Scheschuk: This is an all-time great Texas A&M baseball team

Texas A&M Hall of Famer John Scheschuk knows a thing or two about what makes a baseball team so special, and Aggie legend sees it in the 2024 club. Scheschuk joined TexAgs Radio on Tuesday morning to discuss what makes Jim Schlossnagle's team so great.

Key notes from John Scheschuk interview

• The three-man booth was awesome. I do have a problem though, and that’s because I don’t hear any Fat Pat rolling into this segment. I wanted some 90s rap or 90s country. I didn’t care which. Fat Pat wins championships.
   
• Truly, the three-man booth with Andrew Monaco and Ryan Brauninger was awesome. Those guys know their stuff better than anybody. Monaco has great relationships with that coaching staff. It was fun working with those guys, and it was a great time.
   
• Well, I’ll tell you about Christian Mracna. When he came in, I didn’t think his stuff was that explosive at all. And then, it was like a switch flipped. He started getting carry on that fastball and was ripping that four-seamer to get swing-and-miss from darn near everybody. I wasn’t really thinking about what was happening in that video during the game, but it was noticeable how much jump he had on that fastball. The Aggies couldn’t get a barrel on that guy. The same thing kind of happened with Kolten Smith, too. Early in the game, his slider was off, and he was leaving it over the middle of the plate. Jace LaViolette smoked a ball to right field, and Braden Montgomery smoked a ball. The Aggies were rolling early, but then he settled in. It was over for a long time. It was weird to see how those Georgia pitchers started slow. Mracna obviously finished strong with punchout after punchout after punchout.
   
• Friday was a complete game, and A&M did what A&M does. They came out and dominated on the mound with Ryan Prager. Now, Prager gave up the huge home run to Charlie Condon in the first inning, but he settled in and pitched great. The Aggies were solid in all facets and picked up the win.
   
• The first game on Saturday was the craziest game I’ve ever seen. I wasn’t on the call for that game. To give up nine in the first and come back with eight in the bottom of the first. They held Georgia there. What odds are more unrealistic? For Georgia to score nine in the first, or for them to not score another run the rest of the game with the south wind blowing out? That was incredible to see that. Shane Sdao did a great job in that game. It was a weird dynamic in that Friday, you had everything before Saturday’s huge come-from-behind effort that turned into a blowout. Saturday, game two, was a nail-biter. I didn’t expect a nail-biter to come in game two of a doubleheader.
   
• We saw Chris Cortez give it up a little bit later in the series, and that’s a head-scratcher for me. I see his velocity and his confidence in that slider. He seems to be pitching well. He has pitched well up until this weekend. He didn’t pitch terribly this weekend. He just left a couple of balls up in the wrong spots, and Georgia did some damage with them.
   
• Sdao was a huge part of the doubleheader. To chew up that many innings in the first game on Saturday really put the Aggies in a great position. I’m excited for him. A&M needs Sdao and Cortez. They’ll be keys come playoff time if the Aggies want to advance to Omaha and win a national championship.
   
• This team finds ways. They can win any type of game you want to get into with them. They can slug with anybody, but when the going gets tough, we’ve seen them pitch pretty well.
   
• I thought Justin Lamkin had great stuff, and I was proud of him, too. I know the coaching staff was excited about that. They need Lamkin to win some of those games. I think Tanner Jones will get it going, too.
   
• They’re comfortable in the nail-biters. They’re comfortable in the blowouts. It doesn’t matter what type of game presents itself. Texas A&M has an answer for it.
   
• Lamkin is a difference-maker. He has a 4.47 ERA and is 2-1. His strikeout-to-walk ratio is 59-to-15. His numbers aren’t bad. His batting average against is .243. The confidence factor with Lamkin is going to be big. We saw that against Georgia. To come out against a potent lineup and put up a pretty good line says a lot about his character and resolve. I even noticed during the game that Lamkin is starting to throw a soft changeup like what Evan Aschnebeck throws. It’s moving a lot. Maybe that changeup is the secret sauce for him. It could be a pitch that catapults him forward.
   
