Mainieri deserves much credit
Without a doubt, no college baseball coach in the country has a more challenging task than LSU’s Paul Mainieri.
Yes, I know that the Tigers baseball facilities are as good as any in the nation. I know that the fan support is the best in the country. Mainieri is certainly well-paid for his job.
Still, the expectations for Mainieri’s team every season are unrealistic. A large number of LSU baseball fans believe that their team should win a national championship each and every year. These people refer to former coach Skip Bertman’s five titles in Omaha in a ten-year stretch.
But, the fact is that Bertman only coached three years under the current NCAA tournament format where a team must win a regional tournament and a super-regional series just to advance to the College World Series. Just one of Bertman’s last three teams reached the CWS – in 2000.
Mainieri’s 2016 roster did not have the look of a team expected to contend for a College World Series berth. There was just one returning starter in the everyday lineup. Five players, who were reserves a season ago, were asked to become starters.
Mainieri did have at his disposal a pitching staff, which returned nearly all of its key components from last year’s CWS team. However, with the exception of reliever Hunter Newman, all of the experienced hurlers saw a decrease in their effectiveness on the mound.
Three weeks ago, the Tigers were barely over .500 in the Southeastern Conference at 11-10. Most LSU fans merely hoped that their team would reach the NCAA tournament. Hosting a regional and being a national seed were considered long shots, at best.
But, never sell Mainieri or his team short. The Tigers went on a winning streak which didn’t end until the regular-season finale last Saturday against then No. 1-ranked Florida. LSU won two of three games from the Gators, who fell from first to fourth in the overall SEC standings.
Mainieri definitely pushed the right emotional buttons with his players down the stretch. The Tigers certainly are in good shape to be a regional host team. In addition, a deep run in this week’s SEC tournament would put LSU in the discussion of being a national seed.
When the All-SEC team is announced, the Tigers will not have many representatives. The top hitter is a freshman – outfielder Antoine Duplantis at .335. None of LSU’s weekend starters has an earned run average lower than 3.50.
Yet, the Tigers finished with a 19-11 SEC record. Only three of Mainieri’s teams won more than 19 league games – 2009 (20), 2015 (21) and 2013 (23). All three of those teams ended their season in Omaha. The 2009 club won the national title.
LSU fans should appreciate what Mainieri has done with this year’s squad, regardless of what happens in the postseason. What could have been a tough spring in Baton Rouge looks like will end in the normal way – the Tigers playing host for a regional tournament.
Mainieri is wrapping up a productive ten-year period as the leader of the LSU baseball program. Critics of Mainieri point to the fact that he has just one College World Series victory since winning the national championship in 2009.
But, Mainieri took over a program which had not won a CWS game in the previous six years. In his second season, Mainieri had LSU back in Omaha. Mainieri led the Tigers to that national title in his third season.
During Mainieri’s ten seasons, four teams have stood above all others in the SEC – Florida, LSU, South Carolina and Vanderbilt. Only South Carolina has more national titles than the Tigers with two – under former coach Ray Tanner.
None of the other three schools surpasses LSU when one looks at championships. The Tigers have won 14 titles – five Western Division, three SEC, five SEC tournament and one CWS. None of the other three schools have more than nine in this ten-year span.
When the results are broken down, one can make a case that Vanderbilt’s accomplishments under coach Tim Corbin are greater than LSU’s with Mainieri in charge. The Commodores have had five 50-win seasons, while the Tigers have had three.
Vanderbilt has not missed the NCAA tournament in any of the last ten years, while LSU missed it twice. The Commodores made one more appearance in the CWS championship series than the Tigers, but both schools have one national crown.
Mainieri has a 5-13 record against Corbin in regular-season matchups. However, Mainieri has won five of the six meetings in the SEC tournament.
People claim that Mainieri’s teams should have had more success in Omaha because of his salary. Being a private institution, Vanderbilt does not release its coaches’ salary figures. According to sources in Nashville, Corbin’s salary is now even with, if not slightly higher than, Mainieri’s salary.
Mainieri showed over the past three months that he can take a team and develop it into a NCAA tournament contender. No one knows how LSU’s postseason will turn out. But, Mainieri should receive much credit for having these Tigers in position for June baseball at The Box.
Here is a comparison of the baseball programs at Florida, LSU, South Carolina and Vanderbilt beginning with the 2007 season – Mainieri’s first with the Tigers.
50-win seasons: Vanderbilt 5, LSU 3, Florida 2, South Carolina 2
20-win conference seasons (includes 2016): Vanderbilt 4, Florida 3, LSU 3, South Carolina 3
Seasons with losing conference records (includes 2016): Florida 1, South Carolina 1, Vanderbilt 1, LSU 3
Division titles (includes 2016): LSU 5, Florida 4, Vanderbilt 4, South Carolina 3
SEC titles (includes 2016): Florida 3, LSU 3, Vanderbilt 3, South Carolina 1
SEC tournament titles: LSU 5, Florida 2, Vanderbilt 1, South Carolina 0
NCAA tournament appearances: Vanderbilt 9, Florida 8, South Carolina 8, LSU 7
Regional tournament titles: Florida 5, LSU 5, South Carolina 5, Vanderbilt 5
Super-regional series titles: Florida 4, LSU 4, South Carolina 3, Vanderbilt 3
CWS championship series appearances: South Carolina 3, Vanderbilt 2, Florida 1, LSU 1
National championships: South Carolina 2, LSU 1, Vanderbilt 1