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Tracy Smith...

ptrich

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It's hard to believe it's been seven years since Tracy Smith left IU for the college baseball blue blood Arizona State. I know he was under some heat a couple of years ago over the team performance since he arrived there and there was a belief by some he wouldn't last there. I saw in an article back in Feb, which I have linked, that he was extended two years through the year 2023, so I guess he has done enough to take some of the heat off. His team finished 32-20 this season and was 16-14 in the Pac-12, and they are in the tournament as a 2-seed in the Austin TX Regional, which includes the #2 overall seed in Texas. I checked out his career record at ASU and he is currently 168-133 for a win percentage of .558, which is the lowest win percentage of all of the coaches they have had there, so there are probably some fans/alumni that are still not happy with him. He was a great hire for IU and was the impetus for elevating the program and facilities to where they are at, so I will always be grateful to him for that. I wish him great success at ASU down the road, but it's possible they will never get back to the level of the glory days that the alumni/fans remember there.

 
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I loved Tracy Smith at IU. It was his tenure that actually made me want to watch and attend IU baseball games. But his teams drove me crazy in a lot of ways. Not totally unlike this year's team. It just seemed like we did enough to win a lot of games, but screwed up enough to never completely reach the mountain top. We all should be grateful for how he swung the mojo of the program and for being the godfather of the Bart.
 
I loved Tracy Smith at IU. It was his tenure that actually made me want to watch and attend IU baseball games. But his teams drove me crazy in a lot of ways. Not totally unlike this year's team. It just seemed like we did enough to win a lot of games, but screwed up enough to never completely reach the mountain top. We all should be grateful for how he swung the mojo of the program and for being the godfather of the Bart.
Tracy now NLWC, not a surprise. AD said something to the effect the team was mediocre and they brought him in, they still are mediocre so another change.
 
Tracy now NLWC, not a surprise. AD said something to the effect the team was mediocre and they brought him in, they still are mediocre so another change.
It makes you wonder why they gave him a two-year extension just before the season started. Why didn't they wait until after the season? The big donors to the baseball program must have really put the pressure on after this season ended. Here's the link to the article on his firing:

 
I loved Tracy Smith at IU. It was his tenure that actually made me want to watch and attend IU baseball games. But his teams drove me crazy in a lot of ways. Not totally unlike this year's team. It just seemed like we did enough to win a lot of games, but screwed up enough to never completely reach the mountain top. We all should be grateful for how he swung the mojo of the program and for being the godfather of the Bart.
We didn't reach the Mountain Top with Tracy Smith? How is the College World Series not the Mountain Top?

We made two other Regionals and were one game away from making two more in 2008 and 2012 when we made final game of Big Ten Tournament. We won five Big Ten Championships in his tenure (three tournament, two regular season).

This all from a program who made one Regional in 50 years before his tenure and never won a regular season title and only one Big Ten Tournament Title in that time.

Not sure what more you wanted Tracy Smith to do when outside of 2011 (which was a result of three awful weekends), he maximized every team he had from 2008 and onward once he got it going.

He had arguably the 3 best teams in program history, but sure he could of done more.

Really dumb post.
 
Tracy Smith was a fantastic coach and turned this program completely around with a long run of success. We should hire him immediately to turn this sinking program around once again. I’d look forward to another stretch of winning seasons like his first tenure.
 
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Tracy Smith was a fantastic coach and turned this program completely around with a long run of success. We should hire him immediately to turn this sinking program around once again. I’d look forward to another stretch of winning seasons like his first tenure.
I dunno....when you have the chance to grab a travel ball coach as good as Mercer, ya gotta keep him
 
We didn't reach the Mountain Top with Tracy Smith? How is the College World Series not the Mountain Top?

We made two other Regionals and were one game away from making two more in 2008 and 2012 when we made final game of Big Ten Tournament. We won five Big Ten Championships in his tenure (three tournament, two regular season).

This all from a program who made one Regional in 50 years before his tenure and never won a regular season title and only one Big Ten Tournament Title in that time.

