By RON HIGGINS, Journal Sports
BATON ROUGE — North Carolina State transfer third baseman Tommy White’s first LSU-at bat in last year’s opener vs. Western Michigan was a first-inning RBI single driving in Dylan Crews.
A minute later as he dove back to first base on a pickoff attempt, White’s right shoulder popped out of its socket.
White’s last at-bat of the Tigers’ season was a ninth-inning double scoring Crews in Omaha in the Tigers’ College World Series national championship-clinching rout of Florida.
Then, when LSU reliever Gavin Guidry recorded the game-winning strikeout to start the celebratory dogpile on the mound, somewhere in that pyramid of human happiness White’s shoulder popped out again.
“It popped out probably 20 times throughout the year,” White said recently just before the start of 2024 preseason practice. “It was definitely a struggle throughout the year and it’s something I played through.”
Played through? That sounds like pain management.
White was more about pain infliction on opposing pitching, earning consensus first-team All-American honors after hitting .374 (102-for-273) with 24 doubles, 24 homers and 64 runs scored. He finished No. 1 in the nation in RBIs (105), No. 3 in total bases (198), and No. 4 in RBIs per game (1.59).
Even with a bum shoulder, the 6-foot, 236-pound Tampa, Fla. native nicknamed “Tommy Tanks” did such things as launching a game-winning grand slam vs. Ole Miss, providing game-winning RBIs for all three LSU wins in one week in April, and hitting .363 vs. Kentucky in the Super Regional and .351 in the College World Series when he was named to the all-tournament team.
“He’s a special dude,” LSU third-year head coach Jay Johnson said of White. “His competitive nature is second to none. When he steps in the batter’s box, it’s something else. It wasn’t just all the RBIs. It was always when we needed it.”
None bigger than White’s first pitch two-run 11th inning walk-off homer off Wake Forest reliever Camden Minacci for a 2-0 College World Series win that advanced the Tigers to the championship series.
“I played with him and against him growing up my whole life,” White said of fellow Tampa native Minacci. “I watched video of him in our first (CWS) game, and he threw nothing but fastballs.
“I think he’s going to throw heat, but he throws a slider. I was going to swing at the first pitch no matter what. I swung as hard as I could and got it. From there, I just blacked out. I didn’t feel anything.
“Omaha was the toughest thing I’ve ever been a part of on the baseball field. It was the most fun I’ve ever had.”
Long before he slammed the second biggest walk-off homer in LSU’s history – only topped by Warren Morris’ two-out, bottom-of-the-ninth two-run homer vs. Miami to win the 1996 national title – White had laid the groundwork for being one of the Tigers’ all-time cult heroes.
The waterfall of gold chains cascading around his neck, his free-flowing mullet and beard, his huge left forearm tattoo, his eye black applied like war paint, his angry scowls as he stepped into the batters’ box and the intensity of his swings made him a favorite of all ages.
So much so that a popular Halloween costume in Baton Rouge last October was kids dressing as White in an LSU uniform, complete with chains, eye black, and a tattoo.
“It’s awesome,” said White, who has donated $30,000 of his NIL money in the last two years to Empower 225, a Baton Rouge organization helping at-risk youths through educational support, life skills training, career preparedness, housing, and mentorship. “I definitely have a unique look on the field and for kids to embrace that. It warms my heart.”
White certainly needed his spirits lifted around trick-or-treat time. After he underwent shoulder surgery just after the CWS to repair his torn labrum, he didn’t participate in fall practice.
“I’ve never been in that situation of having to watch baseball,” White said. “It was the hardest thing because I’d always been out there playing.
“I always loved baseball, but I discovered (while sitting out) I love baseball more than I thought I did. I found a new love for the game. Now, I know I really, really love it. It’s something I want to do the rest of my life.”
He’ll likely get that chance. With a .368 batting average, 51 homers, 36 doubles, and 179 RBIs in 121 college games so far, White is listed by MLB.com as the seventh-best pro prospect in this season’s draft class.
It may be difficult for White to reach last season’s RBI total this year.
Crews, who was second nationally in on-base percentage in 2023 and who ended his career with a reached base streak of 75 games, batted a spot ahead of White in the lineup. The table was always set for White, who believes last year’s offense was more than just he and Crews.
“(Cade) Beloso, (Gavin) Dugas, all the guys got on base, and everybody cashed in,” White said. “Every single guy that’s going to be out there (this season) can do exactly what was done last year.
“The big thing is every out, every pitch matters. That’s what I learned in Omaha. Every pitch we were just so locked in, so focused. If we can be like that (this season) all year because we have that experience, it’ll be pretty dangerous.”
Despite White’s off-season surgery, Johnson expects White to come out swinging when the Tigers open the 2024 season vs. VMI on Feb. 16 in Alex Box Stadium.
“He missed the entire fall, but he kept his body in a great spot and took an exceptional step in leadership during that time,” Johnson said of White. “I’m super proud of Tommy for that.
“He has rehabbed in a way where he’s ready to go. The way he looks right now, you wouldn’t know he didn’t take an at-bat for six months. He’s just so complete.”
White, who said he’s concentrating on being a more selective hitter by swinging only at pitches he can drive, is excited to finally play healthy.
“I was battling adversity all last year,” he said. “Now that I’m healed and fixed up, it should be fun.”
Contact Ron at ronhigginsmedia@gmail.com