Jack Leggett ‘Talkin ACC Baseball’

April 27, 2001

Jack Leggett”> Clemson’s Jack Leggett was the second guest on TheACC.com’s interactive question and answer, Talkin’ ACC Baseball. Leggett is in his eighth season with the Tiger baseball program. Under Leggett’s guidance, Clemson has been to the NCAA Tournament every year, advanced to the College World Series three times and averaged 48 wins a season.

Kenny – Boiling Springs, SC To host a regional, how many wins do you think you need and where do you need to finish in the ACC? How many teams do you think will make the NCAA Tournament in the ACC? Thanks for your time, good luck and go Tigers.

Jack Leggett That is a good question. Right now we have 29 wins and we have 10 ball games left. If we have 10 more games and we win eight that would get us to 37 wins. If we finish second or third in the ACC that would help solidify things. I think that we are in pretty good shape, as well as Florida State, Georgia Tech and Wake Forest. Some teams are scrambling and need to do things down the stretch, like NC State and Duke.

Patricia – Clyde, NC How do they manage to get all of the red clay, mud and dirt out of the white uniform pants without leaving a stain?

Jack Leggett Wow, you have to ask our equipment manager Alphonso Smith, he would give you the best answer. They have certain chemicals and sometimes they have to wash them three or four times to get the stains out.

Joe – North Augusta, SC Why don’t all the ACC teams play a three game series at each other’s field? Ex. Clemson played Florida State at Florida State for 3 games and 0 games at Clemson. Thank you.

Jack Leggett Well, that you would just jeopardize to many weekends. That type of schedule wouldn’t allow for many non-conference weekends. It would take our 24 game conference schedule and make it 48 games. Having a schedule like that would also give us about 18 to 30 more conference games than any other conference.

Eric – Wilmington, NC Describe the years when you were an assistant coach under the legendary Coach Wilhelm and discuss the difficulties you encountered following in the footsteps of a legendary coach.

Jack Leggett My two years, 1992 and 1993, with Bill Wilhelm were years very well spent for me. I am thankful for the great couple of years that I had with him. I had a chance to do most of the recruiting those two years and I was able to line up players for the next few years for us. Wilhelm is a very knowledgeable baseball man. I never really felt that kind of pressure. I just continued to work hard and keep the program where it was. Wilhelm never stood over the top of me, he kept his distance. He has always been supportive and Wilhelm is a good man.

Art – Anderson, SC What is the Tigers win/loss record while wearing white caps?

Jack Leggett I have no idea, but i am sure it is just as good as our purple caps. We don’t wear the white caps very often. The times when we do, we are usually trying to change our luck up when the kids get the urge to do it.

Joey – Blacksburg, VA What makes Clemson such an attractive school for baseball recruits? I think you have had several #1 recruiting classes since you have been at Clemson.

Jack Leggett Well, there are several things. Clemson is one of the top academic schools in the country and one of the most beautiful. Clemson has a lot going for it, the environment, location, the size of the school. All of these things make recruits feel comfortable. On the baseball side, we have a winning tradition, we have been to Omaha and there is a history of developing players into better prospects. Clemson is also known for hosting NCAA regionals and our fan base. Kids come and watch us play and they have a chance to see our great fans. Another thing that comes into play is our facilities and the future of those facilities. I think our schedule is also appealing. We have a lot of positive factors and this makes it easy to attract a kid this way. Even though scholarships are limited and there is the pro issue, we feel we have as good a chance as anybody.

Andrew – Germantown, MD What influenced your decision to move Jeff Baker to third base, and Khalil Greene to shortstop?

Jack Leggett The thing is Baker gained about 20 pounds and got much stronger. I think his range was limited. I think in his mind he was excited about moving to third base. Jeff is going to be an outstanding hitter at the next level and the move will help him. Khalil is one of the best third baseman I have ever had, but I knew he was athletic enough to move to shortstop. He was been a very good at shortstop for us. On the next level, I think Khalil will have to be a middle infield guy anyway. The move has been very good for our team. I think we are leading the ACC in fielding.

George – Conroe, TX When will Patrick Boyd return and what impact do you think he will have down the stretch?

Jack Leggett I think he will return this weekend against North Carolina. We are hoping that he will see action on Saturday, but he could possibly see action on Friday. I am sure the impact will be very positive. We have been struggling offensively as a team. His presence in center field will help us too, since he is one of the top center fielders in the country. It will take a little time to get his rhythm back. We need to get him all of the reps he needs over the next several weeks. Hopefully he will have strong weekends against NC State and Virginia. We are hoping by the time we get to the ACC Tournament, he will be making a significant impact for us.