Coach John Smith two wins shy of 800 career wins, winningest Sac State coach

Sacramento State baseball coach John Smith is sporting a new look around the baseball diamond and in the clubhouse these days.

Smith, who is in his 29th season at Sac State, made a promise to his players that he would shave his head if they were to sweep Louisiana Tech in the WAC opening series on March 2-5 in Louisiana.

“They wanted me to shave it, and I told them ‘the only way I’m going to shave my head is if you guys win all three back at La Tech,'” Smith said.

The players returned with a counter offer. They proposed that Smith shave his head if the team was to take two of the three games and win the series. After some negotiation, the two sides came to an agreement “I’m not shaving it if we win two out of three! If we win two out of three, I’ll get a flat-top,” Smith told the team.

Smith, who will reach 800 career victories with two more wins, eventually made good on his promise. Upon his return to Sacramento, Smith received a flat-top haircut at La Riviera Barber Shop.

Smith, who took control of the baseball program in 1978, will be the first coach in the history of Sac State athletics to reach 800 victories. He will also pass active volleyball coach Debby Colberg as the winningest coach in the school’s history.

When asked about reaching the monumental milestone, Smith said he was not aware that he was just two games away from 800. He said he won’t talk about the record until after he has broken it.

“Is that right? I thought it was more than that,” Smith said. “I’m not even thinking about that right now.”

Smith did, however, joke that he hopes his 800th victory will come sometime this season.

The team will get its chance to do that as the Hornets played Pacific yesterday and will travel to play New Mexico State, Friday through Sunday.

Immediately following an impressive 7-5 victory over La Tech on Sunday March 4, the team came to collect on its agreement.

“They wanted me to cut my hair on Sunday night when we got back to the hotel in Shreveport, and I said ‘you ain’t touching my hair! It will come out a buzz job,'” Smith said.

Smith said that the proposition wasn’t something he planned, and he doesn’t remember if he has ever made that type of an arrangement in his long tenure at Sac State. Smith also emphasized that the agreement wasn’t a significant factor in the team’s success in Louisiana.

“I don’t think it motivated them at all,” Smith said. “It helps with team chemistry, and it just lets them know that I’m human and I’m part of the deal.”

Smith said that when the team has success, it is a result of the players motivating themselves.

Junior Pitcher Mitch Lively said that despite the agreement being a light-hearted one, the players did have it in the back of their minds during the series with La Tech. He added that he was not disappointed with the “flat-top” compromise.

“We thought about it every day, and I think the flat-top is actually a little funnier than the shaved head,” Lively said.

“It shows how committed he is to us,” Lively said. “He stands by us and he stands by his word. He’s a good guy and a good coach.” Senior Mitch Lively juggles career as dual-sport athlete

Sacramento State has its own two-sport-star. Senior Mitch Lively doesn’t play positions that require the traditional skills that define a great athlete.

He doesn’t have to run a sub-4.5 forty yard dash or chase down balls in the outfield, but is the first punter/closer in the school’s history.

The two roles have very little in common and they contrast each other in many ways.

Traditionally, if a team’s closer is on a baseball field, it means the team is usually leading late in the game, and while if a team’s punter appears frequently for a football team, the team has a bad offense. “Both my positions are all eyes on me and I have control of my own destiny,” Lively said. “My success doesn’t depend on another player like a quarterback to a receiver.”

Lively, who was recruited as a place kicker out of Lassen High School in Susanville, arrived at Sac State to kick for former football coach Steve Mooshagian in the fall of 2003.

Midway through his first season, Lively was having mediocre results kicking and was splitting time with a second kicker when an injury to the team’s punter forced him into an unfamiliar role.

“I had never punted before in my life,” Lively said. “I went out there and winged it and did well, then I finally got some coaching and it took off from there.”

After some coaching, Lively grew into an adequate punter for the Hornets in his freshman year, averaging 37.4 yards per punt.

The following spring, Lively said that he couldn’t help but walk on to the baseball team. Being a three-sport star in high school, he said that he was so used to playing sports year-round.

“I love baseball, and I couldn’t stand to just sit there and watch,” Lively said.

Lively not only made the team that spring, but made a solid contribution, appearing in 20 games with a respectable 4.95 ERA.

“I got lucky a couple guys got hurt and I was able to make the team and play,” Lively said.

With a year of punting and kicking under his belt, Lively entered his sophomore football season with plans of solidifying himself as the team’s kicker while fulfilling his responsibilities as the punter. To his surprise, Lively began having more success as a punter than a place kicker and it soon became evident that he had a special talent for punting.

At the conclusion of his second season, Lively was named All-Big Sky Conference honorable mention with a 40.8 yards per punt average. Lively went on to have a successful punting career at Sac State, earning All-Big Sky honors in his junior and senior years.

In his senior year, Lively ranked eighth in the nation with a 43.45 yards per punt average, including 18 punts over 50 yards, and he placed 12 inside the 20 yard line. He capped off his career in the 2006 Causeway Classic, averaging 62.5 yards per punt, against rival Davis, including a career-long 67 yarder.

Now an NFL prospect, Lively tries to juggle his responsibilities as the baseball team’s closer with professional combines and tryouts. Lively said that he still punts three times a week so that his punting doesn’t skip a beat, and he can demonstrate his maximum ability to pro scouts as soon as the baseball season ends.

Lively said that it is inevitable that both his pitching and punting suffer when one or the other is neglected. He said that his arm is probably not as strong as the other pitchers who have been throwing all winter, but he wouldn’t have it any other way because of the experiences he has had playing both sports at Sac State.

Despite being a pro prospect as a punter, Lively said that pitching is his true love. He added that being a punter in the NFL would be a dream job because there is no minor league system to overcome and the physical challenges of punting in the pro game are similar to college, but he would rather pitch in the big leagues.

“I’d rather play baseball. That’s my first love,” Lively said. “Football is a little easier, only punting three or four times a game, plus the money is a little better and you don’t have to go through the minor league system, but I’m hoping it’s baseball. Mario Martin can be reached at [email protected]