Leggett’s Magic Pants Come Through Again
March 26, 2022 | Baseball, Joel Coleman
Tanner Leggett had a secret weapon as he delivered Saturday’s walk-off blow.
STARKVILLE – It was Friday night when a frustrated Tanner Leggett decided something had to be done.
The Mississippi State shortstop felt he'd had a couple of bad at-bats of late. He finally came to a conclusion.
"I was talking to [assistant equipment manager Cooper Kinnaman]," Leggett said. "I was like, 'Man, I've got to change something up.'"
What did Leggett decide needed changing? His pants.
Now this is where the story really gets good. You already know how it ends: The Bulldogs put together a four-run ninth-inning rally to come from behind and beat Alabama 8-7 on Saturday to clinch the weekend series win. Leggett's walk-off RBI single was the blow that set off a Starkville celebration.
But here's the rest of the tale. Those pants Leggett wore on Saturday were the same exact pair he had on at the College World Series last year when he delivered the game-winning hit against Texas that sent the Bulldogs to the National Finals. More from Leggett:
"In Omaha, for some reason that I don't even know why, I started wearing long pants," Leggett explained after Saturday's triumph. (He's usually a short-pants guy.)
"It worked out for me," he continued. "Obviously, I got the hit [against Texas]. I kept these same exact pants I'm wearing right now at my house. I didn't even bring them back to the school for this whole year [since the College World Series.] Before Saturday's game, I went in my closet and found these pants. I took them to [Kinnaman] and I was like, 'Take special care of these. I need them.' Long story short, here I am. First game wearing them again since Omaha. Walk off."
Oh, but there's more…
"They hadn't even been washed since the College World Series," Leggett said. "I threw them to [Kinnaman]. They were stained brown. He was like, 'I'll try.' I was like, 'I'm wearing them regardless.' I thought I might have brown pants and a white jersey."
It wasn't obvious from afar, but not all the stains could be removed. If you'd have taken a close look at Leggett on Saturday, you could easily see the remnants of the Nebraska dirt from last summer.
But it wasn't just the stains remaining. The magic was left, too.
Leggett entered the game as a pinch runner in the eighth inning. He stayed in and came up for his first at-bat in the ninth with the chance to be the hero. With an 0-1 count and two outs, Leggett slapped an off-speed pitch into left field. Luke Hancock sprinted home from third base and the party was on at Dudy Noble Field.
It was the second day in a row in which the Bulldogs walked off the Crimson Tide after also doing so on Friday.
MSU has now won four games in a row, including three straight Southeastern Conference contests. A season that started out with some unsteadiness is seemingly beginning to stabilize.
Head coach Chris Lemonis and company have repeatedly noted over the last few months this 2022 team isn't the same one that dogpiled in the Midwest last June, but of late, it sure feels like this year's bunch has started to recapture some of the previous group's grit and toughness.
"We are," Leggett verified. "And we're all for each other and that's exactly where we were last year as a team. It obviously takes time. People sometimes get frustrated and this and that, but once you buy in to each other and buy in as a team, it's the culture here at Mississippi State. We play very hard, and we play for each other, the right way. I feel like that's what keeps us successful."
It also doesn't hurt to have a go-to pair of magic pants.
"And I will continue wearing them until they rip and turn brown," Leggett said.
