SILive.com

September 25, 2007

S.I. Yanks manager to get UC-Irvine job
by Staten Island Advance

Several media outlets are reporting that former Staten Island Yankees manager Mike Gillespie will be hired by the University of California, Irvine as the school's next baseball coach.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Gillespie, who led the single-A affiliate of the New York Yankees to the playoffs in his first, and only, season in St. George, will be hired by the school to fill the vacancy left by Dave Serrano, who bolted for Cal State Fullerton.

The paper is also reporting that Pat Shine was hired as the associate head coach with the understanding that the team will be his when the 67-year-old Gillespie decides to retire.

Gillespie told the paper on Monday that working for the Yankees was a great experience, but it was too far from his Newhall, Calif., home.

"My plan was always to coach again," he said.

Before joining the Yankees, Gillespie compiled a record of 763-471-2 during his tenure with the University of Southern California, including a national title in 1998 and three other appearances in the final.

"He is a legendary coach in Southern California and he deserves to be coaching," John Savage, a coach at UCLA and one of Gillespie's former pitching coaches, told the paper. "He still has a ton of passion and has plenty of fire left in his coaching career. He absolutely is the right guy for the job.

"Mike is as good a coach that's out there."