Baseball coaches share their past

According to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), seven percent of high school baseball players go on to play in college while 10 percent of college baseball players go on to play professionally. Varsity baseball assistant coaches Brian Bowles and Don Slaught were among the minority of college baseball players who were given the opportunity to play in the MLB.

By the end of his high school career at Rolling Hills High School, Slaught went on to play at UCLA where he was captain of the baseball team and named Academic All-American in 1979. During his first years at UCLA, Slaught batted .428, a school record that lasted 25 years.

Come his junior year of college, Slaught was drafted by the Kansas City Royals. He continued to transfer between eight different teams, including the New York Yankees, until his retirement at the age of 38. All throughout his Major League career, Slaught’s batting average continued to fluctuate from a low of .269 to a high of .345. At the time of his retirement, he had hit a total of 84 homeruns.

“In the end, [playing baseball] was not worth being away from my family,” Slaught said.

After 16 years of playing in the MLB, Slaught desired a coaching career and later landed a job as hitting coach for the Detroit Tigers in 2006, the same year the team would win the American League Championship and go on to the World Series and lose. Six years thereafter, Slaught decided to get a job at Peninsula.

“I try to teach my players to teach themselves,” Slaught said. “The goal of every coach is to get the player to the point where they no longer need you anymore.”

Contrary to Slaught’s MLB career, Bowles’ was short-lived. Bowles had initially signed a letter of intent to Long Beach State University but later decided to forgo that decision and go straight to the MLB right out of high school. From 2001-2003, he was a relief pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays, striking out 25 players in three games and finishing with a 3.27 ERA.

“The hardest part of it all was having to come prepared to play everyday because I never knew when I was going to be put in the game,” Bowles said. “Mentally, you always have to be ready to go.”

After many years of pitching, Bowles realized his arm no longer performed at the same level it used to and decided it was time to retire.

“Major League Baseball and baseball in general have taught me that persistence and hard work play a large role in athletics as well as life,” Bowles said. “Your attitude, work ethic and belief in yourself are much more important than any attribute.”

Bowles was designated the new varsity baseball pitching coach at the start of the school year. In high school, Bowles earned a 0.00 ERA during Bay League and was named athlete of the year in 1994. His successes and previous experiences are now learning tools for his protégées.

“[Bowles] has taught me a lot this year,” junior Eli Morgan said. “We did not do the best that we could have last year, so it is up to us to show [other teams] just how much we have improved.”

Both Slaught and Bowles have left behind themselves athletic legacies. Currently, all their focus and efforts go into helping the budding Peninsula baseball team.

“The player that finds a way to continue to improve is ultimately the player that will go far in [his] sport,” Slaught said. “It is not how good you are in high school or college but whether or not you continue to improve and not let the little things get the best of you.”