College Baseball 360 » Skip Bertman

Bertman Inducted Into LSU Hall of Fame

Sean Stires — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 14:02:12 +0000

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Skip Bertman received more compliments that he can remember during his remarkable career as LSU’s baseball coach from 1984-2001. There is one, however, that Bertman recalls with ease.

“I wasn’t concerned with hearing, ‘Coach, you guys can really hit,’ or ‘You run a great pick-off play,'” he said. “The greatest compliment I received, the one that meant the most to me was, ‘Coach, when your players take the field, they look like they know they’re going to win.’ That type of recognition was the most important to me. Our players believed in what we were doing, and they demonstrated that on the field.”

Inspired by Bertman’s myriad methods of motivation, the Tigers became the kings of college baseball.

Bertman built LSU into a powerhouse, winning five national championships (1991, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000) with 11 College World Series appearances, 16 NCAA Tournament appearances and seven SEC titles. He took over an LSU baseball program that had enjoyed modest success and little local interest and transformed it into a perennial national contender and the annual attendance leader, as huge crowds flocked to venerable Alex Box Stadium.

On Friday night, Bertman, who also served as LSU’s athletic director from 2001-08, was inducted in to the LSU Athletic Hall of Fame, recognizing the exemplary achievements of one of the most influential men in the school’s history.

“I am humbled to be in such great company,” Bertman said. “The LSU Athletic Hall of Fame is composed of so many wonderful people with amazing accomplishments.”

Prior to Bertman’s first season in Baton Rouge, the Tigers averaged 454 fans per game. Today, due to Bertman’s vision, LSU plays in a new, state-of-the-art Alex Box Stadium with a seating capacity over 10,000.

“I do have a lot of pride in that; I feel real good about that,” Bertman said. “I think it was brought along very nicely, very slowly from tickets that were $30 for a family of four at the old Alex Box, to the price of 22-inch padded seats that we have now in the new stadium with cup holders and other amenities. It’s an amazing reach that couldn’t have been seen early on.

“We never had a big crowd until we played UNO that first season (in 1984) and I brought the San Diego Chicken in,” Bertman said. “The people here didn’t really know much about the San Diego Chicken. We had 3,018 fans at the game, and I remember asking the players if they thought 3,000 was a big crowd, and they were like, ‘Oh yeah!'”

The catalyst for a baseball boom in Baton Rouge, Bertman credits the LSU fans and players for much of the program’s unprecedented success.

“I did have a vision, and I did think it could be done,” he said. “Fortunately, I had support from our administration, and I was able to move forward. The fans and the student-athletes did the rest, and they were magnificent.”

Bertman’s system focused to an extent on the fundamentals of baseball, but his primary emphasis was on the development of teenagers into men prepared for life after they hung up their spikes.

“I’ll always remember the little things,” second baseman Warren Morris, the hero of LSU’s 1996 win in the CWS championship game, said. “I think people that don’t know baseball sometimes think it all comes down to who gets the big hit in the ninth inning. A lot of times, the game is won or lost in the second, third or fourth inning. Coach Bertman taught us that everything counts and about winning the game early.

“It’s amazing how many life lessons that I can remember from the stories he’s told. He’s just a great teacher. A lot of the person I am today has to do with Skip Bertman and the things I learned from him.”

“His honesty is the one thing I remember most,” said Chad Ogea, the winning pitcher in the 1991 national championship game. “He’d let you know where you stand, whether it hurt your feelings or not. It was about trust with Skip Bertman.”

Bertman was named National Coach of the Year six times as he led his team to nine 50-win seasons and during his tenure more than 100 players were drafted into professional baseball while 41 reached the major leagues. In 1996 he was head coach of the United States Olympic Team in Atlanta that won the bronze medal. After retirement from baseball after the 2001 season, he became the athletic director at LSU and served in that position until 2008.

Not surprisingly, his tenure as athletic director was marked by bold, significant strides. His implementation of the Tradition Fund, where football season-ticket holders paid seat-license fees in addition to the price of their tickets, was a controversial, but necessary step in LSU’s march to greater prominence in athletics.

“As the athletic director, I was very, very proud of our fan base,” Bertman said. “They understood the need for seat licenses in order to compete in the SEC football race.”

As he did as a coach, Bertman also had an eye for talent as an athletic director. He hired football coach Les Miles and baseball coach Paul Mainieri, both of whom have directed the Tigers to national titles.

Bertman was inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in 2003 and the inaugural class of the College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006. A 1960 graduate of the University of Miami, he still resides in Baton Rouge, where he actively promotes youth baseball.

Because of Bertman’s influence and the growth of the LSU program over the past quarter-century, baseball has flourished in south Louisiana among all age groups.