• I know the Georgia situation has been discussed. Who knows if they had A&M’s signs or not. It was somewhat of an outlier for Jones. I wouldn’t panic if I was an Aggie fan. Just chalk it up to being an outlier. You have to get him back out on the mound and be confident with him.
   
• Everyone wants to talk about Ted Burton’s offense, but his defense was spectacular as well. He played a great first base all weekend long. We talked on the broadcast about Michael Earley telling me about Burton having some pop in his bat. They tried to tweak a few things internally. This weekend wasn’t a shock to me that he was able to launch some balls out of the yard. It’s another weapon for an already lengthy, already-potent lineup.
   
• Hayden Schott is hitting .327. Burton is at .296. Jackson Appel is hitting .355. Ali Camarillo is hitting .319. These are integral parts of your offense that weren’t on the team last year. What an incredible job of refilling this team with portal players. They got the right culture and baseball fits. Jim Schlossnagle and the entire staff should be credited for that.
   
• It’s easy to take Montgomery and LaViolette for granted as a fan because you see it day in and day out. I would really challenge people to enjoy what they’re seeing because this is an all-time great Texas A&M baseball team, and I hope they get the credit for that in the postseason through winning regionals, super regionals and ultimately a national championship.
   
• During our broadcast, I was talking about our program and where it stands. We’ve got the CEO. We’ve got a highly-accomplished assistant coaching staff. You have the back office, fan and monetary support. This is a top-five program today. The only thing A&M is missing is the hardware. To me, that’s a by-product, and I’m confident that it will come. As a fan, I want my university to win at the highest level. Once that first one comes, there is the potential to see a dynasty like you’ve seen at LSU. Once you get over that mental hurdle, the floodgates could open. For all of the reasons I just stated, we’re well-positioned to be a top-five program for a long time under Schlossnagle’s leadership.
   
• You get a ring when you win the conference, and that’s a huge deal. It’s another building block in driving the program forward, but it won’t make or break our postseason chances. I’ve always been of the mindset that the SEC regular-season title and SEC Tournament title matter. Any time you can win a high-level league or tournament, it’s a feather in your cap.
   
• Every team is going to say they have the “next man up” mentality, and you have to because injuries are part of sports. Still, if Gavin Grahovac goes down... I thought it was an awkward step situation. When I saw it happen, I hoped he was OK for him and his family. For A&M’s team, I was very nervous because he’s such an integral part of that lineup. He’s such a great kid and such a great leader that it would’ve been a devastating blow. I’m very glad that he’s OK.
   
• It doesn’t shock me to see Caden Sorrell as the SEC Freshman of the Week. We knew they had freshmen on the bench ready to go. Sorrell has high-level talent. He’s a pro-ball guy. It doesn’t shock me that he has handled this situation the way he has. I’m happy for him.
   
• Schott has been a better player at DH. He has taken that role at DH and ran with it. A&M has become a better team with Sorrell in left field. The freshman has responded, and the veteran has accepted his role. Ever since that move was made, Schott has excelled at the DH spot.
   
• In a couple of years, Sorrell and Grahovac are going to look like Montgomery and LaViolette do now. They’re going to become horses. Beyond that, A&M will continue to do what it did this year. They’ll either bring up Jack Bell at second base, or they’ll find guys to fill in the gaps where they need it. Our program is in such good shape, and my trust level is very high in Schlossnagle. He is expecting results and demanding it from his team. The level of accountability I see him show on the field is high, and the players respond to it. It’s only a matter of time before he gets it done.
   
• I don’t understand how a team can act this professionally despite being college players. They keep handling midweeks and non-conference games. It doesn’t matter what Tarleton throws out there if the Aggies handle their business. Schlossnagle’s mindset has been “Opening Day every day.” You’ve seen it come to fruition. I’ve never seen a team be this successful on Tuesdays. They are a machine.
   
• LSU, for me personally, is just under Texas. My desire to beat LSU is strong. LSU’s team ERA is 4.38. A&M has a statistical advantage. Tommy White is Tommy White, and he’ll get his. He’s such a stud on the offensive side. It’s not a traditional LSU team, but you’re still going into that environment. Jay Johnson will have them ready to go, so it will be a tough test for A&M.