In this person’s comment, they also stated that “there are different ways to be a successful coach” and that I “don’t have the right to post that he (My high school coach) did things the wrong way”. They then follow later by stating “I wouldn’t publicly criticize anyone because you have no credibility”. Okay, with that being said, I have been playing this game for 20 years now, having been coached by the best and the worst, and everywhere in between. So I would like to think I have a lot of credibility seeing that I’ve had the fortunate opportunity to be coached by scores of coaches. It could be argued that my high school coach be placed in the upper 50 percentile of all the coaches in the land, but is that why you are reading my blog, to learn about mediocre coaching at best? No. You are reading because I played for one of the best college baseball programs ever. You are reading because I have something to offer that is a rarity in the baseball and blog world. And probably the biggest reason you are reading my blog is because you have realized that something is missing in the equation to making your kid the ultimate ballplayer.
Lets go into more detail about there being “different ways to be a successful coach and dealing with situations differently”. Indeed there are different ways to relatively succeed in the game of baseball. However, throughout my 20- year career, there was only one way that I found to be the most successful. So this person says there are different ways, but why wouldn’t any sane person strive to find the ultimate way?? I recently read the book “The Yankee Years”, the story of Joe Torre’s coaching career with the Yankees. I will be the first to tell you that I am not a Yankees fan, however EVERYONE should read this book!! It tells the great story about an underdog manager coaching a young, committed team to 3 out of 4 World Series, and how over time, the front office destroyed the dynasty that Torre and Steinbrenner built by continuously signing the top players in the league, never allowing for the same chemistry to form as they had the first 4 years of Torre’s career with the Yankees. Unfortunately, the second half of Torres 12- year stint with the Yankees consisted of a team with too many colliding egos, and too much negative attention and energy when steroids became the main focus in baseball. However, while I am reading this amazing tale, I can’t help but notice how similar Torre ran his team to that of Fullerton. And then it hit me!! There is something that all great coaches have in common. Then remembering back to when I read one of the many John Wooden books on coaching, all these legendary coaches had the same hard- nosed philosophy and structure to guarantee success. For all who don’t know who this hero is, John Wooden won 10 of 12 NCAA Basketball Championships with UCLA throughout the 60’s and 70’s and is the greatest basketball coach of all time. All of these greats had similar principles and morals and stuck with them even through the toughest of scenarios. They all gave consequences to players for breaking rules. The main difference in why Torre took longer to show his true coaching ability than John Wooden, Auggie Garrido, or George Horton is because he was at the professional level. It is much more difficult to take this kind of philosophy to men who get paid millions of dollars. It is much easier at the collegiate level to succeed because you are dealing with kids whom you are molding into men. You have the rare opportunity to take a raw athlete and transform them into a man, who will succeed at the next level. It is easier to rid a team of any egos with teenagers than with men who have already naturally developed an ego. However, with the right opportunity, Torre has proven that this sort of structure can succeed with flying colors even at the professional level.
Why do you think it is that when I spoke with Auggie Garrido about a coaching job a week before playoffs, he A. even gave me the time of day to speak with him and B. said he would definitely consider me for the volunteer assistant job if it becomes open??? (At this point it doesn’t look promising, as the current volunteer has still not found a job.) Here’s kind of how the conversation went… I introduced myself and he makes a comment on the Fullerton polo I was wearing, asking if “Fullerton gave you guys those shirts (world series polos) or if they were too cheap to get em for you?” He was referring to how compared to Fullerton, Texas has a lot more money. The proof was that I was standing in the one of the nicest locker rooms I have ever seen. I replied “they gave ‘em to us in Omaha”. He laughed and said, “that’s typical”. I then proceeded to ask about the volunteer position and he said to call him a few weeks after the season. Finishing up our short but sweet conversation, he told me something to the extent that “at least he doesn’t have to inquire as to if I know the game of baseball”. He didn’t even need to find out about my qualifications to even be considered for the job. All he knew is that I played for Fullerton, and that simple fact was good enough for him!!! And if it was good enough to be considered a coaching job under the all- time winning D1 college head coach, then I am pretty sure it is credible enough to write this blog.
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