 | | Head baseball coach Steve Smith will stop by for a live chat Wednesday at 2 p.m. |
Steve Smith was named head coach of the Baylor University baseball program on July 29, 1994. Smith is the 18th head coach in Baylor history. He has posted a 445-276-1 record in his 12th season at Baylor and was named the 2000 Big 12 Coach of the Year after guiding the Bears to their first outright conference title in 77 years. In 2005, Smith guided the Bears to the most successful season in program history as Baylor made its first trip to the College World Series since 1978 and advanced all the way to the semifinals. The 2005 squad posted a 46-24 record and shared the Big 12 Conference regular-season title. Smith was also named head coach of the 2005 USA Baseball National Team and guided Team USA last summer in its tour of the country and its trip overseas for series in Japan and Taiwan. In January 2001, Smith was named by Baseball America as one of ten rising stars on all levels of baseball. He was the only person associated with college baseball on the list. An accomplished pitching coach, Smith has tutored six pitchers in the last 11 years who were selected in the first round of the Major League Baseball draft. He has also had at least one all-conference pitcher in each of the last 13 years. In 1999, under Smith's tutelage, right-hander/designated hitter Jason Jennings won the Golden Spikes Award as the best player in college baseball and was the 16th overall pick by the Colorado Rockies. In Smith's 10 years as head coach, the Bears have produced 10 all-Americans, six CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, one CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year, 30 first-team all-conference performers, six freshman all-Americans and three conference players of the year. Baylor has also placed 41 players on the Big 12 Academic All-Conference first team in the past six seasons. |
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 |  | Head Coach Steve Smith: Hello, everyone. Welcome to the chat. Let's get started. |
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| Justin Bannister, (Waco): What do you think of the newcomers impact on the team this year? Last year was a great season and to come back and try to duplicate that is a hard thing to do. How much have people like Booker and Weems impacted the team? |
| | Head Coach Steve Smith: Beamer will be in the running for All-Big 12 as a freshman, and Booker is currently hitting over .300 in Big 12 play. So both of them have made significant contributions very early in their careers. |
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| Chris (Houston): Coach, For the first time since the Big 12 started, the fourth and/or fifth place teams could have losing conference records. Do you believe the selection committee will only take three Big 12 teams (and make them all #1 seeds) if this is the case? |
| | Head Coach Steve Smith: No, I don't think that only three teams will make it. Our league currently is No. 3 nationally in RPI. It would be both very surprising and very disappointing if our league did not have at least five, and possibly six, teams in the NCAA Tournament. |
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| Michael (Midwest City, Ok): Hey Coach. Some fans might be a little frustrated that we haven't seemed to gel as a team, but as I look at the roster, I believe we might be one of the youngest teams in the Big 12. I believe that bodes well for our future; what do you think? Keep up the good work. We are proud of you and the team. |
| | Head Coach Steve Smith: I think this team is a very close group of guys with maybe the best leadership we've ever had. One cannot define a team gels or not based on its win-loss record. Sometimes the ball just doesn't bounce your way. While we are young at a couple spots this year, I anticipate we will be much younger next year, starting as many as five freshmen. So get ready. |
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| John (Katy, TX): Other than we've had some outstanding pitching performances against us (and maybe that's the main answer) any thoughts on why the offense has been slumping so much in the last 4 games? |
| | Head Coach Steve Smith: Going back to the McNeese State game, I thought we could have been better at the plate but their guy was very capable. The left-hander we faced Friday night at Missouri was exceptional. The rest of the weekend, I did not think we did a good job as a team of putting together consistent at bats. Last night's game with UT-Arlington was the most focused group of guys we've had at the plate in a long time. I am hopeful that will be a preview of coming attractions. |
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| Jonny in Mexia: Coach, Randall Linebaugh has been pitching very well of late. Is there any thoughts of working him into the weekend starting rotation? |
| | Head Coach Steve Smith: Yes. |
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| Aaron (Addison): I know this is down the line a little, but what are the plans for Baylor signee, Shawn Tolleson at this time? Will he be at Baylor in the Fall? ready to pitch in the Spring? |
| | Head Coach Steve Smith: In general, the recovery process from Tommy John surgery varies anywhere from 10 months to 14 months. We are all highly optimistic that Shawn will make a full recovery and be ready to pitch within that time frame. |
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| Jeff (Dallas): The crowds have been strong this year, and I know this pleases you. The baseball program has earned the support. If not already discussed, please refresh the fans as to your opinion on what you are looking for in fan-support: who to cheer for/against, when to make noise, does heckling help the team, good vs. bad heckling, etc. Thanks! |
| | Head Coach Steve Smith: Thanks for the question. Yes, crowds have been tremendous a good portion of this season. We have had some of our biggest total crowds for conference weekends, as well as some of our biggest single-game crowds. There is nothing that helps the current players on the field or the recruits in the stands get excited about being a part of our program more than the big crowds. In general, I would like for our fans to support the team on the field as though they were sitting in our dugout. It is inappropriate for players in the dugout to yell disrespectful or demeaning remarks to opposing coaches and players. It is completely appropriate and welcomed for players on the bench to encourage and support their teammates with both their verbal and non-verbal actions. Ideally, I would like our fans to focus on our players and not the opposing players. When our hitter is standing in the box on a 3-2 count, the support for him from a large crowd can make it very difficult for an opposing pitcher to make the kind of pitch he's trying to make. It's not about heckling or demeaning opposing players, coaches or support personnel. It should be about creating an incredibly supportive environment for our players. |
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| Frank the Tank (Missouri): How do you feel your chances are this year to make a regional? If so where do you think you will be sent? |
| | Head Coach Steve Smith: These next two conference series will make a huge impact on our making the NCAA Tournament. I will feel very good about our chances if we can find a way to win four of our last six conference games. I have no idea where we would be sent. |
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| Jeff (Dallas): A belated thanks for the terrific fun you gave our family during your run to the College World Series last year. We all had a blast. Don't want to look too far into the future, but how are your feelings regarding getting most of your terrific recruiting class on campus this August? Is there some concern that the class is too good? |
| | Head Coach Steve Smith: We have always expected that we might lose not only a couple of our current juniors but possibly a couple of the signees, as well. We are prepared for that possibility. It does make recruiting in our sport very challenging. |
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| JD (Waco): After the game tonight, you mentioned that this was a different offense than we've been all year, and that you had worked on some different things in practice this week. Can you elaborate on the different offensive approach that your hitters took tonight? |
| | Head Coach Steve Smith: We worked at length Monday on having a plan and executing that plan at the plate based on the situation in the game and the type of pitcher on the mound. To a man, I thought we did a much better job of having a plan offensively throughout the game last night. |
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| WACO: Why is there such a lack of clutch hitting on the part of this team? |
| | Head Coach Steve Smith: We are currently hitting .280 with runners in scoring position, which is better than we did a year ago. |
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| | Head Coach Steve Smith: Thanks for your questions. We will honor our seniors prior to the Saturday game of the Nebraska series. Please come out early. Thanks again for your support of our program. Sic 'Em Bears. |
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