Huston and Troy will both be on the UT baseball coaching staff for the 2020 season. My thoughts? Fucking awesome. Name me another school who has two assistant coaches on the staff with a combined 26 years in The Big Show (Huston and Troy each having played 13 seasons). I’ll wait…
You don’t last 13 seasons in the MLB by being an average player either. And these guys were far from average.
Troy was drafted in the 1st round by the Colorado Rockies in 2005 and became a 5-time all-star, 2-time Gold Glove, 2-time Silver Slugger and accumulated a 44.2 career WAR. He could easily have been a Hall of Famer had his career not been slowed down by injuries.
As for Huston, he is statistically one of the best collegiate closers of all time. He ranks in the top 20 for career saves (41), has the fewest hits allowed per nine innings (5.46) and was an All-American all three years he played for Texas. Of course, he was also the key factor in Texas bringing home the College World Series in 2002.
He went on to be selected with the 40th pick in the 2004 MLB Draft by the Oakland Athletics and got off to a hot start, winning the 2005 AL Rookie of the Year award. When it was all said and done, he pitched in 668 major league games, amassing 324 career saves, and was a two-time All-Star.
Huston also had one of the all-time Texas HS football State Championship games against Cedric Benson in 2000, when Westlake squared off against Midland Lee. In that game Cedric ran for 255 and 5 TD, beating Westlake 33-21. Huston though was an absolute warrior and quite frankly the ONLY person on Westlake who could tackle Cedric, putting up 17 tackles as a free safety. Pretty deep track stat but I still remember watching this game and to me it will always stand out as one of the greatest games I ever watched live. The footage is shitty but here’s a clip from the actual game (Huston #7):
The best part about Huston and Troy joining the staff is they aren’t coming to coach because they need the money. These guys have both racked up over $50 million playing in MLB. Which if I’m doing the math correctly, is about $50 more million than you or I have racked up. I don’t even think assistant student coaches make money?
This is strictly about these guys having a passion for coaching, learning and wanting to see Longhorn baseball turn the ship around.
After not even making the Big 12 tournament last year, Head Coach David Pierce has been on a mission this offseason to make some drastic changes. Bringing Troy in was the first one and now hes got Huston. Here is what Coach Pierce had to say about the acquisition:
“Huston Street has a passion for The University of Texas, especially Texas Baseball, and will be an asset for the program in many capacities during the 2020 season.”
“Obviously Huston has exhausted his eligibility, but he is planning to return to campus to complete his degree and give back to the program that he helped win a National Championship. He loves competition, has so much to offer, and his presence will be awesome for our players. The bottom line is he’s a winner.”
No better way to turn around a program, while also getting players and fans excited for the upcoming season than bringing in two legends/MLB All Stars. I don’t think there is a soul in Austin, Texas who would disagree.
PS: How about Huston and UT making this announcement 16 days prior to Texas football kickoff. Coincidence, I think not:
Add Comment