MARCH 16: KEY WEST CONCHS BASEBALL COACH RALPH HENRIQUEZ (PART 1)

Baseball is a proud tradition in Key West, and the consistent success of the Conchs’ program is largely attributed to legendary varsity coach Ralph Henriquez. Over the past two decades, Henriquez has amassed three state titles, with several squads earning top national rankings. More than 120 of his former players have signed college scholarships, with 11 athletes drafted into the pros straight from high school. In part 1 of this two-part episode, listen as host Sean McDonald sits down with Henriquez to discuss growing up in Key West, watching minor league baseball and the impact that baseball had on his life.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:07):
Welcome back, everyone to the Keys Weekly sports wrap with
coach mcdonald. The only place to get your Florida Keys prep,
sports news and history. You can find this podcast every
Thursday at Keys weekly dot com. Please share and like
you can find me on Facebook at Florida Keys and
Key West High School sports history. You could also hear
this live not so live on the radio. W K

(00:29):
W FA M-16 108 AM on Saturday's W K W
F M
one oh 3.3 F M. So you could hear this
show on the radio, you could hear it at the
Keys weekly dot com. The most important thing is that
somebody's listening and I'm getting a lot of feedback. You
can email me at sports at Keys weekly dot com
and I will get back to you. I've had a

(00:49):
lot of great show ideas and I've gotten a lot
of great feedback uh from there that is sports at
Keys weekly dot com. I'd also like to thank the
Keys Weekly for allowing me to put on this podcast
and it has been so much fun and
today's big day in the podcast. And I'm gonna get
there a little bit later. I also want you guys
to check out the Keys weekly newspaper. A lot of

(01:10):
you guys get it at your house every Thursday. I
know in marathon, I get it delivered and I'm very
grateful to see it. And if you look inside you're
gonna get the Keys weekly sports wrap where
my better half, Tracy mcdonald does, um, does all of
the sports writing there and she's gonna get you caught
up in all the prep sports because
honestly, I'm not gonna be able to go into it.

(01:31):
The podcast that we have today is a little bit lengthy. Um,
so I'm not going to recap everything. I'm gonna implore
you guys to get the print edition to see last
week's results, next week's schedule, who the athlete of the
week is what's going on at our three local high
schools because on the podcast is gonna be broken down

(01:52):
over the next two weeks. We have Key West high
school baseball manager Ralph Enriquez. Now.
Mm.
Coming to the Keys in 1997 to go teach at Sugarloaf. Um,
I moved into the Keys and I really didn't know
too much. And one thing I did know Key West
High School is good at baseball and the more things change,

(02:15):
the more they stay the same. And Key West High
School is good at baseball. They're looking at making a
run this year at the state championship
the coach in 1997. Coincidentally enough is the same coach
in 2023 today. And that's Coach Enriquez and, and as
a follower of local sports, it's someone that I've always,
as a coach, I've always looked up to and didn't,

(02:38):
and sort of was like a mystery to me. You know, I,
I really didn't know his story. I didn't know his
background and, and I was really fortunate to spend about
two hours talking to Coach Enriquez and
you guys are gonna hear the interview. I hope you
guys enjoy it. Um I had no idea about a
lot of it. I want you guys to sit back and,

(02:58):
and you're gonna hear some, a great story about Coach
Enriquez coming up in Key West. Very similar to the
same age as coach Robert James who you heard on
this podcast. I think they both graduated from, uh, from
Key West High school in 1975 and Coach Enriquez went
on to play minor league baseball.
He went on to play college baseball and, and you're

(03:19):
gonna hear everything about it. You're gonna hear about his
state championship teams. You're gonna hear about him going to
Mary immaculate. You know, he, how was it, Mary Maculate
for ninth and 10th grade and then he went to
Key West High School and everything that happened there. So listen,
sit back, enjoy. I know that I enjoyed interviewing him.

(03:39):
You guys are gonna hear part one this week,
next week we're gonna put out part two. So, uh,
please enjoy
and here we are everybody. It's, it's a big day
for the podcast. It's a big day for me. You know,
if you guys are listening, you know, I've been, uh,
coaching in the Keys and teaching in the keys since 1997. And, uh,

(04:02):
the most prominent coach during that whole time period, at
least in, in my mind is gonna be on the
podcast today. That's coach Ralph Enriquez coach. How are you
doing today, sir?
Good morning.
Um, so we have coach Enriquez. He is at the
helm of the Key West high baseball conk baseball team

(04:24):
and they're coming off of a very good weekend. Barto
came to town and coach, you got two wins against
Barto eight nothing Friday night and a close 12 to 1.
Saturday night. What are your initial feelings on that coach?

Speaker 2 (04:38):
Uh, well, uh Friday night, we, uh, had, uh, a
very strong pitching performance from, um, Lucky Barroso who gave
us five innings and then, uh, Felix on, gave us
two innings and both of these guys combined for a
no hitter, uh, against Barto. Uh,
and, uh, we played well, we swung the bats, well,

(05:00):
we had, uh, you know, some strong hitting in the
middle out of part of the lineup, um, as well. And, uh,
and we just played, you know, good sound baseball and
then Saturday night, um, you know, Barto was a totally
different team which I had warned our guys about. Uh, and, uh,
and we played a good ball game, a close ball game. Uh,

(05:22):
Jacob
Burnham pitched a, a good strong five innings force. We
went two nothing. Uh, they came up with a couple
of base hits and, uh, they're in the sixth inning
and went up, uh, got on us for a run
and it was 2 to 1 and, um, and then
we was able to hang on and Anthony Lyris came
in and got to save, uh, force and we out, uh,

(05:46):
a 2 to 1 win. So that was a good,
uh, two win weekend for us there to hopefully help
us with the max preps with the rankings. And, uh,
what goes on now in, in high school baseball,

Speaker 1 (05:58):
we're gonna go back in time, you know, today, and
we're gonna talk about a lot of things in the
past and, and right now we're talking about your present
day baseball team and, and you've been through so many
changes in your career and, and we're gonna get to that,
but the max prep power rankings now seem to be
driving everything, don't you think? Coach?

Speaker 2 (06:18):
Yes. Uh, you know, I know, you know, change, uh,
is inevitable. Uh I, I'm just not really, um, I'm
really not a fan of it, to be honest with
you Sean, uh, you know, it just puts so much
emphasis uh on uh, on teams how
to play certain teams you can't play teams with, um,

(06:40):
you know, a, a lesser tradition, a lesser strengthened schedule
because it, it doesn't help you, you have to have
a very strong strength and schedule, which I, which I
agree with. I, I, I like playing, you know, power
teams and, uh, and our schedule definitely reflects that,
uh, and which that part I'm ok with, but just

(07:00):
a part of not playing in a district or a conference. Uh,
it just puts a lot of pressure on, on high
school teams and coaches that every game, uh, you, you
have to win, you can't give opportunities to other players
to develop them to put them in ball games, uh, versus,
you know, you're playing a non district game,

(07:21):
uh, a nonconference game and you want to go ahead
and give a player an opportunity, um, to play to
develop and knowing, well, you know, next year this young
man's gonna have to step in and play this role
for us here. Um, you know, they've kind of gotten
away from that and, and it's now just every game
is game seven of the World Series
and you have to win because your rankings will, will

(07:42):
reflect it. And then what happens is, uh, in the playoffs, uh,
method of determining, uh, where you're seated at in your district,
it goes by these rankings. And of course, you want
to be number one because you could draw a by, uh,
you don't want to wind up having to play the
second or the third best team in the conference because

(08:04):
on any given day,
anything can happen. And you just kind of want to
help yourself, put yourself and your ball club in a
better situation come the playoffs and this is what this
has done. Uh, I just prefer, um, the old fashioned
way of, uh, you have, you know, 67 teams or
five teams in your district. Do you play a home

(08:27):
in a way that's 10 games of the season and
also helps, makes it a little bit easier for scheduling
for other clubs. You know, we don't have that issue
but for some other teams, um, you know, scheduling does
become a problem because some teams will not want to
play them, um, or give them a ball game, not
that they don't want to play them, but won't give

(08:47):
them a ball game because they know it's not advantageous
to them and to their strength and schedule and to
their season.
So it, it's really gotten away, I think a little bit,
you know, from what high school baseball should be and
how it should be played and, and in the process,
how it should work

Speaker 1 (09:06):
well, talking about process and, and high school baseball. Let's,
let's talk about, let's go back in time a little
bit and let's, let's talk about you and you grew
up in key West. If, if my research is correct, coach,
you graduated from Key West high school in 1975. Is
that correct?
Yeah, that's correct. So, growing up in Key West, I

(09:26):
guess so, that would be in the sixties. You're a
kid in the early seventies, you know, you're, you're reaching
sort of, of, uh, uh, manhood, I guess. What was
that like for you growing up in Key West during
that time of the 19 sixties?

