USA Baseball mourns the loss of baseball legend J. Stanley “Skip” Bertman, who passed away Friday at the age of 88. Bertman had a formative impact on USA Baseball’s early Olympic success, serving as the pitching coach for the 1988 Olympic Team that won the organization’s first Olympic gold medal, and later returning as the manager of the bronze-medal-winning 1996 Olympic Team.
“To say that Skip Bertman was a game changer in our sport would be an understatement,” said Executive Director/CEO Paul Seiler. “It is a very short list of individuals who affected and elevated our sport both domestically and around the world to such a degree, and Skip is at the top of that group. USA Baseball was the beneficiary of having him coach and manage numerous national teams, and we are proud to call him an alum. If there is a Mount Rushmore of college coaches, Skip is on it. We join in mourning his passing, but also celebrate such a great ambassador of our game.”
Bertman first made his mark with Team USA in Seoul, serving as pitching coach for the 1988 Olympic Team that captured gold. He returned to the USA Baseball national team coaching ranks in 1995 as manager of the Collegiate National Team, guiding the squad to a 36-6 record over the summer, including a win in the 24th USA vs. Japan Collegiate All-Star Series and a sweep through the National Baseball Congress World Series. Building on that success, Bertman was named manager of the 1996 Olympic Team in Atlanta, where Team USA won the bronze medal.
Beyond his work with USA Baseball, Bertman built one of the most decorated coaching careers in the history of the college game at LSU. Over 18 seasons, he compiled an 870-330-3 (.724) record, leading the Tigers to five national championships, 11 College World Series berths, and seven SEC titles. He is one of only three coaches in NCAA Division I history to win five College World Series titles, and he was named National Coach of the Year six times: 1986, 1991, 1993, 1996, 1997, and 2000. Bertman was inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame as part of its inaugural class in 2006.
USA Baseball offers its deepest condolences to Bertman’s family, friends, and the countless players and coaches he impacted throughout his career.
