By LOU PAVLOVICH, JR.
Editor/Collegiate Baseball

BATON ROUGE, La. — Since the 1920’s, football coaches have spent thousands of hours a year watching either projector film or videos on the opposition.

Into the wee hours of the morning coaches can be seen dissecting every phase of their opponents to gain an edge.

Basketball coaches have integrated video heavily into their scouting and teaching regimen in the last three decades.

But for the vast majority of college and high school baseball programs, video is never used or only to a small degree.

How many times have you heard an interviewer ask a baseball coach for information about his next opponent only to listen to that coach answer he knows nothing about them?

Skip Bertman, Hall of Fame retired head baseball coach at Louisiana State University, led the Tigers to five national championships during his coaching career and utilized video technology as no other college baseball skipper in the land.

Not only did he study the opposition via video and dissect opponent hitters and pitchers, but he was a master at churning out motivational videos which have been proven to push his players to new heights in athletic achievement.

In addition, video tapes were made for each of his players so they could refine their swings or pitching mechanics during the year.

“Many years ago, I was a football coach,” said Bertman.

“One of the problems I see in younger coaches is that they never coached football. Football is the essence of all coaching. By that I mean football coaches work the hardest, cover the most, prepare the best, correct the most, watch the most video, and meet the most.

“Granted, sometimes they overwork. But the sense that they can’t be outworked is a very prominent football philosophy. In baseball if it rains on Monday, you don’t worry about it. In football you’ve got to find a place to practice. You can never miss a day.

“Baseball doesn’t have that sense of urgency about it. What I’m saying is video is part of it. Members of the media asked me in press conferences what I knew about this team or that team. I might say that we’re opening with them. But in reality, I might not know anything about them. Where did they get that question? They got it from preparation by football coaches. No football coach could ever play a team without having preparation where they watched game film and made a plan.

“Baseball teams just go to the park. What I’m saying is that if baseball coaches use a portion of the football coaches’ philosophy, I think they’ve got an edge. I enjoyed what I was doing in baseball and worked hard. But you must realize that you can work hard and accomplish nothing. I don’t feel I worked harder than anybody else. But I had a plan that I used in our program which I feel counts the most.”

Video System Works
The history of Bertman at LSU is a remarkable study.

Prior to coming on board as the Tigers’ head coach for the 1984 season, LSU had not posted a winning record in Southeastern Conference contests in seven of the prior eight years. Only one time in the previous eight years had LSU won more then 28 games. The Tigers had never appeared in the College World Series up to this point.

Attendance was the pits. The season before Bertman arrived, LSU drew a total of 10,002 fans or an average of 454 per game.

Fast forward to 2020. LSU baseball has led NCAA Division I baseball for 25 consecutive seasons. And get this. For the last 11 years, the LSU has averaged more than 10,000 for each home game

Breaking Hitters Down
What does Bertman specifically look at when he studies each batter from the opposition?

“The first thing I notice from the centerfield camera is the distance each hitter is from the plate. I watch them go through their practice swings and specifically watch how their hands go through the strike zone. I watch to see if the bat is reaching the end of the plate. You would be surprised how many hitters can’t reach the end of the plate.

“Continuing on with the hitter, I watch to see if he swings at first pitches. Will he swing at a curve ball behind in the count? Will he chase a curve in the dirt? Will he swing at a fastball above his hands? Can we beat him in or out? If he has two strikes, will he adjust? Will he adjust through his four at bats? Is he hot that day, that week? Does he have any particular history with this particular pitcher of mine? And you can go on and on.”

To read more of this in-depth article on how Skip Bertman revolutionized video instruction for players in college baseball, purchase the April 17, 2020 edition of Collegiate Baseball or subscribe by CLICKING HERE. The rest of the article delves into how he tracked hot hitters, why he didn’t need a season worth of video information — just the last 20 at-bats, the equipment he used, video sophistication, how he analyzed his own players, how he produced motivational videos and much more.

By LOU PAVLOVICH, JR.
Editor/Collegiate Baseball

TAMPA, Fla. — Jesuit High School in Tampa is one of the powerhouse baseball programs in the nation led by Head Coach Miguel Menendez.

Jesuit (9-0) was ranked No. 1 in the Collegiate Baseball Top 30 National H.S. Poll presented by Diamond Pro when spring sports were stopped across the nation because of coronavirus.