Speaker 2 (09:42):
Well, I think it was fantastic. Um, you know, a
lot different than today. Uh, but I was, uh, I'm
gonna consider myself very fortunate and, and blessed, uh when
I grew up in Key West, it was, you know,
Key West was like, you know, more of, uh
the hometown Key West, uh the old Key Westerns, uh

(10:04):
people uh in the neighborhood had doors, open, windows open,
people were outside. That was, uh, it was a different
type of lifestyle. Obviously, you know, everything has sped up
a lot since then, but little league baseball was,
was, um, was, was a dream. Uh, every single night
we'd be, we only had three fields at the time.

(10:25):
Um And, um, and there was just constant, constant, constant
baseball baseball, uh every night going out to the little
league fields to see the teams play and
you had so many teams. Uh I was, I was
fortunate that every league I played in, I played for very,
very good baseball coaches starting with which I remember this.

(10:48):
Um when I was, you know, eight and nine years old,
uh I played for V F W which was uh
Doctor Ralph uh Reese.
Um and he was a Cal Proctor in Key West,
loved baseball and uh we had some very, very good players.
Uh but when I went to Little League, which was 10,

(11:11):
11 and 12 with the three years you spent there,
uh I was very fortunate. I played for Clayton Sterling,
uh who Mr Sterling was an excellent baseball man and
a super disciplinarian.
Um Even though you were petrified of, of, of Clayton,
uh he's just a big statue of a man and

(11:32):
everybody knew the type of baseball person he was and
uh and all his teams were very, very good. Um
And actually, uh now that I recall this, I actually,
I started when I was seven years old as a
bat boy for uh for Clayton. Uh And uh so
that was really my beginnings of uh of discipline in
baseball and knowing how to play baseball was from the

(11:55):
age of seven years old with a man like Mr Sterling.
And then, you know, going to the Pony League when
you were 13 and 14. Um and, and the teams
were so competitive and we had so many teams and
you had, you know, the selection of the all stars,
the American League or the National league. Um And, and
you really had to earn your way and you had

(12:17):
to play, you know, high level baseball. And then if
you were fortunate to win
in your region,
you got to leave Key West and go and play
in the Little League all stars to represent your city. And,
and that was such of a big thing. I mean,
I mean, you were 24 7, just Little League all
stars Little League, all stars and going away to, to

(12:38):
try to win
and get a spot to represent your city in Key West.
And even back then Sean, we had the military, which
had a big presence in Key West. And um, and
they had the military Little League which had oh 78,
maybe 10 teams in it. And you had to beat
them to qualify because they were also involved in the

(13:02):
Little League uh system of Florida Little League to go
to represent their city.
And, uh, and we had to beat them and then
once you beat them, you had to go and beat
uh teams in the Miami region. And then if you
beat the teams in the Miami region, then you got
to go away
to the Little League uh state playoffs and represent your,

(13:23):
your hometown and, and it was so competitive and you
knew all the players, you knew who they were. Um,
like I said, we even had a waiting list of
kids to get in because we had like 12 teams
in the little league per division and, and it was,
you know, and Key West was a lot different back
then than what it was to, to what it is today.

(13:43):
Um And um and it was just, uh it was
just a great time to grow up here in Key
West and, and to play baseball and, and, and, you know,
and I see the, the, the changes uh over the
years uh with Little League and now you have,
you know, the intrusion of uh of travel ball and,

(14:04):
and things like that, which is highly different. Um It, it's, it's,
it's come a long way and, and, and different in,
in the growth of it uh which is very big
uh today.
Uh but uh I really enjoyed my years growing up
in Key West in the sixties and Little League and,
and being very, you know, blessed as I say, to

(14:26):
have had these type of mentors and growing up and
looking up to these men and respect of these men and,
and what they, what they, you know, demanded of you.

Speaker 1 (14:36):
When, when you talk about growing up in Key West
and playing Little League baseball, what was the impact of
Key West high school baseball on you as a youth
when you were playing Little League? Did you and your
friends go watch the high school game? And what was
your thought of those guys?

Speaker 2 (14:54):
Oh, yes. We, we live and die baseball as you know,
every single day. Um, you know, when we were in
Little League, we would go,
uh, to the high school games. And, uh, and of course,
you know, uh, everybody that I knew of that we
were little, little, little guys.
Uh, and we always looked up to players and, uh,

(15:16):
and there was, you know, the high school teams here, uh,
back in, in the late sixties, uh, especially in 69
you know, we would go, uh, our parents would take
us to the high school ball games. And coach defend was,
was the coach at the time, uh, when I started
going out to the high school games in the, in

(15:36):
the late sixties.
And, um, and, you know, and of course everybody wanted
to go see Randy Sterling pitch. Uh, and, and of course,
you know, he was, you know, the third overall pick
in the country when he graduated in 69. Um, but
the thing is, it was just, you know, the high
school
team, the players, the uniforms, the, the, the, the way

(16:00):
they went about playing, um, and it was just, it
was just amazing. I mean, you, you, you just looked
up to these guys and you just couldn't wait the
day to come where you would come from the little
leagues to go into, you know, the high school level and, uh, and,
and play baseball, but Sean, it even goes even beyond
that because, you know, here, you know,

(16:22):
back in that era, we had, you know, two higher
levels of baseball. Other than just um
our little league pony league system, we had the high school,
which was the next jump, you know, for the little
leaguers and Pony League players and, and couldn't wait to
come over here and play at the high school stadium and,
and, and, and follow the footsteps of these great players.

(16:46):
But we also had minor league baseball where you had,
you know, uh, we had in Key West, we had
the Sun Caps, which is an independent club. We had the, the, uh, the, the,
the Cubs here. We had, um, you know, San Diego here,
we had different, uh, different minor league teams and we would,
if we weren't at the high school field, we were

(17:06):
at the old
Wickers field, which is now the George Meyer football complex, uh,
and soft then softball field. And we would be on
that wall there chasing foul balls and, uh, accumulating baseball
so we could have baseballs to go play with at
Bayview Park and, and watching, uh, the players, uh, that
came in and, and emulating, you know, the, what they

(17:29):
would do and how they would carry on and, uh,
and, and, and their mannerisms and we would copy that, uh,
and it was just, you know, like I said, you know,
it would be baseball 24 7 and, uh, and, and
it gave us something that we wanted you know, to accomplish,
we wanted to go from little league to high school
to be, you know, playing at that high school field

(17:52):
to try to be the next Randy Sterling,
you know, or, you know, all the other great players
that came out of this program, um, or then try
to go ahead and emulate, trying to be a professional
baseball player with the many players that came, you know,
through Key West Bruce Suter and Wayne Cage and,
and the list goes on and on of guys that

(18:13):
uh were just good players that you'd never forget that
came through, uh Key West and the, um, and, and, and,
and in our city, but through professional baseball. So it
always gave us something to shoot for and always gave
us something that we wanted to, you know, to, to
inspire and to one day reach those levels.

