His story has become a Baton Rouge baseball legend.
The scene was the 2000 College World Series championship game in Omaha, Neb. The Tigers trailed Stanford University 5-2 in the eighth inning when Blair Barbier, the team captain, delivered a fiery speech challenging his teammates to rise to the occasion. Barbier stepped up to the plate, figuratively and literally, to hit a game-changing home run that helped LSU win its fifth national championship. It was the last time LSU won a baseball National Championship.
“If you remember that game, things were not looking really good for us,” Barbier said. “We had honestly been dominated since about the second inning. We were starting to feel bad about the way things were going and feel sorry for ourselves.”
Barbier laughingly said that he could not repeat the exact words used in his speech but acknowledged it was an intense conversation.
Now, as a volunteer assistant coach and former LSU player, Barbier hopes to create a few new legends as a part of LSU coach Paul Mainieri’s staff.
Mainieri said he hired Barbier in part because of LSU Athletic Director and former baseball coach Skip Bertman’s recommendation. Mainieri said he wanted his team to have a link to the LSU baseball winning tradition.
“I kid him all the time,” Mainieri said. “I say ‘Blair, you own this town. Just let me drive the cab. I hope someday I can be as much as a legend as you in this town.'”
Barbier said his fondest LSU memories are the friendships developed with his teammates and the lessons Bertman shared. Bertman said he thinks having a former player of Barbier’s caliber will provide an emotional spark for the Tigers.
“He’s a great one,” Bertman said. “He’s a great player, but more importantly, he’s a great kid.”
Barbier spent four years in the Chicago Cubs organization before last year accepting an assistant coaching position at McNeese State University under coach Chad Clement. The Cowboys won the 2006 regular season Southland Conference title.
“I went as far as I could with it and played as long as I could,” Barbier said of his professional baseball career. “Once it kind of ‘plateaued’ I wanted to make sure I made the right move to get into what I really wanted to do.”
Clement said Barbier coached first base and the catchers. He said Barbier will be a “tremendous” head coach one day.
“It was probably the best year we had with the catchers,” Clement said. “I hated to lose him, but I think it’s a step only in the right direction [for Barbier]. I would love to keep him. He brings winning attitude and a good work ethic.”
Barbier views the volunteer position at LSU is a way to “pay his dues” before advancing in the coaching ranks. He will coach in multiple areas, including the outfielders, infielders and hitters. Although Barbier does not receive a salary from LSU, he is paid for his work with the Paul Mainieri Baseball Camps.
“He knows what it takes to win championships here,” Mainieri said. “He’s provided a lot of insight. I’ve asked him a lot of questions about a lot of different things like ‘What did you guys do here when you played here and you were winning championships?’ and he would share that information with me. And it’s very valuable information to have.”
Barbier said it was difficult to observe the struggles experienced under former LSU coach Smoke Laval.
“For the majority of the time I was away playing and at McNeese, I was still a fan of LSU baseball,” Barbier said. “A big chunk of my heart belongs to it. So it was sad to see it. It was certainly something where I was pulling the other way, wanting it to do well. It was a tough time.”
Barbier said he does not attribute the struggles to any certain players or coaches.
“I think everybody gave a good effort, but it just didn’t work out for whatever reason,” Barbier said. “I don’t know what that reason was. Hopefully we can change that up.”
Barbier said he sees several similarities in Bertman and Mainieri’s coaching styles that he hopes will lead to success.
“Neither one of them necessarily coaches just baseball,” Barbier said. “They coach life skills that go with being good people. Those usually translate into being a better baseball player. They want their players to be good people and a lot of times that translates into being a better ball player.”
Barbier shares many of the views that Bertman taught him. He said he wants to promote these values to LSU’s players.
“Be honest, be accountable, do well in school, play well in practice, play well in the game, go out in the community and do something,” Barbier said. “Sometimes you fall short, but that’s where us coaches come in and try to get the guys to stay on that path of accountability.”
—–Contact Amy Brittain at [email protected]