Ron Polk

[bulldogcountry1]

I've been thinking more and more lately about how unfortunate the Polk situation is. A few posters mentioned it in WMD's post yesterday, but I didn't want to hijack his thread.

Since it went down, I've always been on the side that feels like Polk way way out of line, he set the program even further back than he did by being lazy, and he owes everyone an apology. I guess it should be obvious by now that he's probably incapable of that, so this may be moot. It's hard not to wonder about "what if", though. I mean, we had a "legend" coaching at our school, and it's like he doesn't even exist anymore.

When I think about what he meant for our program, college baseball, and what he could do for us, it's sad to think he doesn't have anything to do with our program now. It's not like he's out in California, either. He's less than 150 miles from campus, and there's been no public interaction to even hint at a start to healing. My gut tells me that this is all on Polk because, even if Stricklin doesn't want anything to do with him, he has some obligation to try to reach out to keep some of the donors happy who still are loyal to Polk.

I don't know what's happened behind closed doors, so maybe the ship has sailed. I just have this idea of Polk being a presence in our program by doing fundraising, speaking engagements, and being that personal connection with fans and sponsors that isn't as strong now as some would like. He's a strange old man, but there would be a lot of advantages to having him around in some capacity.

[Jacksondevildog]

Polk still does not like Cohen. I doubt that will ever happen. Cohen is cordial when he speaks about Coach Polk, but he understands the situation and the distain for him being our head coach.

[Tbonewannabe]

I think Polk doesn't like the way Cohen runs his program which is the way you have to in big time baseball now. You can't miss on Bunky Kaeton and just keep him on the roster because you told him he would be on the team. Polk also seemed to treat his players like they were his kids and Cohen treats them differently. Cohen seems to be more of a hard ass but at the end of the day he is pretty successful.

Polk wouldn't be successful in today's game with how you have to handle recruiting. Polk seems like that grouchy uncle that is pissed HeeHaw isn't still on tv.

[Jack Lambert]

Polk is still a good coach. Baseball is played the same today as it always has been played. I think Polk was right about the scholarships situation and it should be changed and I did not have a problem with pushing the issue. What I had a problem with when it came to Polk is his recruiting. He use to be able to get the guys he wanted but that all changed. He relied on his camps to recruit too much. The rest of the SEC caught up to State and past State due to his recruiting styles.

I think Polk doesn't like Cohen because that is the person the AD picked. Polk wanted to pick his replacement.

This is just my opinion.

[engie]

That's what it ultimately boils down to -- Polk doesn't like Cohen. Cohen isn't Raffo in any aspect of his personality. Cohen isn't Polk in any aspect of his personality. It's amazing the extent that Cohen has managed to take the high road through the whole ordeal and just find persistence when literally half his fanbase is out to get him. There's a VERY clear agenda there with a faction that still out to get him. Don't believe it? Read posts from 4-5 weeks ago.

Like I was told by what in all likelihood will be an SEC hall of fame baseball player -- "I always dreamed of playing at State. Had forgotten why until I saw this(Thunder and Lightning) documentary. There's a reason one guy is probably going back to Omaha and the other one is flirting with .500 again at Arkansas State." The bad thing is -- they had about equal historical success prior to McDonnell's arrival in Louisville -- granted Louisville is a more affluent department and now doesn't have any inherent disadvantages in baseball(not being in a major conference) that it the early years of his career there. Pretty sure they still don't charge anything at all to watch the baseball games up there.

[Thick]

It's sad that the man cannot be happy that one of his own players is running the program. He has a different approach to running the program, coaching philosophy, but he's also taken this program to the NC game. Polk might not like that the most about Cohen.

[Jarius]

Does anyone know the last time that the 2 sides have spoken to each other? I don't think that bridge will ever be repaired because Polk has put his chips too far in to come back at this point, but I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall the last few times that he spoke with people from MSU.

[engie]

I think Polk doesn't like the way Cohen runs his program which is the way you have to in big time baseball now. You can't miss on Bunky Kaeton and just keep him on the roster because you told him he would be on the team. Polk also seemed to treat his players like they were his kids and Cohen treats them differently. Cohen seems to be more of a hard ass but at the end of the day he is pretty successful.

Polk wouldn't be successful in today's game with how you have to handle recruiting. Polk seems like that grouchy uncle that is pissed HeeHaw isn't still on tv.

That's the funny thing about Polk's approach. He gives his 11.7 schollies a chance -- and the average/bad ones get 4 years worth of chances because they performed well during a 3 day baseball camp. He's partially pissed because Cohen doesn't give those guys 4 years. What about all the guys that were worthy and dreaming but never got a chance under Polk? What about all of those guys that absolutely do get a chance under Cohen? How is Polk's way ANY more of a high road? It f'n isn't. Cohen is giving 3x the number of kids a chance that Polk did -- and teaching them the life lesson of Darwinism in the process. What about the guys Polk gave invited walk-ons to -- that turned down other elite scholarship opportunities because of a lifelong dream of being a Bulldog -- come out and hit .350 in the fall -- and are cut in the spring because a "scholarship guy" that is a clearly inferior player has to have that roster slot? But that thought process is lost on Ron Polk and always has been.

