Aggie Flashback with Steven Truitt

Notes from "Aggie Flashback" with Steven Truitt

* Hitting just comes down to solid contact and driving the ball. He hasn’t hit with the new bats, but it’s obvious that the power numbers are down in the past couple of years.

* He thinks that home runs are a big part of the game and thinks that the bats being currently used need to be worked on some. He thinks the big issue with why they are using the new bats is to slow down the exit speed of the ball for the safety of the pitcher. Home runs are part of the game and the powers that be will have to make some changes to bring the excitement back.

* The changes made to the bats before the 1999 season made a big difference in the stat column, but no-matter what bat you use, if you can square the ball up and make solid contact, the ball will travel.

* He wanted to get out of the Houston area for college, but also stay close enough so that his father could come watch him play any time he wanted. He had narrowed it down to Texas and A&M, but never took his Texas visit because he knew A&M was the place he wanted to be.

* Coach Johnson was great to him while he was at A&M. The thing he like most about Johnson was that he didn’t try to change how he played. He came to A&M as a shortstop and remembers Johnson bringing him into the office and telling him he wanted to use his bat but couldn’t have him playing shortstop because there was a fifth-year senior in front of him. Johnson told him that he would be playing left field and he appreciated the way the move was handled. Johnson was always upfront and honest with him and he loved that about him.

* The move he had to make from left field to center field was not that big of an adjustment. He worked hard at making the transition as easy as possible and put a lot of time into making it as smooth as could be.

* Every year the team starts off with the goal of getting to Omaha and winning a national championship. The 1998 team was a great one, and he thinks they beat themselves in the last game of the College Station regional that year. With the lineup they had, it was going to be hard for them to lose and he was fortunate to play with some of the best players he ever played with at A&M. While he was at A&M, the team won in their last at bat nine times which goes to show that they had a never-say-die attitude.

* After scoring 21 runs in the first game of the Clemson series in 1999, it gave the team a false sense of confidence. The team didn’t let their guard down, but they were definitely feeling good about themselves going into the Saturday game that they ended up losing. Going into the last half inning of the Sunday game down one run, he felt a sense of peace and confidence that he was going to be able to step up and help his team. He knew he was going to be third up to bat and was not nervous at all when trotting to the dugout from the outfield. He originally was just trying to get on base but ended up hitting the go-ahead home run. Johnson always told him to be responsible and to not let his teammates down, and that is what he tried to do.

* He was beside himself when he hit the home run that sent A&M to the College World Series in 1999. Since A&M was the visiting team, they still had to get three outs in the bottom of the inning to win the game. Having the lead in the bottom of the ninth allowed the team to not have to be perfect in order to win the game which took some of the pressure off of them.

* Even though A&M went 0-2 in Omaha in 1999, he had an unbelievable time and the memories he made can’t be replaced.

* He doesn’t mind people telling him he is incapable of doing something because it only pushes him to succeed more.

* He spent five years in the minor leagues after leaving A&M and then started his own insurance company in Missouri City, Texas.

* He was able to come back to A&M and work with Coach Childress at one of his summer camps. He was also in charge of getting the former players from 1990-2000 involved with raising funds for the new stadium.

* This year’s team has a great core from last year’s team that made it to Omaha. The pitching staff is dominant again this year, as they were last year. There is so much going on at the College World Series and having the experience of already being there is very important to having success.

* He has not been to Blue Bell Park yet, but plans on seeing it soon. He would have loved to play there, but he would not trade the time he spent at the Old Olsen Field for anything.