 29-26-1 record, missing the postseason. Then it seemed like the team started slow in 2008 before going on that amazing SEC record 23 game winning streak and end up advancing to Omaha. Then in 2009 the team wins the national championship. Can you elaborate a little more those first three seasons as the LSU head coach?

Mainieri - Well, I wasn't able to recruit any players for the first team that I had. During the course of my first year here is when I was able to recruit my first class, which didn't come to school until the fall of my second year. So we had simply play with the guys that were already here in year one.
There were some areas that we obviously needed improvement in, but we worked hard and 29-26-1 doesn't seem to be anything that anyone would be proud of, but in a sense quite frankly I thought we overachieved that year. I know LSU fans don't like to hear that, but that was a challenging year. That's why they needed a new coach to come in and build the program back up.
Like I said, the foundation of our national championship team came from that first season. The previous staff had recruited freshmen by the names of Blake Dean, Sean Ochinko, Jared Mitchell and Ryan Schimpf. By their third year, they had the experience and we won the national championship. So we took our lumps that first year.
Then in our second year we brought in that great recruiting class, combined with the foundation guys from the previous season, but we were losing a lot of games early in the year that could have gone either way. We were just that one pitch, that one play, that one at bat away from winning and we weren't getting the job done. But I was still encouraged, because I knew we were much more competitive then we were in my first year. Then all of a sudden two thirds of the way through the season it just clicked. We ended up winning the last 16 games of the regular season, (four three game sweeps consecutively to end the SEC schedule). That had never been done before and hasn't been done since. We had to do it when we really needed the games.
Then we swept the SEC Tournament and then swept the regional. So we won 23 in a row before our streak was stopped in the first game of the super regional before winning the next two games against Cal-Irvine and qualified for Omaha.
​ Even though we didn't win the national championship in 2008, in Omaha we went 1-2. It just laid the ground work for the following year.
In 2009 we started the season ranked #1 in the nation and culminated it with a national championship. Some people who follow LSU are disappointed that we didn't win another championship in my tenure, but it wasn't like we didn't have a lot of success. We had a stretch of six straight years where we were a national seed. That had only been done one other time previously in college baseball history. We won SEC championships. I think we won 31 different championships including regionals, super regionals, western division championships, SEC regular season championships and SEC tournaments. We just didn't win the last game of the year again. I know that was disappointing.
Some people evaluate your season by if you won the last game of the year. That attitude is a result of what Skip Bertman created here. He won five national championships and that became the standard at LSU, and that's what makes LSU so unique and so special, but at the same time that's an unreal expectation.





Q - I want to bring up your second season again. Your final two wins in the super regional were the final two games played and won in the old Alex Box Stadium. Then you end up winning the national championship the next season, which was the team's first season in the new stadium. How did you and the team handle the move from such a historic site where so many wonderful moments happened, into the new building 200 yards down the street?

Mainieri - When Skip hired me, he told me that we would play one more season and then move into this sparkling new Alex Box Stadium. That certainly was attractive to me in deciding to come here. As it turned out we actually had to play two more seasons in the old Box because we were a year removed from Hurricane Katrina.
All of the contractors were busy repairing and rebuilding hospitals and schools back up so baseball stadiums had to take a back seat and understandably so.
But I'm really glad we had that extra season in the old Box, because when we had that 23 game winning streak we ended up closing out with a regional and hosting a super regional and I'm really glad we had that experience. Of course we won the super regional against Cal-Irvine, sending out the old Box in the most appropriate way by qualifying for Omaha.
Then going into a new stadium and winning a national championship that year is something no one can take away from us. We were just so proud of the new stadium. We had a veteran team here in my third year. The crowds were coming out in record numbers. It was only appropriate that we won it all our first year there.
It was a two year period that I'll never forget obviously for a lot of reasons, but just the pride in closing out the old stadium and then opening up the new stadium was just phenomenal.





Q - I have a question about winning the national championship in your third year. You and your team had the face something that none of the previous LSU teams had to face in winning a national championship in Omaha and that was the format change to the championship game in the College World Series. Previous LSU teams only had to play one game for all the marbles on the final day. Now it's a best out of three series. I personally like the old format better. The gritty one game, need to be your best on one day to win a championship. That had to have been added pressure to win a national championship in that new championship series format?

Mainieri - Yes. Well we won the first game, lost game two so it came down to a final game. Like you said, there's nothing like going to bed at night, waking up in the morning and knowing it's do or die for the national championship. It's like playing the Super Bowl. What an amazing feeling that was. But our team was so confident and I believed in our kids so much that there was no doubt in our mind that we were going to win that final game against Texas that night.
We jumped out to a 4-0 lead before finding ourselves in a tie after five innings at 4-4. So I grouped up the guys in the dugout before we went to bat in the sixth inning and I said. "Hey, Nobody hang their heads guys. We have a four inning game for the national championship. So lets be the better team in these last four innings."
We went out there in the top of the sixth and scored five runs. We had tremendous relief pitching. Then we ended up adding another run in the eighth and another in the ninth. We ended up winning 11-4. It looked to the casual fan like it was easy win, but it wasn't.
We had to beat a coach who had won five national championships in Augie Garrido. We had to beat the University of Texas who had won six national championships overall.
That was our sixth national championship to tie Texas for the second most in history. I think USC has the most with 11 or 12. It was an amazing night and something I'll never forget. I feel very blessed to have experienced it.






Q - How do you feel about the job that Jay Johnson has done so far?

Mainieri - I'm obviously pulling for him. Most of the players on this year's team played for me last year. I recruited most of the players on the team. All of the returning players I recruited and coached. But we also recruited most of this new recruiting class for this year. Jay helped by bringing in a few transfers.
I feel good about what we left for him. There's a theory in coaching that when you leave or retire, you want to leave the program in really good shape for the new coach. I feel very proud about that.
We won a regional last year and these guys have a year of experience, plus the additional recruiting class, so I think Jay is very grateful that we left him an outstanding team. There is no question that it's an Omaha caliber, national championship caliber team.
For that reason, it was hard for me to walk away, because I knew we had the making of a championship caliber team for the next year. So when I made the decision to retire, it was very complicated and a lot of it had to do with health reasons.
I think Jay has come in and has done a good job preparing the team for the new season. He's going to find out that there is a lot of expectations for the coach of the LSU baseball program. There will be criticism and there will be days when people are questioning if they made the right decision on who the new coach is. It all comes with the territory. But I think he's experienced enough to understand that. I think he's a quality coach and a quality person. I think he will keep the program at a very high level and I wish him nothing but the best.
I'm here to help him. He has called on me a lot and I've made myself available to him a lot. He knows that I want nothing but great success for the program.