[Dawgbite]

Polk let his battle with the NCAA turn into an obsession at the expense of the program. He spoke at a function recently and he spoke fondly of State but only in the past tense, nothing current was even mentioned. He definetly holds a grudge about something.

[Martianlander]

Polk is still a good coach. Baseball is played the same today as it always has been played. I think Polk was right about the scholarships situation and it should be changed and I did not have a problem with pushing the issue. What I had a problem with when it came to Polk is his recruiting. He use to be able to get the guys he wanted but that all changed. He relied on his camps to recruit too much. The rest of the SEC caught up to State and past State due to his recruiting styles.

I think Polk doesn't like Cohen because that is the person the AD picked. Polk wanted to pick his replacement.

This is just my opinion.

Agree-I think him not being involved and wanting Raffo is what set him off. Don't know if there was hard feelings with Cohen before or not.

[RAYn_Man]

Cohen treats every player, walk-on or not, the exact same. Which is why many of our best players are walk-ons.

[Tbonewannabe]

That's what it ultimately boils down to -- Polk doesn't like Cohen. Cohen isn't Raffo in any aspect of his personality. Cohen isn't Polk in any aspect of his personality. It's amazing the extent that Cohen has managed to take the high road through the whole ordeal and just find persistence when literally half his fanbase is out to get him. There's a VERY clear agenda there with a faction that still out to get him. Don't believe it? Read posts from 4-5 weeks ago.

Like I was told by what in all likelihood will be an SEC hall of fame baseball player -- "I always dreamed of playing at State. Had forgotten why until I saw this(Thunder and Lightning) documentary. There's a reason one guy is probably going back to Omaha and the other one is flirting with .500 again at Arkansas State." The bad thing is -- they had about equal historical success prior to McDonnell's arrival in Louisville -- granted Louisville is a more affluent department and now doesn't have any inherent disadvantages in baseball(not being in a major conference) that it the early years of his career there. Pretty sure they still don't charge anything at all to watch the baseball games up there.

Some people probably do have an agenda but last year was one of the worst in MSU history. That combined with Cohen doing weird shit like bunting in the 1st inning or with a guy who is 3 for 3 that game doesn't help his cause. I believe going into this year after last year a lot of people were expecting the other shoe to drop and then we shit the bed against 2 crap teams back to back. You have to excuse some people that might overreact to that.

[ScoobaDawg]

I wonder if he still goes over to pick up his mail.
I think one thing to note is when the new stadium was announced, Scott said it would remain named Polk-DeMent Stadium.

As noted. I think Polk will never get over it. Raffo hasn't proved anything at Ark State to make him look right. Cohen has taken us to the NC game. Something Polk never could do.

It's a shame. But as noted.. many people saw Polk show his ass over the situation... and I'm fine with him not being involved.

[Tbonewannabe]

It's sad that the man cannot be happy that one of his own players is running the program. He has a different approach to running the program, coaching philosophy, but he's also taken this program to the NC game. Polk might not like that the most about Cohen.

I think Polk's ego is too big to admit that Cohen was the better choice. Even now if Cohen left I wouldn't want Raffo. Raffo has proven he isn't a top level coach. He is a good coach for Ark St but that isn't good enough for a SEC school much less one of the top half SEC schools.

[War Machine Dawg]

Some people probably do have an agenda but last year was one of the worst in MSU history. That combined with Cohen doing weird shit like bunting in the 1st inning or with a guy who is 3 for 3 that game doesn't help his cause. I believe going into this year after last year a lot of people were expecting the other shoe to drop and then we shit the bed against 2 crap teams back to back. You have to excuse some people that might overreact to that.

Exactly. It was fair at that point to think he might not have righted the ship and question whether or not he should be HC after the season. But he's since proven he has indeed righted the ship. There's always going to be some level of #Cohening, but he's cooled it down some the last several weeks.

[Jack Lambert]

I wonder if he still goes over to pick up his mail.
I think one thing to note is when the new stadium was announced, Scott said it would remain named Polk-DeMent Stadium.

As noted. I think Polk will never get over it. Raffo hasn't proved anything at Ark State to make him look right. Cohen has taken us to the NC game. Something Polk never could do.

It's a shame. But as noted.. many people saw Polk show his ass over the situation... and I'm fine with him not being involved.

There is always a cooling off period. Williams was welcomed back after a stay away. JWS was welcomed back after a stay away. If Polk wants to be welcome back one day he will be. I think he did too much for Miss State Baseball to stay away. I would love to hear him being interviewed during games on the radio and being part of the program. I hope it happens one day.

[Lumpy Chucklelips]

I hate that it played out like it did, but in my mind, Polk was wrong. Polk came to us in my freshman year at State. I used to idolize the man. Now, it's just what it is as far as I"m concerned. He made his bed....

If he hadn't done what he did, we'd see a statue of him at the entrance to the new Dudy Noble.

[blacklistedbully]

Polk had promised the job to Raffo. It wasn't his to promise (though I've little doubt some of the cigar boys told him they'd have-his-back on that), like a king or dictator might declare a successor, but Ron thought it was.

