Hotard: Mainieri deserves all he gets

• By SCOTT HOTARD
• Advocate sportswriter
• Published: Jul 5, 2009 - Page: 1C

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At last month’s ceremony celebrating LSU’s sixth College World Series title, Athletic Director Joe Alleva introduced the man who carried the trophy. He called Paul Mainieri the best baseball coach in the country. He credited him with pushing all the right buttons.

The crowd roared. Mainieri stepped forward.

“Joe had a lot of nice things to say about me,” Mainieri said, “but I’m going to tell you some news. I haven’t hit a ball, thrown a ball or fielded a ball or run the bases in a long time. It has nothing to do with me. It has everything to do with the 25 kids sitting behind me.”

Anybody who followed LSU this season knows better. They know the team’s run to No. 1 began with the Tiger who wears No. 1.

Embracing expectations, Mainieri hit a home run with several bold moves.

The boldest came after the Tennessee series, when a defensive adjustment cast freshman Austin Nola as the new shortstop.

Sure enough, LSU played its best ball from that point forward. It won 28 of its final 33 games, including a 14-game winning streak in the heart of the postseason.

Coincidence? Hardly.

Remember, LSU went on a 26-3 tear to end the 2008 campaign, with a 23-game winning streak along the way.

What made Mainieri’s performance special this time is he had so much to lose. Every adjustment he made put him in a position to be second-guessed.

How many coaches would have had the guts to start three freshmen? On a team that returned seven everyday starters and began the season No. 1 in two major polls?

Third baseman Tyler Hanover started 53 games. Outfielder Mikie Mahtook started 49. Nola, despite struggling early at the plate, started the final 33.

(Matty Ott, another freshman, broke LSU’s single-season saves record.)