Past And Present
January 31, 2001 | Baseball
Jan. 31, 2001
by Farra Levin, Texas Tech Athletic Media Relations
The year was 1926. Calvin Coolidge was president, U.S. troops landed in Nicaragua to preserve order after a revolt and the price of a first-class stamp was 2 cents. With so much activity occurring in the United States not many noticed the birth of what would now be deemed one of the greatest sports in Texas Tech history.
It was 75 years ago that Texas Tech first went to bat with its inaugural season of baseball. The program came from a humble beginning when Coach E.V. Freeland led his team to an 11-2-1 finish in the first season. Texas Tech played baseball for the next three seasons accumulating a record of 25-28-2. Tech was forced to drop the baseball bats for 24 years as the Great Depression and the United States' involvement in World War II took away the focus from the diamond.
The Red Raiders suited up again in 1954 and have played every year since making the 2001 season, Texas Tech's 51st season of baseball. The first 36 years saw the expertise of 6 coaches that led to a losing record of 529-554-5. Overall, baseball at Tech had not become part of the winning tradition.
In the fall of 1986, an eager coach by the name of Larry Hays came to Texas Tech and saw what few had seen before. With hard work, practice and determination coach Hays knew that Texas Tech would become a team to be reckoned with.
"It was hard to get players to come to Tech at first," said Hays. "Why go to Texas Tech to play baseball? We had to find players who wanted to build a program rather than play for an already established one."
Coach Hays has built a program using his experiences as both a player and coach at Lubbock Christian University. His first year at Tech was a rocky one finishing the season with a 21-28 record. Hays didn't let that discourage him and has yet to see another losing season and is the all-time victory leader at Texas Tech with 540 wins.
In 1995 Hays guided his team to their first-ever Southwest Conference Championship posting a school-record 51 wins and advancing to the Midwest I Region Championship game. The success continued when the Red Raiders finished the 1996 season with a 49-15 record and hosted both the Southwest Conference Post-Season Tournament (finished third), as well as the NCAA Central II Regional.
The Red Raiders, proving that they had found a program that worked, captured their first-ever Big 12 Conference regular season championship in 1997, and finished the year with a 46-14 overall and 23-7 conference record.
The end of the century was good to Texas Tech baseball with a Big 12 Conference Tournament title in 1998 and a 2000 team, that despite injury, finished the season with an 18-12 record and went on to win two games in the Big 12 Tournament.
With the merging of the Southwest Conference and the Big Eight the Big 12 has formed a baseball program that is one of the best in the nation.
" I think that the Big 12 conference is one of the top two or three in the nation. With teams like Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, who have traditionally made appearances in the College World Series this conference is one to be reckoned with."
Dan Law Field has given Texas Tech fans a place to worship the game that has brought them so much joy for the past 75 years. "It has been fun to watch things change for the program," said Hays. "We started with a stadium that held around 900 fans. Now, Dan Law Field holds approximately 5,900 of the conference's loudest and most supportive fans. It gives us such a huge home field advantage. We have great fan support and part of that is because Dan Law Field is fan friendly-the fans are a part of the game and they're tied into what's going on in the game. That makes it tough for an opponent. Plus with the new turf on the infield, Dan Law Field is a great place to play."
The change to the program and to the facilities has been a gradual one, but the new millennium brings a list of renovations to be made in the not to distant future. Pro-style dressing rooms, an indoor batting facility and new stadium lights are all in the works for Dan Law Field. Renovations to the exterior include expanded seating and luxury boxes as well as a Spanish-syle brick to resemble the vintage-look of the United Spirit Arena and Jones SBC Stadium.
With the changes to the field and the constant recruitment of top athletes, Coach Hays and his high quality college baseball will remain at Tech for the long term. The 2001 season brings with it a new class and a new determination to win. On January 26th the Red Raiders are back...and they're Laying Down the Law.