Steady hand of Cannizaro has lifted Mississippi State
Andy Cannizaro is built like the Incredible Hulk.
His biceps bulge. His chest gives the impression that he might could bench press a school bus, and, like the giant, green Marvel Comics character, Mississippi State’s first-year head coach is probably someone you wouldn’t want to be around when he’s angry.
Good thing that rarely happens. “There is not a whole lot that gets me too over-the-top fired up or mad,” Cannizaro said. “I think sometimes, that probably gets my wife, Allison, aggravated that more things don’t get me fired up, whether it’s around the house or out in public or whatever. In general, it’s just a laid-back attitude.”
Cannizaro’s calm demeanor has been the backbone of a tumultuous MSU baseball season that remarkably now sees the Bulldogs only two wins away from the school’s 10th College World Series appearance. State faces LSU in a best-of-three Super Regional in Baton Rouge this weekend with a trip to college baseball’s biggest stage on the line.
Orchestrating the incredible run has been Cannizaro, who, as fate would have it, was an assistant coach at LSU for the two seasons prior to being hired at Mississippi State late last year. It’s a storybook tale in general for Cannizaro to get the chance to face his old club with a trip to Omaha on the line. How it has happened almost lifts that fairy tale to the stuff of legend.
This MSU team has been decimated by injuries. Somewhere in the neighborhood of a dozen Bulldogs have been hurt. Many of those were season-ending ailments. At one point just two weeks ago, Cannizaro claimed he had only six pitchers he could rely on, not counting several arms that got forced into unexpected, increased
roles this season.
There have been off-thefield troubles as well. Pitcher Ryan Cyr was dismissed from the team. Catcher Elih Marrero hasn’t been seen with the Bulldogs since February due to undisclosed, off-field reasons, though he remains listed on MSU’s roster.
Even Bulldogs that have played have often performed banged up. Hunter Stovall and Jake Mangum, both key members of State’s lineup, have suffered broken hands this season.
Yet through all the madness, there has been the steadying hand of Cannizaro. The characteristics he has displayed through the tough times this year are exactly why former MSU head coach and current athletic director John Cohen went out and hired Cannizaro in the first place.
“He just has the perfect temperament,” Cohen said of Cannizaro. “He’s such a positive person and does a great job of communicating with our players and working well with our staff.”
Cohen, who himself led the Bulldogs to the College World Series, including the school’s best-ever finish in 2013, has watched in admiration at his first big hire. Cohen, who often displayed a fiery side between the lines, has enjoyed watching Cannizaro’s measured way of doing things.
“I think it’s safe to say Andy is much more patient than I am,” Cohen said. “I think he just has a different vantage point. It’s kind of a fresher vantage point.” It’s not that Cannizaro’s blood can’t boil from time to time. Like every coach, Cannizaro sometimes has calls go against him. He’s not opposed to voicing his displeasure in those instances.
He just has his own style of doing it.
“Have there been several times this year where I wanted to go ballistic on the mound or on the field? Yeah,” Cannizaro said. “Then, the other part of me is thinking, ‘I want to go crazy on this first-base umpire right now, but he’s going to be behind the plate tomorrow. The last thing I want to do is get this guy mad at me right now.’
“I’ve gone out there several times and had some really good conversations with guys where I wanted to go crazy, but I’ve just kept it really calm and let them know, ‘Hey, from my perspective, you definitely missed the call right there. I’m not going to go crazy, but after the game, put the video on. Watch it and I’m pretty sure you’re going to see that I’m right, but let’s just lock in right now. Let’s maintain our concentration. Both teams are fighting. Have a great day and I’ll see you behind the plate tomorrow.’ It’s just trying to keep the peace man. I try not to make anybody too upset, because I know they’re going to have a chance to impact the rest of the weekend.”
Cannizaro’s patience comes as no surprise. That same patience has fueled the Bulldogs all season long, even when things have gotten crazy.
“We’ve all worked together,” MSU pitcher Konnor Pilkington said. “(Cannizaro) has worked with us and we’ve worked with him. With all the injuries and stuff off the field, and the team with how shorthanded we’ve been, especially pitching-wise, coach Cannizaro has handled it really well. I love him to death and I know he pours his heart into this team. There have been a lot of ups and downs, but I feel like he has dealt with them really well and handled his business like a head coach should.”
Now, Cannizaro’s demeanor could reap its biggest reward yet. It has guided the Bulldogs straight to Baton Rouge for what is sure to be a can’t-miss weekend between a pair of Southeastern Conference foes.
“It’s going to be LSU and Mississippi State and it’s going to be a heavyweight title fight,” Cannizaro said. “Why not? If you’re going to go to Omaha, why not try and go through
LSU? They’re a program that is accustomed to going there. So is Mississippi State. So let’s go play, let the best team win two (games) and let’s see who is standing on Sunday or Monday.”
Win, lose or draw, it’s a safe bet Cannizaro will handle it in stride. He’ll surely celebrate if the Bulldogs are victorious. He’ll likely tip his hat to the Tigers if MSU goes down in defeat.
No matter how much he may want to pull his hair out in agony or yell and scream in jubilation, he’ll almost assuredly keep it toned down. It’s just how he’s wired to be.
“I always said if I ever got the opportunity to be a head coach, I was going to just do it the way I’ve always done things,” Cannizaro said. “I think my personality, by nature, is just kind of relaxed and easy-going.”