Trey Hodges is working on the next chapter in his life. He lives in Lafayette, where he’s an insurance salesman and financial planner for Northwestern Mutual.
But 15 years ago, he was part of one of the best teams in LSU baseball history.
“[The 2000 season] is one of those moments—you really and truly can’t put a price on it, and you can’t replace it” says Hodges, who was named Most Outstanding Player by the College World Series that year. At the time, he had returned from a bicep injury in his throwing arm. He says it was rewarding to come back and fight for his team.
Skip Bertman, then LSU’s baseball coach, always pushed the guys to be better.
“He would always put together these motivational videos,” Hodges says. “The morning of the championship game, he showed us this video. [After watching it,] I remember thinking, I didn’t want to walk out the door. I wanted to run through the wall.”
One eerie incident that season occurred during a pre-game ceremony at the College World Series. Hodges had a case of déjà vu that he never forgets.
“I remember sitting in the stands, and I looked next to me at [outfielder] Jeremy Witten,” he says. “I realized I had dreamed this. I remembered the colors of the seats, the particular location of the stadium, the sounds, smells and lights. It was pretty incredible how that happened.”
The championship game against Stanford wasn’t an easy victory for the Tigers, either. Hodges says the team had its back against the wall, and infielder Blair Barbier gave the guys a memorable pep talk during the eighth inning.
“[Barbier] gave us this wake-up call, and most of it can’t be repeated,” Hodges says. “After he got done undressing us verbally, he realized he was at bat, leading off the inning. He went up and had one of the best at-bats in LSU history. He battled off two strikes and then had a home run. Later on, he said, ‘Oh my God, I just opened my big mouth; then I’ve got to go do something.”
To this day, players from the 2000 team still hang out, but they aren’t just reliving memories. They talk about hunting, fishing and their jobs.
“We’re in the real world now,” he says. “A few of us are still playing professionally. We’ll talk about the current team or what not, but we’ve turned the page. We’re fans now. I’m not [TV character] Al Bundy, constantly talking about my fourth-down-and-one situation. Those days are gone. It’s time for somebody else to have some fun.”
In the MLB
After college, Hodges had a brief stint in the majors, playing for the Atlanta Braves with greats like pitcher Greg Maddux.
Though Hodges’ major league career would be cut short due to an injury in his index finger, he says the experience was eye-opening.
“Nothing prepares you for the big leagues,” he says. “I remember my first outing in Atlanta. In the sixth inning, I came out. The lights were brighter. The crowd was bigger. Major-league baseball is a grown man’s sport. You have to be the best of the best. The ‘aha’ moment for me was being there thinking, ‘This is it. There’s nowhere else to go.’ It’s an overwhelming, breathtaking feeling.”
