Dec. 18, 2006
By CARROLL FADAL Insider Staff Writer
Other than in the LPGA, by the time people make the Hall of Fame in their given sports, their careers have long since ended. So when the very active, very successful Steve Smith was informed he'd been elected to Baylor's Athletics Hall of Fame, it hit him with the velocity of a Mark McCormick fastball and the shock of a Jason Jennings triple.
"I was sitting in my car," the head baseball coach said. "Walter (Abercrombie) had left me a message, and I had been talking to Walter about another issue. He said he had some good news, and I thought it was about the other issue we had been discussing. He caught me completely off guard. My first words were, `What in the world were the criteria?' "
Smith, a member of the class inducted on Friday, Oct. 27, has definitely earned his stripes. As a Baylor player, he led the Southwest Conference with a 1.72 earned run average in 1982, besting the likes of Roger Clemens, Doug Drabek, Calvin Schiraldi and Norm Charlton. He played only two years at Baylor after transferring from Mississippi College, where he lettered two years in both football and baseball.
As good as he was pitching, however, it has been as the Bears' head coach where the Gulfport, MS, native has made his mark. Since taking over for his head coach, Mickey Sullivan, in 1985, Smith has compiled a 475-284-1 record in 12 years, along the way winning two Big 12 championships and taking BU to eight NCAA Regionals, three Super Regionals and the 2005 College World Series, where the Bears tied for third. His winning percentage is the highest of any coach in school history, and his Baylor teams have the Big 12's best record in conference games since the league's inception.
If numbers and accolades are what define a Hall of Fame career, Smith was a shoo-in long ago. Twice Smith has worked the Team USA, once as head coach in 2005 and as Mississippi State boss Ron Polk's assistant in 1998. In January 2001, he was named by Baseball America, the college baseball bible, as one of 10 rising stars on all levels of baseball and was the only person associated with college baseball on the list. Clearly, Smith has the on-field credentials.
But he's just as impressive outside Baylor Ballpark. A devoted husband, father and a deacon at First Baptist Church of Woodway, Smith serves as an outstanding example of how a Christian man should live his life. After every game, win or lose, his primary concern is for his wife, Melinda, and sons Ryan and Case, who more often than not can be found playing catch on the field.
So the big question in most fans' minds when Smith was announced as a member of the 2006 Hall of Fame class was, "Is he going in as a player or a coach?"
"I said, `I know it didn't have anything to do with me as a player,' " Smith said. "The way it was expressed to me, it was basically a combination. I think clearly the success I've had as a coach would be far more than I had as a player, although I'm proud of playing here and the success I did have as a player. You realize that there's probably not another profession in the world that's more dependent on the talents of others than that of a coach, and to be honored as a coach, it's given me the opportunity to thank a lot of people."
Smith is always quick to mention his longtime assistants, Mitch Thompson and Steve "Hoot" Johnigan as key contributors to Baylor's success, and he's been blessed to coach dozens of outstanding players. To list his best would be a veritable Who's Who of Baylor Baseball.
That list would have to begin with Jennings, the current Colorado Rockies standout who was the consensus national Player of the Year, Big 12 Player of the Year and All-American in 1999. It also would include current big leaguers Kelly Shoppach (Cleveland Indians) and Kip Wells (Texas Rangers), along with a pair of MLB rookies this season, Josh Barfield (San Diego Padres) and James Loney (Los Angeles Dodgers) who signed with Baylor but went straight to the pros out of high school. Sprinkle in BU legends like Charley Carter, Jon Topolski, Eric Nelson, Chad Hawkins, Kyle Evans, Zane Carlson, David Murphy, Chris Durbin and Steven White and you get an idea of the kind of talent Smith and staff have brought to Baylor.
At his induction ceremony, Smith had the opportunity to thank them and others in the community and university family who've been important to him and Baylor baseball.
"There have been some other people who have stood by me in other decisions," he said. "We didn't always draw 3,000 people, we didn't always have this ballpark, but there have been some people who have been with us from the beginning, and I'm going to thank them"
Another person to whom Smith is quite grateful is Sullivan, his predecessor, who is the only coach in Baylor history to have won more games (649) than Smith.
"The first person I called when I found out was Mickey," Smith said. "I actually remember when Mickey was inducted in 1982, because I went. It was the first year I played for him. I guess I thought what an honor it was for him, so I went. When I look back on it now, I'm really glad I went. It means a lot to me for him to be here, still in the community, to be there for me."
Smith also mentioned a couple of former teammates who were instrumental in his Baylor success.
"There were two players," he said. "One was Lee Tunnell, who I didn't play with because I had to sit out a year. That first year was pretty critical. I don't think any of this would have happened without him. Then there's Stan Hilton. He and I played together both years I was here. Stan Hilton's the highest drafted baseball player in the history of this school, and I think before Sophia (Young) got drafted fourth in the WNBA, he was highest drafted player ever in any. He was the fifth drafted player overall in 1983, ahead of Clemens and a lot of others. I was lucky to be here at the same time he was; there were always a lot of people there to watch him, so I couldn't do anything but help myself with the scouts."
He also couldn't help being moved by his election to the Hall.
"It's humbling. I don't know how to describe it, especially when it's by the people who know you," Smith said. "It's people who you've worked with quite a bit and who know you. It's tremendously honoring and encouraging to me, but it's a very humbling thought. It's very affirming; I don't know really how to describe it. A lot of things that have happened in my life, good and bad, I've been able to see coming, but this one I did not see coming at all. I've never been honored in such a way."
It's an honor well deserved and timely, even if he's still in the prime of his career.
