Published: July 07, 2006 12:28 am      

'A special opportunity'

Bearkat players, fans fired up about new baseball coach

Mark Johnson knows it may feel a little funny the first time he tries on an orange baseball cap. Still, the guy who coached for 23 seasons at Texas A&M — 21 as the Aggies’ head coach — is thrilled because he’ll soon be wearing the brilliant orange Sam Houston State uniform, not the burnt orange of the University of Texas.

“I’m terribly excited,” Johnson said Thursday afternoon about an hour after SHSU named Johnson the Bearkats’ new baseball coach. “I wasn’t ready to retire and sit along the sidelines. I really feel like God has been part of my life, and coaching and teaching is His plan for me.

“This is going to be a tremendous experience. I told my wife there was another exciting adventure in front of us.”

The Bearkat players who wrestled through an up-and-down 23-31 campaign this spring are ready to be part of that adventure. They know all about Johnson’s impressive record at A&M and can’t wait to play for a guy who twice has been on college baseball’s biggest stage.

Johnson guided the Aggies to the College World Series in 1993 and again in 1999, winning 53 and 52 games in those seasons. He won 876 and lost 433 in 21 years at Texas A&M.

“I’m looking forward to it, and I’m ready to see what kind of impact he can make,” pitcher Matt Langwell said Thursday evening. “I believe he knows how to win, and that’s what we needed.”

Catcher Stephen Spaugh added, “It’s going to be a different atmosphere around there. It’s going to be pretty interesting. There’s going to be big excitement once we get back together in the fall.”

Johnson was chosen over four other finalists. Langwell and teammate Tyson Mire said they paid close attention to the hiring process over the past month or so, both keeping their fingers crossed that SHSU would find a way to hire the former Aggie boss.

“I think it’s great,” Mire said late Thursday night. “He knows how to win, he’s proven it in the past, and he’s got great knowledge of the game. I think it will be a good, fresh start.”

“I was hoping we could get Johnson because I grew up watching him,” said Langwell, who pitched at A&M Consolidated High School in College Station. “It’s been pretty exciting today because they hired him. Most people from the area know about coach Johnson. I’ve met him, but I don’t really know him.

“I know some of his (former) players and all the guys I know loved him and said he was a great guy who was fun to be around. He’s supposedly a real players’ coach, a real nice guy, who’s fired up and always positive.”

Bearkat baseball supporters also seem to be in favor of the Johnson hire. SHSU director of athletics Bobby Williams chose Johnson over finalists that included Chico State’s Lindsay Meggs (two Division II national titles), Russell Stockton of Texas A&M-Kingsville and Magnolia High School’s Dale Westmoreland, a well-respected coach in Southeast Texas.

“I’m not surprised, I figured they would go with the experience,” longtime Bearkat baseball fan Ron Gardner said.

“That’s probably the best decision. Coach Johnson produced a lot of All-Americans at A&M and he had a lot of really fine ball players. I didn’t know much about the other guys, but I know a little bit about Mark Johnson. Players apparently like him quite a bit. He ought to be able to bring in some pretty good players.

“We’ve got a chance next season if we can just get it together.”

Ken Conway, a 1986 SHSU graduate and rabid Bearkat supporter, said he couldn’t be more thrilled about the baseball news he got in North Texas on Thursday.

“I’m overwhelmed,” Conway said. “This is a special opportunity. I see this, for all the years that Johnson faced the Bearkats, he had to have a great deal of respect for coach (John) Skeeters and our program to come over here and take a second shot. There are some pluses to the other guys, but a man like this deserves this shot because he’s a winner.

“We can all be wrong about this thing, but right now it feels so right.”

Johnson said Thursday he’s already gone to work, even though July 16 is his first official day at SHSU.

In the next few days, he’s going to greet the Bearkats’ returning players with phone calls and e-mails, beat the bushes to see what kind of recruits are still available and try to move forward in the hiring process of two full-time assistant coaches, an ingredient he feels the Bearkats have desperately needed for years. That’s something, Johnson believes, that will help SHSU compete on a regular basis in the Southland Conference.

“Bobby, along with the president (James Gaertner), was able to work some things out,” Johnson said. “They showed me some tangible evidence that they agreed with my vision for the program there. I don’t expect unbelievable things immediately. There’s going to be some turnaround time.”

Johnson, 60, said he’s physically and mentally ready for the challenge. He has no grand plan to coach for two or three more years and turn the program over to one of his new assistants.

“I don’t know when I want to retire. I’m in good health with a high energy level,” Johnson said. “I really feel like I’m at the peak of my coaching career and I have a passion for what I do. I know there will be road blocks and stumbling blocks that I have never encountered before. At this point, though, I don’t have a plan.

“My idea is to coach until I’ve had enough of it, or until they’ve had enough of me.”