The Tigers had been No. 1 in the nation four straight polls.

The Jesuit baseball program has a tradition of excellence that includes five state titles (1994, 1997, 2000, 2014, 2019), dozens of district and region titles and several nationally ranked teams, including the 1997 national champions.

Hundreds of alumni have played baseball collegiately and professionally, including Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Al Lopez, New York Yankee Lou Piniella and current major leaguers Sam Dyson, Joe Hudson, Lance McCullers, Kevin Quackenbush and Shane Robinson.

Menendez is in his sixth year as the skipper at Jesuit H.S. Overall, he has been a head coach 14 years. He previously coached at Key West H.S. (Key West, Fla.).

This special story about Jesuit High School delves into the amazing system that Menendez utilizes to get the most out of his players.

Entering the 2020 season as the No. 1 team in the nation by Collegiate Baseball, his team featured 13 players who committed or signed to play at the NCAA Div. I level, including 8 pitchers.

“For me, there is a great deal of emphasis placed on the culture of our program,” said Menendez.

“We get kids from all over Tampa since we are a private school. We always have a summer team comprised of incoming freshmen.

“I coach that team in the summer to get them acclimated and get them up to speed on what we want and expect at Jesuit High School. The expectation of how our program works is important to instill immediately before our incoming freshmen even attend one class.

“An important area I always discuss with the newcomers is how important it is for the players to take ownership of what they do if they expect to get the most out of their experience at Jesuit H.S. during the next four years.

“We want them to play an active role and not have me or my coaching staff lead them. They will have a plan and do things on their own to get better. That is a big thing with our kids.

“They not only work hard when they are with our baseball program. But they work hard on their own outside the program. All of this allows them to improve and get better.

“We make them understand that to get to the level they want to be at, working hard at their skills is important, and they need to drive that work ethic.”

Few varsity head high school coaches across the USA dedicate their time working with incoming freshmen like Menendez does because frankly they are tired after working with the varsity the previous fall and spring. They need time off to refresh their batteries.

Not Menendez.

“We won the 6A Florida state title on a Friday in 2019. Then we started freshman tryouts three days later on Monday. I had a couple of days off.

“But coaching baseball is something I love to do. I don’t coach the varsity team or travel teams during the summer. I want to be with our incoming freshmen. Getting a chance to meet those new guys is invigorating to me.

“The freshmen play in a league which has county schools involved. It is a JV level league. So other teams play with their JV squads. There are usually only one or two other schools who strictly use their freshmen like us. It’s a good challenge for our guys because they are playing against older athletes. 

“I firmly believe it is important for the incoming freshmen to have the varsity head coach working with them at this time.

“They have so many questions on what the system is and how they can improve.

“And for me, I get to know them. We are big on building relationships with players. Guys want to know they can trust you with anything that might come up. They need to know you have their best interests at heart.

“Getting to know the incoming freshmen in a less pressure situation is incredibly helpful for all parties. I obviously get to see what type of players we have who are new to the program. They become more comfortable with the program as they get to know me.

“When our older players in the program see this interaction with the new freshmen and the head coach, they take great pride in helping our younger players grow, improve and mature. We talk about leaving a legacy in our program. It isn’t strictly what you do when you are here. It’s what you leave behind with leadership.

“I love it when our older guys take our younger players under their wings and help them. They see I care about those guys and care about every player in our program from those in our freshmen, JV and varsity teams.

“I am proud of graduates who come back to the program and talk to our guys in the off-season. We are a big family of current and former players. We love our graduates to be around who go on to college or pro baseball.”

To read more of this in-depth story on how Miguel Menendez of Jesuit H.S. (Tampa, Fla.) runs his remarkable program, purchase the April 17, 2020 edition or subscribe by CLICKING HERE. It delves into all areas of his program.

By LOU PAVLOVICH, JR.
Editor/Collegiate Baseball

WICHITA, Kan. — It is rare that a 10-year Major League manager changes course to coach college baseball. But that is exactly what Eric Wedge did when he became the skipper at Wichita State last May.

He is on a quest to turn the program around so that it is national powerhouse as it was during the 1980s and 1990s as the Shockers qualified for the College World Series seven times and won the national title in 1989 under Head Coach Gene Stephenson.

