Lemonis, baseball America

[TheLostDawg]

Free

https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/chris-lemonis-named-baseball-americas-2021-college-coach-of-the-year/

[MaroonFlounder]

I remember thinking "who is Chris Lemonis"? We all were kinda "meh" about getting a coach that seemed less than what John Cohen had promised.

I saw Indiana and thought "we are getting the guy that we faced in the 2013 CWS?" but no, that guy had moved on, and Lemonis had taken over there.

Now the entire college baseball world knows who Chris lemonis is....as well as most probably know who Jake and Foxhall are.

I know yall give SteveR a lot of shit, but I for one can't wait to read his book on this baseball season.

[TheLostDawg]

He would certainly sell a lot of books. Good to have someone like that on our side so we can enjoy things like that and it being from someone who actually experienced it, not just someone trying to make a buck.

[Offshore Dawg]

If you want to give Rosebowl any credit he is all Dawg.

[Offshore Dawg]

Looks like John did good with this hire.

[AlSwearengen]

It took about four or five days after the hire but once baseball people (coaches, former coaches, players) started weighing in on Lemonis and his strengths and personality, I was feeling pretty good. In baseball especially, it seems like the insiders of the sport have a good handle on who will have success. Schlossneagle came with a lot of good qualities and accomplishments, but there was also some red flags. A lot of rumors about personal issues, professional issues, and issues with interviews. Rumors are rumors but there was also some smoke to indicate that there may be something to some of the rumors.

I?d say we got the better of the two coaches. I just hope he is content to wait until retirement to get back to South Carolina and enjoys his baseball life in Starkville. And hopefully his wife doesn?t start getting an itch to leave. You know how women and their daughters are.

[BrunswickDawg]

I remember thinking "who is Chris Lemonis"? We all were kinda "meh" about getting a coach that seemed less than what John Cohen had promised.

I saw Indiana and thought "we are getting the guy that we faced in the 2013 CWS?" but no, that guy had moved on, and Lemonis had taken over there.

Now the entire college baseball world knows who Chris lemonis is....as well as most probably know who Jake and Foxhall are.

I know yall give SteveR a lot of shit, but I for one can't wait to read his book on this baseball season.


In reality though, was he really that far off in what he said we were going after? Lemonis was a key player on a CWS team; was a top notch recruiter for multiple Regional, Super, and CWS teams; had a top reputation within the game; and has won everywhere he's been. The only thing he hadn't done was go to a CWS as a head coach - but with what he was doing at Indiana, I don't think it would have taken much longer. To top it off - the guy turns out to have an alum for a Dad and lived in Starkville as a kid.

I'll take Lemonis all day everyday against the other "name" guys who were in the mix.

[preachermatt83]

I wanted to hire tadlock but, To be fair there were several of us on here who were pumped about this hire after taking a look at the resume’. I said “he will be our Dan McDonald.

[Todd4State]

I think we were VERY fortunate with how this worked out in the end.

The rumor was that Schlossnagle was going to be the head coach but he wanted Cohen to make the announcement during the CWS while we were still in Omaha. Which would have been very unfair to our players and Gary Henderson. Schlossnagle then tried to call Cohen's bluff and Cohen didn't budge. He then went right to Dan McDonnell and tried to get him to take our job and McDonnell did not want it- probably because he is in a good situation in Louisville and I imagine he doesn't want to compete with Bianco as he knows how intense the MSU/Ole Miss rivalry is. McDonnell then recommended Lemonis.

At the end of the day I think we ended up with a better coach and a better fit than McDonnell or Schlossnagle. It was only a matter of time before Lemonis became a hot name. I'm glad we got him before South Carolina did.

[Todd4State]

I wanted to hire tadlock but, To be fair there were several of us on here who were pumped about this hire after taking a look at the resume’. I said “he will be our Dan McDonald.

You were wrong. He's going to be our Skip Bertman.

[Todd4State]

It took about four or five days after the hire but once baseball people (coaches, former coaches, players) started weighing in on Lemonis and his strengths and personality, I was feeling pretty good. In baseball especially, it seems like the insiders of the sport have a good handle on who will have success. Schlossneagle came with a lot of good qualities and accomplishments, but there was also some red flags. A lot of rumors about personal issues, professional issues, and issues with interviews. Rumors are rumors but there was also some smoke to indicate that there may be something to some of the rumors.

I?d say we got the better of the two coaches. I just hope he is content to wait until retirement to get back to South Carolina and enjoys his baseball life in Starkville. And hopefully his wife doesn?t start getting an itch to leave. You know how women and their daughters are.