Speaker 1 (18:32):
I, I find it really funny when you think about it.
So you're growing up in, in Key West in the
sixties and the early seventies. And there's no doubt in
my mind that you then watched more baseball than probably
your players do today. And, and your players today have
all the technology in the world to watch every single
baseball game all the time. But back then

(18:53):
because you were in Key West and you had that opportunity,
you were probably watching baseball 300 nights a year, I
would assume almost.

Speaker 2 (19:02):
Oh, absolutely. 1000%. It it just never stops. I mean, we,
we would just,
you know, ride our bikes. Um, you know, we were,
you know, 10, 11, 12 years old, we ride our
bikes or our parents or, or in my case or
multiple times. My uncle and my grandfather who, uh, who
never knew what baseball was until I started playing baseball

(19:25):
back in the day because they, they worked so much, uh, would,
would take us to, uh, to all workers
field and we would go to baseball games every single night, uh,
to see the Cubs play or the Sun Capps play. Uh,
and when they were on the road, uh, we would
revert back to the, uh, Peter dot Field, uh, which

(19:49):
is a little League complex and we would be there
every single night. Then when pro teams would come back
in town, you know, for a home stand,
we would be there every night. And, uh, and it
was just, it was just a great, great experience, but
you just couldn't look forward to, you know, that evening,
no matter what you were doing, whether you were in school, uh,

(20:10):
if it was a weekend and you was at the
beach or you were riding a bike around the island,
you just could not wait, you know, for six o'clock.
So you could head out to the ballpark and see
these guys taking batting practice chasing baseballs and, uh, and
then waiting for the game to start that evening,

Speaker 1 (20:26):
uh, that, that's so exciting because, you know, I think
sometimes when you're that age, the great thing about all
of that stuff is like, the game that you have
that night feels like the most important game in the
world that night. You know, and, and when you get older,
I think as a coach, you really can never put
too much into one game. But when you're a kid,
it just seems to me that it's like when you

(20:49):
have that Tuesday night game against the Elks club, it's
like the biggest thing going on in the world at
the time and, and nothing ever really replaces that.

Speaker 2 (20:57):
Absolutely. That's why I was never really a good student,
you know, because I couldn't pay attention as a teacher
because I was already figuring, going three ft three and,
you know, hitting a home run or, or, or pitching
a no hitter that night instead of, uh, doing my
multiplication tables, you know, I did it so, so, you know, but,
but absolutely, it was just,
it was just, it was just part of your life,

(21:19):
you know, and, and, and, and, and, and, you know,
and for some guys that, that really, you know, gravitated
to this, uh, this is how it was when, even
when you was in high school, he was in high
school and, you know, uh, you were just playing because
you loved playing. You wanted to, to, to excel,
you wanted to win, uh, you wanted to, to go

(21:40):
play at the next level and to have a chance
to go play in college or to get drafted. Um,
and that was pretty much all, all that you, you
thought about, you know, and, and worked for, um, and,
and those were, you know, and, and there's some players
like we have today, we, we're getting more guys to
understand that, uh that process of, of, of excelling, working hard.

(22:03):
Um and then, you know,
grabbing on to that education, which is so important today
and winning that, you know, that scholarship to go play
at the next level. Um, you, you, you, you, we're,
you know, we're, we're getting to, to that point where
it's so important and so beneficial to, uh to our
players and, and of course, financially it's um very helpful

(22:26):
to the parents for their Children to continue their education
and then keep playing baseball.

Speaker 1 (22:31):
Absolutely. I could speak firsthand from that. Um So you
go into Key West High School and like you said before,
your coach was, uh coach Toughen. Is that how you
pronounce

Speaker 2 (22:44):
it? Coach

Speaker 1 (22:47):
Tough Engine. Now, correct me if I'm wrong. He was
also the basketball coach
who was that was he did, he also coach basketball there.

Speaker 2 (22:55):
Not to my knowledge. Uh I only knew coach T
we used to call him coach T uh when I
went there, uh I went to Key West High school,
my junior year, I, I was my, my freshman and
sophomore year. I was at uh Maryam Male, which is
today is the Basilica school. And then I, then I
transferred uh to Key West High school my junior year.

(23:18):
Uh that's when the sports, I kind of came to
a stop at, at Maryam Male. And, uh
and I had, uh and coach T was there, coach
T was there in the late sixties and uh, and
coach defining was, uh, a very, very, a very, very
good coach. Uh, he was, uh, a AAA fundamentalist. He

(23:40):
was a disciplinarian. Um, you know, everything with coach T was,
you know, uh, defense, defense, defense and, uh, you know, we, we,
he didn't hit much but, uh, his teams were very
disciplined on the field. Um, you even had to run
a mile in 6.5 minutes before you could even try out.

(24:01):
You didn't have, you couldn't run a mile in 6.5 minutes.
You couldn't try out. Um, I mean, he had standards,
he had structure, uh, which,
you know, for some young people and in the beginning
you don't really understand that, but as you get older, um,
you really appreciate the lessons and, and what he, uh,

(24:22):
what he stood for. And, uh, and he was a very,
very accomplished coach, a winning coach. And, um, and he was, uh,
he was quite a coach,

Speaker 1 (24:31):
coach. You talk about Mary, immaculate and, and in my research,
you know, you guys were sort of a mini powerhouse
for a lot of years. Basketball teams were very good there.
Baseball had some excellent baseball teams. Um, what was that
experience like you? I'm sorry, what was that experience for you?
And why did you choose Mary Immaculate as a freshman

(24:52):
instead of Key West high school?

Speaker 2 (24:54):
Well, uh, I actually went to Mary Mack, uh, when
I was uh mid-year in the sixth grade. Uh my
mom went ahead and,
you know, made the decision. Uh I want you to
go to the Catholic school. I want you to go
to school over there. Um I want you to get
that uh Catholic education. Um And of course, you know,

(25:18):
when you're young, you don't understand, you say, well, mom,
I don't, I don't, you know, I wanna go to,
you know, to where I'm gonna go to school, which
the next step from
for us from elementary was H O B which was
sixth grade. Uh but, you know, I lost that war.
And um um I was at, I was at Maryam
Male which uh I really, really uh took a liking

(25:40):
to uh we had uh great, great basketball. We had a,
it was, it was such AAA neat
little community. Uh at Mary Mali, we had basketball. Uh
we had uh football which Bill Zum uh was a
football coach, another disciplinarian, very structured gentleman. Um And then,

(26:02):
uh he also was a baseball coach too, but I
played in the youth leagues. But then my freshman year
I, um, I had went out for the, for the
team and, uh, and I made the team there and, uh,
and we played, I played freshman at, uh, at Mary
Male in my sophomore year at Maryam Male. And, uh,

(26:24):
and I knew at one point I would be transferring
over because we also used to have in our youth leagues, the,
uh prep league, which used to be played in at
the Pony League field, which would end after, um, the, um,
high school season would come to an end. And, uh,

(26:44):
and, uh, we would, we would play probably about Sean,
probably about, maybe about 10, 12 games and then we
would go away and play in the All Stars, uh,
and represent Key West for that 15 to 17, 17
to 18 age group somewhere in that vicinity.
And, um, and, you know, and, and I was playing
with guys like Brooks Carey and these other players from

(27:07):
the high school. And, um, and some I knew some,
I didn't know because I had played with the other
guys at, uh Maryam Mali.
And, um, and then when I was going into my
junior year, um, after a couple of years at Mary Mack,
you know, I became very good friends with my good
friend Brooks and, you know, and these guys and this is,
you know, you gotta come over and play with us

(27:29):
at the high school. We need you to come over
and play with us and, um,
and, and then, you know, right away, um, sports was
coming to an end at Mary Mack, which was a shame. And, uh,
you know, and fast forward today now they're getting back
into sports, which is, I'm, I'm so happy to see
that at the Basilica school that they're having sports again. Um,

(27:51):
that I made it easy for my mom because my
mom knew what my goals were to, you know, be
a good student and try to get a scholarship and
continue my dream of playing baseball. And,
you know, and, and she says, no, you have to
because this is what you wanna do and I wish
you'd say it Mary Male, but you know, it, it
just made it easier for me to be able to

(28:12):
leave Mary Mack when the sports came to a halt
and then I started at uh and move
over to Key West High School, which was, which was
vastly different. Um But, uh but it's just been, for me,
it's been a blessing and, and, and just a great,
blessed uh childhood and going through the stages of the

(28:32):
Little League to, you know, Maryam Male to, to Key
West High School.

