New Era of A&M Baseball Follows Jim Schlossnagle To Olsen Field
It's not as if Texas A&M baseball was going to bounce back just because of a coaching change. There are plenty of questions with the program entering 2022 after a lost final year in the Rob Childress era.
New Aggie manager Jim Schlossnagle understands that his job is not only to bring a winning culture back to College Station but also excitement to Olsen Field. Last season, Section 203 was quieter than usual at Blue Bell Park.
Schlossnagle doesn't want that to happen again. It's part of the reason he was willing to leave TCU after 18 seasons to become the new Aggie skipper.
"I've inherited an awesome program," Schlossnagle said on his first Aggie Baseball Hour Wednesday evening. "The opportunity when I met with (athletic director) Ross Bjork and he relayed his vision...the program, the stadium and taking something already that's good and taking it to a new level, that's what was enticing."
The Aggies are projected to finish sixth in the SEC West in Schlossnagle's first season. Maybe they'll improve over time, but 2021 could be a rebuilding year for the program in a new direction.
A&M will have a new rotation to work with following the departures of Bryce Miller, Dustin Saenz, and Chandler Jozwiak. Instead, the 1-2 combination of Micah Dallas and Jacob Palisch is set to lead the charge.
Dallas, a transfer from Texas Tech, will hopefully find his groove before the start of conference play. In three seasons with the Red Raiders, the junior appeared in 41 games, starting in 23, and owns a record of 12-5 with a 3.47 ERA.
Dallas said although he hopes to be one of the starters this season, his experience coming out of the bullpen makes him ready for anything.
"I love doing both," Dallas said. "I love pitching and wherever the lineup is where I'll be."
Palisch, a transfer from Stanford, is a left-hander with heat. Last season with the Cardinal, made all 21 appearances out of the pen, but Schlossnagle might see him offering more value as a starter in the new rotation.
Nathan Dettmer will be the name most A&M faithful remember from last season. He's projected to be in the weekend rotation after making 17 appearances during his freshman season. In a limited role, Dettmer recorded 49 strikeouts while logging a 3-2 record with 4.37 ERA.
Schlossnagle's philosophy when it comes to teaching pitchers is not about the analytics of dissecting a certain pitch, but rather the placement of where the pitch is thrown.
"Pitch execution matters," Schlossnagle said. "I don't care if everyone in the ballpark knows that Micah Dallas is throwing a breaking ball, if he executes his breaking ball, you're not hitting it.
"I want things to be as simple as they possibly can in a game that's really, really hard to play."
Pitching could be the difference to the Aggies in 2022. Little things will certainly present themselves to Schlossnagle and his staff early on, but only time can determine the severity of the issue.
After nearly two decades in Fort Worth, Schlossnagle is bringing simplistic baseball to College Station. Maybe that's what A&M needs to get back on track after missing the NCAA tournament last spring for the first time since 2006.
There's a standard on the diamond in Aggieland. Schlossnagle intends to bring that back, even if comes at the hands of a couple of series sweeps in Year One.
"I'm the worst loser in America, but sometimes you have to fake it," Schlossnagle said.
A&M opens its season on Feb. 18 against Fordham at Blue Bell Park at 6:30.
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