I'm not too worried about him leaving. Anything else in college would be a lateral move at best. We pay him well and will match if we have to. And if his wife wants to live somewhere else we would allow him to do what Howland and Leach do with full access to the University private jet fleet. He will not find a college more committed to baseball than MSU.

I think he is going to be here for 20+ years probably. He's not going to find a better situation anywhere else. Not without massive pressure to win titles immediately anyway like LSU. He has a very real chance to cement himself as a legend in college baseball here. And I'm not talking at MSU- he has already done that. I'm talking about getting mentioned with the Augie Gurrido's, Rod Deadeaux's, Ron Fraser's, and Skip Bertman's of the college baseball world. He's really just getting started and his recruiting is really starting to take off.

On top of that MSU fans are very forgiving, loyal, and patient to coaches who have won championships. How many times did we beg Ron Polk to come back? How long did we let Rick Stansbury and Jackie hang around? None of them won a National Title either.

[TheLostDawg]

I think we were VERY fortunate with how this worked out in the end.

The rumor was that Schlossnagle was going to be the head coach but he wanted Cohen to make the announcement during the CWS while we were still in Omaha. Which would have been very unfair to our players and Gary Henderson. Schlossnagle then tried to call Cohen's bluff and Cohen didn't budge. He then went right to Dan McDonnell and tried to get him to take our job and McDonnell did not want it- probably because he is in a good situation in Louisville and I imagine he doesn't want to compete with Bianco as he knows how intense the MSU/Ole Miss rivalry is. McDonnell then recommended Lemonis.

At the end of the day I think we ended up with a better coach and a better fit than McDonnell or Schlossnagle. It was only a matter of time before Lemonis became a hot name. I'm glad we got him before South Carolina did.

The rumor on McDonnell is he told his wife that would be his last job/move until his daughters? graduated high school when he took the Louisville job. He then told Cohen that his guy would be Lemonis if he was in Cohen's shoes.

[AlSwearengen]

I'm not too worried about him leaving. Anything else in college would be a lateral move at best. We pay him well and will match if we have to. And if his wife wants to live somewhere else we would allow him to do what Howland and Leach do with full access to the University private jet fleet. He will not find a college more committed to baseball than MSU.

I think he is going to be here for 20+ years probably. He's not going to find a better situation anywhere else. Not without massive pressure to win titles immediately anyway like LSU. He has a very real chance to cement himself as a legend in college baseball here. And I'm not talking at MSU- he has already done that. I'm talking about getting mentioned with the Augie Gurrido's, Rod Deadeaux's, Ron Fraser's, and Skip Bertman's of the college baseball world. He's really just getting started and his recruiting is really starting to take off.

On top of that MSU fans are very forgiving, loyal, and patient to coaches who have won championships. How many times did we beg Ron Polk to come back? How long did we let Rick Stansbury and Jackie hang around? None of them won a National Title either.

Good points and I agree with you that he will stay but I also didn’t celebrate until the 3rd out in the 9th inning against vandy. Worst case scenario is always in the back of my mind.

[Todd4State]

Good points and I agree with you that he will stay but I also didn’t celebrate until the 3rd out in the 9th inning against vandy. Worst case scenario is always in the back of my mind.

Ha! I finally got into we have a good chance to do this mode after we went up 9-0. Definitely did not celebrate until it was over either. I know where you're coming from on that!

[StarkVegasSteve]

I for one was very skeptical of Lemonis when he was hired, not because of Lemonis but because of what I had just seen with Cohen?s hiring of Joe. I actually was even skeptical after 19 because I truly believed that Jake, Cole, Small, Mac, and etc. just wouldn?t let us fail. This year proved to me that we have one of the elite coaches in all of college baseball. Glad I was wrong on this one.

[TNDawg35]

The rumor on McDonnell is he told his wife that would be his last job/move until his daughters? graduated high school when he took the Louisville job. He then told Cohen that his guy would be Lemonis if he was in Cohen's shoes.

This is spot on. McDonnell will never coach at Ole Miss. Him and Lemonis had that discussion before Lemonis was hired. There is a reason he was wearing a maroon adn white Team USA baseball shirt and his wife had on a M State shirt at the CWS.

Like it or not, by hiring Lemonis, we screwed OM by taking away their #1 target when Bianco leaves.

Lemonis had ALOT to do with McDonnells early success at the Ville. I have buddy who played there and have heard first hand accounts. Lemonis has an oppurtunity to reach levels at Mississippi State that very few have reached else where.

Look at it this way. All Lemonis really needs to do is win the SEC to accomplish everything you possibly could in college baseball. And Imagine doling all this while at your Fathers alma mater and a place you literally grew up at.

