The first day at a new job usually consists of finding out where
you will sit, where the bathroom is and trying to remember the
names of your co-workers. That is unless you have a Green
Phone.
By Josh Koehn Sports Editor
The first day at a new job usually consists of finding out where you will sit, where the bathroom is and trying to remember the names of your co-workers. That is unless you have a Green Phone.
Within hours of settling in to my new digs on Monday, I was confronted with my first Gilroy sports controversy. Apparently, the only thing more contested than an umpire’s eyesight in Gilroy’s Boys Majors Little League currently is the selection process of the 11-12-year-old All-Star team’s coaching staff.
Calls came in to Green Phone late last week criticizing the Board of Directors’ decision to select Jeff Wilson, who managed the Mets, to replace Henry Huerta, an assistant with the league champion Cardinals. The All-Star team’s three-man coaching crew was said in Saturday’s Green Phone to consist of Cardinals manager Brian Chrisman, with his two assistants being Wilson and Cardinals assistant Mario Talamante.
Dismissing Green Phone complaints of favoritism and hypocrisy in the selection process, Boys Majors Director Jeff Sosa said the board of directors, a group of almost 20 people, took several different factors into consideration when deciding who would be coaching from the dugout, and around the diamond, for the All-Star games.
“We try to reward managers who have kids that play on the All-Star team,” Sosa said.
A maximum of three coaches are officially allowed for a team of 13-14 players (five Cardinal players made the roster), and with Wilson being the board’s first selection, Chrisman was given the unenviable task of selecting the final coach to fill out the three-man crew. With Talamante having a son on the roster, Sosa said the board viewed it as an easy choice for Chrisman.
“He didn’t want to decide, so we said, ‘this is what we think you should do,'” Sosa said. “It was a simple, cut and dry decision for that third spot.”
But Chrisman had a curveball of his own.
Chrisman and Huerta, who are brothers-in-law, were the first and third base coaches for the league champion Cardinals, respectively. Trying to keep that chemistry intact, Talamante ended up being the odd man out.
“I had to talk to Mario and let him know,” Chrisman said. “He wasn’t happy.”
What has made this situation so frustrating for those citing favoritism in the selection process is that many assumed it would simply be a matter of the league champion Cardinals’ coaching staff taking over the All-Star team. But this simply isn’t the way things work.
“To be honest with you, it’s the president and board of directors’ decision,” said Rich Young, the 39th District Administrator who has more than 45 years experience with Little League baseball. “A lot of it is the parents feel like they got to get involved. But the All-Star team is from all over (the league).”
Sosa stressed the same point, saying it’s important for parents and players to remember the All-Star team is not an extension of the league champions, but represents the entire Boys Majors Division.
“This is not their team,” Sosa said. “That’s not the thinking we want to have.”
Regardless of what side of the fence you’re on (and Green Phone would still like to hear your opinion), as a newcomer I find it refreshing to know I’ve come to a place with passionate sports fans, from the littlest of leagues on up. And rather than having parents slug it out in the parking lot, an actual discourse is taking place to see what is fair, and why things work the way they do.
My goal will be to present a sports section that caters to Gilroyans first and foremost. Stories will give you the who, what, where, when, how and why it even matters in the first place. You will not always agree with what I have to say, and you may occasionally think I’m an idiot. But you will certainly be getting your money’s worth.
Whether it’s my first day on the job or my last.