He previously was the manager of the Cleveland Indians for seven seasons and three more with the Seattle Mariners.

An All-American catcher for the Shockers in 1989, he played three years for the Shockers. In 226 games, he hit .333 with 45 home runs, 54 doubles, 206 RBI and 173 walks before being a third round draft pick by the Red Sox.

Since the Shockers last appearance at the College World Series in 1996, Wichita State hasn’t been back to the CWS for 23 years.

The powerhouse Stephenson built is now a distant memory.

Wichita State was ranked 30th in the March 16 Collegiate Baseball poll before the season was shut down because of the coronavirus pandemic. The Shockers finished 13-2 and won 12 straight games to end the season.

Mindset Crucial
“For me, mindset is where it all starts,” said Wedge.

“Changing the culture takes time. And only the players can really do that. One thing we can control from a coaching staff is initiating the mindset and changing the way they look at the game, world and each other.

“That is what we talked about from day one last fall. We got all the players and coaches together for the first time in the All-American room upstairs and talked to them about what I expect from them and what they should expect from me because it’s equal. This is a partnership and not a dictatorship.

“The coaching staff asked the players a lot of questions and expected them to have answers. If they didn’t have answers, we helped them find answers.

“There are certain non-negotiable rules with how we go about our business. We won’t give into that, must respect the game at all times and be good teammates.”

To read more of this in-depth article, purchase the April 17, 2020 edition of Collegiate Baseball or subscribe by CLICKING HERE.  

By LOU PAVLOVICH, JR.
Editor/Collegiate Baseball

COLUMBIA, S.C. — It took 161 years for a college baseball season to be shut down.

The first college baseball game ever played took place when Amherst beat Williams, 73-32 during a 26-inning contest in 1859.

On March 12, the coronavirus pandemic nuked the 2020 season as the College World Series was cancelled along with the season shortly after.

In an effort to answer important questions that linger after the NCAA, NAIA, NJCAA and California junior colleges shut down their seasons, Collegiate Baseball contacted several people who can give those in the game much needed answers.

We talked to University of South Carolina Athletics Director Ray Tanner, chairman of the NCAA Division I Baseball Committee last season and an ABCA Hall of Fame baseball coach who amassed a 1,133-489 record in 25 years as a collegiate coach.

He led South Carolina to two national titles along with six trips to the College World Series.

We also contacted LSU Head Coach Paul Mainieri, who has coached for 37 seasons at LSU, Notre Dame, Air Force and St. Thomas as his teams won 1,455 games entering the 2020 season.

Keep in mind the worst pandemic in history was the 1918 Spanish Flu which killed more than 50 million worldwide and infected an estimated 500 million people around the world, a third of the planet’s total population at that time.

During that pandemic, 675,000 Americans perished. Hopefully we never get to that point.

Measures have been put in place to protect all of us from another catastrophe.

Tanner explained the negative financial impact universities in the Southeastern Conference will feel since millions of dollars in gate receipts and concessions for conference games have been lost, let alone the NCAA Division I baseball championship.

“There will definitely be financial repercussions because of the cancellation of the NCAA Division I basketball tournament coupled with the loss of the Division I baseball championship. You have now lost the No. 1 and No. 2 revenue producers of all NCAA championships which help many athletic departments across the nation,” said Tanner.

Last year the NCAA Division I basketball tournament pulled in $933 million in revenue during the 3-week tournament, according to Investopedia.

Different sources told Collegiate Baseball that the 2019 College World Series alone netted $12 million and the entire 64-team championship much more due to television rights fees, ticket sales and corporate sponsorships.

It is believed the NCAA has some sort of insurance for a potential catastrophic event.

The coronavirus pandemic certainly falls into the category.

Nothing has been made public by the NCAA on such an insurance policy.

“Not being able to play our SEC baseball schedule is a serious concern to all of us in the SEC,” said Tanner.

Looking at 2019 attendance at NCAA Division I schools, six of the top seven schools in the nation in total and average attendance come from the SEC led by LSU which brought in 425,377 over 40 dates last season for an average of 10,634.

Eighteen of the top 20 schools in the nation in total home attendance are from the SEC, Big 12, ACC or Pac-12 conferences.

“A lot of schools from Power 5 conferences draw well in baseball. This is something that will be dealt with, but my main concern at this time is human lives. 