National Title- Check
CWS- Check
Supers- Check
Regionals- Check
SEC reg season- ?
SEC tournament- ? (honestly dont think he cares showing by this year)

What more could we ask a coach to do by year 3? Now just keep the momentum going while recruiting at a very high level like he is...

[Todd4State]

I for one was very skeptical of Lemonis when he was hired, not because of Lemonis but because of what I had just seen with Cohen?s hiring of Joe. I actually was even skeptical after 19 because I truly believed that Jake, Cole, Small, Mac, and etc. just wouldn?t let us fail. This year proved to me that we have one of the elite coaches in all of college baseball. Glad I was wrong on this one.

You weren't really wrong. You were just cautious.


This is spot on. McDonnell will never coach at Ole Miss. Him and Lemonis had that discussion before Lemonis was hired. There is a reason he was wearing a maroon adn white Team USA baseball shirt and his wife had on a M State shirt at the CWS.

Like it or not, by hiring Lemonis, we screwed OM by taking away their #1 target when Bianco leaves.

Lemonis had ALOT to do with McDonnells early success at the Ville. I have buddy who played there and have heard first hand accounts. Lemonis has an oppurtunity to reach levels at Mississippi State that very few have reached else where.

Look at it this way. All Lemonis really needs to do is win the SEC to accomplish everything you possibly could in college baseball. And Imagine doling all this while at your Fathers alma mater and a place you literally grew up at.

National Title- Check
CWS- Check
Supers- Check
Regionals- Check
SEC reg season- ?
SEC tournament- ? (honestly dont think he cares showing by this year)

What more could we ask a coach to do by year 3? Now just keep the momentum going while recruiting at a very high level like he is...

Based on things I have heard about Lemonis I don't think he is necessarily satisfied with just one National Title. Remember when we had the victory celebration he said something like "It wasn't a perfect season it was just a championship season." And he has talked to other coaches who have won titles on how to handle that the following seasons. He's hardly taking a victory lap. I think he wants to win everything. I also heard he was pretty pissed off about the SEC Tournament this year even though it doesn't really matter much I agree. The truth is we do have fans that go to Hoover and live in Alabama and I'm sure the SEC Tournament is more important to them than other MSU fans and I'm sure they want us to put on a good show when we play there.

[Offshore Dawg]

This is so being a MSU fan response. The Dawgs won the ( NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP IN COLLEGE BASEBALL ) and some of you find something to complain about.

[PMDawg]

"I'll take Lemonis all day everyday against the other "name" guys who were in the mix."

Bold stance 3 years after the fact and once we have a NC trophy in the case. Lol

[BrunswickDawg]

"I'll take Lemonis all day everyday against the other "name" guys who were in the mix."

Bold stance 3 years after the fact and once we have a NC trophy in the case. Lol

I took the same stance when half this board was in meltdown all season about the way he was handling our pitchers.

[Coach34]

I took the same stance when half this board was in meltdown all season about the way he was handling our pitchers.

You can still question the handling of our pitchers. We left Mac in too long in Game 1 of the title series to effectively give that game away in the 1st inning. Harding/Johnson pitched extremely well so there was really no hard decision to be made. Same with Game 3. Bednar/Sims handled the pitching decision.

Sometimes things just work out for you. Thank goodness for us that they did.

[Tbonewannabe]

You can still question the handling of our pitchers. We left Mac in too long in Game 1 of the title series to effectively give that game away in the 1st inning. Harding/Johnson pitched extremely well so there was really no hard decision to be made. Same with Game 3. Bednar/Sims handled the pitching decision.

Sometimes things just work out for you. Thank goodness for us that they did.

I was yelling for Mac to be pulled but I will say that Mac had a shaky first inning even in games that he went 4-6 innings. He was probably hoping it clicked for him like it did for the Virginia guy who started against us. Mac had first round stuff when he was locating.

[The Federalist Engineer]

This is spot on. McDonnell will never coach at Ole Miss. Him and Lemonis had that discussion before Lemonis was hired. There is a reason he was wearing a maroon adn white Team USA baseball shirt and his wife had on a M State shirt at the CWS.

Like it or not, by hiring Lemonis, we screwed OM by taking away their #1 target when Bianco leaves.

Lemonis had ALOT to do with McDonnells early success at the Ville. I have buddy who played there and have heard first hand accounts. Lemonis has an oppurtunity to reach levels at Mississippi State that very few have reached else where.

