First of all, despite what I have posted on here 95% of the time, I have a LOT of respect for Coach Polk. I have been fortunate enough to have met him when he was in his prime as a baseball coach, and he has one of the most likable personalities of just about any coach that I have ever met.
Also, a lot of our overall athletic success goes back to him at least indirectly. When he took over the first time in 1976, MSU had not won an SEC Championship in ANY sport in about seven years. Our overall fanbase was at least somewhat apathetic. Polk gave us something to cheer for and brought MSU something to be really proud of. He was ahead of the curve and has made SEC baseball into what it is today. He showed people how to build stadiums, how to build programs, and all the while brought in talent and built a great program at MSU. He also showed everyone how to host a Regional, and to this day, no one does it better than MSU. He brought us Thunder and Lightning and took us to the CWS six times. His 1985 team is still regarded as one of the greatest collegiate teams ever assembled. His program gave the alumni a reason to go back to Starkville, and it showed people what MSU could be. Then when we had a good years in football and basketball, the alumni have followed.
While he is most noted for coaching Clark, Palmeiro, Brantley, Thigpen, Maholm, and Papelbon to name a few, his influence reaches even further in developing coaches throughout the country at all levels from high school, to college, to the Major Leagues. I was visiting the Kansas City Royals spring training one spring break while I was at MSU, and I met the Royals minor league farm director, a man named Brian Poldberg. He found out that I went to MSU, and he told me that he wanted to show me something. He came back and showed me a copy of The Baseball Playbook by Ron Polk, and told me that was one of the books that they used as a guideline for teaching players fundamentals of the game.
I was at MSU in 1997 when they went to Omaha after Brooks Bryan stole a home run off of someone's grill, and I thought that Polk had gone out on top. I knew that I would miss Polk, but was satisfied that he left when he did. When he was rehired, I was very upset. As much as I respected Polk, I knew that he would not take MSU to the National Championship. The game was changing, and I saw the move as lazy, staus quo, and it basically made a statement to me that we were just fine with were we were. Yes, I do disagree with Polk's decisions a lot, especially lately, but when I criticize him, a lot of times I was criticizing the decision to bring him back. In a way, it hurt me because I knew that this baseball icon was not what was best for MSU. There were times when he would bring the magic back- the 2005 SEC Tournament was possibly the most brilliant underdog performance I have seen in SEC baseball, and the 2007 SR was one of the greatest baseball experiences of my life, and I will cherish those memories.
So, all that said, I want to say thank you to Ron Polk for stepping down on his own and not forcing MSU people to make a very, very difficult decision and for allowing us to avoid a potentially damning blow to the program. I hope you turn out like Boo Ferris, the ex-coach at Delta State, watching with pride as someone takes the program that you built to the summit, and knowing that you had a hand in it with what you built starting in 1976.
Thanks Ron!
4
Also, a lot of our overall athletic success goes back to him at least indirectly. When he took over the first time in 1976, MSU had not won an SEC Championship in ANY sport in about seven years. Our overall fanbase was at least somewhat apathetic. Polk gave us something to cheer for and brought MSU something to be really proud of. He was ahead of the curve and has made SEC baseball into what it is today. He showed people how to build stadiums, how to build programs, and all the while brought in talent and built a great program at MSU. He also showed everyone how to host a Regional, and to this day, no one does it better than MSU. He brought us Thunder and Lightning and took us to the CWS six times. His 1985 team is still regarded as one of the greatest collegiate teams ever assembled. His program gave the alumni a reason to go back to Starkville, and it showed people what MSU could be. Then when we had a good years in football and basketball, the alumni have followed.
While he is most noted for coaching Clark, Palmeiro, Brantley, Thigpen, Maholm, and Papelbon to name a few, his influence reaches even further in developing coaches throughout the country at all levels from high school, to college, to the Major Leagues. I was visiting the Kansas City Royals spring training one spring break while I was at MSU, and I met the Royals minor league farm director, a man named Brian Poldberg. He found out that I went to MSU, and he told me that he wanted to show me something. He came back and showed me a copy of The Baseball Playbook by Ron Polk, and told me that was one of the books that they used as a guideline for teaching players fundamentals of the game.
I was at MSU in 1997 when they went to Omaha after Brooks Bryan stole a home run off of someone's grill, and I thought that Polk had gone out on top. I knew that I would miss Polk, but was satisfied that he left when he did. When he was rehired, I was very upset. As much as I respected Polk, I knew that he would not take MSU to the National Championship. The game was changing, and I saw the move as lazy, staus quo, and it basically made a statement to me that we were just fine with were we were. Yes, I do disagree with Polk's decisions a lot, especially lately, but when I criticize him, a lot of times I was criticizing the decision to bring him back. In a way, it hurt me because I knew that this baseball icon was not what was best for MSU. There were times when he would bring the magic back- the 2005 SEC Tournament was possibly the most brilliant underdog performance I have seen in SEC baseball, and the 2007 SR was one of the greatest baseball experiences of my life, and I will cherish those memories.
So, all that said, I want to say thank you to Ron Polk for stepping down on his own and not forcing MSU people to make a very, very difficult decision and for allowing us to avoid a potentially damning blow to the program. I hope you turn out like Boo Ferris, the ex-coach at Delta State, watching with pride as someone takes the program that you built to the summit, and knowing that you had a hand in it with what you built starting in 1976.
Thanks Ron!
4
