Scooter Hobbs column: Fond memories of Omaha

Published 11:00 am Saturday, July 1, 2023

Some final thoughts from LSU’s seventh College World Series championship:

I certainly don’t mean this in a demeaning way. To a lot of us, in fact, it was kind of refreshing. But there were key elements of LSU’s latest national championship team who — oh, how to put this politely? — did not, at a glance, appear to have wasted a lot of quality time in the gym or weight room and obviously weren’t adverse to doubling back through the buffet line.

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Nice to know that it is possible, even in this health-nut day and age.

Although it was seldom utilized, LSU did have several players with real speed. But the Tigers weren’t the typical lean and sleek collection of beep-beep baseball players. Their usual MO, with precious few expectations, was to lumber through games.

I wouldn’t mention it except that none of the puffier Tigers seemed the least bit self conscious

Start on the mound, where those lovable Hefty Lefties, Nate Ackenhausen and Riley Cooper, put their love handles together in a tag-team mound appearance that shut out Tennessee in the Tigers’ first of four elimination games.

Ackerhausen gets extra kudos for “sleeping in” the morning of his mastery of the Vols. Thus, although head coach Jay Johnson texted him early that morning, it was nearabout 11 a.m. before he could be roused from his slumber to answer it. Now that’s a young man after our own heart, a college kid in total control of his priorities.

Cooper eventually pitched in five of LSU’s eight games, winning one, getting the save in three others and a congratulatory cameo, perhaps out of habit, when the final game was well in hand.

Or go to the plate where the Pillsbury Doughboy/Michelin Man duo did considerable damage.

Designated hitter Cade Beloso, in fact, liked to call his home runs “Belly Bombs,” including the plump 11th-inning winner in the first game of the championship series. Tommy White, a burly DH in third baseman’s loose-fitting attire, had 24 for the season, none bigger than the portly swat against Wake Forest that was the winner to get LSU to the championship. I doubt he celebrated with a celery stick.

Don’t change a thing, guys.

OK, LSU made it’s point with the silly Jell-O shot challenge at Rocco’s across the street from Charles Schwab Stadium. Best I could tell, the final tally was 68,888 of those awful things. I guess that’s right. Every time I do a Google search it seems to be a different number. But, fine, the Tigers fans got it done. That number would triple or quadruple or otherwise obliterate the record Ole Miss set last year (18,777).

Good for LSU. But it’s time to move on from childish games — and what has been maybe the greatest marketing ploy ever devised to get people to binge-buy such an awful concoction.

What’d they do, gather up all the hospital Jell-O that patients refused to eat and recycle it? Of course LSU fans can outdrink any fan base.

They didn’t need to go to Omaha to prove that. Besides, it it’s really a competition, you cheapen it when several high-profile big spenders buy them in large bulk. Next time in Omaha, LSU fans need to turn a snooty nose to the things and get back to cooking out in the parking lots where they belong.

We may not see another LSU pitcher like Paul Skenes. Same thing for his offensive cohort Dylan Crews as they dominated the postseason awards. Debatable. I can at least imagine it happening, however. But there has never been — and it says here there never will be again – a defensive first baseman the likes of Tre’ Morgan. Fitting then, that the most memorable play of the CWS was probably his charging scoop and chest pass to extend that deciding game against Wake Forest.

Pet peeve here. But I really think that when it comes to baseball fashion and aesthetics, there should be a gentlemen’s agreement between teams not to both wear dark jerseys. It’s particularly disturbing when the teams are in dark or similar colors, such as navy blue and purple.

That said, the gold, uh, yellow (LSU) and orange (Florida) for Monday night’s decisive game was pretty sweet. Classic. It gets dark late in Omaha, but with those two sets of jerseys out there, they didn’t really need stadium lights.

I may be wrong on this, but I don’t remember LSU wearing bright gold (blinding yellow) jerseys much before Warren Morris hit that famous home run in 1996. After that, the Tigers not only became an LSU staple, it seemed as if every team in the country with gold (or yellow) in their scheme adopted some facsimile of that jersey.

Scooter Hobbs covers LSU athletics. Email him at scooter.hobbs@americanpress.com