Speaker 1 (28:38):
So when you were at Mary immaculate, um you guys
made some postseason runs there, your freshman and sophomore year.

Speaker 2 (28:45):
Yes, we did. We, we, we did. We came, uh,
when I was in the eighth grade, I, I was
not a part of that team. I was still playing
in the Pony League. Um, if my memory serves me correct.
They were class a one, a single one. A they
won a state championship in baseball. Uh, and you know,
you had, you had some great players there. I remember

(29:07):
still to this day you had the catcher was uh
Richard Moore, who
his father was a very, uh well known famous doctor
in Key West. Doctor Herman Moore, you had, uh, Tony
s uh played first base. You had, uh, uh Tony
Valladares whose father Arthur Walas owned the bookstore on Wall

(29:28):
Street there. Uh He was a shortstop. You had uh
Dennis uh, Butler, you had Harry Chip Chase and then
you had a pitcher that
was a, that was a, that was a horse, uh,
named David Hernandez. David Biro Hernandez, who David was, you know, a,
a workhorse. Uh, and he was a junior that year. So, uh,

(29:51):
they won the state championship with that group of guys. Uh,
and I think the year prior to that, they even
won a state championship in basketball in class a basketball.
And I remember going to those basketball games as well.
Uh, and then my freshman year I was able to, uh,
to play with some of those guys that won and

(30:12):
were part of that state championship team, which really helped
me to grow a lot and to, uh to say, well,
you know, I, I really have to get a little
bit
and stronger and I have to, and then of course,
playing on a big field like the old Worker Seal.
Um it, it was really just AAA great challenge and, uh,
and kind of really opened my eyes to what I

(30:33):
had to, to try to accomplish, to get to my
high school goals

Speaker 1 (30:38):
And like, talking about Mary Maggie, a, a lot of
people don't realize how strong of athletic programs that they
had during that time right before they really stopped doing sports.
But you move on to Key West High School and
you go right back into that same type of postseason
run as a junior. You guys actually lose in the state, uh,

(30:58):
semifinals to Leesburg 2 to 1 in nine innings. What
are your memories about that?

Speaker 2 (31:05):
Oh, I remember that. Like, it was yesterday. Of course,
I remember that. Like, yesterday. I, I never forget that we, uh,
we got to Leesburg there. You know, we had, you know,
Brooks Carey was our, was our senior guy and everybody
looked up to Brooks and, uh, and Brooks that year
had some, some back pains and, uh, and he, uh,

(31:27):
was off and on, uh, with his back pains, but
when we came down to ball games that we had to, uh,
to win, uh, Brooks was there, you know, take a
Bayer Aspirin and go pitch and, and go out and
get the job done and that's what Brooks he would do.
Uh, we, we have a, a pretty good season and
we get all the way to that first round there

(31:49):
and we go to Leesburg and, and never heard of it. Uh,
we get there and they have some pretty big boys and, uh,
and the, uh,
in the field it was raining, uh, prior to the
game and they had the field, uh,
you know, a little bit wet. They had some places
there where they had some, uh blue tarps and some

(32:11):
logs on top of there and they had to clear
all of that out the way. And, uh, and, uh,
they were some big country boys on that team. I
remember myself and, uh, and this is one of our players, uh,
Richie pizza. We were trying to pick up one of
these logs that was thrown on top of one of
these tarps and,

(32:31):
you know, I was kind of struggling with it a
little bit and this one guy comes up and he says, boys,
let me get that for you and he picks his
damn log up like nothing. And I said, damn, that
was nice of that coach. And he says, I'm not
the coach, I'm the first baseman. Oh boy, oh boy.
And I said to myself, oh God almighty,
they're in trouble, you know. But they had a, they

(32:53):
had a magnificent pitcher uh by the name. And I
still remember to this day and of course he wound
up playing professional baseball. His name was Roger Holt. Uh
Roger Holt, uh was a shortstop pitcher and threw pretty
hard through, you know, from like the three quarter slot. And,
um
we, uh we, we battled these guys. Uh I remember

(33:14):
my first at bat. He hit me in the elbow
with the ball. Um I, I went after chased him
actually out to the mound when he hit me and, uh,
everything calmed down. I went to first base and these
fans were crazy and
then in the fifth inning that came up and got
a base hit and tied the game 1 to 1. And, uh,

(33:36):
and it was just a heck of a game and
we go nine innings and, uh, they get a little
blue single and, um, and beat us 2 to 1
up there in Leesburg, but it was a, it was
a great, great, great run, uh, for the team for us. And, uh,
and just learning how to, how to compete, you know,
at a high level and especially against a team like

(33:56):
Leesburg that year,

Speaker 1 (33:58):
you know, coaching because you were, you were always been
a coach that has stressed the importance of lifting weights and,
and having your baseball players lift weights all the time,
maybe the genesis of it was that game when that
first baseman lifted that log. So easily.

Speaker 2 (34:13):
Yeah, that was pretty impressionable,
you know. I mean, he was a, he was a,
he was a, he was a pretty, pretty big guy. And, uh,
I mean, he was just a big old country boy. And, uh,
and I told when we were telling Richie man, that's
really nice of that coach and he says, I'm not
the coach. I

Speaker 1 (34:29):
love that. I'm the first baseman.

Speaker 2 (34:32):
I said, boy, we're in trouble tonight. I mean, this,
this guy, this, this, this young man was a big dude.
I mean, he was, he was built like a, you know,
like a man. I think all 100 and £60 of me. If,
if that was, if I weighed that much, uh, this
guy had, have been a
well over £200 but he, he was a man. I mean,

(34:53):
you could tell he's already been shaving and everything our
face yet this guy tells me I'm the first baseman
and never forget that. Well,

Speaker 1 (35:02):
you guys fought hard 2 to 19 innings, your junior year,
but then coach your senior year, a new coach in
town coach, uh, Pedro FGA takes the helm. What was
that like for you?

Speaker 2 (35:15):
Oh, it was, it was fine good with us. Coach
Fraga is great coach, uh, a gentleman and he had
been involved with the program. So for us, it was
a very easy transition. It wasn't somebody new coming in.
All the players, you know, knew and loved coach Fraga. Uh,
uh, coach Fraga was, uh, coach, he's assistant coach, uh, and, uh,
and he had been around baseball forever, uh, coach. So,

(35:40):
you know, for us, it was, uh, for all of us,
not just myself, for all of us, the whole team,
we all knew coach and, and his history and, um, and,
and being our coach as well. So it was a
very easy transition, uh, coming in and playing for coach.
And then of course, you know, my introduction,
uh and then he had brought in uh Sydney Mockingbird

(36:03):
Kerr and uh we uh loved bird, uh and he
stayed with us in baseball for years and years and
years and even wound up being our statistician and being
a part of my staff when I became, when I
came back and, and started coaching here in 1994 as
a head coach.

(36:23):
Uh but coach Fraga was, was great to play for
a very good baseball man. Learned a lot from him. And,
uh and so like I said, Sean, from the beginning of,
you know, at the age of seven years old, I
have always been blessed to have
great coaches and great men, uh teach me baseball, but

(36:44):
also teach me about discipline and responsibility and, and the
commitment and being loyal to uh to our teams. And,
and that's something that is so, so important
to young kids today that, that they can look up
to all of their coaches and this is something that, uh,
that I did other than, you know, the way I

(37:04):
was raised and brought up by my family, but just
the way baseball is, you know, you, you, you, you,
you develop an affection and a, and a, and a
sense of loyalty, not only to the sport, but also to,
to your head coach.