“I’m proud of the fact that there are so many Louisiana youth league teams, and I’m proud that so many kids from Louisiana are playing in college,” Bertman said. “That part is great; we have tremendous athletes in Louisiana, and they’re great people. I’m very fortunate to be a part of such a wonderful community.”

(LSU Sports Information)

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College World Series Legends Team Announced

Sean Stires — Thu, 06 May 2010 18:45:46 +0000

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28 CWS Stars Honored

INDIANAPOLIS - As part of the commemoration of the final Series in Omaha’s Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium, the NCAA and College World Series, Inc., have announced the official College World Series Legends Team.

The 28 members of the Legends Team, pared down from an original list of 95 nominees, were selected after more than 100,000 votes were cast by college baseball fans, college baseball writers and Division I head baseball coaches. The members of the Legends Team are former student-athletes and coaches who had the best CWS performances throughout the 60 years the event has been played at Rosenblatt Stadium.

Voting for the team was based solely on the former student-athletes’ performance when they were competing in the NCAA College World Series, and not for any regular season or post-collegiate performances.

The 28 members by name, school, position and year are:

Name	Institution	Position	Year In CWS
Will Clark	Mississippi State University	1B	1985
Dustin Ackley	University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill	1B	2007-09
Bob Horner	Arizona State University	2B	1976-78
Todd Walker	Louisiana State University	2B	1993-94
Spike Owen	University of Texas at Austin	SS	1981-82
Nomar Garciaparra	Georgia Institute of Technology	SS	1994
*Darwin Barney	Oregon State University	SS	2005-07
Sal Bando	Arizona State University	3B	1964-65
Robin Ventura	Oklahoma State University	3B	1986-87
*Pat Burrell	University of Miami (Florida)	3B	1996-98
Fred Lynn	University of Southern California	OF	1971-73
Dave Winfield	University of Minnesota, Twin Cities	OF	1973
Terry Francona	University of Arizona	OF	1979-80
Barry Bonds	Arizona State University	OF	1983-84
Mark Kotsay	California State University, Fullerton	OF	1994-95
J.D. Drew	Florida State University	OF	1995-96
Steve Arlin	The Ohio State University	P	1965-66
Burt Hooton	University of Texas at Austin	P	1969-70
*Eddie Bane	Arizona State University	P	1972-73
Huston Street	University of Texas at Austin	P	2002-04
Jason Windsor	California State University, Fullerton	P	2004
Landon Powell	University of South Carolina, Columbia	C	2002-04
Ryan Garko	Stanford University	C	2001-03
Pete Incaviglia	Oklahoma State University	DH	1983-85
Brooks Kieschnick	University of Texas at Austin	DH	1992-93
Skip Bertman	Louisiana State University	Coach	1986-87, 89-91, 93-94, 96-98, 2000
Rod Dedeaux	University of Southern California	Coach	1951, 55, 58, 60-61, 63-64, 66, 68, 70-74, 78
Augie Garrido	California State University, Fullerton / University of Texas at Austin	Coach	1975, 79, 82, 84, 92, 94-95 / 2000, 02-05, 09

*Utility Players

“With the history of the College World Series and all the great players to have been involved in the event, it’s an honor to be named to the Legends Team,” said Robin Ventura, who led his Oklahoma State team to consecutive College World Series appearances in 1986 and 1987.

Will Clark was the leading vote getter with more than 3,000 votes. Dave Winfield was the second leading vote getter with just under 3,000 votes.

The 28 CWS Legends Team members will be invited to attend the final College World Series at Rosenblatt Stadium as guests of the NCAA. The members will be formally honored on-field during the CWS Opening Ceremonies on June 18, and invited to attend the first day of CWS competition on June 19. Mock baseball cards of each member featuring their collegiate photos will be posted on NCAA.com/cws.

“It’s a great honor,” said former Georgia Tech shortstop Nomar Garciaparra. “I’ve always believed that one of my favorite experiences in baseball was the College World Series. And now I look forward to working the games as a commentator for ESPN in June.”

A committee of select individuals from the National Baseball Writers Association, the Omaha World-Herald and NCAA staff was created to compose the original list of 95 nominees. This list included every former student-athlete who was voted onto a previous CWS anniversary team (25th, 50th and all-decade teams), as well as individuals who played in CWS in the last 14 years.

The utility players were determined by the oversight committee after the fan voting was completed. They represent those student-athletes who deserved recognition but did not garner enough votes at a particular position.

Tickets for the 2010 NCAA Men’s College World Series can be purchased by calling or logging on to www.ticketmaster.com. For more information on the Legends Team and the 2010 Men’s College World Series, log on NCAA.com/cws.

