by Joey Papania
LSUsports.net
Henry “Turtle” Thomas is no stranger to the game of baseball. For 12 years he served as an assistant coach for the University of Miami (Fla.) where he helped guide the Hurricanes to six consecutive College World Series appearances, including the 1999 national championship. He joined the LSU coaching staff on July 1, 1999. The Tiger baseball program is lucky to have the services of one of college baseball’s most sought after coaches.
LSU has recently completed the 2000 regular season with a 39-17 overall mark, 19-10 in the SEC. The Tigers have also claimed the SEC Western Division title for the 11th time in Head Coach Skip Bertman‘s 17-year career at LSU.
Probably the biggest adjustment for Coach “Turtle” Thomas has been competing in the SEC. The University of Miami (Fla.) baseball team is an independent and not a part of a conference. Coach Thomas is used to playing a weaker schedule, especially during the month of March when the Hurricanes play what he refers to as “stat-building” games.
“I had no idea how difficult the SEC really was,” Thomas said. “Each of the 30 games is an individual war, and we are about to go through the ultimate war this weekend. Playing in the SEC Tournament is almost like the playing in the College World Series. It has been a very challenging year where every game, whether it was a conference or a non-conference game, has been very difficult. It has been an eye-opening experience from the schedule standpoint.”
Not only has Coach Thomas had to make the transition to conference play, but he has also had to adjust to a new coaching staff and a new coaching system. The fundamentals of the game of baseball will forever remain constant, but the approach to the game can differ from coach to coach.
“There was never a great deal of communication between the coaches and the players where I was before,” Thomas explained. “I would recruit players, we’d talk about practice, and then we’d play our games. That was about it. Now that I’m at LSU, working with Skip Bertman, working with a new staff, and I feel we have a great staff here, I have learned a lot. There is so much knowledge being passed here. There is a constant flow of information between the coaches and the players. It is the way college baseball should be taught, because college players still have a great deal to learn about the game.”
In his 21-year career as a collegiate baseball coach, Thomas has earned the reputation as a prolific recruiter. More than 50 of his recruits have moved on to professional careers, including Pat Burrell, the No.1 selection in the 1998 major league draft. His recruiting classes in 1989, 1992, and 1994 were ranked No.1, and the classes of 1991 and 1992 were ranked as high as No.2 two according to Collegiate Baseball.
Along with his recruiting duties, Coach Thomas is also the hitting coach for the Tigers. In just one year, LSU has raised its team batting average to .337, up 36 points from last year’s average. Should the Tigers continue to swing the bats in the post-season as they have during the regular season, they will break a team record for the highest season batting average. The 1990 team that finished the year hitting .325 currently holds the previous mark.
“One thing that we have done differently than most coaches around the country is our concentration on hitting the zones,” Thomas explained. “There are nine different hitting zones within the strike zone. Every pitch, whether it is a fastball, a breaking ball, or a change-up, is going to be in a different zone. So your swing and your follow through are going to differ for every pitch. We probably hit more curveballs and change-ups in practice than any other team in the country. We just spend a lot of time dealing with the different pitches.”
One Tiger that has prospered greatly from Coach Thomas’ teachings has been centerfielder Cedrick Harris. Last season the native of Ashdown, Arkansas struggled offensively hitting just .245 in 64 games. Throughout the course of the 1999 season, Harris changed his batting stance as many as five times. This season, the junior has the second highest average on the team hitting .392 through 40 games.
“Cedrick has a very mechanically sound, technically sound approach to hitting now,” Thomas said. “He is still suffering a little from the injury to his hand. If he could swing a little harder, he would be able to drive the ball better hitting more doubles, triples, and homeruns than he has this season.”
Also prospering this season is senior Brad Cresse. However, Coach Thomas does not feel that he has had much of an impact on Cresse’s outstanding season.
“I don’t know that I have done one thing with Brad Cresse,” said Thomas. “Brad is a great hitter, and his dad Mark Cresse has worked with him for years. I think last year Brad put some undo pressure on himself to gain a high draft status. I think he set some unrealistic goals for himself, especially with homeruns.”
Coach Thomas has had an interesting adjustment period in his first year in the LSU program. But perhaps the most interesting adjustment has been to the fan support of the LSU baseball team. In 1999 the Tigers set attendance records averaging 7,154 fans per game. According to Collegiate Baseball, Alex Box Stadium seated 271,888 people during the 1999 season, more than doubling the attendance at Miami (Fla.).
“It’s amazing. We honestly get more fans out to an intra-squad game than most teams do for a regular mid-week game,” Thomas said. “No matter who we are playing, no matter what the weather, no matter how well or how bad we are playing, they are always supporting us. And what amazes me most is their knowledge of the program, the players, and the game of baseball. It is what truly makes Baton Rouge the most exciting place to play college baseball.”