August 31, 2007

CSF should consider Wallach
Titans should consider Tim Wallach as they prepare to deal with changes in the baseball program

RANDY YOUNGMAN
Register columnist

Will there be life after George Horton at Cal State Fullerton?

Of course. But will the quality of life – and, specifically, the quality of baseball – be the same at Goodwin Field no matter who replaces Horton, who reportedly is poised to accept a lucrative multiyear contract to resurrect the Oregon Ducks baseball program?

Horton guided the Titans to the College World Series six of the past nine seasons and three of the past four, bringing home the school's fourth national championship in 2004. But Cal State Fullerton has always been a perennial national power.

The Titans won big under Augie Garrido in two separate coaching stints (1975-88 and 1991-96), they won big under Larry Cochell (1988-90), and they have won big under Horton (1997-present), who was promoted from the CSF staff to replace Garrido.

The College World Series has almost become a rite of spring at Cal State Fullerton. Omaha no longer is a dream; it's a destination – and a tradition. Every Titan who has played four years at CSF has made it to Omaha at least once, which has to be the ultimate recruiting inducement for blue-chip high school players.

So it is reasonable to assume the success in Titanland will continue under the school's fourth baseball coach, whoever it turns out to be.

Right?

"No, I don't think that," Tim Wallach, the most famous CSF baseball alumnus, said Friday as rumors swirled that Horton would soon be introduced as the next Oregon coach with a financial package distinguishing him as the nation's highest-paid baseball coach. "I think it's very important whom they hire.

"If they don't bring in the right guy or guys, it (the program) could go backward."

Because Cochell was the only non-Titan to coach at CSF, the immediate speculation on Horton's successor has centered on longtime assistant Rick Vanderhook, who was promoted to associate head coach this year, and three former Titans coaching other Big West schools: Dave Serrano (UC Irvine), Steve Rouse (Cal State Northridge) and Rex Peters (UC Davis).

But there's another former Titan conspicuously missing from that list of candidates: Timothy Charles Wallach.

Wallach, a longtime Yorba Linda resident who played for the Expos, Dodgers and Angels during a stellar 17-year career in the majors, was the College Player of the Year and Golden Spikes Award winner in 1979, when Cal State Fullerton won its first national title.

He also was a CSF assistant coach under Horton in 2000, after a short stint as the Dodgers' Class-A manager at San Bernardino.

He later became the Dodgers' major league batting coach and was a candidate for the San Diego Padres managing vacancy filled by Angels pitching coach Bud Black this season. He also turned down an offer from Manager Jim Tracy to become the Pittsburgh Pirates hitting coach this season because he wanted to stay close to his home and family.

This year, he was the hitting coach at Orange Lutheran, where his son Brett played, and he attended many of the CSF games to watch his oldest son, Matt, play first base on another CWS Titans team before he was drafted and signed by the Dodgers. And Tim said it was more fun going to Omaha as father/spectator than it was as a player in 1979.

Wallach, who turns 50 in two weeks, certainly would be the most qualified candidate to replace Horton, if he were interested in the job.

Wallach politely declined to comment when asked that question Friday – after all, there has been no official announcement from Oregon or CSF on Horton's status – but he was effusive of his praise of Horton.

"I think George's attention to detail is what makes him such a great coach," Wallach said. "College baseball is a different animal than pro baseball. There's so much more involved off the field for a coach – recruiting, keeping players eligible, fund-raising, etc. Being a college coach is even more of a 24/7 job than a major league manager."

Sounds as if Wallach has given some thought to becoming college head coach, but all he would say Friday is that it's important to hire the right person to keep the CSF baseball momentum going in the right direction.

CSF athletic director Brian Quinn said Friday he couldn't comment on any prospective candidates.

Might as well find out if the best candidate is interested.

Ba-da-bing!:From David Letterman, noted late-night wise guy: "I love the Little League World Series. My favorite part of the telecast is when they put the cameras on the players' wives."