Not sure what more you wanted Tracy Smith to do when outside of 2011 (which was a result of three awful weekends), he maximized every team he had from 2008 and onward once he got it going.

He had arguably the 3 best teams in program history, but sure he could of done more.

Really dumb post.
Wouldn’t the very definition of “mountain top” mean winning it all?

Really dumb response.
 
Wouldn’t the very definition of “mountain top” mean winning it all?

Really dumb response.
Considering mountaintop is defined as “the summit or top part of a mountain”, one could say that reaching the CWS is a part of that mountaintop.
 
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It's hard to believe it's been seven years since Tracy Smith left IU for the college baseball blue blood Arizona State. I know he was under some heat a couple of years ago over the team performance since he arrived there and there was a belief by some he wouldn't last there. I saw in an article back in Feb, which I have linked, that he was extended two years through the year 2023, so I guess he has done enough to take some of the heat off. His team finished 32-20 this season and was 16-14 in the Pac-12, and they are in the tournament as a 2-seed in the Austin TX Regional, which includes the #2 overall seed in Texas. I checked out his career record at ASU and he is currently 168-133 for a win percentage of .558, which is the lowest win percentage of all of the coaches they have had there, so there are probably some fans/alumni that are still not happy with him. He was a great hire for IU and was the impetus for elevating the program and facilities to where they are at, so I will always be grateful to him for that. I wish him great success at ASU down the road, but it's possible they will never get back to the level of the glory days that the alumni/fans remember there.


I would doubt he can immediately get a job anywhere near the level of ASU......perhaps at one of the less successful SEC schools (if there are any)?

He probably wouldn't be thrilled coming back to the BT, but with his IND/OH background that would be the logical choice. Some place like MSU, or PSU? I'd say Minnesota would be a tough place to win, given the weather.

He could come back and "rehab" his reputation at a place like MSU or PSU, and move on to greener pastures again in a few years.
 
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No Longer With Club. It used to be fairly common when an MLB player was released or traded. The article I saw that said Tracy was out was breaking news by Kendall Rodgers on D1 baseball.

On a side note I find it curious threads that reference former players and especially coaches almost have to include criticism of the former and current coach. Tracy Smith did a great job and transitioned us from Sembower field to the Bart and made us relevant in the B1G in addition to the trip to Omaha and several regional appearances I believe he turned down O$U to remain at IU. If you are in the game to play at the highest level it would be very difficult to turn down Arizona State. Lemonis maintained the program he inherited, but again to play at the highest level tough to turn down HailState if they call.

Mercer in 1 full and one shortened season won a league champion ship and went late in the season before falling out of the race for a second. This was a strange year for many reasons. Next season he will likely have a roster predominately made up of his recruits, and we will begin to get a better picture of how successful he is going to be. While I doubt he was thrilled with several B1G actions over the past couple years, I do not believe he will move on to greener pastures any time soon.
 
Tracy Smith will certainly get job offers, and rather quickly. Given his record at ASU, a top-level program would probably not consider him at this time. His record for the most part wasn't bad at ASU, it just wasn't where they felt they should be at. It's been forty years (1981) since ASU won the College World Series and it's been eleven years since they were in the CWS, so any coach that is approached about taking the job might think twice about leaving their current position for it. It might be like IU's basketball program where we keep looking for that one coach that can take us back to our glory days, and hopefully Coach Woodson is that individual. In recent years, schools have really started emphasizing their baseball programs, putting more resources into them to include bigger and better stadiums, with the baseball program at many schools being at a level below the football and basketball programs, but above the other non-revenue programs. It's getting really expensive in the SEC just to keep up with the Joneses in that conference when it comes to baseball, with stadiums that are among the best in the country, and they keep looking to improve on the amenities in those facilities. While it's better, it's still difficult for conferences like the B1G to compete with the schools in the sunbelt areas in resources and recruiting, and that may never change.
 
