Except I don’t think Wichita State baseball had a locker room in 1978. Maybe they did when football coaches allowed it. If there is a moment in WSU history I would like to visit in the way-back machine, it would be any time Jeff Jeffries told Gene Stephenson to vacate a room in Cessna Stadium so football coaches could watch film. I wonder if that really happened? If anybody witnessed those exchanges, please let me know.
Anyway, baseball is getting started with what they call “senior-led” workouts. It’s darn hard to find a senior on the roster, so I talked to the one and only senior who has been a Shocker more than one season – pitcher Max Hutson. WSU had seven seniors and nine juniors on its roster in 2008. Six seniors departed, and Hutson is back after redshirting to rehab from elbow surgery. Of the nine juniors on last season’s team, six went to the minors. The remaining three – Tyler Fleming, Logan Hoch and Roberto Rios – were transfers in 2008. I don’t think there’s much doubt that this is the program’s biggest makeover since it started in 1978.
Q: What’s the No. 1 thing the experienced players are telling the newcomers about being a WSU baseball player?
A: We’re going to go 100 percent in everything we do. We’re going to have a good time doing it, but when it’s time to be serious we’re going to be serious and get our job done. The main thing we need to do as seniors and old guys is get the players used to how the coaches want practices run so it goes smoothly when we hand it over to the coaches (Sept. 1).
Q: Was it overwhelming at all to walk in (to the locker room) and not see Rob Musgrave, Tyler Weber, Aaron Shafer, Conor Gillaspie…
A: It’s a completely different atmosphere without those guys, that’s for sure. Overwhelming? No, it’s just another day at the office. It’s just new faces to learn and get to know, but not overwhelming.
Q: How’s the arm?
A: It’s doing all right. The elbow is good. I’ve got a little bit of shoulder tendinitis that me and (the trainer) are working out. I should be ready to go the first day of practice.
Q: With Anthony Capra gone, who will take over the main role as agitator and prankster during fall baseball?
A: I think I’m going to have a little to do with it. But I see (pitcher) Tim Kelley, he’s going to loosen everybody up. Us being the older guys, we’ll be the ones who will have some leeway to do some funny stuff during the world series and try to get a rise out of the freshmen.
Q: It seems like fall baseball will be more interesting for fans, because last year you knew Conor Gillaspie was going to be at third and on and on. Will the players be paying a little more attention this fall, as well?
A: Totally. We’ve got to get a feel for each other. We’ve got to learn how to work together and learn how everybody plays the game. We’re all wondering who is going to be in those spots. We’re all the time speculating and going through our heads with lineups that we think might work or might not work. It’s going to be interesting to see how it actually plays out.”