BERTMAN NAMED TO BASEBALL AMERICA'S "25 FOR 25"

BATON ROUGE, La. - LSU athletics director Skip Bertman has been named to Baseball Americas "25 for 25," a listing of 25 of the most significant people the magazine has covered in the past 25 years. Baseball America published the listing as part of its 25th anniversary issue, which is on sale through July 30. The "25 for 25" contains some of the most influential players and administrators in the game, including Barry Bonds, Peter Gammons, Roger Clemens, Bud Selig, Peter OMalley, John Schuerholz, Mark McGwire, Don Fehr, Sandy Alderson and Cal Ripken Jr. "That`s quite a list of baseball people," said Bertman, who directed LSU to five College World Series championships during his 18-year coaching tenure (1984-2001). "I feel honored to be recognized with so many of baseball`s biggest names. "I have been blessed to have coached for so many years. I feel very humbled to be named to the Baseball America list." Of Bertman, Baseball Americas Jim Callis writes: "Bertman was a player/coach at the University of Miami and eventually rejoined the Hurricanes as an assistant to Ron Fraser. If Fraser had become Miamis athletic director, Bertman would have been the coach. Instead, he wound up in Baton Rouge, changing the course of college baseball history. "Bertman led the Tigers to the NCAA tournament in his second season (1985), then presided over a Southeastern Conference championship and the schools first CWS berth in his third. LSU would make 10 more trips to Omaha in his last 15 seasons as a coach, taking national titles in 1991, 93, 96, 97 and 2000." Callis quotes Chicago Cubs second baseman Todd Walker, an LSU All-American who played under Bertman for three seasons (1992-94) and led the Tigers to the 1993 national title. "I was a scared little freshman at a national championship school - they had just won in 91 - and I didnt know anything," Walker said. "The seasons starting tomorrow, and Skip calls me in and says, ‘Youre my second baseman every day. Youre going to be an All-American. Youre going to be great." He made me believe I was better than I probably was." Callis wraps up his profile of Bertman by citing a favorite quote of LSUs legendary coach: "Anything you vividly imagine, ardently desire, sincerely believe and enthusiastically act upon must, absolutely must, come to pass." "And it certainly did," Callis concludes, "when Bertman was in the dugout at LSU." Baseball Americas "25 for 25" Sandy Alderson Skip Bertman Barry Bonds Scott Boras Roger Clemens Don Fehr Peter Gammons Pat Gillick Bo Jackson Bill James Andruw Jones Omar Linares Joe Mauer Mark McGwire Peter OMalley Cal Ripken Jr. Alex Rodriguez Larry Schmittou John Schuerholz Bud Selig Joe Spear Paul Snyder Mike Veeck Robin Ventura Miles Wolff