AUBURN, Ala. – Spring semester has ended but class is still in session for Auburn's baseball team, with professors Donaldson, Smoltz and Jackson providing virtual instruction.
Auburn baseball greats Bo Jackson and Josh Donaldson, along with Hall of Famer John Smoltz, shared stories, offered advice and answered questions from coaches and student-athletes this week via videoconference.
"These guys want to give back and they want to invest in our players," Thompson said Friday after a Zoom doubleheader featuring Donaldson, the 2015 American League MVP, and Smoltz, the 1996 National League Cy Young Award winner. "Josh and John both woke up today wanting to spend time, and wanting to make a difference for us. That's just another way of how great those guys are."
Two days earlier, Jackson, the 1985 Heisman Trophy winner and arguably the most gifted athlete of all time, talked about the importance of the mental aspects of sports.
"The humility, and how he cared about his teammates, and how he respected his coaches," Thompson said.
Auburn legend Bo Jackson began an All-Star week of speakers for the Tigers' baseball team
Donaldson, who played for Auburn from 2005-07, spent three seasons in the minor leagues before making his MLB debut, only to be sent back to the minors for two more seasons.
Recalled to the big leagues at the start of 2012, Donaldson was again demoted to the minors for much of the season.
"It was my fault, so I've got to do better," Donaldson told the Tigers, recounting his journey, and how his mentality changed when he advanced for the third time to MLB. "I'm not going to stop until I figure it out. I don't care how many times I get sent down. When my time gets called again, I'm going to be the guy."
Donaldson returned to the majors at the end of the 2012 season where he's remained ever since, winning the 2015 MVP with Toronto and the 2019 NL Comeback Player of the Year Award with Atlanta before signing a four-year, $92 million contract with Minnesota in January.
Josh Donaldson signed with the Minnesota Twins in January
Both Donaldson and Smoltz emphasized the significance of preparation, even as they became All-Stars.
"Understanding how to prep, having intentful practices," Donaldson said. "If you take the mental side of practice out, we're all going through the motions.
"You have to be a step ahead. You have to always be thinking about what it is I'm trying to get better at or what I'm trying to achieve at the moment. To be put into an environment where you're not scared to fail. If you're not failing at some point, then you're not pushing yourself enough."
"When you're on the field, you want your athletic ability to just take over," said Smoltz, who was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2015, his first year of eligibility. "You don't want your computer in your brain to be thinking about where your elbow is, or where your foot is as you land to hit a baseball.
"You have to have created a disciplined approach so that when you get in the game it becomes second nature.
John Smoltz is the only pitcher in MLB history to record at least 200 wins and 150 saves. Courtesy: Brad Davis/USA Today Sports
"I had a coach who told me, 'If you ever think you've arrived, you're in trouble. If you ever become complacent, you're done.'
"What are you good at? Work at and perfect what you're good at. When you've perfected that, move on to what you're mediocre at."
In a sport where even the best hitters fail seven of 10 times, Donaldson said the great ones remain confident.
"The guys that all of us enjoy watching, there's never a doubt in their mind," Donaldson said. "And when the best of the best get put on the mound, that's an opportunity for us to see where we're at, and to be challenged.
"If you can't believe in yourself, how can you expect someone else to believe in you?"
Between sips of coffee, Donaldson displayed his confidence when Auburn pitcher Jack Owen asked how a starting pitcher could have success against him.
"To get me out personally three times," he said, pausing to think it over, then drawing laughs with his response. "I don't want to think that you could get me out three times."
"You've got to be able to think big things as an athlete," Smoltz said. "If you're not, you're shortchanging yourself."
Smoltz encouraged Auburn's pitchers to maintain what he called "an inner cockiness" and consistent demeanor, even when success is elusive.
"You're never going to know what's going on with me, in my facial features, in my body language, even if I hang a slider," he said. "It's okay to get mad. What do you do with that anger? Does it make you try harder and throw harder? That's no good. Does it make you refine and focus more? That's good."
Failure, says Smoltz, led to his greatest achievements during his 21-season career.
"Those are the moments for growth," he said. "I believe you either run from it or run towards it.
"I'm a firm believer that my greatest lessons in life, they were with my biggest failures, because it motivated me to be better, motivated me to do things that I probably would not have done had I not experienced a 2-11 first-half season, or my first closing game giving up six or seven runs in two-thirds of an inning. All those things molded me into the player I became."
After a question from Auburn shortstop Ryan Bliss about the difference between college and professional locker rooms, Donaldson described 15-hour bus rides he made in the minor leagues, and urged players with big league dreams not to focus on their statistics, calling that "a trap."
"It's about you going out there and competing to win," he said. "You go out there and compete to win, your ability, your talent's going to show up to where, if your team wins, you're going to have success in part of that.
"My focuses are how locked in was I on that at-bat, how hard did I hit the ball? Was I swinging at pitches in the strike zone? Batting average and number of home runs? Those numbers are for the fans, those aren't for you."
Thompson concluded each session by asking the guest lecturers to share three bests: best teammate, best moment and best advice.
"Don't be afraid to ask questions," Smoltz said. "That's how you learn."
Donaldson credited his mother for motivating him to hit more baseballs into a backyard net, swim more laps, and run more miles in their neighborhood.
"'There's someone else out there who's working harder than you today,'" she told him. "She knew that would get in my craw a little bit and make me want to go harder."
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— Jeff Shearer (@jeff_shearer) November 30, 2019
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer