By KACE KIESCHNICK, Tiger Rag Staff Reporter
There may not be a single figure more integral to the story of LSU Athletics than legendary baseball coach and Athletic director Skip Bertman. At least, that is what one of his former players, Ryan Theriot, said on Tiger Rag Radio Tuesday night.
“I think we would be hard pressed to find someone that’s influenced our city more than Skip Bertman, ” Theriot said. “I went to the games when I was a kid when nobody was in the stands, but you talk about the economics of LSU baseball, the pride that it has brought to this state. I say Baton Rouge, but really it’s the whole state. And then what he’s done for actually the game of college baseball economically. You look at some of these stadiums, I don’t think they would be that way.”
Theriot, a Baton Rouge native, played under Bertman from 1999-2001. He said that since Bertman passed away at the age of 88 on Friday, he has recalled how Bertman impacted the lives of each and every one of his players.
“I’ve really reflected on some of his core principles and things that he lived his life by and he coached his teams by,” Theriot said. “Trust and love for your teammates and respect for everybody and then the visual visualization piece, all three of those things translate into everyday life. Skip used them to win baseball games, but in reality, I think he was teaching us some life skills that are just second to none.”
Theriot said Bertman was a fountain of wisdom.
“There was something every day that you could write down in a journal and then read it every morning,” he said.
Theriot scored the winning run on Bertman’s 2000 national championship team. He was named to the College World Series All-Tournament Team that year and earned second-team ALL-SEC honors in 2001. But before he became one of the top shortstops in the Southeastern Conference and a third-round MLB Draft pick, Theriot said he was a wide-eyed freshman excited to be living his dream playing for Bertman’s Tigers.
He said he made all of the stupid mistakes that freshmen do, but Bertman expected more of him. One of Theriot’s favorite traits of Bertman’s is how he valued hard work over physical performance and knew how to motivate his players.
“He would tear you down, but he would build you back up,” he said. “He would not continue to beat on you.”
Theriot remembered a poor outing against Tulane during his freshman season and what Bertman said to him after the game in front of the rest of the team.
“He told me I was the worst infielder he’d ever coached,” Theriot said. “Literally, little league, high school, junior college, college, there was not an infielder that was worse than me, and of course, everybody loved that and they were cracking up laughing.”
Theriot said Bertman had him back in the starting lineup for the next game, and he had a pretty good day.
“After that game, he put his arm around me, gave me the game ball, told me he loved me in front of the whole team,” Theriot said. “Little things like that, where I knew he was in my corner, he just wanted the best for me.”
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