Q - What adjustments have you made since retiring after 39 years of coaching? Do you miss it?

Mainieri - Sure. I miss it a lot. I knew I was going to miss it. I just have to keep reminding myself that all good things have to come to an end at some point. I made the decision to retire for my own personal health reasons. I also felt that it was time to hand the program over to a younger person that had maybe a little more energy and that could do the little things that I always did. I was just running out of gas.
I've coached almost 2,300 games. I've coached over 900 games at LSU. With the expectations as high as they are at LSU, it could wear you down a little bit. I just felt it was the right time and it's been a big adjustment for me.
For the first time in four decades I'm not preparing a team to start a season. That's a big void in my life. I'm trying to fill it by spending a lot of time with my children and grandchildren. Doing some things that I never got to do in the spring time and even in the fall. I'm playing a lot of golf. I've gone visit my son in South Bend a couple of times and I've been able to babysit my grandkids.
I'm just trying to adjust to my new life. That doesn't mean I don't miss my old life either. I think this first year will be a huge adjustment for me. I gave the job everything I had to offer for 39 years, 15 at LSU. I just felt like I didn't have anymore to give. I think I was man enough to understand that and realize that. It was the toughest thing I've ever done in my life going into the athletic director's office and tell him that I was giving up my dream job. I made the decision and there's no looking back now.
I'm very grateful and appreciative to have had the opportunity and I feel like I've done a pretty good job while I was here. I hope most people feel that way. I'm thankful to God that I got to do what I wanted to do with my life and I did it for 39 years. How many people can say that?





Q - From what I understand, you are still involved with the LSU athletic department?

Mainieri - Officially I am. My official title is 'Ambassador to LSU Athletics'... If Scott Woodward needs me for something, I'm there for him. I visit and mingle with people who donate to LSU athletics, letting them know how appreciative we are for their support.





Q - Is there anything you want to tell the LSU fans?

Mainieri - I've had so many other coaches and people from around the country ask me, how do I handle the pressure coaching at LSU? How did you do it for 15 years? You know what I tell them? ... I never felt pressure, not for one moment. Because when I was a young boy my father gave me the greatest advice that he could ever give to someone. 'The only person that you have to please is the man that you look at everyday in the mirror and know that you gave it your very best effort'.
I know LSU fans are very demanding and have high expectations, but they are also very supportive and that makes coaching at LSU very special.
I never felt pressure because I held myself to a higher standard than even LSU fans held me to. In a job I had where there is a lot of people that care about the team, you're going to have some criticism, you're going to have some praise and you take it all equally because LSU fans are very passionate about their teams, especially their baseball team.
​ I never took criticism personally. I took it just as they were passionate about their team and I was very proud to be their coach. When I put that LSU uniform on, I knew we were representing a great fan base, a great university, and a great state. I was very proud of that everyday. Nobody wanted to win more than I did. Every game I coached in Alex Box Stadium, I'd look around and see 10,000 people in the stands and I'd say to myself, "Wow, what a huge responsibility. My job is to send these people home happy tonight." and I tried my best to do that every single game.
I think the feedback I've gotten from most fans is that they were very thankful and grateful for the time that I was here. I'm sure there may have been some fans that were glad to see me go, but I've never felt anything but love for LSU people and I'm very proud that I was their baseball coach for 15 years.

​

Photos Below By: Terrill Weil

​John 14:6 - "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (Accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior)

​*John 3;16 - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Da Boot Sports
6/6/2024
By: Terrill J. Weil


   This Q&A was originally done on 3-23-2020...  Enjoy....


   Today's Q & A Session is with former LSU pitcher, Ben McDonald. McDonald was a solid basketball player at LSU for Dale Brown, but it was on the baseball diamond that Big Ben is most known and remembered for.
      He had a great three year career wearing a LSU baseball uniform, helping the Skip Bertman lead Tigers reach the College World Series in Omaha twice.
      McDonald would become a two-time All-American, win the Golden Spikes Award, and win a gold metal in the 1988 Olympics. 
      The Baltimore Orioles would draft him number one overall in the 1989 MLB Draft. He became the only number one draft pick to win his first five starts in Major League baseball history.
      After nine seasons in the Majors, he would retire in 1997 due to arm and shoulder problems. He finished with a 78-70 record, a 3.91 career ERA, an impressive total of 24 shutouts and 894 strikeouts in 198 starts.
      “Ben might be the best overall athlete who ever came through LSU athletic program,” Skip Bertman would once say, adding,. “After two years in basketball he came to baseball full time. In high school, he was naturally in three sports, and for someone to play two sports at such a high level tells a lot about his athletic ability. Ben was a good player for Dale Brown, but baseball was his best sport."
      McDonald is a member of the College Baseball Hall of Fame, as well as the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame. 
      He currently helps cover Baltimore Orioles baseball and works for the SEC Network as a baseball analyst. 
      He lives in Denham Springs with his wife Nicole, daughter Jorie and son Jase.


      
      Q - What is your favorite color?
      Ben - Green


     
      Q - What is your favorite food?
      Ben - Seafood


     
      Q - Who was your favorite Pro Athlete growing up and currently?
      Ben - Growing up I was a big fan of Pete Rose & Nolan Ryan. More recent years, Cal Ripken Jr. who I got to play with for seven years and Michael Jordan was so cool to watch. 


     
      Q - Who is your favorite music artist?
      Ben - George Straight


     
      Q - Favorite movie?
      Ben - Tombstone


     
      Q - Favorite Actor?
      Ben - Kevin Costner


     
      Q - Favorite Sports Team? 
      Ben - Baltimore Orioles


     
      Q - Where did you grow up?
      Ben - I grew up in Denham Springs and still live there now. Its always been my home. I now live across the street from my mom and dad. They have lived in the same place since I've been like five years old I guess, you know. Nearly fifty years in the same spot. That's pretty cool. 