Speaker 1 (37:18):
Yes, sir. I mean, we're in a very unique place
in the Keys. And I think part of that is,
is if you live in Key West, there's really these
days there's one high school to go to. If, if
you are interested in coaching baseball in Key West, there's
one high school to be at. So there's a competition,
you know, there's a competition amongst the coaches amongst the

(37:39):
players because you guys, we don't have any options to
go anywhere else. And I think that that brings out
the best in players and that brings out the best
in coaches because you and I both know when we
talk about South Florida baseball,
if someone's not happy at, at a particular high school,
then it's very easy for them to move. But because
of our unique situation, our players, our coaches really don't

(38:01):
have that option. So you got to get better and
you got to work harder and, and you have to
do the best job that you can. And I think
that's definitely a good thing for us.

Speaker 2 (38:09):
Oh, well, it, it definitely is. I mean, you know,
when you look at it, uh, the camaraderie, uh, these
kids play Little League together, they go from one program
to the level program from Little League to Pony League together. Uh,
you know, they, they, they, they, they're there all the time.
They know each other.

(38:29):
Um, then they go to high school and these guys,
you know, make all these transitions, uh, together, uh, they
now get to the high school level and now they
have to compete a little bit. And I mean, and,
and you look at, you know, our situation this year
at Key West High School, which is, which is a

(38:50):
good one, but a tough one. Uh, our pitching staff
this year is probably the deepest pitching staff that I
think we have
ever have had or without a doubt. Uh, the deepest,
uh I've got, you know, 56 guys that can pitch
that can probably go to a lot of high schools. Um, and,

(39:10):
and be the Friday night guy, the Saturday night guy. But,
uh Sean, you know, we have guys like I told him,
I said, guys, you know,
in the beginning of the season, we're gonna go with
a piggyback system which means I use two guys per night,
one guy off of, you know, four innings. Um, somebody
comes in and pitches in the back of that, uh

(39:31):
the 5th, 6th, 7th and, and get nine outs. Uh
Sometimes we use three pitchers like last night,
uh, in our game. But the thing of it is
is you guys have to go out and earn innings. Uh,
how do you earn innings by going out there throwing strikes,
pitching ahead in the count? Uh, putting up a zero
on the scoreboard, uh, your mound presence. Uh, all of

(39:52):
these factors go in, uh, in, into, uh, into, into,
into earning your next opportunity.
And, you know, and it's hard because I've got, I've
got guys on this team that are, you know, that are, have,
have committed and signed to, you know, the Indian River,
uh Florida F I U US F, you know, I,

(40:13):
I've got, you show guys that are, you know, um
that have just signed to division one schools and then
you got other guys that, you know, have committed because
they're underclassman and, you know, and you're saying, man, that's, that's,
that's pretty deep and, and it is deep, but it's
a great thing for the program. Uh And it's also
very good for them and I tell them why it's

(40:35):
good for them because when they do go to college
next year or the year after next, and they have
21 pitchers that are also on some kind of scholarship
or with the way colleges baseball has gotten with this
transfer portal. Um You know, you got to go compete
at 18 years of age against a 22 year old man.

(40:56):
Uh And and if you don't know how to compete
and you're not prepared and you can't handle,
you know, competition or the pressure, you know, you're gonna
fail real quick. So, you know, it, it, it, it,
it makes it tough uh in the sense that you
are 17. But you know what, it's only a matter
of months before you're gonna jump, you know, into a,

(41:17):
a massive fire and you better learn how to handle
that and be able to compete because this is what
you're looking at
and this is what makes it really tough uh for,
for young guys going to big schools right out of
the shoot because they're 18 and they're competing against guys
that are 22 23 years old that, you know, have
been red shirted have had an injury, have been in

(41:38):
a transport portal. They got an extra year or so
of eligibility because of COVID.
Uh a lot of factors go in, but it's a
big difference with the mindset and the physical development of
an 18 versus uh a 22 year old man already.

Speaker 1 (41:54):
I, I agree with that. Um I know firsthand the
experience is going through as, as a freshman, leaving high school,
you know, being the star player and then going to
college and really having to compete and really having to
make this realization also is you're not really playing for
Key West anymore and you're not playing for that team
that you grew up loving and worshiping. You're, you're sort

(42:16):
of playing for a business and you have to do
what's best for you and, and work your hardest and
it's a tough transition for a lot of players to
make coach.

Speaker 2 (42:26):
But it is. And, you know, here, you know, here,
you know, our kids and, and there's no better place
in the world for me and, and to say that,
you know what Key West is one of the greatest
places to raise your Children. And Key West has changed
a lot, you know, from being a small little, you know,
blue collar town. Now we've become more transitioned into, into

(42:47):
business and to uh the hospitality and tourism and, and that's,
you know, you know, that,
and we still have the fishing industry which is, you know, our,
our livelihood here and uh in the Keys. But it, it,
it's changed so much. And the thing of it is
is that, you know, we, we, we protect our kids

(43:08):
so much and rightfully so and, and we could do
a lot of things here in Key West that you
can't do in other cities and big cities.
And when these kids leave Key West and they get
past that seven mile bridge, you know, they're not gonna
have that, that guidance or that hand holding or, or
being well, let me call uh this person to help

(43:29):
out and see what's going on and let me talk
to them
one and, you know, all of that goes away. You know, and,
and it's up there, it's, you know, there's no, you know,
personal relationships with, with college coaches, uh, depending on the
program you go to because their job is to win.
They got to keep alumni happy. Uh, they have to

(43:50):
get in, uh, in, in playoffs, they have to get
in
AC C playoffs. S E C get regional bids, uh,
because this is what, this is what they have to
do to keep their job and food on the table. So,
you know, they're gonna be looking every year finding who's
the better player, who's a better catcher, who's the best shortstop.
How do I improve my leadoff hitter?

(44:12):
Um, so you as a player, you know, you're, you're look,
you're looking at every year going to play college summer
ball weightlifting, uh, getting with the right people that are
gonna help you with the player development. Um, making sure
that you as a
young person have your grades in order, uh, making sure

(44:32):
you know how to act, uh, staying out of trouble,
don't get into things that are gonna, it's gonna slow
down your progress, uh, and develop, you know, that kind
of reputation for yourself as, you know, as a great player,
first class citizen
and, and, and that anybody would love to have this
guy on the team and this is the kind of
things that I talked to my guys about um in

(44:54):
one sense and then in the other sense is, is
when they leave Key West High school and you go
to a college that we're able to help assist you
to get you into.
Or if, even if you win the scholarship and you
got it on your own or whatever way it happens,
um just make sure you represent our program and our community,

(45:14):
yourself and your parents in a first class manner,
because you're gonna have guys coming up behind you. Uh
That may be guys that we could have a relationship
with a certain school and we could pick up the
phone and tell the coach, hey, coach, I got this
young man, you know, so and so played very well
for you there, this young guy that follows the same
suit and is there any chance you could take a

(45:35):
look at him? And uh and sure
Ralph, not a problem. Why? Because one, the guy that
you sent to this coach uh had helped him win
had helped him be successful had did a great job
of going to school every morning, uh passed, uh his
classes were all graduated and, you know, and then you
build that relationship. So even the guys that leave here,

(45:58):
uh We tell them that they still have to have
that responsibility of their representation of Key West in our
community and even for their own personal uh development. Uh
because if they don't, it could hurt these young players
coming behind them because then you can't call a certain coach,
you call a certain school because we didn't have a

(46:20):
good experience or with it because you failed there. So
it's important
Sean that these guys understand, you know, what's at stake,
the dynamics and the uh and the depth that goes
into this.