When the AD decided to make his own choice, it made Polk feel as though he'd been disrespected, and it forced him to have to tell Raffo he couldn't honor his promise. So, Polk was already pissed about that. When Cohen accepted the job, Polk felt (unjustifiably) that John had stabbed-him-in-the-back.

[archdog]

It's sad that the man cannot be happy that one of his own players is running the program. He has a different approach to running the program, coaching philosophy, but he's also taken this program to the NC game. Polk might not like that the most about Cohen.

Someone help me remember why Polk is a legend again?

[Bully13]

Polk puts his sandy vugina ahead of the program. I He owes the program an apology. Until he does so both publicly and privately, he can kiss my ass.

[preachermatt83]

There is always a cooling off period. Williams was welcomed back after a stay away. JWS was welcomed back after a stay away. If Polk wants to be welcome back one day he will be. I think he did too much for Miss State Baseball to stay away. I would love to hear him being interviewed during games on the radio and being part of the program. I hope it happens one day.

Amen.

[preachermatt83]

Someone help me remember why Polk is a legend again?

Can't be serious.

[blacklistedbully]

Someone help me remember why Polk is a legend again?

1) Prior to Polk we went to the Regionals/NCAA Tourney 6 times (28 of those prior years had them). During Polk's 29 years at State he took us 20 times.

2) Of our 9 CWS appearances, Polk took us there 6 times.

3) Of our 4 50-win seasons, 3 of them came under Polk.

4)No less than Skip Bertman credited Polk & Mississippi State for turning the SEC into a powerhouse league for baseball. Skip had said he got the resources to be successful because of what Polk showed could be accomplished.

5) Ron Polk gave this school something of which to be extremely proud at a time when we had very little athletically to be proud of. Because of Polk, we could hold-our-heads higher than most during baseball season. Nobody could give us crap and everybody respected us in baseball.

I hate the way Ron left, but I will never forget all he did for our university.

[Coach34]

Polk had promised the job to Raffo. It wasn't his to promise (though I've little doubt some of the cigar boys told him they'd have-his-back on that), like a king or dictator might declare a successor, but Ron thought it was.

When the AD decided to make his own choice, it made Polk feel as though he'd been disrespected, and it forced him to have to tell Raffo he couldn't honor his promise. So, Polk was already pissed about that. When Cohen accepted the job, Polk felt (unjustifiably) that John had stabbed-him-in-the-back.

Its this- but there is another thing people never mention:

Polk was also pissed because he was going to stay around and help Raffo- kinda like a volunteer assistant. He knew Cohen wasnt going to allow him to butt in. He knew Cohen wasnt going to run things the "Polk Way". Thus making his tantrum even bigger. Polk was going to have to give up all control of the State baseball program.

[MaroonFlounder]

Polk's name was being kicked around as a possible AD after Templeton. People forget that.

That may be another reason he had the "big head".

[Taog Redloh]

Polk is still a good coach. Baseball is played the same today as it always has been played. I think Polk was right about the scholarships situation and it should be changed and I did not have a problem with pushing the issue. What I had a problem with when it came to Polk is his recruiting. He use to be able to get the guys he wanted but that all changed. He relied on his camps to recruit too much. The rest of the SEC caught up to State and past State due to his recruiting styles.

I think Polk doesn't like Cohen because that is the person the AD picked. Polk wanted to pick his replacement.

This is just my opinion.

Polk puts his sandy vugina ahead of the program. I He owes the program an apology. Until he does so both publicly and privately, he can kiss my ass.

I think you nailed it Jack Lambert and Bully13. There is nothing else that can be done until Polk himself does it. Polk is very similar to a lot of baby boomers and guys generally around that age. NOTHING will get in the way of their ego and NOTHING will ever change them. Take a look at all of our parents, you'll see the same behavior. They are set in their ways.

[Coach34]

1) Prior to Polk we went to the Regionals/NCAA Tourney 6 times (28 of those prior years had them). During Polk's 29 years at State he took us 20 times.- the rules also changed for making a Regional under Polk- used to be only the SEC champ could go. We had many teams that would have made it under today's rules.

2) Of our 9 CWS appearances, Polk took us there 6 times.- again- because of the new rules. We have 16 SEC baseball titles- Polk only owns 4 of those. Under the old rules- he would have only made 4 Regionals

3) Of our 4 50-win seasons, 3 of them came under Polk. Baseball teams didnt start playing 50 games total until 1979 when Polk was coach

4)No less than Skip Bayless credited Polk & Mississippi State for turning the SEC into a powerhouse league for baseball. Skip had said he got the resources to be successful because of what Polk showed could be accomplished.- Polk made baseball a money maker in the SEC- nobody had done that before. That was his biggest contribution.

5) Ron Polk gave this school something of which to be extremely proud at a time when we had very little athletically to be proud of. Because of Polk, we could hold-our-heads higher than most during baseball season. Nobody could give us crap and everybody respected us in baseball.- Mark Richt is the football equivalent of Ron Polk.