     
      Q -  At Denham Springs High School, you played multiple sports?
      Ben - Yes, I made all-state in three different sports during my last two years. My junior year as an all-state kicker, senior year an all-state punter in football, and then all-state in basketball and baseball for those years as well. I even played a little bit on the golf team, but it kinda interfered to much with baseball being a spring sport.


     
      Q - What was your favorite sport to play when you were growing up?
      Ben -  You always try to encourage kids these days to play multiple sports, I think that's where it's at.
      I was one of those kids that would say when they would ask, "What's your favorite sport?", I would always say, "Whatever is in season."  Whatever I could do at the time was my favorite sport.
      I played Major League baseball, so you would think that baseball was my favorite sport, but not so much.
      I actually enjoyed basketball more when I was growing up and everyone forgets that I went to LSU on a basketball scholarship.
      I love basketball. I loved playing for Dale Brown, it was one of the highlights of my career.
      I just liked a little bit of everything. I always considered myself to be pretty athletic, so I just loved staying busy. There was never a day that I went home from school with nothing to do. I was always playing something. I enjoyed all of it. 


     
      Q - Being so successful in multiple sports must have made your recruiting process pretty wild and crazy?  You must of had multiple schools recruiting you for multiple sports?
      Ben - Oh yea. I was more highly recruited out of high school to play basketball then baseball.
      I remember there was over 100 division one school who offered me a basketball scholarship, including almost everyone in the SEC.
      With baseball there was almost as many too. But I always wanted to play basketball, it was always my favorite sport.
      It actually came down to LSU, Mississippi State, and the University of Texas. They all were going to let me play both sports.
      Of course it was hard, when you're a local kid,  It's hard to get away from the state of Louisiana. I never wanted to play anywhere else. I grew up like a lot of kids, going to LSU baseball games, going to LSU basketball games, going to LSU football games. Purple and gold was always in my blood and that's where I wanted to go to school. So I'm very thankful I got the opportunity to do so. 


     
      Q - Well with purple and gold being in your blood, that must have helped make it easy for Dale Brown to help you make your final decision?
      Ben - Yea, it was. It was a tough decision, because I really liked Mississippi State too.
      Ron Polk was the head coach at Mississippi State and at the time, he had the number one program in the SEC.  Polk had Palmeiro and Bobby Thigpen, Jeff  Brantley and Will Clark all at Mississippi State and they were going to all these College World Series, so that's why they were kinda on my radar.
      Skip Bertman had just gotten to LSU. But then my senior year in high school, Skip took LSU to the College World Series for the first time and that kinda sealed the deal. I said this is going to be a solid program and I wanted to go be a part of that. So as they say, the rest is history. 


     
      Q - Want to tell us what it was like playing for Dale Brown and Skip Bertman?
      Ben - I tell people all the time, Dale Brown, you know, when you're a 18, 19 year old kid you always don't understand some of the things that coaches tell you.
      This goes for Bertmen too. You think they are being hard on you. But as you get older you realize that they were there and they really cared about you, and they wanted what was best for you, both on and off the court.
      The biggest complement I got from Dale Brown is, and I told him this the other day, that it really took me some time and that I really understand now,  and I appreciate the way that he treated us all. He really, truly cared about us as much off the court as he did on the court. And as a father now, sending my kids off to college, you got to trust the coach. The coach is really going to really impacted their lives in a lot ways in the course of two, three, or four years. However long they're there. You got to be able to trust.
      Dale Brown was a father figure to me, and Skip Bertman was too. They helped me grow up and taught lessons both on and off the court that I have taught to my kids and to the teams that I have coached over the years. My boy's teams and daughter's teams over the years.
      They just impacted my life in so many ways. But they have impacted so many others student athletes lives as well. So I was very fortunate to play for both of them and learn so much. As the years go by you really realize how much you learned and how much they impacted your life in so many different ways.
      Who gets to play for both Dale Brown and Skip Bertman during their college career? So that was a lot of fun for me.
     
     
      Q - So, how was it being a two sport athlete during your LSU Career?   
      Ben - I played both basketball and baseball my freshman year. We went to the Elite Eight in basketball and the College World Series in baseball all in the same year. So that was a good freshman year.
      Because we went so far into the NCAA playoffs in basketball, I missed half the baseball season. I wanted to make the Olympic team the following year in 1988. So I knew the only way to do that was to be in baseball the whole next year to show everyone potentially what I could do on the baseball level so I could be on the Olympic team, which doesn't come along very often.
      After my freshman year I went off to the Alaskan Summer League and played a summer out there and really got in shape. Needing it really good because of missing half the baseball season.  It helped my fastball pick up. I hit 97 on the radar gun, and I kinda knew at that point that baseball may be my future to make it to the professional level.
      So I went back to school and told Dale Brown that I was giving up basketball. It really was kind of a funny story. Of course he was totally against it. But then he swears to this day that he told me, and he did tell me this again the other day, "That I could have played in the NBA." but he said "That you made the right decision. I don't think you would have been the impact player at the NBA level that you were in MLB, being the first pick overall and stuff." 
      So I told him that I wanted to make the Olympic team. I appreciate everything you have done for me and I hate to do this because I love the game of basketball. But I got to give baseball a full shot.
      He said,  "Okay"...  and I'll tell you what kind of guy he is. He said "Ben,  just in case you want to come back, I'm going to leave you on basketball scholarship." 
      Well, right before school started in October the entire basketball team got sick. They couldn't even practice. They only had maybe seven players that they could put on the court at one time. So he called me and asked me if I could please come back and be a part of this for awhile.
      So, I went back out to play basketball and help coach out. I'm on basketball scholarship and he needs me right now so I'm going to go help him out.
      I used that to help get my legs in great shape from running up and down the court for two or three months.
      So I told him, "Coach, I'm going to come play basketball and do whatever you need me to do, but as soon as January 1st comes rolling around, I'm going out to baseball full time."  He said, "Done! Perfect!" ....
      So my basketball career was really only a full year and a couple of months, is basically what it was. 