“This pandemic is a priority. We must try to do our best as a university and athletics department to try and mitigate the situation as far as large gatherings. We pray and hope the coronavirus numbers slow down and we can get back to normal. But nobody knows when that will be.

“We talk about playing games and financial ramifications. But the most important thing is the health and welfare of our staff, coaches and students.”

LSU Head Coach Paul Mainieri said a serious financial issue is now facing colleges because of the cancellation of the Division I basketball tournament and Division I baseball tournament.

“All I know are the rumors that I have heard, and I don’t have any inside information,” said Mainieri.

“What I heard is that the NCAA has a big insurance plan, and that is why they had to make a decision so early and cancel the College World Series three months prior to the event as well as the softball World Series and other events on the docket.

“If you have a catastrophe that warrants collecting a major insurance policy benefit, probably it would have to be so catastrophic that all the sports would have to be cancelled. I don’t know that as fact. It is just a rumor.”

Mainieri said his program will be impacted because LSU never got to play even one home SEC series this season.

LSU has led the nation in attendance the past 24 years. In the last 10 years, LSU has averaged more than 10,000 for home games and seven of the last eight years has not had total yearly attendance below 418,000.

It is unprecedented in the annals of college baseball.

“I have no idea what the impact of not playing a home SEC schedule will mean for our program and LSU finances,” said Mainieri.

“I also don’t know if our school has an insurance policy for this to offset big losses.”

To read more of this in-depth story on the ramifications of cancelling the 2020 college baseball season, purchase the April 3, 2020 edition or subscribe by CLICKING HERE. 

By LOU PAVLOVICH, JR.
Editor/Collegiate Baseball

LOS ANGELES — Practical jokes are as much a part of baseball as the ball and bat.

The game overflows with athletes who dream up schemes to get a rise out of their teammates.

One of the best pranks took place in 1995 when Ken Griffey, Jr. left a pregnant 1,200-pound cow in Manager Lou Piniella’s office.

Griffey owned Piniella a steak dinner after being unable to hit a ball off Scott Davidson during batting practice. The manager’s response to the smelly slobber all over his office: “It reminds me a lot of Cincinnati (and owner Marge Schott’s dogs).”

One of the standby gags players do to their teammates is put eye black on the sweat band of hats. When the unsuspecting player reaches for his cap, he usually rotates the bill of the cap back and forth until the cap sits perfectly on top of his head.

Unfortunately, when the player does this, the eye black is rubbed right into the hair and forehead of the athlete. When the hat is taken off, a smeared black line can be seen across the forehead of the player.

Shaving cream is another classic for pranksters.

“I remember when I was playing for the University of Arizona years ago, one player would have the shaving cream joke played on him over and over again,” said Chip Stratton, one of the top hitting instructors in the state of Arizona.

“One time shaving cream would be put in the finger holes of his fielder’s glove. When he put his fingers in, shaving cream would fly out. The look on his face was priceless. Another technique was to put shaving cream in his shoes. You had to be careful to push the shaving cream deep into the shoe so it wouldn’t be visible when he started to put his feet in.

“Once his feet slid in, shaving cream would start flying out. Again, the look of the player was priceless after this happened,” laughed Stratton.

“We either did the glove or shoe gag to this one player at Arizona, and he fell for it all the time.”

Deodorant Caper
The Cultural Encyclopedia Of Baseball, written by Jonathan Fraser Light, explained several practical jokes over history.

Yogi Berra was always borrowing Whitey Ford’s deodorant.

In retaliation, Ford and Mickey Mantle supposedly put stickum in Ford’s roll-on deodorant and left it on the shelf for Berra’s use.

Berra’s arms became stuck to his sides, and the trainer had to cut off his underarm hair and use alcohol to get the stickum off.

The “stickum,” which he kept in a deodorant container, was actually Ford’s secret formula for making his hands stickier in cold weather.

In the late 1950s, Sherman Lollar of the White Sox was the team’s designated practical joker and glove “fixer.”

On a hot day, he stuffed catcher Clint Courtney’s glove with limburger cheese.

He also rubbed the stuff on Courtney’s uniform. The stench became so strong that the umpire made the catcher change his uniform.

To read more of this story, purchase the April 3, 2020 edition of Collegiate Baseball or subscribe by CLICKING HERE.