by Bill Martin
LSU Sports Information
On a cool autumn day, another train rolls by this hallowed college baseball ground that is Alex Box Stadium. Clay Dirks is charting pitches as the LSU baseball team wraps up its fall practice schedule. It’s his fourth fall campaign, but this one is different for the 22-year old. After three seasons of adversity, the southpaw is ready to establish himself as a leader on a team he was born to play for, even being raised in a small Mississippi town.
Mississippi Tiger
Dirks grew up in Hernando, Miss., a town with a population of around 9,500 and just 12 miles south of Memphis, Tenn. As a standout pitcher at Hernando High School, the lefty posted a 0.92 ERA with 140 strikeouts in 62 innings as a senior. The stellar numbers earned him Mississippi Gatorade Player of the Year honors and brought attention from college coaches around the South.
On Sundays at church, he was constantly bombarded by friends and fans to attend either Mississippi State or Ole Miss. But Dirks had made up his mind six years earlier. The summer of 1996 was a decisive one.
“When I was 12 years old in 1996, my summer team was playing on the road,” he said. “We walked into the hotel room where we were staying and about 10 minutes later, Warren Morris hits the game-winning home run to win the College World Series. I told myself then and there that if I had a chance to play college baseball, I want to go to LSU.”
LSU assistant coach Turtle Thomas recruited Dirks hard, even when he was just a promising 15-year old. His high school team played Parkview Baptist in Baton Rouge, and he was given an opportunity to experience the LSU program first-hand.
On an official visit in May 2001, Dirks watched as Skip Bertman coached his final SEC series at Alex Box Stadium against Auburn.
“I remember just the presence that weekend, the fans out in the bleachers and the love they have for this program down here. There’s nothing like playing at LSU. There’s no place like Alex Box Stadium.”
Staring Down Adversity
In the summer of 2002, an elbow injury would sideline the lefty in his first season on campus. He was forced to redshirt in 2003. It wasn’t the first time Dirks had faced adversity and it wouldn’t be the last.
“Adversity. You go through so many ups and downs — the toughest part of my life,” he said. “That was tough because baseball has always been a way for me to stay busy. My freshman year was the toughest part because I didn’t have that, the chance to travel with the guys and be around the game that I love.”
As a freshman in high school his father passed away. Two days later, he was on the field again playing the game.
“Ever since then, baseball has been my way out, my escape from the real world. When I am out here with these guys, it keeps my mind off of things.”
When he returned from injury, he made an immediate impact, earning Freshman All-America and All-SEC honors with an 8-2 record and a team-best 3.43 ERA. On March 2, 2004, he was named National Pitcher of the Week for his four-hit shutout of eighth-ranked Tulane.
Last season, he continued his excellence by winning eight of his first nine games in a stretch where opponents hit just .193 against him. His three-hit shutout of Arkansas on April 23 was the best outing by an LSU pitcher since 2002.
As the Tigers hosted an NCAA Regional for the 16th straight year, Dirks waited his turn to start in the tournament. Unfortunately, that starting outing never came. With the season in the balance and LSU facing the possibility of its second loss to Rice at home, Dirks was forced to come out of the bullpen in ninth-inning relief of Jason Determann.
With the score tied at 4-4, Rice centerfielder Tyler Henley laced a one-out triple into the corner. Second baseman Greg Buchanan then broke the 4-4 tie with a RBI single off of Dirks. Three outs later, the Tigers were eliminated from postseason at home for the first time since 1995.
“When you give up the game-winning hit and the game-winning run, you always are thinking about that,” said Dirks. “That is still with me. I know we had our chances during the regional, but when it is you that is what you remember. You tend to take it personal, maybe more so than if I would have started the game.”
Cape Cod Summer
Following the loss to Rice, Dirks and several teammates ventured out to college summer leagues across the nation, none more famous that what the 22-year old experienced a few miles inland from the Atlantic coast of Massachusetts.
Along with infielders Michael Hollander and J.P. Padron, Dirks joined the Cotuit Kettlers of the Cape Cod Baseball League. Together, they roamed the same ball yards that had seen the likes of Nomar Garciaparra, Todd Helton, Billy Wagner, Lance Berkman and Jason Varitek.
In its 42 years of existence, Cape Cod has produced 197 players that have made it to the Major Leagues. Dirks took in an experience that he hopes will benefit himself and the Tigers in 2006.
“It helped me focus throughout the whole game,” he said. “There isn’t any time you can let up against any hitter and make a mistake. They will punish you with it. The biggest thing for me was it helped me realize again that baseball is just a game. You just go to the yard and have a good time.”
Dirks compiled a 3-1 record to go along with a 2.23 ERA in 48.1 innings pitched. He also improved his ability on throwing a consistent third pitch, the changeup.
Ready For Spring
With the loss to Rice in the distance, another opportunity approaches. It’s motivation that will give the dominating southpaw an edge as LSU’s No. 1 starter in 2006.
“You want to prove to yourself and to your teammates that you can win that game in the regional and get your team on to the super regional and then advance on to the (College) World Series,” he said. “It’s funny how the postseason works. Anything can and will happen.”
As the Tigers wrap up their final fall practices before officially beginning the season in February, Dirks has embraced his upcoming role of being a leader for coach Smoke Laval and the team.
“It’s what you live for and what you want to do,” said Dirks. “I have been here for four years and played for three, but I feel a lot more mature than my age. I try to instill that in some of these young guys. There are going to be tough times, and it is not always easy to play here when things are going bad.”
Through all of the ups and downs, Dirks has matured as a player and most importantly as a person.
“You have to get back on track. I didn’t understand it at first and barely understood it my sophomore season. But now, I have a grasp of what is really going on here and how this program works and what the coaches expect out of us. I want to do my best to help this team win.”