     
      Q - What was it like to play in the College World Series?
      Ben - Getting to play in the College World Series and the Elite Eight as a 18-19 year old kid, it was just an unbelievable experience.
      You don't realize what you were a part of until years down the road. But to compete on that high level of college sports and go that deep into the playoffs, of course being able to do that with both of those squads in the same year.
      It was cool for me that Coach Bertman, again, another genius out there and to kind of get into it out  there at the ground level of LSU baseball.
      We were kind of the building blocks to what would come of five national titles in nine years.
      They went to the College World Series once before I got there, then we went twice ('87 & '89) out of the three years I was there. We finished third I think in both years that I went. While we were so close, we just couldn't get it done for whatever reason. But we also were the building blocks for the recruiting.
      Coach Bertman use to always say, "You got to be there a few times before you really think you could win."  My group of players actually went. Then the ones that came after us said, "You know what? LSU has been to the College World Series three or four times now. Why can't we go and win now?" 
      So, that's why I say we were the building blocks of what would come later on with those five national titles. The first time they won it was in 1991. My last season was in 1989. So boy, when they started to win them, they piled them up quickly. 
      It was cool for me to be on the ground floor of that, and Coach Bertman came in started to put LSU baseball on the map several years before I got there. Then we really took it to another level during my years there.
      I'm proud to have been a part of that. Helping to build one of the elite programs, not only in the SEC, but one of the most elite baseball programs in the Country. 


     
      Q - How did you find out that you were the #1 overall pick by the Baltimore Orioles?
      Ben - Believe it or not, but the draft back then use to be at the College World Series. So we were actually at the College World Series, ready to play that night and the draft was that day.
      So, that's when I found out I was picked #1 overall. So I had to go to a press conference and talk about that for an hour, then three hours later, try to go play a baseball game.
      It was a very difficult time. Everyone would ask "What was that like?" ..   For me it was just relief more than anything. It's exciting. It's a dream come true, but there is also so much relief because there is so much anticipation that goes with the draft.
      With me being one of these guys that came back from the Olympic team with success,  I was kinda touted to be, if I stayed healthy, the #1 pick in the Country.
      So I had to live up to that the entire season and talk about it all the time.  It would kind of wear on me a little bit. Having to talk about it so much with the media.
      So I really didn't get to enjoy my junior year like I wanted too, but it was still a heck of an experience. 


     
      Q - How long did it take for you to make it to the Orioles from the Minor League level?
      Ben - I spent ten days in the Minor Leagues. I signed on August the 19th of '89, then I was in the Big Leagues September the 1st.  I had two Minor League starts. One in "A" ball and one in "AA", then was called up. 


     
      Q - How many years did you play in the Major Leagues?
      Ben - I played seven year with the Orioles. Then I went over to the Milwaukee Brewers and played two years there before my arm just gave out on me.
      To make a long story short, it was three surgeries trying to come back from rotator cuff and injury problems in my shoulder.
      None of the surgeries really worked. I spend the better part of three years trying to rehabbing and having surgeries. 
      I was out of the game at 30-31 years old. Just when you start to kinda really figure it out and start to get into the prime of your career, my career was over.
      Those are the breaks of it. Not many players get to go out on their own terms, you know? I certainly didn't, but I'm very thankful for the nine years of Major League baseball that I got to play. 


     
      Q - How was your experience with the Olympics in 1988?
      Ben - I was always a big fan of the Olympics while I was growing up. I loved to watch the Summer Olympics. Watch all the track and field events, the swimming events.
      It was all very exciting me to see the other Countries compete against one another when I was a kid.
      To finally get to experience that. Man, I'm going to tell you, when you put the red, white, and blue on, you're representing your college, your home town, the state you're from, your family. You're representing your Country. When it says "USA" across your chest, it doesn't get any better than that.
      We had a long summer where we played a bunch of games. We took two different trips to Japan. We were over in Italy for the World Championships. Then we also had a US tour around the United States. We finally ended up in Seoul, South Korea for the Olympics.
      What an experience that was. I had two starts and threw two complete games. I only gave up one run in each game.  I also still hold the record in Italy for pitching two complete game shutouts. So I pitched some of my best baseball that summer.
      It was cool for me, I pitched against North Korea and I think Puerto Rico. It was such a really cool deal.
      I always wondered what it would feel like to stand up on that gold metal platform and have them drape a gold metal across your neck like that. To be able to experience that was at the very top of my career.    


     
      Q - Who was the head coach of that USA Baseball Team?
      Ben - Mark Marquess out of Stanford was the head coach. Our coach Skip Bertman was the pitching coach. Ron Polk from Mississippi State was one of the coaches as well. So we had a great Hall of Fame type coaching staff. A bunch of really good ball players.
      To be able to do that was really fun. It's an experience that you will never forget. You make life long friends and the places you get to go. I had barely been out of the state of Louisiana hardly until then. Then you end up in Japan, Italy, South Korea. It was a heck of an experience. 


     
      Q - What did you do after retiring from Major League baseball? 
      Ben - I coached my daughter's teams for a long time.
      Then the way the broadcasting thing started was with CST, when they use to show all the LSU baseball games. I did that for four or five years with Lyn Rollins.
      Then I would do the ESPNU Thursday Night Baseball Show on college baseball. Then the Orioles heard about that and had me go back to Baltimore to do some radio games. Actually the first package was some radio and TV post game show. So I started doing about 15 Orioles games a year.
      Then the SEC Network kicked off and that's when it went from a hobby to a job. I started doing about 60 college events a year. Then started doing some digital SEC Plus stuff.
      The Orioles stuff started to get more and more, so I got more involved with them. To make a long story short on that, the last couple of years have been pretty busy.
      This year I had 129 games scheduled between college baseball and Orioles baseball. I love it, but the traveling is tough.
      I was scheduled to do 84 Orioles games and about 45 college games this year before all of this stuff started to happen. With college ball being cancelled after only a few games, and I'm hopeful that Major League baseball to get going eventually. I'm hoping for July, if possible. 


     
      Q - How did you feel about LSU replacing the old Alex Box Stadium?
      Ben - I was totally against it at first. You know how we are? It's kinda like this Coronavirus, anytime there is something new in our lives that we're used too, then something new pops up.
      There is always some uncertainty. There was so much tradition at the old Box. That's where I had blood, sweat, and tears, along with a lot of other ball players, you hate to see it go.
      But the new Box, God, is it beautiful.The more I kept doing baseball games there, the more I kept going back and the fans got behind it.
      The 2009 team won a national championship pretty quickly. So it kinda became okay. Now it's not even a thought other then when you ride by where the Box use to be.
      Now it seems like there is a store or strip mall there and a parking lot. That kind of hurts your feeling a little bit. But that's part of it. You can't stop it.
      There has been so many new ball parks around the SEC. LSU was one of the first ones. You go around and Ole Miss has added on, Mississippi State has added on. Alabama has a new one. Vanderbilt does too. It goes on and on. It's just expansion and moving forward.
      I love the new Box now. It's a really cool place with a great atmosphere, but I sure do miss the old Box in some ways too. It needed to happen for the fans. LSU has lead the nation in attendance for 24 consecutive years now. So it was a great way to get people in the stands. 