(Courtesy NCAA Release)

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Mainieri Receives ABCA Coach Of The Year Award

Sean Stires — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 03:04:53 +0000

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LSU Coach Receives Honor At Annual Convention In Dallas

Dallas, TX– LSU baseball coach Paul Mainieri received the 2009 American Baseball Coaches Association National Coach of the Year Award Friday in Dallas during the annual ABCA convention.

ABCA Coach of the Year Paul Mainieri

Mainieri received four National Coach of the Year awards after leading LSU to the 2009 NCAA national championship. He was also honored by Collegiate Baseball newspaper, Baseball America magazine and Rivals.com.

Mainieri’s 2009 national championship club completed the season with a 56-17 record, marking the second-highest wins total in LSU history. The CWS title was the sixth for LSU and its first since 2000, when ABCA Hall of Famer Skip Bertman led the Tigers to their fifth NCAA championship.

Mainieri has a 134-62-2 (.682) record in three seasons at LSU, including the ’09 national championship, two CWS appearances, one SEC regular-season title, two SEC Tournament titles and two SEC Western Division crowns.

He has a 998-554-6 (.642) career record in 27 collegiate seasons, including tenures at St. Thomas (Fla.), Air Force, Notre Dame and LSU.

Mainieri is the second LSU coach to win the ABCA award, joining Bertman, who was named National Coach of the Year in 1991, 1993, 1996, 1997 and 2000.

The ABCA also honored several Regional Coaches of the Year. They are:

Atlantic: Brian O’Connor-Virginia

East: Bill Brown-George Mason

Mideast: Scott Goodgins-Xavier

Midwest: Brad Hill-Kansas State

Northeast: Joe Sattolano-Army

South: Paul Mainieri-LSU

South Central: Steve Peterson-Middle Tenn. State

West: Mike Gillespie-UC Irvine (Gillespie was also inducted into the ABCA Hall of Fame.)

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Top College Baseball Moments Of 2009 #2

Sean Stires — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 15:00:39 +0000

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LSU Wins The College World Series

Everthing came full-circle for LSU baseball when Paul Mainieri’s Tigers won the program’s sixth national championship on June 24th. The program that started the decade with a title in 2000 ended the decade with a championship as well.

Louis Coleman

Louis Coleman was LSU’s opening day starter at the new Alex Box Stadium back on Feb. 20, and he appropriately got the last six outs of the season in the Tiger’s 11-4 win over Texas on June 24 in the last game of the 2009 college baseball season. It was one of nine relief outings for Coleman (14-2, 2.93 ERA), who returned to Baton Rouge for his senior season for the chance to bring home a title.

Coleman and staff mate Anthony Ranaudo combined to go 3-0 with 30 strikeouts in 29 2/3 IP in seven combined appearances at the CWS.

In 2007 Mainieri inherited a team that had gone 35-24 a season prior to his arrival. The Tigers were just 29-26-1 and missed the NCAA Tournament for a second straight year in his first season back in Baton Rouge (he played there for a year an met his wife before transferring).

Blake Dean and Sean Ochinko led LSU with 7 home runs apiece in ’07, but Dean’s 17

Anthony Ranaudo

HRs made him one of four Tigers to hit at least 11 long balls in 2009. Ryan Schimpf led LSU with 22.

LSU’s run to the national championship actually started with a 4-1 loss to Vanderbilt on May 20 to open the SEC Tournament. However, the Tigers rattled-off 14 straight wins before finally losing 5-1 to Texas in game two of the CWS Championship Series. The Bayou Bengals outscored their opponents 117-47 in that month-long stretch.

Four of those wins came against 2008 College World Series teams (Georgia and Rice twice each). LSU’s first game at the ’09 CWS was against Virginia, coached by Mainieri protege Brian O’Connor. The two had taken Notre Dame to Omaha in 2002 when Mainieri was ND’s head coach and O’Connor was his pitching coach.

CWS MOP Jared Mitchell

LSU was simply across the board dominant in Omaha. The Tigers posted a .313 team batting average, averaged 8.4 runs in 6 games, hit 13 home runs (2nd to Texas’ 14), had a 4.18 team ERA (Texas #1 at 4.02), an had a .991 fielding percentage with just two errors at the CWS.

Jared Mitchell was named College World Series Most Outstanding Player after hitting .348 with 2 HR, a triple, two doubles, 7 RBIs, and a .783 slg%. Ochinko, who had hit 7 home runs prior to the CWS, had two home runs to cap his senior campaign.

When LSU Athletic Director Skip Bertman (himself a winner of five national titles as LSU baseball coach) hired Mainieri on June 28, 2006 he said “It would take someone special to lead this program … someone who would thrive in the high expectations of a championship program. I believe LSU has found that man.”

On June 24, 2009 the circle was completed.

CLICK HERE to listen to the exclusive podcast interview Collegebaseball360.com Editor Sean Stires recorded with Paul Mainieri after LSU’s national championship win.