BATON ROUGE — Last Thursday night, the 2000 LSU Tiger baseball team competed in an exhibition game against LSU alumni. The roster for the Tiger team of yesteryear boasted current professional ball players including Ben McDonald, Russ Johnson, Brandon Larson, Mike Koerner, and Eddy Furniss. After the game, LSUsports.net’s Joey Papania caught up with Eddy Furniss to discuss life in the minors.
Papania: Can you talk a little bit about life in the minors. How have you been since leaving LSU?
Furniss: I tell you what, the fan support isn’t there. Here you get over 5,000 people a game. Our normal crowd in a minor league game is usually about 50 -100 people. So that’s a big difference. As far as playing, it’s still baseball. Bigger, better athletes. Bigger stronger people. What you would expect in professional sports, that’s what you get in minor league baseball. Guys that have great talent and incredible athletic ability. And so the game gets elevated. It surprised me how much it elevated from college to high A. So that’s a big difference. The travel arrangements aren’t too bad. The bus trips get kind of tiresome. We don’t get near as nice a bus as we did when I was at LSU. The hotel stays aren’t too bad. I like life on the road.
Papania: You elected to stay four years at LSU when it has become a recent trend to either leave college early or go straight to the pros after high school. How much did attending LSU and staying four years help you?
Furniss: If I would have gone straight out of high school to pro ball, I wouldn’t be playing baseball today. No way. That prepared me tremendously. And I don’t think I would have been as prepared for professional baseball if I wouldn’t have stayed that last year. That last year when I got in real good shape, lost some weight, had a good season, improved on a lot of skills…. I don’t think, no, I know I could not have done that had I gone to play professional baseball. I just wouldn’t have been able to work that entire summer.
Papania: You used a heavier bat in college, when a large majority of players had switched to the lighter bats. Did that make the transition to the wooden bats easier for you?
Furniss: It was very close. I use a bat now that is very similar to what I used in college. It’s a 34/32 as opposed to a 34/31. Just one ounce difference. The sweet spot is just a little smaller, but the actual shape of the bat is extremely close so the transition was nothing. I went straight in my first 24 games and hit .462 or something like that. It was like no transition at all. I was worried about it but obviously my worry was for nothing.
Papania: Do you think there is any chance you could get called up in the near future?
Furniss: I don’t think next year will be a good year for getting called up as far as straight to the big leagues. Of course if three or four people get hurt, you never know, but I seriously doubt it. I think I’ll just move up year by year, level by level. I’m just on a normal track to the big leagues.
Papania: Is this your first time coming back to LSU?
Furniss: No. But it is the first time back to play on this field. But not the first time back to practice and see the guys.
Papania: Do you get a chance to see any of your old teammates on the road?
Furniss: Yes I do. During spring training I get to see Brandon Larson, Warren Morris, and I see a lot of old SEC faces around the minor leagues. You know you’re playing in a good league when you get to see a lot of SEC players going pro.
Papania: Finally, how would you describe your return to Alex Box Stadium?
Furniss: The field is exactly the same, the fans are the same their all supporting you. It’s a lot of fun. I tell you what, it’s just like I never left.