     
      Q - What was it like to have LSU retire your number?
      Ben - That was cool. You know as an athlete you hope to be remembered in some way, you know..  You hope to have an impact on the young kids that are coming up in some ways.
      Like I did when I was a kid, I would watch certain players play. Whether it was basketball, baseball, or football. But you hope to have an impact in some way.
     Coach Bertman had felt like that I had done enough and that I helped impact the program like we talked about earlier. That I was one of the stepping stones of LSU baseball.  Helping put LSU baseball on the map. He told me this the other day, Skip said. "You know there has been several number one picks in basketball, baseball, and football. and now that Joe Burrow has won the Heisman, we have two Heisman Trophy winners. We've had several award winners in basketball, like Pete Maravich, Chris Jackson, and Shaq. But we only have one Golden Spikes Award winner in the history of LSU baseball."  He said that the other day.
      I never really thought of it like that. But when you think about it, it means something, you know...  I'm thankful for the career that I had at LSU. The impact that I've had.
      I'm also a LSU kid growing up. I grew up 20 minutes away from the University. Even though I may have considered going to another place coming out of high school, my heart and soul was going to end up at LSU one way or the other. It was cool to get to play in your hometown team.   


     
      Q - One thing I remember as a fan is when they talked about the size of your hands, and that you were able to hold seven baseballs in a hand at one time. 
      Ben - Yea. We got to doing that with the Olympic team. Andy Benes who was the number one pick in the MLB draft the year before me was on the team. He was a big ole guy, my height too. So we got to messing around. Well, everyone remembers Johnny Bench and how many balls Johnny Bench held years ago. Bench held seven also. So we wanted to see if we could do it. Both of us were able to do it. But there aren't many guys that have hands that big where you can hold them and turn your hand over and not have any of the balls fall out. That's just something that I was always able to do. 


     
      Q - Is there anything you want to tell the LSU fans?
      Ben - I know it's a tough time right now. We are going to get through this. I was on a radio show the other day and someone asked me a similar question.
      The folks down here, we have proven ourselves between the hurricanes and the floods and everything else to be very resilient people down here. I know it's a horrible time right now. It's tough. But we're going to get through this and hopefully be stronger and better and more united when it's all said and done.
      As far as my career goes, I'm thankful every day for the LSU fans and the way that they have treated me. Not only when I was playing,  but even since my playing days were over. The commentating that I do, they are always seem to be in my corner and appreciate the work that I do. That makes me feel good.
      One of the things Dale Brown taught me years ago is,  "How you do anything, is how you do everything".
      I've always remembered that and have always tried to be the best. If I'm announcing, I want to be the best announcer out there. If I was playing ball, I'd want to be the best ball player out there. So he always encouraged us to always try to be the best at everything that we did. That always meant a lot to me. 

John 14:6 - "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (Accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior)

​*John 3;16 - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Please check out the website and grab up some inspiring gear to wear!   www.hearthasnolimit.com
**Please let them know you heard about them from Da Boot Sports!

Da Boot Sports
6/6/2024
By: Terrill J. Weil

   This Q&A was originally done on 3-26-2020....  Enjoy


   Cole Freeman grew up in Mandeville, LA and attended Lakeshore High School where he excelled in baseball earning All-State and All-District honors. He also was a three-year All-District performer for the basketball team as a point guard.   
       He would move on to play second base for Delgado CC, earning NJCAA All-American and Gold Glove honors in 2015.   ...
  At LSU he was a superb player, who started at second baseman for two seasons (2016 and 2017).    
      He is known for his all-out hustling style of play, great infield defense, outstanding speed on the bases, and excellent hitting ability.  His bunting and base-stealing ability would put pressure on opposing team's defense. Freeman always seemed to make the big defensive play at the right time.
      He was named a Cape Cod League All-Star in the summer of 2016 while playing for the Wareham (Mass.) Gatemen, while also winning the 2016 Cape Cod League batting title.
      He was a member of the 2016 and 2017 SEC Academic Honor Roll. 
      In the 2017 MLB draft, he was selected in the fourth round by the Washington Nationals. He is currently playing for the Harrisburg Senators in the "AA" Eastern League.




      Q - Favorite Color?
      Cole - Blue


     
      Q - Favorite Food?
      Cole - Crabs


     
      Q - Favorite Pro Athlete?
      Cole - Sammy Sosa


     
      Q - Favorite Music Artist?
      Cole - Mike Stud


     
      Q - Favorite Movie?
      Cole - Step Brothers


     
      Q - Favorite Actor?
      Cole - Mark Wahlberg


     
      Q - Favorite Sports Team? 
      Cole - LSU & New Orleans Saints


     
      Q - Where did you grow up?
      Cole - Mandeville. I was born in Metairie, then moved to the north shore when I was four years old. 


     
      Q - What were your two favorite sports to play while growing up?
      Cole - basketball and baseball


     
      Q - While attending Lakeshore High School, did you play multiple sports?
      Cole - Yes,  I played baseball and basketball there. I tried getting volleyball there, but they weren't having it. I played volleyball in junior high and loved it. It was so much fun cutting up with everybody. A bunch of the other schools didn't have it, so they would of had to make it like a club team and with the school being so new, they just couldn't do it. 


     
      Q - I see you were All-State and All-District in baseball and pretty good in basketball as well?
      Cole - Yes, I think I still own a couple of basketball records over there, like charges and I don't know if I still have the assists one. Someone may have past me up in that one. I think I also have the most steals. I think I was All-District one year. 


     
      Q - Were you recruited by anyone for baseball or basketball?
      Cole - No.. I wasn't even recruited for baseball. Well, the only team that did hit me up for baseball was a place called Spring Hill. I think they were located in Mobile, AL. But that was my only baseball offer coming out of high school.


