The news traveled fast about the death of Augie Garrido on Thursday. The pain and disbelief of his passing was felt by thousands, including former UT basketball coach, Rick Barnes,"just many fond memories of Augie". Barnes commented on Garrido from Dallas where Barnes' Tennessee Vols are preparing for their NCAA Tournament 1st round game.
The memories of this man are countless and priceless, but the final memories are cherished, too.
Including text messages,"the last text he sent me was, I'm thankful for our friendship", said current Texas baseball head coach, David Pierce.
Oh, Augie Garrido was friends with everybody, he simply had a way with connecting with everyone. Current UT baseball Director of Operations, Drew Bishop said,"whether it was baseball or something outside of baseball, that was his passion helping people", Bishop played for and worked for Garrido.
The winningest coach in college baseball history was all about relationships. Frank Anderson, a former pitching coach at Texas recalled how Augie welcomed him to Texas.
"I was really blown away by the relationships he has with his players and my family"
Several of Garrido's former players spoke loud and clear about their coach. Some understandably too emotional, but a few were able to fight back the tears, like former UT pitcher Adrian Alaniz who is the head baseball coach at Sinton High School. Alaniz said,"he (Garrido) was one of those people who made baseball better when he was around".
The praise for Garrido continued with former Longhorn centerfielder, Drew Stubbs,"he's so charming that people come to him and he always had the right things to say". Pierce added, "he (Garrido) was always refreshing with no arrogance"
The impact of Augie's passing extended outside of the state of Texas including Nashville, Tennessee where Shaka Smart and UT men's basketball team is preparing for the NCAA Tournament. Shaka and Garrido's careers overlapped by one year. Smart said he and Augie had countless deep conversations and said one of Garrido's passions was basketball.
"Augie was as good as getting his guys to see the light, we're going to miss him a lot".
Barnes also added to the magnitude of Garrido's ability to say the right things at the right time as he did with his own teams, "when things weren't going well, he was one of those guys like Yoda. He always had a little something he could tell ya".
Garrido always had that ability to hold court, keep a random group of people engaged in a conversation and instill humor. His wisdom imparted on people about baseball and in life was priceless.
Rest in peace, Augie. It was an honor for all of us to know you...Legends never die!