Tracy Smith will certainly get job offers, and rather quickly. Given his record at ASU, a top-level program would probably not consider him at this time. His record for the most part wasn't bad at ASU, it just wasn't where they felt they should be at. It's been forty years (1981) since ASU won the College World Series and it's been eleven years since they were in the CWS, so any coach that is approached about taking the job might think twice about leaving their current position for it. It might be like IU's basketball program where we keep looking for that one coach that can take us back to our glory days, and hopefully Coach Woodson is that individual. In recent years, schools have really started emphasizing their baseball programs, putting more resources into them to include bigger and better stadiums, with the baseball program at many schools being at a level below the football and basketball programs, but above the other non-revenue programs. It's getting really expensive in the SEC just to keep up with the Joneses in that conference when it comes to baseball, with stadiums that are among the best in the country, and they keep looking to improve on the amenities in those facilities. While it's better, it's still difficult for conferences like the B1G to compete with the schools in the sunbelt areas in resources and recruiting, and that may never change.
Perfect analysis. The freaking SEC is always going to pony up for whatever they deem necessary. It's really like they watch the B1G and say "well, they did this, so we've got to double to triple it". I hope Tracy finds a really good job...and I'd welcome him "home" in a heartbeat. Not ready to give up on the current staff, but clearly there are opportunities to improve.
 
Everyone gets trophies generation?
That would imply that everyone gets a trophy, we’re talking about the top 8 teams vying for a championship. As I said, some would consider that reaching the top as fit by the definition. I understand that doesn’t fit for you, and that’s ok.

Reaching the CWS is an accomplishment. You gotta have a seat at the table if you want a chance to win it all in baseball. FWIW, they do give the top 8 teams a CWS participant trophy. It’s not an easy accomplishment.
 
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That would imply that everyone gets a trophy, we’re talking about the top 8 teams vying for a championship. As I said, some would consider that reaching the top as fit by the definition. I understand that doesn’t fit for you, and that’s ok.

Reaching the CWS is an accomplishment. You gotta have a seat at the table if you want a chance to win it all in baseball. FWIW, they do give the top 8 teams a CWS participant trophy. It’s not an easy accomplishment.
No argument at all on that. It’s one hell of an accomplishment. I’d love to see us repeat it.
 
Lots of people said we shouldn't fire Miller unless we already had our next coach ready to go.

Looks like ASU had that in mind when they let Smith go.
I guess. I'd like to think they might hire someone who had actually coached before if you were going to not even go through a legitimate process. I hope it blows up in their faces.
 
I guess. I'd like to think they might hire someone who had actually coached before if you were going to not even go through a legitimate process. I hope it blows up in their faces.
The lack of coaching experience is a head scratcher, but apparently the D-Backs connection with the associate AD trumped that. They've had a longer dry spell than I realized too.
 
A new coach 3-4 days later? Seems shady.
Yeah, IMO someone would have to be naive to think that there was not some form of communication with Bloomquist through a third party or maybe it was directly. It sounds like the details on a contract were already hammered out at about the same time of Tracy's firing. That's just my opinion of it from afar.
 
I think 7 years is a pretty good run these days at the D1 level. Smith is an excellent coach but everyone needs to be lucky too. Players must stay healthy, a few bounces go your way.

Maybe I'm not thinking clearly (possible) but I don't see too much difference between the top teams. Great staffs, players, support personnel. A little luck wins many games. In not out, bounces over not under, wind blowing in against a power team, zone expanded today, etc.

Pretty fine line between success at the top in my view.

Thoughts? Go Hoosiers!
 
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I think 7 years is a pretty good run these days at the D1 level. Smith is an excellent coach but everyone needs to be lucky too. Players must stay healthy, a few bounces go your way.

Maybe I'm not thinking clearly (possible) but I don't see too much difference between the top teams. Great staffs, players, support personnel. A little luck wins many games. In not out, bounces over not under, wind blowing in against a power team, zone expanded today, etc.

Pretty fine line between success at the top in my view.

Thoughts? Go Hoosiers!
Execution and a little luck has always seemed to be what wins when teams are at the same general talent level
 
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