     
      Q - So how did you end up playing baseball at Delgado Community College?
      Cole - Yea, one of their coaches I kinda grew up with, Chris Westcott, who lived in our  neighborhood. He was really a blessing to me. I met him when I was really young.  I was about ten. I actually met him at a LSU vs. ULL game that my dad took me to. We found out then that he lived in our neighborhood, and he kinda took me under his wing. So, I called him and asked if he could get me into Delgado, and three weeks before college started I was able to get in. 


     
      Q - From what I understand, Delgado has a pretty solid baseball program?
      Cole - Yea, I think starting in 2013 is when they started kinda turning that corner and establishing themselves. They went to the World Series the year before I got there, Then we went back to the World Series during both of my years there. Then I think they went the following year after I left too. So they have been in the top ten in the country for the last seven to eight years. Joe Sherman was my head coach there. 




      Q - How was your experience at Delgado and what kind of a coach was Coach Sherman?
      Cole - To him, I'm in forever debt. To Coach Sherman, the other coaches, and the whole Delgado program. I tell people all the time,  that the best thing that ever happened to me was getting an opportunity to go there.  It obviously furthered my career. If I could, I would do it again in a heart beat. School wise, I think it was the right choice for me to. It was a little smaller right out of the gate. Kinda helped me get my feet wet for college. That program means everything to me, as well as the people. As long as I can play and help that program out, the way they helped me out. I'd do that the rest of my life. Yea, I'm always proud to say that I'm a former Delgado Dolphin. 




      Q - Can you tell us how you got your opportunity to play at LSU after your Sophomore season at Delgado?
      Cole - It actually started my freshman year, after my fall season. We had a our exit meeting with Coach Joe. As I walked in he started to tell me how he thought I did. Then he told me that I would be starting when we would come back to start the season. I went into the fall thinking, you know because I was coming behind someone that had just went to the World Series and was returning. So I was thinking that I was going to still have to stay behind him, then maybe redshirt or something. But I beat him out.
       Then I asked coach if he thought I could play at LSU?  He said, "I think you can. You still need to work on some things, but I think you can get there."  So, I kinda put it in his mind real early, that, Hey, look, That is where I really want to be.
      So I think he kinda saw that and he kinda pushed me in that sense. He knew that was in the back of my mind.  I wanted to go to one of the top places in the country. 
      So, he decided that he was going to coach me and treat me in the way that it would take to get me there.  So I kept working and working.
      Then after my freshmen year, I had a pretty good summer.  That's when I heard some chirps about LSU looking at me.
      My big thing coming into my sophomore season in the fall,  I was going to put all of my hard classes in the fall.  So I didn't have to worry about anything during the season, but focus on baseball to get my best shot at LSU.
      It ended up that we happened to play at LSU during the fall, and actually I probably had the worse game of my college career when I needed to have a good game in front of Coach Mainieri and Nolan Cain. They were all there. I went 0-4 with a strike out and committed two errors, and I thought my chance at LSU was over.
      I ended up getting a knock on my hotel door and it was Coach Sherman. He asked me how I was doing and I said, "I feel terrible. I just had my worse game and they were watching."  Then he said, "I just want to let you know that Nolan Cain and Paul Mainieri asked for your number after the game."   That kinda shocked me, because of how bad the game was, but it helped relieved a lot of stress. If they liked me after that game, then I can't do much worse than that.
      That's a story that I always tell the younger kids now. Because the reason why he came and got my number was because he liked the way I was hustling and the way that I was responding to making all those mistakes. Anyone can have a good game and keep their head up, but I just kept bouncing back. I ended up making two good plays after I made an error. Then after another error, I ended up making a diving play. There was a ball that I popped up, but I still hustled and ran fast, and they ended up dropping it, so I was able to get to second. So it was the little things.
      At the time I really didn't understand it like I do now. But like I said, It's a story that I try to tell to a bunch of younger kids that in order for you to get to a place like LSU, you don't have to go 4-4 with two home runs. You got to do the little things, the intangibles.
      Yea, after that I got a call from Andy Cannizaro two weeks later and went on my visit in October.  The rest is history.




      Q - Tell us about Coach Paul Mainieri?
      Cole - Yea, He's got this persona. Obviously he has this status being the LSU head coach. When you get around him, for some reason you want to do your absolute best, almost in a way to thank him for your opportunity for being there. 
      He knows how to get the best out of you. I think that is one thing that us players always talked about. When he is on the field you always wanted to do something good to impress him because he's your coach, but you just wanted to go out there and play hard for him.
      He knows how to put pressure on you in practice and get you ready for the game. Because I think he understands how big of a stage it is. Obviously with every game being on TV and all the fans being there like no other college in the nation.
      He knows how to put that pressure on you and he wants to see if you can handle it. He did that right out the gate with putting all of us at short stop after Bregman left. Trey Dawson, O'Neal Lochridge, myself, and Kramer.
      I remember the first week, it was exhausting, because we would have practice, and then after we would have short stop tryouts. Us four would stay on the field and take ground balls for 45 minutes and timing it, and that was all after a long practice.
      He obviously knew what it took to play there and how to get it out of us. Some people faltered and some people rose up. I think that's how he gets the best out of people. He's going to go there and see how much pressure you can take, see how you handle it.
      But, I mean the experience was incredible. I'll thank Coach Mainieri for giving me my dream job, I like to say. My dream opportunity for the rest of my life, and I want to say I hope the memories don't slip for a long, long time, because I'd like to always remember ever second. 






      Q - Can you tell us about meeting Coach Skip Bertman for the first time as a LSU player and some of the things you two have talked about?
      Cole - Yea, I was in kinda a "awe" the first time I met him.
      That was one of the things that I would talk to my dad about, that by the time I was leaving LSU,  how cool it was that Skip  would come into a room and we could just have conversation, because obviously I was already familiar with him, and we kinda had a relationship.
      I thought that was one of the coolest things about going to LSU.  Obviously, I watched him while I was growing up. I watched him coach. He's an icon. Anything that he had to say, I was listening.
      I remember one of the biggest compliments that I ever got was he was standing up during the game, when I was being introduced with my parents, and my parents were talking to him. This was during my senior year and I remember my dad told me after the game that he got to meet Skip and they got to talk about me a lot and he gave me one of the coolest compliments ever. 
      I kept asking.. "What is it? What is it?" ...  He just kept dragging it out. Then he said, "He thinks you're the best second base defender that LSU has ever seen."  When he told me that, It like opened my eyes. I was like, "WOW!" That's Skip Bertman saying that?  That's like the ultimate goal when you get a compliment from Skip Bertman. Yea, he is an icon.
      Every opportunity I could get to just talk to him. I did. Talk to him in the dug out or outside of baseball, it was just awesome. I definitely cherish those moments. 