I hate the way Ron left, but I will never forget all he did for our university.

make sure and read the bold print. Polk was really good but we were good in baseball long before he got here. As I said- we have 16 SEC titles in baseball- Polk only owns 4 of them

[Tbonewannabe]

make sure and read the bold print. Polk was really good but we were good in baseball long before he got here. As I said- we have 16 SEC titles in baseball- Polk only owns 4 of them

Polk having 6 CWS teams at MSU is his big achievement but how in the hell do you not win a National Title with Will Clark and Raffy. I am not old enough to have watched any of those games but that team had several MLB Allstars.

[basedog]

make sure and read the bold print. Polk was really good but we were good in baseball long before he got here. As I said- we have 16 SEC titles in baseball- Polk only owns 4 of them

Totally in agreement, I was in school when Paul Gregory was the HC, great Coach who also did many good things for our program. I remember when lights were installed at Dudy Noble, know one had lights in college or very few. Left field lounge got started, the batting cage was patent with Gregory and D'armi. Great players and teams, should have seen Phil Still play, great player. Gregory may have won a National title in 71 if not for some crazy ruling by the Ncaa that caused a few of our top players not eligible to play. Saw crowds over 9,000 a few times, doesn't sound like a lot in today's times but believe me it had the "IT" back then!

[blacklistedbully]

make sure and read the bold print. Polk was really good but we were good in baseball long before he got here. As I said- we have 16 SEC titles in baseball- Polk only owns 4 of them

While this is true, let's not forget:

A) The SEC Ron Polk faced much of his time at MSU was far more formidable than the SEC previous coaches faced. Ironic that Ron is partially responsible for those other programs investing heavily into their own programs, where they could out-spend us.
B) Polk may have had only 4 SEC titles, but that's one more than any other coach in our history, including Dudy Noble. Had other SEC programs not stepped up their game significantly, I'd bet the farm Polk would have had many more. LSU & UF, in particular became powerhouses, and other programs invested and rose, like Tenn, UK, Bama and others. When SCar was added to the league during Polk's 2nd stint,that was another national powerhouse, with UPig not exactly a slouch.

[maroonmania]

I think Polk doesn't like Cohen because that is the person the AD picked. Polk wanted to pick his replacement AGAIN.



FIFY

[bhamdawgfan]

Cohen treats every player, walk-on or not, the exact same. Which is why many of our best players are walk-ons.

Who?

[maroonmania]

Polk puts his sandy vugina ahead of the program. I He owes the program an apology. Until he does so both publicly and privately, he can kiss my ass.

Exactly, and as far as I could tell he openly worked against Cohen, at least early on to prevent him from getting support from a lot of long time MSU baseball fans and donors. He really did everything he could to poison the well of his former players against Cohen. I may be wrong, but in my mind, the reason we didn't get a kid like Preston Palmeiro on our team was because I think the Palmeiros would have felt disloyal to Polk sending him here strictly because of playing for Cohen. And that's a damn shame that the son of one of your best player's ever didn't really feel like he could come to MSU because it might hurt the sensitivities of a grumpy old man.

[AusTexDawg]

4)No less than Skip Bayless credited Polk & Mississippi State for turning the SEC into a powerhouse league for baseball. Skip had said he got the resources to be successful because of what Polk showed could be accomplished.


Do you mean former LSU coach Skip Bertman?

[maroonmania]

make sure and read the bold print. Polk was really good but we were good in baseball long before he got here. As I said- we have 16 SEC titles in baseball- Polk only owns 4 of them

And just being honest, we had MANY advantages in baseball back in those days due to our much larger than normal fan support that we no longer have including a lot of recruiting advantages and the post-season play we hosted just because of dollars. We don't have that any more because a lot of Southern teams put emphasis on baseball now and post-season play is strictly determined on merit now. Polk was a great coach but I don't believe he would have accomplished in today's environment anything like what he did back in the 70s, 80s and 90s.

[blacklistedbully]

Polk having 6 CWS teams at MSU is his big achievement but how in the hell do you not win a National Title with Will Clark and Raffy. I am not old enough to have watched any of those games but that team had several MLB Allstars.

Mostly just bad luck. We were cruising toward the winner's bracket , up 4-0 over a powerhouse Texas team when our pitcher, Gene Morgan got hit on the foot by a line shot right at him. He tried to continue, but was never the same. Up until he got hit in the 4th, Texas had got one hit. They couldn't touch Morgan until he got injured. Our middle-relief wasn't really good, so we needed Gene to get us to Thigpen, but he couldn't that day. Texas went on to win 12-7, putting us in the loser's bracket.

Next came eventual champion Miami. We had our ace, Jeff Brantley going into the 9th with a 5-4 lead, but it was unusually hot that day, 99 degrees, and Jeff was gassed. Still, we had Bobby Thigpen, our fireball throwing reliever ready to come in. Miami had a man on, and unfortunately for us, a guy at the plate who was good at hitting fastballs. Our 5-4 lead in the 9th became a 6-5 loss on one pitch, eliminating us from the CWS.

FWIW, Texas had an unreal roster themselves that year, with even more players that made the big leagues than we had, including Greg Swindell & Dennis Cook.

[blacklistedbully]

Do you mean former LSU coach Skip Bertman?