Look at it this way. All Lemonis really needs to do is win the SEC to accomplish everything you possibly could in college baseball. And Imagine doling all this while at your Fathers alma mater and a place you literally grew up at.

National Title- Check
CWS- Check
Supers- Check
Regionals- Check
SEC reg season- ?
SEC tournament- ? (honestly dont think he cares showing by this year)

What more could we ask a coach to do by year 3? Now just keep the momentum going while recruiting at a very high level like he is...

The only thing that matters is a National Title, everything else, who cares. His new target is to catch Tim Corbin for titles.

Even Mini Mike could win the other little stuff, except getting to CWS. Mike will be 70 years old before they can get lucky again.

Would love to see a Maroon Golden Spikes, it's been a long time.

[Todd4State]

If your starting pitcher is off in the first inning you have to pretty much have no choice but t let him get knocked around a little because no one has the bullpen up and ready in the first inning.

[Coach34]

If your starting pitcher is off in the first inning you have to pretty much have no choice but t let him get knocked around a little because no one has the bullpen up and ready in the first inning.

After the way Mac had pitched in the postseason- its not very smart to not have someone getting loose and ready. Coming in to the Vandy game- Mac had thrown 16 innings with 19 earned runs in the postseason (thats about an 11.0 ERA)- including making it just 1 1/3 his last outing.

[AlSwearengen]

After the way Mac had pitched in the postseason- its not very smart to not have someone getting loose and ready. Coming in to the Vandy game- Mac had thrown 16 innings with 19 earned runs in the postseason (thats about an 11.0 ERA)- including making it just 1 1/3 his last outing.

We had a pretty schizophrenic staff a lot of the year, especially middle season on. I told a USM buddy that the only pitcher that we had that was totally consistent was Sims. I say that b/c even Bednar had a couple bad outings, same with Hootie. If you take all of that into consideration, handling the pitching staff wasn’t an easy proposition.

[Tbonewannabe]

After the way Mac had pitched in the postseason- its not very smart to not have someone getting loose and ready. Coming in to the Vandy game- Mac had thrown 16 innings with 19 earned runs in the postseason (thats about an 11.0 ERA)- including making it just 1 1/3 his last outing.

Having a guy warming up with the starter is going to screw up the guys head especially since it wasn't a lose and go home game. Lemo rolled the dice and that game didn't work out. You also have to figure that Bednar was probably the only guy that could go toe to toe with Leiter at that point. We needed a starter that could eat up some innings and the only other option was probably Fristoe.

[The Federalist Engineer]

Having a guy warming up with the starter is going to screw up the guys head especially since it wasn't a lose and go home game. Lemo rolled the dice and that game didn't work out. You also have to figure that Bednar was probably the only guy that could go toe to toe with Leiter at that point. We needed a starter that could eat up some innings and the only other option was probably Fristoe.

Until this CWS, I had never seen a Champ with just one capable starter. The compensating factor was the brilliant zero-error defense and the nut-up bullpen.

- 7 Pitchers held UVA to a single Run in Game-2
- 5 Pitchers held Vandy to a pair of Runs in the Leiter Game

You could say that 2 starters (Mac and EC) went from All American Candidates to Unusable, bad development. But 7 kids that were not All American Candidates became Omaha War Horses, great development. Especially Johnson, Cade Smith, and Brandon Smith.

Credit to Lemonis and Foxhall for having the right guys in the pen and shuffling them brilliantly vs UVA and Vandy.

[Todd4State]

Until this CWS, I had never seen a Champ with just one capable starter. The compensating factor was the brilliant zero-error defense and the nut-up bullpen.

- 7 Pitchers held UVA to a single Run in Game-2
- 5 Pitchers held Vandy to a pair of Runs in the Leiter Game

You could say that 2 starters (Mac and EC) went from All American Candidates to Unusable, bad development. But 7 kids that were not All American Candidates became Omaha War Horses, great development. Especially Johnson, Cade Smith, and Brandon Smith.

Credit to Lemonis and Foxhall for having the right guys in the pen and shuffling them brilliantly vs UVA and Vandy.
I'd say Harding was capable. And probably should have gotten another chance after his bad game against Mizzou based on his performances against USM, Texas Tech and TCU. Starting Fristoe will help us and him in the long run though. But once the postseason started Harding was solid.

[The Federalist Engineer]

I'd say Harding was capable. And probably should have gotten another chance after his bad game against Mizzou based on his performances against USM, Texas Tech and TCU. Starting Fristoe will help us and him in the long run though. But once the postseason started Harding was solid.

Agree on Harding, he was part of the nut up bullpen group. He became a starter because #2 and #3 had problems.