A&M baseball legend Mike Scanlin 'honored' by Hall of Fame induction

When left-handed power hitter Mike Scanlin left Texas A&M following the 1986 season, he held 13 school records, including the career home run record. After being inducted into the A&M Athletics Hall of Fame, Scanlin joined TexAgs Radio to discuss what that honor meant to him.

Key notes from Mike Scanlin interview

• I have recovered from Saturday. I was in Oklahoma with my daughter and son-in-law. I was checking the scores on my phone, and it was disappointing and completely unexpected. Maybe this was the kick in the butt that they needed to move the season forward because if you get too complacent too early, you will have challenges moving forward. Hopefully, this is the spearhead that moves Aggie football forward this year.
   
• The induction was awesome. I wasn’t expecting to join the Hall of Fame. I had been nominated before, but I thought my time had passed. When I got the call, I was ecstatic. When I was preparing my speech, I was trying to figure out what message I wanted to send, and it was just a great opportunity for me to look back on the last 35 years and what Texas A&M baseball truly means to me.
   
• I said it in my speech, and it was so special that my three children were at my induction. It was so special that they got to experience Texas A&M with me. It was an absolute honor to be put in the Texas A&M Hall of Fame. It's an honor that I will cherish for the rest of my life.
   
• It was a whirlwind of emotions and memories that I got to bring back after about 30 years after my career.
   
• Being a Bryan native, I had like eight tables at the induction. They started at eight-tops, but then it went to 10-tops. That's in a room with Mike Evans, Johnny Manziel and Gary Blair. It was a packed house, and it was incredible to stand up there with over 900 people in attendance.
   
• When I saw the list of Hall of Famers, I had to figure out how to make my speech heard with all of the other legends. I called and wanted to be the leadoff hitter at the Burgess Banquet. There was no way I wanted to go behind those greats. I forfeited the four-hole so that those guys could have their moments.
   
• Through the years of playing with our kids in athletics, they never understand what their parents did. My dad played junior college baseball, but you don't get the perspective of how good your parent actually was. I asked my kids to be there, but I didn't demand they be there. They rallied. I have a daughter in Virginia Beach, a daughter in Oklahoma and a son in Washington, D.C. They felt that it was an important event for me, and they all made a point to be there with their spouses.
   
• In 1986, I hit two home runs in the same inning against Texas Tech. We were just on and in a hitting zone in that game. I'm not sure where that Texas Tech pitcher is today. When you have that groove and that swing, it wouldn't have mattered if it was that inning or the next inning. Fortunately for me, it was one home run and then another. I was a left-handed hitter. The first was a pull down the line, and the second went out to left-center.
   
• It was awesome to watch the Aggies go to the College World Series this year. It was incredible. Jim Schlossnagle is an incredible coach, and he's going to continue building this up. From coach Tom Chandler to Mark Johnson to Rob Childress to now, they're just continuing to reach new heights. Watching them go as far as they did in Schlossnagle's first year was incredible, and I think he'll continue to reach great heights. One day, I hope to see us win a championship.