Yep, thanks for the correction.

[maroonmania]

Mostly just bad luck. We were cruising toward the winner's bracket , up 4-0 over a powerhouse Texas team when our pitcher, Gene Morgan got hit on the foot by a line shot right at him. He tried to continue, but was never the same. Up until he got hit in the 4th, Texas had got one hit. They couldn't touch Morgan until he got injured. Our middle-relief wasn't really good, so we needed Gene to get us to Thigpen, but he couldn't that day. Texas went on to win 12-7, putting us in the loser's bracket.

Next came eventual champion Miami. We had our ace, Jeff Brantley going into the 9th with a 5-4 lead, but it was unusually hot that day, 99 degrees, and Jeff was gassed. Still, we had Bobby Thigpen, our fireball throwing reliever ready to come in. Miami had a man on, and unfortunately for us, a guy at the plate who was good at hitting fastballs. Our 5-4 lead in the 9th became a 6-5 loss on one pitch, eliminating us from the CWS.

FWIW, Texas had an unreal roster themselves that year, with even more players that made the big leagues than we had, including Greg Swindell & Dennis Cook.

Its bad luck but its not. I say that because yes, it was bad luck that Morgan got hurt but Polk's teams NEVER had much pitching depth and that isn't a luck factor. He just never seemed to put much stock in having a stock of competent pitchers. During his time we almost always had 2, 3 or 4 pitchers that could be counted on and the rest were just thrown out there. The 85 team had Brantley, Morgan and Thigpen coming in late out of the OF and that was pretty much it.

[BiscuitEater]

Polk having 6 CWS teams at MSU is his big achievement but how in the hell do you not win a National Title with Will Clark and Raffy. I am not old enough to have watched any of those games but that team had several MLB Allstars.

Bad luck and a batted ball by Texas that took our pitcher out. HR to Miami in the elimination game.

Think about this .. Florida State has been to the CWS 21 times and never won. In fact .. until Virginia won, the entire ACC conference had not won a title Wake Forest in 1957 .. 58 years for teams including UNC, NC State, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Virginia, and Miami* (since they joined the ACC)

[bulldogcountry1]

There is nothing else that can be done until Polk himself does it. Polk is very similar to a lot of baby boomers and guys generally around that age. NOTHING will get in the way of their ego and NOTHING will ever change them.

This prettymuch sums it up. Polk has never been been married, so he probably has never had to apologize to anyone in his entire adult life. He doesn't really have a leg to stand on because he hasn't shown the loyalty he expected to receive. After all, he retired, changed his mind after a year, and went to UGA. I always felt that was a bit of a stab in the back to MSU. He was always praised about his loyalty to his players, but what about MSU and the fans?

At this point, it would just be nice just to have someone in the media ask a few questions to see where everything stands. Seems like Rick Cleveland would be a good candidate.

[Taog Redloh]

We should be actively trying to get Palmeiro back involved in the program. Forget Polk.

[Bully13]

We should be actively trying to get Palmeiro back involved in the program. Forget Polk.

this... and John Grisham, if that's possible. don't think the dumassedry surrounding the Grisham debacle was on Polk though.

[Tbonewannabe]

Bad luck and a batted ball by Texas that took our pitcher out. HR to Miami in the elimination game.

Think about this .. Florida State has been to the CWS 21 times and never won. In fact .. until Virginia won, the entire ACC conference had not won a title Wake Forest in 1957 .. 58 years for teams including UNC, NC State, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Virginia, and Miami* (since they joined the ACC)

Florida State has never had 2 of the better hitters in MLB on the roster at the same time. Raffy won the ONLY triple crown in SEC history and Will Clark won the golden spikes as the best player in college baseball. That is the college equivalent of Ruth and Gehrig. Unless we had complete shit the rest of the lineup. How many other teams in college baseball history have had 2 guys that are mentioned for the MLB Hall of Fame? If Raffy doesn't wag his finger then he is in and Will Clark was a top 5 hitter in MLB for several years. If Will doesn't have the injuries then he is probably in the Hall also.

[Coursesuper]

We should be actively trying to get Palmeiro back involved in the program. Forget Polk.

You should first ask yourself the question, Why is Preston Palmeiro at NC State?

[BiscuitEater]

2) Of our 9 CWS appearances, Polk took us there 6 times.- again- because of the new rules. We have 16 SEC baseball titles- Polk only owns 4 of those. Under the old rules- he would have only made 4 Regionals

Which old rules you talking about? The days when ONLY eight teams were selected to go to the CWS? Before 1998, ONLY 48 teams went to regionals. In 1999 it went to 64. Lot easier today. Right?

Mississippi state has won 16 SEC titles. Most are 'streaks' and date back to W.D. Chadwick and 1909, 1912, 1918. C.R. Dudy Noble .. 1921, 1922, 1924. 'Doc' Patty 1948, 1949. Then there are the ones ~50 years ago under Paul Gregory 1965, 1966, & 1971. Most State fans remember those. Right?

Mississippi State baseball was played under what is now Dorman with wooden bleachers held 2000 max souls that attended. Gregory won two of those SEC titles while playing at Redbird Park, the Columbus High School field while Dudy Noble was being built.

