Thanks for the memories, Jack

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Jack Leggett imagined how it would end at Clemson, with a tip of the cap and a wave to the crowd, thanks for the memories.
It didn’t, and that probably pains him, because after 24 seasons, 22 as head baseball coach, Clemson owed him more than an unceremonious dismissal.
Leggett would not complain Friday when he met five reporters before leaving with his wife on an unplanned vacation, but there’s sufficient reason for him to wonder how his Hall of Fame career took this ugly turn.
Obviously disappointed, he was proud of what Clemson accomplished in his time. Only a handful of coaches in college baseball have a richer resume. Though the record dipped the past three seasons, his teams never lost more games than they won, and this season – for the 21st time – returned to the NCAA Tournament.
By most any standard Leggett was at the top of the profession, which early last year he was inducted into the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
Leggett said he regretted nothing, and that what meant more to him than any of the nearly 1,000 victories at Clemson were the people he’s met along the way – most importantly the players and former players, staff, colleagues and fans.
He was proudest of doing it “the right way,” without a shred of scandal. His players were students first, and they played with a passion that emulated their coach. Clemson teams were entertaining, and he helped prepare a number of players for successful professional careers. Many of the men he mentored have gone on to extraordinarily successful careers including two with teams in this year’s College World Series.
And the fans embraced it all, investing their passion and support for a program considered to be one of the best in the nation. A survey released Friday pegged Clemson as the seventh most successful program in the country over the past decade.
So imagine stomaching the fact that the next guy may benefit from Leggett’s sweat equity. Doug Kingsmore’s name may be on the stadium, but Jack Leggett had a hand in building it, from the grass and configuration of the field to the Cajun Café, to the floors and furniture in the new $9 million operations facility.
Leggett wishes Clemson baseball good fortune because of his personal investment in the program and the fact that he recruited many of the players that will comprise the 2016 team. If he allowed his heart to break, it would be because his team knew what he’d been facing since an acrimonious meeting with athletic administrators the previously year and felt responsible for the outcome, but there was probably nothing more to be done.
In the days following the announcement of his dismissal, Leggett worked through his emotions by fielding hundreds of calls, texts and email messages. A public statement released by Clemson didn’t seem sufficient, which was why he was willing to agree to more fully explain himself, to offer extended thanks and to answer questions about his future.
A driven competitor, he lived for the game. If his team won, he started thinking about the next game. After a loss he worried about what he might have done differently to win. Sleep often eluded him, and he joked about those “pillow-pounders.” Even after a good run in Omaha, he would fret over what it would take to finish the next time. The morning after a run to the semifinals in 2010 he was back on the field in Clemson tutoring campers.
Now, he doesn’t know if there’ll be a next time.
“What do you do next?”
Popular among his coaching colleagues at Clemson, he hoped to again feel inconspicuous walking into Death Valley or Littlejohn, places he dearly loves to watch men’s and women’s teams he deeply respects. Leggett and his wife have a home nearby on the lake, and in the immediate aftermath they don’t intend to abandon the community or the school.
Yet, knowing him, it’s hard to imagine him not long from the field, plotting to kick another opponent’s butt, then tip his cap and wave to the crowd.
Thanks for the memories, Jack.

American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame, Clemson, Jack Leggett, Baseball, Feature 

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Thanks for the memories, Jack
Source: The Clemson Insider