Speaker 1 (46:33):
Well, coach, I could say personally that you've done an
excellent job with that because wherever I go in the
world and I talk about Key West or everybody mentions
Key West baseball and what a first class outfit that
is and how great the players are and,
and what, what kind of great men are produced from
that program. So I know during your tenure you've definitely

(46:54):
made that work. But let's go back to you, you know,
your senior year at Key West High School, um, you're
part of three straight no hitters. You beat your old
school Mary immaculate 16 to 1. And you also for
the first time in, in Key West high school history,
play against marathon, surprisingly close 5 to 4. You get

(47:14):
the win.

Speaker 2 (47:15):
Yeah. Yeah, that goes back some time. That was, you know,
that was quite a, uh a game I remember vaguely that, uh,
you know, I mean, like I said Sean back in
that era in, in, in the seventies. Um, you know,
a lot, you know, we still had a lot of,
you know, uh local families, whether it was Key West marathon. Uh,

(47:37):
you know, they, they just, that's, that's, we didn't have
a whole lot of other options other than, uh,
you know, we didn't have computers, we didn't have, you know, iphones,
we didn't have all of this other stuff that sometimes
can be a distraction, uh, to, to students and to,
to athletes because they spend more time on those things
than they do, you know, in a weight room or

(47:59):
on a baseball field, you know, uh you know, these devices,
um you know, they get um I guess addicting for
these kids. Um And,
you know, we go back to that era uh of
my senior year. Uh We, we, we really played a
lot of baseball. Uh It was just a great, great year.

(48:21):
Uh We didn't get as far as we did our
junior year. We, we, we had some tough, tough teams there.
They're coming out of Miami there that we had to
get through. We lost a couple of really tight, tight
ball games there. Um You know, we had some very
good young pitching that year and
Larry, he was one of the, you know, matter of fact,

(48:42):
uh I was at Indian River, which was my next
stop after Key West High school. And uh Larry wound up,
he was even drafted by the Phillies out of high school,
I believe. Uh and he wound up going to Indian
River
uh and pitching there for coach Mike. Uh who was
my college coach. Uh,
and, um, and, you know, and that goes to show

(49:04):
just another path that I was very fortunate to have
played for a coach like that. Uh Mike. Uh, but,
you know, the thing of it is, it's just, it just,
you know, like I said, it, it was just something
that just happened for me and always being, you know,
with the right coach, the right players, the right team
and um and, and it, and it just really made

(49:26):
it really easy um just to,
to be around them. And uh and also these guys
also help make you better as a player and as
a person. So for me, it's always been a blessing
to have been around baseball

Speaker 1 (49:40):
in 1975 when you're a senior, you already said that you,
you go to Indian River, what was the recruiting process
like for you then?

Speaker 2 (49:50):
Well, coach uh had called uh Charlie Green at that
dad South and coach Wager had his uh his contacts
because coach Raga played junior college baseball at Miami Dade
North for the legendary uh Demy man who Demy was
a legend. You know, they say, you know, not, they
say it is. Ron Frasier was the godfather

(50:12):
of college baseball, him and Ron Polk. Uh and, and
Demi without a doubt was the godfather of junior college baseball.
I mean, so many guys came out of Miami Dade had,
you know, there were superstars in the major leagues. So coach,
coach played for at, at Dave North and then he
went to Florida State. Uh, so he had his contacts

(50:35):
as a player and as a coach already a young coach,
which was his first year.
Um, you know, I could have, I was, look, I
went to, uh, Dade South, uh, to play for Coach
Charlie Green. Uh, and I, I did not, I chose
not to, uh, and then, uh Coach Wager had also
had recommended me to go to University of Miami,

(50:57):
um which was not the right fit for me because I,
I don't think I was ready to step into that
because coach Frasier had, you know, that was Coach Frazier's
uh era of just uh
University of Miami was on a whole different level of
uh of baseball than everybody else because he was just

(51:17):
so far ahead in advance of everybody and building mark
light field and having the first uh astro turf uh
field uh for high school, I mean, for college baseball,
you know, he was, uh I think his nickname was
a wizard. He was, he was amazing and amazing in
fundraising and motivating players and, and coach Ron was just

(51:38):
very special, but for me, it was, it, it went
back to saying, ok, what am I gonna do here?
You know, uh you know, Charlie Coach Green is a
very strong disciplinarian.
Uh ok, I'm ok with that. I'm accustomed to that.
I've grown up with having great coaches, we know what
it is to work hard. Um U M was not

(52:01):
for me at that time because I don't think I
was ready as a player, uh, to go to the
University of Miami and, and, and, and compete there. I don't, I,
I didn't think in, in self evaluation, um, that was
not a fit for me. Uh, and I'm kind of wondering,
I said, OK, what are you gonna do? You gotta
do something, you gotta go somewhere and, uh and thank goodness,

(52:24):
uh we still had the prep league that I talked
about earlier, which was uh a summer program through our
city that we would play in
and here it's August and I still have not, Sean
made a decision. I already knew that um University of
Miami was out for me. I was not prepared. I'm
not prepared. I just wasn't really good enough at that

(52:45):
time at 17 because I graduated at the age of 17,
at the age of 17 to go compete at the
University of Miami. I, I just knew that I was
not ready and I wasn't that I wasn't confident in
my skills, but I just knew that that was not
the right fit
uh for me. Uh So I go to uh with
the premier league All Stars to Tallahassee,

(53:07):
uh that summer in 75 I'm playing there uh in
a tournament and a young coach, uh by the name
of Mike Eason, who was one of the hitting coaches
at Florida State baseball, uh, comes up to me and
he says to me, he says, hey, my name is

(53:27):
Mike Eason.
Uh, uh I just got named a couple of weeks ago,
the head coach at Indian River Community College. I'm gonna
go build this, uh, this program. Um, you're the only
player
that I'm have had time to recruit. I've seen you play,
but I guess you're gonna go to one of these
dade schools and play at, right? And I said, no, sir. Um,

(53:50):
uh I could go to Dade South, but I haven't
really committed to that. Um,
you know, and I could, you know, go ahead and, and,
and try to get into the University of Miami, but
I'm not really ready for that yet. And, um, and
he says, well, that's pretty smart of you. He says,
how would you like to come play for me at
Indian River? And I'll give you books tuition and housing

(54:13):
paid for. And, uh, and he says, you know, I,
I don't know the players I've got coming. So I
don't know how many games we're gonna win, but I
can promise you the next year we'll win the games.
And I said, ok,
sure. So I gave him my phone number and my
address and, uh, lo and behold, I got my, uh,
my letter of intent there. I signed it and, uh,

(54:35):
and a couple of weeks later I was driving to
Fort Pierce and, uh, and, and it was just like
he scripted, you know, our first year we maybe were
lucky to win 18, 19 games, had some pretty good players. Um,
but it was not, you know, his team,
uh, coach Eason that, that, that year, uh, with his

(54:58):
contacts and, and pro scouts, uh, put together one hell
of a team the next year. And, uh, and he, uh,
we wound up winning about 40 games and we lost
the playoffs, uh by a half a game to, uh,
Demi at Miami Day Four. Uh, but we had a
hell of a year and then that year, which is
the second year in 77 that fall,

(55:22):
that winter, excuse me, uh, in the winter, drafted, I
got drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the second phase
of that draft and, and I chose to sign that year.

