Corbin adjusts gameday coaching

By Barca Blog - Over the summer, baseball head coach Tim Corbin decided to make a switch to one of his gameday managerial duties. Corbin had previously served as the Commodores’ third base coach in his first six seasons… Until now.

“I had to make a change and just knew it was the right time to do it,” Corbin said. “(Assistant Coach) Erik Bakich has been in the program for six years and felt like he could do it. Erik’s paid his dues and he’ll do well in that spot.”

Bakich’s duties will move from first to third, while first-year Volunteer Assistant Coach Larry Day will handle the responsibilities at first. Corbin will now coach exclusively from the dugout, something he also did when he managed the USA Baseball National Team to a 28-2-1 record and a FISU gold medal during the summer of 2006.

“It’s a different way to interact with the kids and it’s more of a pitch-to-pitch type thing,” Corbin added. “Hopefully I have a good impact in there. It just puts you off the field and into a situation where you can think through the offense and defense at the same time. When you’re out at third base, your mind has to be on the running game and you can’t think of everything so it’s a little bit easier.”

Another change this year, instituted by the NCAA, will be that base coaches will be required to wear a helmet on the field.

According to NCAA.com, collegiate baseball's adoption of the rule comes on the heels of Major League Baseball requiring the same of their base coaches. MLB passed the rule after Mike Coolbaugh, a coach for the Colorado Rockies’ Double-A team, was killed after being hit be a line drive while coaching first base in 2007.

“The rule was kind of a kick back from the Coolbaugh situation and professional baseball,” Corbin stated. “As sad as it was, Major League Baseball, Minor League Baseball, and then Collegiate Baseball reacted the same way. We just have to put helmets on top of our base coaches’ heads. I guess we’ll see how it works. It can only help so much, but it’s a safety measure.”

Corbin won’t be obligated to wear the gear, though, due to his move to the dugout.

“I don’t look too good in it,” Corbin joked. “It’s probably another good reason for me to not coach third base.”