LSU assistant coach Javi Sanchez was sitting at an Applebee’s in 2007 during a stint in class-A ball when he got a phone call from LSU coach Paul Mainieri.He decided to let it ring three times before he answered it because he knew what it was about – quitting playing to coach for the Tigers for the upcoming season.After finally answering the phone, Sanchez had a 30-minute talk with Mainieri before telling the LSU skipper he would call him back. It took three weeks to make the decision, but he decided he would join Mainieri at LSU as a volunteer coach for the 2008 season.”I never thought I would end up coaching under [Mainieri] so soon or for that matter I never even thought I would get into coaching,” Sanchez said. “[Mainieri] was pretty much the only guy I would consider coaching under.”Sanchez and Mainieri were no strangers to one another before the call — Sanchez played four seasons under Mainieri at Notre Dame from 2001-2004 before being drafted after his senior year in the 14th round of the 2004 MLB Draft to the Minnesota Twins organization.The now second-year coach for the Tigers averaged a .280 batting average as a catcher and middle infielder for the Fighting Irish, driving in 96 runs with an on-base percentage of .350 while helping lead the team to a 2002 College World Series berth.Sanchez — the first player Mainieri recruited from his high school alma mater of Christopher Columbus Catholic High School in Miami — started at shortstop his sophomore season due to a pair of injuries to two shortstops just nine games into the season.”It shows that if you maintain a positive attitude and keep working hard that when your opportunity comes, you are ready to take advantage of it,” Mainieri said. “Javi is a living example of that.”He was then converted into a catcher in the offseason with the return of Matt Macri, now a major leagues shortstop for the Minnesota Twins, for the upcoming season. He had never played catcher before, but his willingness to do whatever it took to help out his team is part of what Mainieri said made him a great player.”We made him a catcher going into his junior year, and in typical Javi Sanchez fashion, he worked as hard as anyone could work and made himself into an excellent catcher,” Mainieri said. But after Tommy John surgery sidelined him for the 2006 season in the minors, he didn’t see as much time on the field.Sanchez platooned for the Fort Myers Miracle, the Twins’ class-A affiliate, in the 2007 season, catching one game, being a designated hitter in the next and then sitting for the next two games.Then Mainieri made the call. Mainieri said Sanchez’ loyalty, dedication, work ethic and his knowledge of baseball made Mainieri believe Sanchez would be a great coach.”I called Javi, and I said, ‘Javi, I am not trying to encourage you to retire as a player … but if you are thinking that your days are numbered, I would have kicked myself in the rear end if I hadn’t at least called you,'” Mainieri said.Sanchez just finished his second season as a coach for the Tigers. He was promoted to a full-time assistant coach after just a season as a volunteer coach — meaning he can actively recruit players with associate head coach David Grewe, the coach that helped Sanchez transform into a catcher at Notre Dame.He is the Tigers’ primary hitting and baserunning coach, where he helped coach the Tigers to 95 steals in 2008 and 114 this season, the most steals by an LSU squad since 1996.The former catcher also works extensively with LSU sophomore catcher Micah Gibbs and helping Gibbs allow only four passed balls all this season.”He knows the game so well,” Gibbs said. “He’s got me so much more relaxed behind the plate. From where I was my freshman year to where I am now, it’s two totally different people, and that’s all because of him.”Sanchez’ also coaches at third base, where he gives the Tiger baserunners the red or green light to go home after rounding third base.The Miami native said coaching third base comes natural to him, especially given his knowledge of Mainieri’s base running philosophy.”I know when he likes to take chances, and I know when he likes to be conservative,” Sanchez said. “When I’m making decisions, I don’t have to worry if coach is going to agree with it or not because 99 percent of the time, I’m doing what he would be doing.”And with a protégé tree that includes Virginia coach Brian O’Connor and Central Florida coach Terry Rooney, to name a few, Sanchez may soon be among the ranks of Mainieri assistants to get a head coaching job.”He’s got a very bright future in this business,” Mainieri said. “I know his loyalty is beyond reproach, and any victories we have at LSU, he is a big part of.”—-Contact Andy Schwehm at [email protected]