Speaker 1 (55:32):
So now you're off, you've done your, your junior college
and you get drafted by the Indians. So you probably
did you think at that time? All right, a couple
of years in the minors and I'll be in the
big leagues,

Speaker 2 (55:44):
honestly. No, honestly I did, I wasn't even that far
ahead yet. Uh, it was just, for me, it was, uh, uh,
you know, it reverted back to what I wanted to do,
which was just play baseball and, and it reverted back to,
to the days of Wickers field and seeing these guys
playing in the minor leagues. Uh, I, I, I, you know,

(56:07):
to be honest, Sean, you know, and, and I watch
every Saturday at my grandmother's house the game of the week.
It was a big thing, uh, uh, telecast
Saturday baseball game of the week. And I would, and
I would, and I would watch the, the, the game
of the week. Uh, and, uh, and it was just,
and it was just, um, you know, like a ritual

(56:28):
but you just never, never, that I say I'm gonna
go play in the minor leagues for three or four
years and then I'm gonna get to the big leagues
and make the big money.
Honestly, I never, never thought of that. I mean, that's
what today's players think, you know, because of social media,
people with fancy cars or lifestyle, all of this stuff

(56:51):
that really gets blown up, uh, through social media and
the way people think today, uh, back then when I
was at, um, at, at Indian River and the scout
that signed me, his name was Leon Hamilton. Um
Sean, that wasn't even a thought. The only thought that
I had was I want to play baseball and where

(57:14):
am I gonna go play at? And, and, and, and,
and in the big leagues, even in my first spring
training in Tucson, Arizona when I was 19 years of
age here. And you have about 300 minor leaguers and
you're in camp there
um, with big leaguers and, and I remember my second
year in spring training that I was there and I

(57:35):
remember seeing Boot Powell there I think was from Key West.
He was over there. Um,
Bobby Bonds, Barry Bonds. Father Barry Bonds was Bobby Bonds
was one hell of a baseball player. He was on
that team in Cleveland and, and looking at these guys and,
and the crazy part is not once, did I ever

(57:55):
say God, I can't wait to be in the big leagues,
you know, it was only, I wanna go, I wanna
play baseball. Just, it was just that simple. Uh, and
it wasn't like today where, you know, kids put a
timeline on themselves, they get drafted, um, you know, uh
in, in high rounds, first round, second round, third round,

(58:16):
fourth round. And I know because I've coached, you know,
so many of these guys, uh, and some have made it,
some have not. Uh, however, it's still just for me,
it was just go out and play baseball. I didn't
care where I was at, you know, and, uh, and, and, and,
and that was, that was something that I think the

(58:36):
mindset has changed obviously because
everything and, and, you know, and in the way we
live today has sped up so much, everything is so fast.

Speaker 1 (58:45):
Well, coach also, probably back then. Um, you know, we're
talking 77
there were probably a number of major league baseball players
that had to have a job in the offseason. The
pay wasn't, wasn't where it was today. So, you know,

Speaker 2 (59:01):
the bonuses were not, you were lucky to sign it.
If you signed a, if you signed a, a, a,
a AAA $10,000 bonus, man, you were rich. Uh, you
were in the big leagues and, uh, and, and you
played in the major leagues, you, you were lucky only
a handful of players, you know, had, um,
you know, contracts worth 100 and $6200 a year. And,

(59:24):
I mean, and I'm talking and I'm talking only a
handful of guys. So a lot of guys, uh, back in,
in my time, uh, you're absolutely right. They, in the
offseason they had jobs
come back to, they had, uh, you know, they did,
just did a multiple types of things. Uh, they were,
you know, somewhat celebrities but without a celebrity bank account

(59:48):
and they would come back from the hometowns and a
lot of them were car salesmen. They would sell insurance
and they would use their name and their status as
a major league player to, uh,
to get, you know, to get sales and make money, uh,
because they had to do that, you know, but as,
as the years went on it got better. I remember, uh,

(01:00:10):
uh, if I'm not mistaken, one of the first or
the first million dollar pitcher in major league baseball was
Wayne Garland. And, uh, and I remember Wayne, uh, because
he was with the Cleveland Indians. And, uh, and I
remember him down in the bullpen one day throwing a
bullpen session when I was down there catching pitchers in
the bullpen during spring training.

(01:00:31):
And everybody would look at this guy and say, my God,
he's a millionaire, my God, he's a millionaire. He has
a million dollars, you know, but that goes, that goes back,
you know, back into the late seventies, you know. So
those were, those were the, that, that was a mindset
then today, you know. Hell, I think today bat boys
make a million dollars. They probably do, you know.
So, you know, it, it, it doesn't, it's not much today,

(01:00:54):
but um it's just a, it's just a whole different
world today.

Speaker 1 (01:00:58):
It is. So coach, did you stay with Cleveland for
your whole minor league baseball experience or did, did you
go to any other teams?

Speaker 2 (01:01:05):
No, I uh I played with one other team. Uh
I played two years in the Indians organization. I played
in the Batavia New York, uh the New York Premier League.
And um and then I was uh going, I went
back to spring training and, uh and it's a funny story.
I uh I was in spring training and uh in

(01:01:28):
about the last
week of spring training, uh I was, I was there
battling uh for, for a spot on the roster, um,
in high a ball, uh with, uh, um, and I,
and I know you're gonna remember the name, uh Sal Bando,
uh famous third baseman broadcaster for the Cubs. He had

(01:01:49):
a brother, uh that was a catcher, uh that was
playing at, uh Arizona or Arizona State. He was a
draft pick, uh by, by, uh
Cleveland and he was, he was much older than I was, uh,
you know, I was, you know,
turning 20 years old and this guy was 21 22

(01:02:13):
maybe even 23 years old because he already had played
four years of college and it was the following year.
So he might have been 23 24. He was about
four years older than I was.
And, um, and they drafted him, he came into spring
training and it came down to him and I, uh,
the one who was gonna make that roster on that

(01:02:35):
spot there to play for Cal Emery, uh, and, um,
and he got the job there and, uh, so they
really didn't know what they were going to do with
me at that time. And, uh, our farm director was
Bob Quinn Junior. His father was a very big name
in major league baseball. Bob Quinn Senior.
And, um, and he told me, he said, Ralph, we're

(01:02:57):
gonna look at, see what we're gonna do here, what
we're gonna do because we need to keep you around
because you're still young. You still haven't really hit a,
a big growth spurt, you know, and becoming, you know,
filled out and
what have you and back then there was no weights or,
you know, the weight rooms or anything like that because
we didn't have that back then in that era. Uh

(01:03:18):
So you just had this way to hopefully grow up
and gain weight, you know, and become an adult, you know, and,
you know, some people mature, uh, physically quicker than others. And, uh,
and Banda was a pretty stop type guy, uh, and
much stronger than I was. But anyway, he, you know,
Bob is the one that kind of

(01:03:38):
opened my eyes a little bit about coaching and I
had gotten really sick, uh, the last week of spring
training and, uh, had some, some type of food poisoning and, uh,
it was really bad and, uh, Bob comes to me
and he tells me Ralph, uh, I think we're gonna
go ahead and,
uh, send you to, uh, to one of our programs

(01:03:58):
that we're gonna have in, you know, in the fall, uh,
excuse me in the spring. And then, um, we'll go
ahead and look at it again and, and kind of
keep you on the reserve list.
And, uh, and I said, ok, what does that mean?
He says, well, I'm not gonna, you're not gonna be
able to, you're not gonna be rostered. Um, you could, uh,
you're not doing physically well, you lost a lot of weight,

(01:04:22):
but I, I, I do want you to keep this
in mind and I said, ok, and he said, um,
I think you should consider going into coaching.
And I said what? And he says, yeah, I think
you really should consider going into coaching. He says there's
something about you that, um,
that just gives me the, the, the impression that you're

(01:04:44):
gonna make one hell of a coach and you should
consider going into coaching and, and, and, and letting us
start here.
Uh, and I said, Mr Quinn, uh I, I want
to play baseball and he says, I understand that, but
this is just a, a AAA thought that has come
into my head that I'm presenting to you and something
that you should think about, you know, I was 20

(01:05:06):
years old for heaven's sakes and, you know, and I didn't,
and it never, and it never, it didn't stick with me. And, uh,
and of course, I went from Cleveland to, uh being
sent by him
to go play for a, uh, a co-op club in,
um in the New York Penn League, which is a, a, uh,
a class a league, uh in New York, I played

(01:05:28):
in Newark and had a pretty damn good season there,
uh played with Don Mattingly and a lot of the
guys from the Yankees and Brian Butterfield and, uh, a
lot of guys and, and did pretty well, you know,
uh with the top 20 hitters in the league.
And, um, and then the next year, uh, I got
optioned out again to go play in North Carolina in

(01:05:49):
Rocky mouth, little small town there in the Carolina League.
And then I, uh, I injured my ankle and, uh,
and that was, and I was in for that, you know,
uh, and then never thought about, you know, coaching until
much later on, uh, in my career when, uh I said,
you know, what, uh maybe I should go back into

(01:06:10):
coaching or start coaching, not go into coaching, start coaching. And, uh,
and then I, and I did, I, I, I started
up a little pony league for uh uh Mr Pedro
who was a contractor who would come to me and
asked me, why don't you go ahead and coach my team? And, uh,
and I said, I don't know. And uh and I did,
and then from there, my, my career just started to,

(01:06:33):
to grow as I was doing that and finishing up
my college degree.