      Q - Who are some of the former LSU baseball greats that you have had conversations with during your career?
      Cole - Yea, I got pretty close to Mikie Mahtook and especially some of the team that was a couple of years before me. I think Mahtook was probably one of the older ones who I got to talk too. I got to meet Buzzy.
      A bunch of those guys I got to go to dinner with right before you leave for spring training.  They try to have a dinner each year, and you have a couple of guys from each year, each team would all go to dinner and just tell stories.
      But yea, I remember Mason Katts. When I was at Delgado, I met him at Mardi Gras and we started talking. I told him that I was going to LSU and I remember one of the things he told me about Coach Mainieri was, he said, "Listen, when he kinda jumps your butt, kinda get back at him. Jump his butt back and say, you understand you messed up and that it's not going to happen again!"  He added, "He likes that. He likes to see a little response, and someone who's not going to cave under." 
      So, not only three games into the season, I got my first start at short stop, and in the first inning I dropped the transfer on a double play ball that I was about to feed to second. Then of course the next ball, the dude hit a double, scored two, and I would have gotten us out of the inning if I would have turned it.
      So he meets me right down by the water cooler, and he just starts going at me. I won't say what he said, but he was going at me. I got like half way down the dug out and it click for some reason in my head that Mason Katts told me that day.  So I turned around and I was like.. "Alright Coach, I understand, I messed up, it's not going to happen again!" ... and he just looked at me, nodded his head and walked away. I was like, damn, Mason was right! 




      Q - Would you tell us a little about the 2016 season, which was your first at LSU?
      Cole - Starting in the fall, I just wanted to earn a spot. I didn't care where.
      Then in the fall I kinda struggled with my hitting a little bit while making that next jump, with the pitchers. I think I only hit like 220 in the fall.
      But I played good defense, and I played third base the entire fall, and I had never played third my entire life. So we get through the fall and they tell me I'm going to start at third to start the season.
      So we come back for the season and I start my first two games at third base. Everything seemed good. Then over the next two weeks I start a rotation playing short, and I really hadn't played short since my senior year in high school, and then after that is when I made the jump over to second to where I played my entire life.  That's when stuff started clicking.
      Then over the fall, I kinda had to make an adjustment with my swing. That's what Andy Cannizaro ended up helping me with. We kind of came up with an approach for me.
      Obviously my biggest tool was running, so I had to learn how to bunt. I would bunt as much as I would hit, I think at practice. I would go out there for early work at 1:30pm and it would go until  3pm.  Then I would take ground balls for probably 30 minutes. Then I would go bunt off of the machine for 30 minutes. Then I would hit for another 30 minutes. I had to learn to be great at bunting.
      Then after that we kinda turned my approach to just turning on everything. I like to pull the ball, so he said, Let's go!,  We came up with the saying, "Beat the 3rd baseman." ... It didn't matter how I was pitched, I was trying to pull it right by the 3rd baseman. If he wasn't playing in, then I was bunting.
      I think I ended up setting the record for most sacrifice bunts. They really weren't sacrifice bunts, but if someone was on first base and I got thrown out, that's what it would go down as.
      I was squaring around two for every four times at bat,  every game. I kinda made that adjustment and it worked out for me. Especially starting the season out.
      I think during the first two weeks I was hitting around 400. I was rolling, and it was a big jump from where I was in the fall. Just throughout the year, I continued on that path.
      I remember coach moved me up in the lineup twice. The last time he moved me up in the lineup was after a Friday night game at Missouri. We faced Trendon Houte on Saturday. This dude was just a phenom. I had never seen somebody of his caliber.
      I remember sitting in the dugout and I looked at the lineup and I'm batting, I can't remember, either first or second. So I look at the lineup and I walk away and Mainieri is looking at me and he says, "Huh, my hand must have slipped, huh Cole?" and I started laughing, and I was like, "I guess so." ... I was already in that game mind set with it being so close to game time and he said, "Let's see what you can do?" .. 
      Well, I went 0-5 with two strikeouts. After the game he said, "I don't think my hand is going to slip again." .. I was like, I understand. But then I was like, you put me against one of the toughest pitches in the nation, who I hadn't seen yet. But it was all part of it. 
      By the end of the season, articles were coming out and they were saying, "Best Nine Hole Hitter in the Country" ... I actually wanted to be at the top of the lineup, but when they started saying that, and while we were rolling, I kinda just embraced it. Hey, I'm going to be the best nine hole in the nation.
      So, that's kinda what I wanted to go by at the end of the season. We were rolling and we caught fire. We were just clicking on all cylinders. Obviously look at what we did in the SEC Tournament. I don't know what happens to us in the SEC Tournaments, but something takes us over it feels like.  It's absurd some of the things we do.
      Then in the Regional, having to battle back against Rice for a winner take all, and   Deichmann hitting that home run in the seventh inning. It was kinda crazy, with the whole "Rally Possum" thing.
      The whole season is just kinda what you would hope for. With me going to LSU, with events like that, like the "Rally Possum" happening. Then with us kinda struggling at mid-season. Then us catching fire. Then us hosting a Regional. Then hosting a Super.
      I remember at one point we were just hoping to make the tournament, then next thing you know we're locking up the seventh or eighth national seed. It was unreal. It was awesome. 




