Friday March 30, 2012
PITTSFIELD -- For Pittsfield baseball coach Bob Moynihan, there is no big secret as to why he's entering his 30th year as a head coach.
"It's still fun," he said after a recent practice at Clapp Park. "And what makes it fun is that while you have kids who have played before, there is still some teaching involved.
"I tell the kids that players have to make adjustments at every level of this game, from Little League all the way up to the major leagues."
Moynihan has actually been coaching at Pittsfield High School for 34 years. He served as an assistant coach under current St. Joseph's High School softball coach George "Buddy" Pellerin for four years before taking over in 1982.
In that span, Moynihan has a record of 428-188, giving him an outstanding .694 winning percentage. His teams have made it to seven Western Mass. finals, winning four. PHS has also been to a state final in 2004.
"You remember the losses more than the wins," admitted Moynihan when talking about his Western Mass. champions. "I remember that the ones we lost were all one-run defeats. I'm just glad we won four."
And in fact, the postseason is one of the principal reasons Moynihan enjoys the high school game so much.
"High school baseball is a little different," he said. "Last year, to begin the year, we beat Minnechaug. They finished 10-10 on the year, and barely made the Western Mass. tournament as the No. 10
seed. But they won the Western Mass. title and ended up in the state final.
"Any team can beat any other team at this level," he said. "I remember very well several years ago, we were in first place in the North, and we went down to play Mount Everett, who was winless at the time. And they played well and beat us. But that shows my point."
The Generals had a rare down year last year, finishing 6-14 and out of the tournament. This doesn't usually happen. PHS has only missed the playoffs a handful of times on Moynihan's watch. As impressive as this is, it is even more impressive when it is noted that, for many years, high school teams in Western Mass. had to win 65 percent of their games to earn a tournament berth. That percentage is now .500. As rare as non-playoff teams are in Pittsfield, sub-.500 General squads are rarer.
Moynihan is optimistic about this team. He has a lot of good athletes, and the attitude is positive. The Generals have had several scrimmages, and the longtime field boss likes what he sees. He plans to stick around for a few more years.
"My wife is still teaching," he said. "When she retires in a few years, it might be time to step back and consider retiring."
Consider? Meaning there is no concrete plan?
"No," he said laughing. "But there will be a conversation about it, I promise you."
To reach Derek Gentile:
dgentile@berkshireeagle.com,
(413) 496-6251.
On Twitter: @derekgentile.
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