Shane Minks talks baseball opener, new park & returning to CWS

Notes from Shane Minks Interview

* Living in Canada but is not yet dropping “eh” after every sentence. Definitely stands out in Canada with his southern accent.

* His soon-to-be wife and former Aggie swimmer, Julia Wilkinson, is currently preparing for the 2012 Olympic games. Trials are at the end of March so she is in the final push of that phase of qualifying. At this point, she is in a position where she should make the Olympic team and should compete for a medal. There hasn’t been a medal won on the women’s side of swimming in Canada in a long time and it would do a lot for her and the country if she was to win one. She isn’t going back to the Olympics just to go and have a good time, but she is going back to win and get up on the podium. In 2008 she finished 7th in the 200 IM and that was a learning experience of its own, but she is going back to win this time.

* His little sister was a swimmer so he was kind of around the sport but is definitely more involved with the sport now because of Julia than he was before.

* Pumped for the start of the Aggie baseball season. He gets to watch most of the games online in Canada and is really excited to get the season going.

* Tries his best to stay as involved with the team as he can from 3,000 miles away. Not sure how many people actually listen to what he has to say, but he isn’t shy about giving his opinion about the team.

* Before looking at the lineup, he thought most of the players he played with were gone. However, after looking at it, he realized that he played with quite a few of the guys currently on the roster.

* Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park is something he would see mock-up pictures of during his junior and senior year and it seemed like a pipe dream at the time. Very thrilled to see that the final product is finally here and he can’t wait to see it for himself when he gets back to Aggieland. Thinks that the new facilities will help tremendously with recruiting. Looking at old Olsen Field, it was a great place and he wouldn’t trade any of his four years playing there, but everyone else was also getting new stadiums. In that sense, building the new stadium was trying to keep up with other teams, however the new Olsen Field has gone beyond that and passed up other new stadiums. Going into the SEC where other teams have huge stadiums, Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park could be the nicest stadium of them all.

* Giving up 25 feet of foul territory will be a give and take and shouldn’t affect things too much because the other team has to deal with having less space defensively too. Thinks A&M has enough pound on the mound to the point where 25 feet of foul territory shouldn’t matter that much.  Thinks it will do more for A&M’s hitters than it will take away from A&M’s pitchers. If you look back at last season, not that many balls were caught in foul territory to begin with.

* Thinks that getting to Omaha last season will allow this team to play with a greater amount of confidence this year. Looking back to his sophomore year, getting back to the super regionals and beyond was expected. Getting to Omaha last year will definitely help them but it will not be their first goal of the season. The team will take the season day-by-day and one game at a time and not put the cart before the horse. This team has what it takes to get to Omaha and be the last team standing.

* Looking back at Ross Stripling and Michael Wacha in their sophomore and freshman years respectively, they were huge contributors then and still are. It hasn’t just been this past year where they have been contributing, but they have been doing it for years now. Being able to throw those two out there on Friday and Saturday night allows you to know that you are going to get a quality start no matter whom you are playing and that you can win a game with only three or four runs.

* Rafael Pineda is a guy who you didn’t exactly know the player he would be when he first stepped on campus. He got injured and has had a tough road, but he stayed true to the path and it’s truly a testament to his perseverance. He had a great summer and now he has put himself in a position to pitch on Sundays. He has a fastball that moves well along with two other quality pitches that he will pound the zone with. It’s been special to watch him and hopefully he can keep it going and have a good season.

* Post-baseball singing career is having a little trouble getting off the ground in Canada because he can’t find any country karaoke places. He still gets plenty of practice in the shower, however.