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Sidelines Kalani Simpson |
Home is where
the World Series isTHE things you think out loud about, while waiting for the phone to ring:
He would have to go, if they called him home. Wouldn't he? He'd have to.
We all would.
BUT OF COURSE, as we've all found out many times by now, just because a name is on one of those lists -- and my friend in Oklahoma City said he definitely heard Mike Trapasso's name on his television set the other night -- it doesn't mean that the guy is actually on the list.
Nothing to get too excited about.
It doesn't mean anybody's called, either way. It doesn't mean you're up for the job, or not.
It doesn't mean anything.
It means some guys at the paper put together a list.
It means the scenario would make sense (sometimes).
This one does.
Stillwater, Okla., doesn't sound like a dream destination, but this is college baseball, and this is (in capital letters) OKLAHOMA STATE.
One of the first things Trapasso ever said to me, when I walked up to him wearing an Iowa State hat, was, "I'm an old Big Eight guy." One who went to the College World Series twice, when the Cowboys were kings.
That has to have some tug on the heart.
But then, Trapasso's name isn't even at the top of the imaginary list. His old coach, the old legend, might like one more shot. And his old teammate, the old slugger Pete Incaviglia, college baseball's player of the century, has thrown his batting helmet into the ring. For a job like this, all the hot assistants and up-and-comers are in the hunt.
We've seen that happen here, when Trapasso beat out more than 70 other official applicants to win one of what could be college baseball's dream jobs.
That was only a few seasons ago.
And things seem to be pointed in the right direction, at last. Matt Inouye and Isaac Omura and Keahi Rawlins are just getting started.
And every time you talk to Trapasso, you can't help but believe:
The Rainbows could make it to regionals, again. Hawaii could get it going, again. Get everyone excited. Maybe even make a return trip to the promised land.
It happened before.
This could be that kind of school. This just might be that kind of job.
This could be home.
That's the best part about baseball. You're always going home.
FOR AT LEAST a fleeting second, you've got to dream, to feel that pull.
But here, the first steps of the arduous, painful process of rebuilding have already been taken. A lot of the hard stuff, the tough decisions, the dirty work is out of the way.
Now is when the fun begins.
So don't worry, Coach, when you see that phone message.
I only want to talk to you about telling your team, this team, what it was like to play in the College World Series, when the Cowboys were kings.
See the Columnists section for some past articles.
Kalani Simpson can be reached at ksimpson@starbulletin.com