Sorry .. but college baseball has changed .. a lot.


make sure and read the bold print. Polk was really good but we were good in baseball long before he got here. As I said- we have 16 SEC titles in baseball- Polk only owns 4 of them

Sooo .. how many have we won since?

Think you also failed to mention that under Polk we .. hosted five SEC tournaments (1979, 1981, 1983, 1988 and 1995), 12 NCAA Regional tournaments (1979, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1997, 2000) and its first NCAA Super Regional in 2007.

[Taog Redloh]

You should first ask yourself the question, Why is Preston Palmeiro at NC State?

To do something different, as he has been quoted many times saying. And Raffy said himself coming to MSU was the best decision he ever made. Sure, he likes Polk but that can be overcome.

Polk is 72 years old. He may very well take his hate to the grave with him, which, just by statistics, will occur over the next few years.

[Coursesuper]

To do something different, as he has been quoted many times saying. And Raffy said himself coming to MSU was the best decision he ever made. Sure, he likes Polk but that can be overcome.

Polk is 72 years old. He may very well take his hate to the grave with him, which, just by statistics, will occur over the next few years.

There is much much more to than Polk.

[BiscuitEater]

Cohen treats every player, walk-on or not, the exact same. Which is why many of our best players are walk-ons.

Honest question .. I went through the roster and couldn't find anyone that would be considered a "Walk-on." Which ones are 'walk-ons?'

[engie]

Cohen treats every player, walk-on or not, the exact same. Which is why many of our best players are walk-ons.[/QUOTE]

Honest question .. I went through the roster and couldn't find anyone that would be considered a "Walk-on." Which ones are 'walk-ons?'

A BUNCH of them are walk-ons. More freshmen showed up than expected. Some of the best juniors had their baseball related aid pulled because of it. It can only be split 27 ways on a 35 man roster. Also, there's a reason we are always setting new team GPA records under Cohen -- because a bunch of the guys are on academic aid that they qualified for.

The fact that no one knows the exact answer to the question is a testament to EXACTLY what he's saying. There is no difference in Cohen's eyes/how he sells the players/how he gives them opportunities between the guy that got 50% out of the door -- and the JUCO walk-on hoping for a spot.

[engie]

Exactly. It was fair at that point to think he might not have righted the ship and question whether or not he should be HC after the season. But he's since proven he has indeed righted the ship. There's always going to be some level of #Cohening, but he's cooled it down some the last several weeks.
Of course you are going to pitch it this way -- because you were one of the very ones that freaked out prematurely. You wanted him fired last year. What are we ranked right now again? Ah -- but of course you've got to pitch this idea that he's still an idiot that can only kinda sorta get out of his own way. But it's good to know that he's just ceased to suck "some" the last several weeks while we took road series from #1 and #2 in the country.

[messageboardsuperhero]

Cohen treats every player, walk-on or not, the exact same. Which is why many of our best players are walk-ons.

Honest question .. I went through the roster and couldn't find anyone that would be considered a "Walk-on." Which ones are 'walk-ons?'

Exactly. You just proved the point.

Cohen runs a very walk-on friendly program- so much so that you wouldn't know who the walk-ons are and who the scholarship players are unless you were close to the program.

Everyone loves no cape Cody, but he would absolutely not have the same impact under Polk as he does under Cohen because Cohen gives EVERYONE an opportunity to prove himself- scholarship or not.

[Tbonewannabe]

Of course you are going to pitch it this way -- because you were one of the very ones that freaked out prematurely. You wanted him fired last year. What are we ranked right now again? Ah -- but of course you've got to pitch this idea that he's still an idiot that can only kinda sorta get out of his own way. But it's good to know that he's just ceased to suck "some" the last several weeks while we took road series from #1 and #2 in the country.

Last year was a perfect storm of shit. We were lacking in team leadership and Cohen and Butch went all in on the dead ball era. Can't say too much bad about that since the way he built the team got us to the Championship series. UCLA was just built for it even better. I think Cohen meddled even more last year because he knew his team make up was at a disadvantage. It makes sense that Cohen petitioned so hard to have one more year before switching the ball to give him time to recreate his team.

[Coach34]

And just being honest, we had MANY advantages in baseball back in those days due to our much larger than normal fan support that we no longer have including a lot of recruiting advantages and the post-season play we hosted just because of dollars. We don't have that any more because a lot of Southern teams put emphasis on baseball now and post-season play is strictly determined on merit now. Polk was a great coach but I don't believe he would have accomplished in today's environment anything like what he did back in the 70s, 80s and 90s.

of course he wouldn't- we haven't won an SEC title since 1989. It started passing him by in the 90's

[Tbonewannabe]

[QUOTE=BiscuitEater;535362]

Exactly. You just proved the point.

Cohen runs a very walk-on friendly program- so much so that you wouldn't know who the walk-ons are and who the scholarship players are unless you were close to the program.

Everyone loves no cape Cody, but he would absolutely not have the same impact under Polk as he does under Cohen because Cohen gives EVERYONE an opportunity to prove himself- scholarship or not.