Speaker 1 (01:06:36):
So coach, this is about, I would say what 1980
1981 I,

Speaker 2 (01:06:42):
somewhere, somewhere in that vicinity, somewhere in that vicinity. Uh No,
a little later than that, a little later than that. Yeah,
it was a little later than that. I'm gonna say
this was, uh now that I recall it,
Mr Pedro was building, he was a contractor and he
had built a lot of those units are there across
from George Me football field complex there. Uh, this was in, like,

(01:07:06):
in the late eighties, you know, like 80 88 87
something like right in there from like maybe a year
shy here or there.
But that's when I started, uh, in the Pony League coaching. Uh,
the name of the team was T C I first
team I coached.

Speaker 1 (01:07:22):
Right. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:07:23):
Yeah. Yeah, he coached that team while I was, uh,
while I was, you know, going and then, and, and
what it did do for me, Sean was, I said,
you know what, um, you know, you know, Mr Bob
Quinn was, uh, was correct in what he did.
And his assessment back then when I was 20 years
old about going into coaching. And I said, but if

(01:07:45):
I'm gonna go into coaching, I'm gonna need to get
my degree and I only had two years of junior
college when I was at Indian River. So, you know,
uh I went back uh, back to college, uh, here
at Saint Leo's and at Florida Keys and some horn
lawn courses, um, and finished and got my degree in
business

(01:08:06):
and, uh, and did that and then, you know, one
thing led to the next,
uh I wind up, uh starting my coaching career here
as an assistant coach, uh for Chris Valdez, who was
the head J V coach because I had moved uh
to Homestead. And then I had come back to Key West,

(01:08:28):
uh with my wife and my two Children. We lived
in Homestead for about a year. And, um, and then
when I came back to Key West, uh
I was a bus driver uh for the school district,
driving a bus and working, you know, a couple of
different part time jobs around Key West. And then, uh

(01:08:48):
you know, Chris Valdez is the, is the, was the,
the a a uh
a permanent substitute at Key West High school. Very young.
Chris was, and he was also the uh head J
V baseball coach and Chris one day when I'm working
as a substitute and driving the bus for the different
programs at the high school. Um He, uh he asked me,

(01:09:12):
he says, would you like to help me coach the
J V baseball team? And I said, you know, sure
I'd love to. But, um, you know, my schedule is
pretty tight because I do this. I work part time
at uh one of these local stores here and then
I'm going to, to college at nighttime. Um but I'd
love to and, uh, and I did and that's how my,

(01:09:32):
my coaching career really started to be honest with

Speaker 1 (01:09:35):
you. So coach, this is just to assume about 88
89 I

Speaker 2 (01:09:39):
somewhere. Yeah. Yeah, somewhere right, right around in there. I
was still getting my, my degree and working, getting my
business degree from Saint Leo's and uh
and uh, you know, and it was, and it was,
and it was just really, you know, I mean, you
want to talk about starting from the bottom up that, that,
that's about as bottom as you could get right there
with the way I started out and, uh, and I

(01:10:01):
drove a bus for
football, for baseball, uh, any programs that's, and, and then
I would substitute and, uh, and I, and I worked
for a whopping $50 a day, you know.

Speaker 1 (01:10:14):
Yeah, I remember

Speaker 2 (01:10:15):
that. So, you know, so, so, you know, I did
that and I did, uh, worked at a couple of
other department stores in the
evenings and weekends and going to school and, you know, and,
and it was just, uh, you know, and, and those
were good times. Those were, you know, tough, tough, tough, tough,
financial times back then. But, you know, what, it made

(01:10:35):
you learn a, a lot, uh, nothing was given to you, uh,
you know, and, and I remember riding a bicycle from
old town all the way up to Boca chica to
get my, to finish my degree, you know. So it,
it goes way back in time. But, uh, you know, uh,
I reflect upon those days and, and I tell people,

(01:10:55):
you know, you know, you guys say you want everything
given to you, I'm not going out and earning it
and working for it, uh, you know, and, and I
know times are different.
Uh, but still, you know, you, you want, you want
to have that concept that, you know, that you're, that you,
that you've gone through this. Um, and, and it makes
you a stronger person and it prepares you more for

(01:11:16):
the world today. It really does.

Speaker 1 (01:11:18):
Well, fortunately, you know, a lot of these kids do
have sports in their lives because it's one of the
very last places
that has that kind of thing where sometimes you have
to make it undeniable. You have to earn your spot,
you have to keep your spot and you have to
be disciplined in order to be successful. So, thank goodness

(01:11:39):
for all the sports that we offer here in the
Keys because it's, I think it's one of the things
that still keeps the kids focused and teaches all of
those things that you're talking about.

Speaker 2 (01:11:51):
Absolutely. I mean, that's, that's, that's, that is the, uh,
the vehicle that keeps kids. Uh, if, if I'm not mistaken, um,
I think we have about 600 plus kids, uh, in
Key West High school involved in sports. Uh, and I
think our, you know, student population numbers probably close to 11, 1200.

(01:12:16):
So you could safely say that 40 plus percent
of the students at Key West High School are involved in,
in the, in the sport, baseball, softball, football, lacrosse, tennis,
cross country track, uh, the swimming team, the golf team, uh, wrestling. Uh,
it just go the list goes on and on and

(01:12:38):
on and, and, and it's such a, a great, great, uh,
thing to teach kids, uh, to get them involved, teach
them about competition,
uh, teaching them, you know, about striving to be successful. Uh,
and I think that, that, that those lessons there carry
on into their education, carries on into their young adult life,

(01:12:59):
carries on into their work life. Um, and, uh, you know, and,
and it's just so, so, so, um, such of a
big thing. I, I, I tell this to my classroom, uh, every,
you know, not every day but every year when I'm
teaching that, you know,
uh, many years ago, several years ago, uh, the Fortune

(01:13:20):
500 in the Forbes magazine had did this article uh
on the CEO S
and, uh of the top 500 companies in America and,
and it was back then. It was like, and I'm
sure the number is higher today, but it was like
back then, it was like 35% of the CEO S
of the top Fortune 500 companies all had played sports

(01:13:42):
in high school or in college. And they attribute their, uh,
their success in getting to that level was in sports
because it made them be competitive people and wanting to
be the best and,
and, and then of course, being successful and building, you know,
no matter what they did, they,
you know, their, their, their model was, you know, was

(01:14:04):
to be the best and that's what drives them to
work every day and build companies and, and stay being
number one, uh, because it's got that drive that you
learn as an athlete, you know, to win and, and
that's what, you know, American companies want and that's what
coaches want, they want players and employees that wanna be
number one. And that's what it's all about,

Speaker 1 (01:14:26):
no doubt about that. And that's the end of part
one of the Keys weekly sports wrap podcast with Key
West high school baseball manager, head coach Ralph Enriquez. Next
week when you guys get part two, you're really gonna
hear about going to Key West High School,
going to the state championship and losing in 94 winning

(01:14:50):
two in a row, 95 96 where his career went
from there. So thank you guys so much for listening
to the Keys weekly sports wrap. Come back, uh, next
Thursday to hear part two.