verdugo288

I like the airplane metaphor that I used to describe the ’90 and ’91 Teams.  The first two seasons were kind of like an airplane ride.  We took off on that thing in ’90.  It was quite a flight.  That plane did some pretty crazy shit.  We soared to unbelievable heights, dogpiling four times in one season!  Sometimes we looped in that plane.  It was quite an airshow we put on for all of the fans.  Sometimes that plane would run out of gas and we’d have to emergency land it on a freeway!  You never knew what that plane was gonna do!

Somehow that beat-up plane got us to our final destination.  For both of our first two seasons!  Right to the brink of the playoffs.  We just couldn’t close the deal.  In ’91 we were riding high and trying to bring it in and our landing gear got tangled up in some power lines and we crashed.  But it was a hell of a run in that plane, let me tell you.

In ’90 we proved we could play with ANYBODY.  In ’91 we proved we could win with everybody coming after us, and even still flirt with winning a Division Title.  One thing was for sure after two seasons.  We could WIN at this level.  But it wasn’t enough.  And we had a core group of guys that wanted to take it to the next level.  I’ll tell you something….winning a Division Title or even just reaching the playoffs in The 20th District is an incredible accomplishment.  And I had put my heart and soul into pulling it off, but the bottom line was….I still hadn’t done it. 

Our plane had crashed, right there in a remote desert.  We sifted through the wreckage, made sure everybody was okay (which we were), then we all shook hands and left to go fishing for the winter.  But I decided to stay in that desert after the crash.  I wanted to kind of wander around a bit…..and try to figure out what I really wanted to do.  I guess you could say it was time for me to do a little soul-searching.  And let me tell you….it was a lonely winter for me out in that desert…..

I had coached at Burbank High in ’90 and CV in ’91.  And the bottom line is this…. I wasn’t happy. 

For me, coaching at CV was great.  I had made good on my prediction to Coach Seibert in 1976 that “one day I’ll be coaching here.”

It was awesome to be able to “have done it.”…..

But life is kind of like the Wizard of Oz.  We all have ideas of where we want to go or what we want to do in this world….and then you arrive at that destination….and then you meet him….the man behind the curtain. 

“The Man Behind The Curtain” doesn’t neccessarily have to be a person.  It could be the job itself.  Or the environment.  Or whatever.  And I found that for me….coaching at the High School level wasn’t ME.  I wasn’t too impressed with “The Man Behind The Curtain.”

So who is ME?  I’m a cigarette-smoking, trash-talking, fierce-ass COMPETITOR FROM HELL!!!  That’s all I was before I ever coached at the High School level, and that’s all I’ll ever be.  And now that I had “arrived”….I couldn’t smoke….I couldn’t trash-talk….I couldn’t be competitive….and as a JV coach, I had no say as to WHO was on my GD Roster!  Hell, I couldn’t even ENJOY winning a game!!!!  The very things about me that GOT ME hired to coach at that level were stripped from me!!!!

The 1990 Team was fun because I had no ties with CV at the time.  The ’91 Team was not as fun because I HAD ties to CV.  And I’m sure I would have been a hell of a lot more fun to be around if I could just light up a smoke every once-in-a-while.  I managed around 40 games in ’91 and didn’t light up ONCE!!! 

That’s what I always loved about John Madden when he coached the Raiders.  A big, wound-up, red-haired guy smoking cigs on the sideline and kickin’ the shit out of everybody!!  I loved it!! 

Jim Leyland….cupping that cig in the dugout….calm as can be!!  I loved it!!!!

I certainly could have continued on that road if I wanted to.  But the bottom line is this….Coaching High School Baseball wasn’t fun for me.  Baseball is a game.  GAMES are meant to be fun.  I wanted to get back to the attitude we had in ’90 and have some GD FUN out there and kick some ass and not have to apologize to anyone for it!!!!!

THAT….my dear friends….is ME!!!!

All I really cared about was The Legion Team.  It was something that I could say was mine.  I couldn’t say that at the High School.  I felt I could do more for the guys we DID have on The Legion Team in terms of exposure to Scouts and the like.  And the High School had started to take an interest into WHO was playing on MY Legion Team.  I wasn’t with that.  I wanted to build the most feared Team in the 20th District.  And THAT was NEVER going to happen if I stayed at the High School.

I thought long and hard about it.  I never wanted to be a coaches coach.  I never was, and never would be.  Most of the “coaches” I hung out with at the time weren’t really my kind of people anyway.  So why was I seeking  their accolades?

I always was (with the exception of the entire year of 1991) a players coach.  The players always ran through brick walls for me.  And I honestly missed having that kind of relationship with my players.  I can’t kick people when they’re down.  That’s when I pat ’em on the back.  If I ever get in a dig with a guy I like to do it when they’re kind of “riding high.”  That was always my style.  And the High School didn’t like that about me.  It was time to get back to being ME.

It was time to grow my hair out a little bit again.  Get a little pony-tail going and shove it through that cap adjuster strap in the back of the hat.  Light-up in the dugout.  Kick the shit outta someone on the field and make no apologies about it.  Do the things I had ALWAYS done before being (literally) poisoned with the mentality of being a “High School Coach.”  I knew this….I didn’t want to be some dork standing around with a stopwatch and Oakley’s….

Yeah, the “Man Behind the Curtain” just wasn’t to my liking.

No….I wanted the most FEARED TEAM in the 20th District.  And I wasn’t about to give up my dream that easily. 

It COULD be done!!!!

I had thought long and hard about it all.   The winter was coming to a close.  It was time to decide what to do. 

I quit my Post at the High School.  I was very comfortable with my decision.

I wasn’t done, though.  It was time to bring back the magic of 1990.  Or the RAGE of 1990.  Whatever you want to call it, we still had a little “Unfinished Business” with the 20th District.

And ‘Ol Gee still had a few tricks up his sleeve…..