Cohen seems to favor gritty hard nosed players like he was back in the day. Downtown Cody Brown and Mangum just seem to want it so much they will make it happen. It makes it fun to watch.

[engie]

Last year was a perfect storm of shit. We were lacking in team leadership and Cohen and Butch went all in on the dead ball era. Can't say too much bad about that since the way he built the team got us to the Championship series. UCLA was just built for it even better. I think Cohen meddled even more last year because he knew his team make up was at a disadvantage. It makes sense that Cohen petitioned so hard to have one more year before switching the ball to give him time to recreate his team.

Couldn't agree more with everything you said.

The Cohen approach on all of that actually seems pretty natural to me. It's the fan approach of "just leave them alone, let them all swing for the fences, and they will figure it out" that is unnatural. Of course you have to try harder/tinker more when you have less.

[Coach34]

Which old rules you talking about? The days when ONLY eight teams were selected to go to the CWS? Before 1998, ONLY 48 teams went to regionals. In 1999 it went to 64. Lot easier today. Right?

Mississippi state has won 16 SEC titles. Most are 'streaks' and date back to W.D. Chadwick and 1909, 1912, 1918. C.R. Dudy Noble .. 1921, 1922, 1924. 'Doc' Patty 1948, 1949. Then there are the ones ~50 years ago under Paul Gregory 1965, 1966, & 1971. Most State fans remember those. Right?

Mississippi State baseball was played under what is now Dorman with wooden bleachers held 2000 max souls that attended. Gregory won two of those SEC titles while playing at Redbird Park, the Columbus High School field while Dudy Noble was being built.

Sorry .. but college baseball has changed .. a lot.

[/B]

Sooo .. how many have we won since?

Think you also failed to mention that under Polk we .. hosted five SEC tournaments (1979, 1981, 1983, 1988 and 1995), 12 NCAA Regional tournaments (1979, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1997, 2000) and its first NCAA Super Regional in 2007.

that's the point I was making- Gregory won 3 as coach and Polk won 4. Polk won his last one in 1989- and coached State for what? 15 more seasons after that? Once other schools started making baseball a priority- Polk started getting passed by.

To your SEC Tourney comment- there was no SEC Tourney until the 70's when Polk was coach. Every Miss State coach since the SEC Tourney was adopted has won one. McMahon got us to a Super Regional before Polk did.

What does people remembering SEC titles have to do with anything? Hell, Polk became our HC over 40 years ago. Of course few would remember the SEC titles before him. Alot of fans don't remember the SEC titles he won- because his last one was 27 years ago. You have to be at least 32-33 years old to remember a Ron Polk SEC title

[Coursesuper]

of course he wouldn't- we haven't won an SEC title since 1989. It started passing him by in the 90's

That is the most accurate statement in this entire tread.

[Maroonthirteen]

Redbird! That's a blast from the past. Played there a few times vs Lee High and summer league. Ole Propst Park...lots of good memories.

Thread related..... Polk stood beyond home plate and watched me pitch during one of the camps I attended. Cohen was a player volunteer.

[QuadrupleOption]

McMahon got us to a Super Regional before Polk did.

Super Regionals started in 1999 when McMahon was here - it's not really fair to blame Polk for not making one when he didn't have the opportunity.

[Jack Lambert]

Super Regionals started in 1999 when McMahon was here - it's not really fair to blame Polk for not making one when he didn't have the opportunity.

When Polk came back after McMahon we got to number 1 in the country then fell off the mountain however we did make it to a regional. A few years later I thought we hosted an super regional Polk's second time around against Clemson and went to the CWS.

I could be wrong.

[maroonmania]

To do something different, as he has been quoted many times saying. And Raffy said himself coming to MSU was the best decision he ever made. Sure, he likes Polk but that can be overcome.

Polk is 72 years old. He may very well take his hate to the grave with him, which, just by statistics, will occur over the next few years.

Come on, seriously, what did you expect him to say? I would say without hesitation that if Tommy Raffo was our head coach then Preston Palmeiro would absolutely be on our team right now.

[Coach34]

Super Regionals started in 1999 when McMahon was here - it's not really fair to blame Polk for not making one when he didn't have the opportunity.

Really wasnt fair for Biscuit to trumpet Polk's SEC Tourney success when they didnt exist before him is it?

[Taog Redloh]

There is much much more to than Polk.

Come on, seriously, what did you expect him to say? I would say without hesitation that if Tommy Raffo was our head coach then Preston Palmeiro would absolutely be on our team right now.
Well by all means share it. Either way, I want Raffy back around the team. Would love Polk too, but that's already been discussed and likely not happening.

Raffy is not exactly in a position to be choosy. He wants back in baseball and it's not happening at the MLB level.

[maroonmania]

Well by all means share it. Either way, I want Raffy back around the team. Would love Polk too, but that's already been discussed and likely not happening.

Raffy is not exactly in a position to be choosy. He wants back in baseball and it's not happening at the MLB level.

