(06-09-2018 02:25 PM)Owl1998 Wrote:  

(06-09-2018 02:16 PM)Owl Is In Chains Wrote:  After contemplating things for a while, my preference for the next baseball coach is Jose Cruz, Jr. While I have many reasons for this, I will provide a few.

First, there are not a lot of people out there who know more about baseball. There is a ton of baseball knowledge in his family. Also, in his current job for the MLB Player's Association, part of his responsibilities is mentoring of young players, indicating communication skills. He has recruiting connections across the US and Canada, and I believe that kids would want to play for him. He is a teacher and has worked with big name hitting coaches from MLB. He also has media training and has worked for ESPN. Another key item is that he is ultra-competitive. He will work tirelessly for baseball to be successful. I know some people have concerns about how hard ex-MLB guys are willing to work in coaching.

Cruz has not coached in college, which I expect to be a red flag for people who want an experienced coach. I also have seen on this board people satisfied that one year as an assistant would be adequate experience. Quite honestly, I don't know how much difference that makes. If you break down all of the responsibilities of being a successful coach, Cruz checks all of the boxes, so I have zero concerns that he has not coached in college previously.

Finally, the guy loves Rice and he wants Rice baseball to be a power. He came back to finish his degree after a long successful career in MLB. I am always impressed by guys who don't need to finish the degree, but return to the classroom to do so, as I think it says something about their character. He would not be using this job as a stepping stone.

That last part....I agree. I also think Lance is the same way. He wouldn’t be using this as a stepping stone and he wants Rice to be a power again.

I agree Jose has had a certain amount of experience coaching without actually coaching at the high school or college level. My biggest concern with him being named head coach is that two of his sons will not only be on the team, but be prominent players on the team. That could create an awkward situation.