Oklahoma State University Athletics
Gautreaux Sets Sights on College World Series
June 21, 1999 | Cowboy Baseball
April 15, 1999
After leading Grayson Community College to the Junior College World Series last year, Carlos Gautreaux has one goal for this year: to play in the College World Series.
"I came to OSU to play in the College World Series. I knew we would have a good team, no matter what. People would respect us. I kind of wanted to go back home, but I had been away for a while, so it was no big deal for me not to be home," Gautreaux said.
Even though he claims that the move to Oklahoma was no big deal, the Abbeville, La. native does miss his family, especially his father, Paul.
"My dad is the reason why I play. I really play for my dad. He's not a guy that really shows how much he cares, but you know it," Gautreaux said. "And he knows I know it."
In fact, he attributes his start in baseball to his father and the rest of his family, as well as his little league coach Harold Mire.
"I owe a lot to my dad and my upbringing. We were really into sports. My older brothers, Chris (34), Nick (31) were all into sports. They were good athletes in high school, mostly in football," Gautreaux said. "When I was little, I could name quarterbacks from every team and players from every team and I was four or five years old. I can't tell you a summer that I've had off in the last 15 years. I've played baseball constantly since I was five years old."
Gautreaux also names his summer league coach Jason Castro as being instrumental in his baseball training.
"Jason was a big influence. He played Division I baseball and really taught me a lot about the game. He had a real no-nonsense attitude about coming out and playing," Gautreaux said.
Constant practice certainly paid off for Gautreaux. His North Vermilion High School team was the state runner-up in 1995 and the state champions in 1994. However, baseball was not the only sport that Gautreaux excelled at in high school. He was a four-sport star, lettering in baseball, basketball, football, and track.
His high school performance led him to Grayson Community College in Denison, Texas, where he was a two-year starter under Coach Tim Tadlock. He was an all-conference selection selection on both 1997 and 1998. He batted .433 with 31 stolen bases in 1998. In 1997, he batted .340 with 19 stolen bases. In 1998, he led his team to the Junior College World Series.
"That was a great experience for me," Gautreaux said. "Nothing could separate the guys that we had on that team. Everybody really cared for each other and it y was really special. We were all very close. We were such a tight-knit group and it really felt good to go with those guys. We knew that we had the talent to do it, and we went out and did it. We did it for our coach. We wanted to make Coach proud."
Like his team at Grayson, Gautreaux's teammates at Oklahoma State are also very close.
"It's really getting there. Everybody can really get on each other a lot and we're really getting close. We can yell at each other and it's not personal. We're just trying to make each other better. Coach Holliday has been a big part of it lately. We can see that he's having fun out there when we're winning. He's having fun, we're having fun, and we're really becoming close," Gautreaux said. "A lot of people think that we're not that good right now. But with the guys that we have pitching, we have a chance every day to win. We are getting there."
Gautreaux's team-based attitude has helped him make the transition to designated hitter after being sidelined with a partially torn hamstring early in the season.
"If that's where Coach thinks that I'm best suited to help the team win, that's fine. I'm not complaining. It's no big deal. The only bad thing about it is that I sit on the bench and I don't get to run out a lot and I get really tight," Gautreaux said. "I'd love to be playing the field too, and I'm sure that time will come. Playing DH has given me a chance to get my legs better and come around and be 100 percent again. I think that DH is really a blessing in disguise, to tell you the truth. It's being in the lineup and we're winning, so that's fine."
Now that he is back in the lineup, Gautreaux has no plans to miss any more games.
"It was frustrating be Sing out and missing 17 games. I'm not a guy that likes to stay inside and do nothing. That's a big part of my game, being able to run a little bit," Gautreaux said. "That just took a lot away from me and it was very frustrating watching us go through a struggling time, especially in the two conference series (Texas A&M and Baylor). That was the worst part, the two conference series that I missed and not being able to contribute."
"I told Coach Holliday that he was going to have to find a way to take me out of the lineup, because once he put me in, I wasn't coming out. I'm just going to play hard every day," Gautreaux said. "It's good to see that I can go out and run a little bit and not have to worry about not running full speed because I will hurt myself. I can get it up to full speed and not worry about hurting something. I'm just glad that we're winning again and I can contribute to the success of the team."
To Gautreaux, success means a chance to play in Omaha at the 1999 College World Series, and he is doing his part to contribute.
"We have to put each game into perspective. These guys really believe it, but we can't sit here and talk about it. We have to do out and do it. We have to play Friday and win Friday. We can't go to Kansas and win two-out-of-three. We have to go to Kansas and win three-out-of-three," Gautreaux said. "If we host a regional, we host a regional. If we don't we don't. It doesn't matter when we play, where we play, or who we play. We have to beat the best to be the best. Whatever we have to do, we just have to take care of our business and take what's ahead of us one day at a time and continue to work hard."
by Blythe McCarty
OSU Media Relations