Raffy at this time is very much involved with NC State. And that's understandable given his son is there. Once his son is done and moves on then there might be a chance to get him back connected with our program but it will never be like it could have been had one or both of his sons also played at MSU. I do think Clark has gotten more involved with Cohen's program and doesn't seem to be as influenced by Polk as Raffy is. Although there is the issue that Will and Raffy want nothing to do with each other so might be hard to ever get both involved at the same time.

[QuadrupleOption]

Really wasnt fair for Biscuit to trumpet Polk's SEC Tourney success when they didnt exist before him is it?

Probably not. I don't disagree with your thinking on Polk. He was a good but not great coach mainly because he wouldn't recruit and put together a strong top to bottom team.

His tenure was marked by a steady decline into mediocrity when he took over for McMahon and I absolutely hated the way he acted when we didn't hire Raffo.

Having said that, when the phrase "McMahon made a Super Regional here before Polk did" is typed, the only response that can be uttered is "No shit."9

[QuadrupleOption]

When Polk came back after McMahon we got to number 1 in the country then fell off the mountain however we did make it to a regional. A few years later I thought we hosted an super regional Polk's second time around against Clemson and went to the CWS.

I could be wrong.

You aren't wrong but that wasn't Coach34's statement.

[Todd4State]

My take on it:

I love Ron Polk I. I strongly dislike Polk II.

My Dad was on Polk's very first team in 1976 and the year before he had broken his collarbone and suffered a concussion trying to catch a pop out that ended up in the dugout when one of the straps on his chest protector got caught on a rail and basically caused him to slingshot into the back of the dugout. Anyway, my Dad couldn't throw very well after that. Polk allowed my Dad to stay on his scholarship- which allowed my Dad to finish going to college. I'm grateful for that. I'm grateful for Thunder and Lightning and 1985 because that was the first MSU baseball team I ever watched.

So, there is that side of Ron Polk. We see that sort of with him wanting to put Raffo in a position to be our head coach. There were definitely some selfish motives along with that- Polk was going to have a replica of his office built into the baseball office for himself.

I think when he left it was the right time to do so in 1997. When he came back it was more about HIM and doing things that suited his own personal interests and not so much about winning at MSU.

I believe that the second time he resigned he realized that we had been passed by in the SEC but he didn't want his image tarnished for losing, but at the same time he didn't really want to stop coaching. Plus, that was when Byrne was transitioning to AD but LT was still around in his last year. So, it was kind of now or never to get Raffo the job. On top of that, I'm sure Polk was well aware of Byrne (and I think Stricklin was around too maybe) were both at Kentucky where Cohen was. I believe that Polk intended to continue to coach our team but with Raffo as the guy that was the "face" of the program. And as I said, I think he realized we were going down and would rather Raffo take the heat for that than him.

And as far as Polk and Cohen- I don't know that Polk disliked Cohen on a personal level. Maybe now he dislikes him. But at first I don't think he liked Cohen's style as a player and a coach. Cohen is a lot more competitive, in your face, high energy kind of coach/player. I also think that Polk has a fear that Cohen is going to end up being a better coach than he was. And I don't know that will actually end up being the case or not- certainly at this time you would have to say that Polk overall is the better of the two but Cohen has also taken us further and has held his own.

But my biggest issue with the whole situation is you STILL hear about donors that won't give money because Cohen is the coach and he's not Ron Polk and all of that- even though I believe that is the minority. And I really thought this would happen after the 2013 CWS run- but as a fan base and a FAMILY we need to stand behind and support our baseball coaches. I can say and will admit that I strongly disagreed with bringing Polk back because I knew what was going to happen- and it did. Nonetheless, I still supported Polk II and I certainly gave him credit where credit was due such as the 2007 CWS appearance and the 2005 SEC Tournament Championship. I think after what Cohen has done he deserves the support from the fans- and I do think it is getting better.

And when I say that I'm not talking about the people that supported Cohen up until last year and then had serious doubts after last season. I get why that happened. I'm talking about the fans that haven't supported Cohen from day one. That small minority.

[Todd4State]

Raffy at this time is very much involved with NC State. And that's understandable given his son is there. Once his son is done and moves on then there might be a chance to get him back connected with our program but it will never be like it could have been had one or both of his sons also played at MSU. I do think Clark has gotten more involved with Cohen's program and doesn't seem to be as influenced by Polk as Raffy is. Although there is the issue that Will and Raffy want nothing to do with each other so might be hard to ever get both involved at the same time.

We have some baseball alumni that are just now coming up that are going to become household names or at least recognizable names in the baseball community- Renfroe, Graveman, Lindgren, etc. that are just now starting their MLB careers. We'll hit them up after their first free agency payday in about 6-7 years from now.

[Goldendawg]

Never bring back a coach who has had a stadium named after him and went somewhere else after he "retired". I thought Polk II was a disaster.

[War Machine Dawg]

Of course you are going to pitch it this way -- because you were one of the very ones that freaked out prematurely. You wanted him fired last year. What are we ranked right now again? Ah -- but of course you've got to pitch this idea that he's still an idiot that can only kinda sorta get out of his own way. But it's good to know that he's just ceased to suck "some" the last several weeks while we took road series from #1 and #2 in the country.

http://i.imgur.com/W6jVa0w.gif