Today's Tiger Baseball Fans don't know the true greatness of Skip Bertman.

Who are these fans you speak of?

Can’t wait for Alabama fans to post threads like this on the SEC Rant years after Saban retires (or dies).

Did Skip have to go up against teams like Vandy, Arky, MSU, UF, and Ole Miss on the reg? I'm honestly asking because I agree Skip is the GOAT but how easy was the SEC back then?

I know Bama had a good team in the 90s.

I mean shite LSU has to beat (and so do all the other schools) TOP tier programs just to win the SEC. I feel like in CPM's tenure he's been at the top or 2nd or 3rd his entire time here.

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Did Skip have to go up against teams like Vandy, Arky, MSU, UF, and Ole Miss on the reg? I'm honestly asking because I agree Skip is the GOAT but how easy was the SEC back then?

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FWIW, the SEC had 3 teams in Omaha in 1996, 4 teams in 1997, and 3 team in 1998. The biggest difference is the mid to lower tier teams are better now than they were then, but the upper crust of the SEC was still very strong when Skip was coaching. The week-to-week grind is more difficult now, and it's also true that nationw-wide there is more competition. Despite that, Skip still would have been much more sucessful than Mainieri has been in today's climate.

To the OP, we all appreciate Skip's greatness. I'm old enough to have experienced it, but it's also ignorant to compare accomplishments across generations. There isn't a coach in America that would be able to duplicate those numbers with how many more teams are competative now all over the country. Mainieri needs to go and is no longer living up to reasonable expectations for today's game in this program, but if we are to judge our future coaches against Skip's resume, we will forever be disappointed.

Never said it could or would be replicated. Never thought I'd see the day Vandy would have a better program than LSU either. Until his death in 2019 Tony Robicheaux had his ULL program running better than CPM at LSU.

LSU doesn't have to be a bottom dweller program but it heading there.

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It used to be LSU baseball fans could book their trips to Omaha every year. Now it's a very rare occurrence.

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Your definition of "very rare" is a bit broad, don't you think?

Since Mainieri has been at LSU only two HC have more CWS appearances during that timeframe than him: Mike Fox (UNC) and Kevin O'Sullivan (Florida). So I don't think I'd say a CWS appearance has been "very rare"

That's not to say it doesn't appear a bit of apathy has set in over the program, nor that LSU could maybe benefit from a chance. But your "very rare" description is ridiculous hyperbole

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Vandy would have a better program than LSU either

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Neither did I, but you could say you’d never thought Vandy could have the best baseball program in the SEC of the US.

People like yourself take what we once had for granted. You act as if we have some natural right to be the best, but it doesn’t work that way. If it did then Tampa Bay couldn’t compete with the New York Yankees, the Florida Marlins couldn’t be world champions twice, or Coastal Carolina win the CWS.

It’s not easy.

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LSU doesn't have to be a bottom dweller program but it heading there.

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Again, Mainieri needs to go but LSU is nowhere near a bottom dweller. It may seem like it because you’re hung up on comparing the current status or accomplishments to Skip’s in the 90’s.

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Never thought I'd see the day Vandy would have a better program than LSU either.

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25 years ago I wouldn’t have thought this either. But LSU dropping a notch, or two, or a bunch (depending on your perspective) isn’t the only thing playing a part in that. In the current landscape Vanderbilt is going to be extremely good no matter what LSU does.

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Until his death in 2019 Tony Robicheaux had his ULL program running better than CPM at LSU

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By your definitions and interpretations Rick Jones was running a better program than Skip when Skip retired.

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Ask yourself, how did Skip do it?

LSU didn’t have any baseball tradition to build on. Football was king, then MBB. High school baseball in La. wasn’t that big of a deal.
The stadium was a dump. They use to practice football in the outfield and park cars there in game day. There was no electronic equipment, a huge budget for baseball and TOPS didn’t come until late.
So what made the difference? You know the answer, and it’s not tradition, a new stadium, shiney new toys or anything else. The difference was the genius of Skip Bertman.

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True. But you can't discount the fact that he could not have timed the rise of the program any better. When LSU won the NC in 1991 the football program was a disaster and the basketball program was beginning it's decline. LSU fans were desperate to feel proud of SOMETHING and baseball provided it. Had basketball and football been rolling in the 90's it is very likely LSU baseball would have a following/local interests more similar to Florida than leading the nation in attendance year after year.

That's also why interest has exploded at places like Arkansas, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Vanderbilt. Those are generally the bottom feeders in SEC football and their fans (like LSU fans in the 90's) just want something to cheer about. That interest led to greater resources being pumped in which led to greater success.

Skip is probably one 3 or 4 greatest coaches in college baseball history. But he was also the right man at the RIGHT TIME to make LSU a juggernaut