       Q - Please talk about and review 2017, your senior year?
      Cole - Well, it started out after we lost to Coastal Carolina, we kinda wanted to all figure out what we all were going to do.
      Me, and Poche', and Kramer, we just all kinda talked and we were just all kinda saying I think we need to make another run at this. I think if we all come back and with the people that we have coming in, that we were just right there. I think we really have a good shot at this.
      We all said, we are all going to come back, and we started to realize that if we put the work in, that we will have a really good shot at winning it all.
      When we came back in the fall, there was definitely a different feeling. We were more established as a team. We knew what positions we were all going to be playing. It was like, Hey! what do we need to do to take that next step? What does each individual have to get better at, to make the team better? The fall was a lot more relaxed then my junior season.
      We came out the gate playing really, really good. Then we kinda struggled mi-way through again. I remember a lot of the fans were kinda freaking out, especially with us losing some mid-week games. We really weren't worried. We knew we were going to turn it around. The baseball season is a long one.
      I remember we ended up losing to South Alabama at our place, after we had a big lead, and it was kinda at the end of the season. You know, I'm not a very vocal guy as far as talking to the team a lot. But after that game Coach Mainieri huddled us up and he didn't say anything to us. He just said, "Okay, Lets just get to work tomorrow at 1:30." .. 
     For some reason something took me over and I started lighting the team up in a sense. I was just like, "We are suppose to be this top team and we keep coming out here and laying an egg in the mid-week games! This is going to cost us a national seed. We need to get our sh*t together!" Just trying to say, "Hey! we're running out of time! We can't keep messing around with all these games, it's going to end up hurting us in the long run. If we get home field advantage, teams can't deal with that, as well as we can." I just kind of let into them a little bit.
      Then Kramer, Deichmann, Poche', and Lange all kinda chirped in. We kinda had like a players meeting only out there. We just all kind of said, it's now or never. That's when we finally went on a run.
      We started that week, then we finished in the SEC with Auburn and a couple of those teams. Then Obviously, what we did in the SEC Tournament was mind boggling. I think in the first three games, I can't remember how many runs we scored. Yea, we beat a great Kentucky team and then we had to go face a hot Arkansas team in the championship game, and we were able to win that. 
      Then we went into the Regional and did our thing there.  Then on to the Supers and did our thing there. Then Obviously we got to the World Series, and that was by far the coolest thing that I ever got to experience.
      Just with the status and the platform you are put on with all those eyes watching you, then the pressure. It was the coolest thing I ever got to do.
      After beating Oregon State twice, we, as a team, thought we had it in the bag. We had lost to Florida earlier in the season, but we felt like we were a totally different team. We thought we were the better team going into that. We knew it was going to be tough losing Eric Walker, and us going to face Brady Singer in the first game.
      Even though we knew we were short a starting pitcher, we just knew we had to get to game three.
      After we lost game one, 4-3, I talked to the team out there and I said, "Listen, we knew this was going to be a tough game. They knew they had to win this game if they were going to beat us. I'm not worried at all. We're going to be just fine. We have Jared Poche' coming out tomorrow. There is no one else that I'd love to have take them out. Then after we beat them there, we are going to go and we'll have Lange. We're fine. This is how it's going to go. I'm not worried and I don't think you all should be worried." 
      The team was in good morale, after losing game one of the World Series. I promise you, the team had all the confidence in the world going into game two and getting to a game three. We just had a couple of breaks not go our way, and in the seventh and eighth innings, with first and third with no outs, and not scoring. Once you make mistakes like that, it's kinda tough to come back. But, it just didn't work out for us. 




      Q - Tell us about your draft process by the Washington Nationals? 
      Cole - At the time I didn't have an agent yet, so I was trying to handle it all by myself. I didn't have much leverage being a senior, but on the first day of the draft while I was at Lange's draft party, the Braves called me to talk and discuss money.
      I really didn't care what round I went in, I just wanted to make as much money as I could after losing money from the year before.
      The Rockies called me in the 4th round and I turned their offer down. Then the Nationals called me with an offer, and we negotiated to a number I agreed with. Next thing you know I ended up signing with them. 
      Right after the World Series I had to go to rehab because I was playing with a wrist injury for probably the last month and a half of the season.  I had to be put in a cast, so I missed my whole short season. Rehabbed, and did the off-season.
      When I got to my first full season, I started out in Hagerstown in Single A, and did pretty bad my first half. I only hit .222. I remember looking out and I was like, this is crazy. My last game I played was in front of 30,000 people, and now I'm out in the middle of Hagerstown, Maryland, playing in front of about 50 people and it's 45 degrees. At one point it was snowing.
      All of my infield speaks nothing but Spanish. I couldn't speak to any of them. I was like, wow, this is a rude awakening.
      I had to make some adjustments hitting wise, just like I did my junior year. I figured it out, and in my second half I hit .312. Ever since then it's kinda clicked, something at the plate with me.
      Then I went into my second full season, playing for Potomac in Single A. Kinda got off on a good note there and never looked back.
      That's where I started playing a little outfield in the second half, and kinda opened up the whole utility type of player they were trying to get. So I started learning how to play that.
      Then I got invited to the Fall League. Went out there, Had a great time. Got to meet some of the guys from Florida's team that I played against. We all got to talk about the World Series and stuff like that. To me, that's the coolest thing, getting to speak to people you played against your whole life, that you've had big games against each other, and just getting to meet these guys as a person.
      But then, now we are the point where we are now. Sitting and waiting for the call to go back. 


      Q - Is there anything you would like to tell the LSU fans?
      Cole - Yes, That I'm forever in dept to their hospitality and that if there was anything in this world I could do, it would be to go back and play another game in front of all of them at the Box.
      Playing for LSU and going out there and representing them is by far the coolest thing I've ever got to do. I'll cherish it for the rest of my life.
      When I tell you that they mean more to us then they could ever imagine, it's really the truth. Because when we are running around out there, we're not just running out there for the name on our back and the name on our front. We're running out there to perform and to hopefully bring joy and happiness to them, because that's really what gets us going.  Seeing how much joy we can bring to all of them by just playing a game that we've played our entire life and that we love so much. 




      Q - What about your "Heart Has No Limit" program?
      Cole - Yea, My Heart Has No Limit, kinda took its own little thing because of LSU. It's just my story growing up.
      Like I said, I didn't have anywhere to go coming out of high school and for me to get where I was took a lot of the right people for me to be around and kinda the right timing.
      I just want people to know that if there is anything you want to achieve and you put your heart into it, you can do it. It doesn't matter what other people are saying or believe. It's not their dream, it's not their belief, it's what you believe in.
      Just go out and do it. Don't let anyone tell you no. Put in the work and I promise you, if you put everything that you have into it, you can achieve it. Once you get there, keep pushing. Don't ever stop. 
   

​John 14:6 - "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (Accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior)

​*John 3;16 - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Please check out the website and grab up some inspiring gear to wear!   www.hearthasnolimit.com
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