Maybe John Savage was a good hire.
The former UC Irvine coach certainly was the obvious choice.
But in selecting Savage to resurrect UCLA’s beleaguered
baseball program, Dan Guerrero seems to have snubbed perhaps the
most accomplished candidate for the position.
George Horton, architect of Cal State Fullerton’s
surprising national championship run last month, apparently made it
clear to members of the college baseball community that the UCLA
vacancy intrigued him.
Two Division I baseball coaches said last week that Horton had
told them that he was interested in coming to Westwood. One even
said that Horton described UCLA as a “dream job.”
Well, dream on George because apparently UCLA wasn’t
interested.
Savage, hand-picked by Guerrero to relaunch the UCI baseball
program in 2001, has been the frontrunner to succeed Gary Adams
since Arizona coach Andy Lopez reiterated that he will remain in
Tucson after the College World Series last month.
Guerrero interviewed four others, including UCLA assistant coach
Vince Beringhele, but each of them appeared to be long shots at
best.
Conspicuously absent from the list of serious contenders was
Horton, who could not be reached for comment.
When asked specifically about the candidates at the press
conference, Guerrero was coy.
“All the candidates we talked to were high level and could
have done a very good job here,” he said.
Perhaps, but Horton’s the one he apparently didn’t
talk to who might have done the best job.
Horton, a Cal State Fullerton alum, has led the Titans to the
College World Series four times since taking over for legendary
coach Augie Garrido in 1997.
This season may have been his most impressive. At one point, Cal
State Fullerton was 15-16 before storming through the second half
of the season to get back into the playoff race.
With all that he has accomplished at Cal State Fullerton, why
would Horton want to come to UCLA, a program defined by its
mediocrity over the past three decades?
Well, it’s simple. The money.
Garrido, Horton’s mentor, left Cal State Fullerton for
Texas in 1997 largely because of the economic resources that a
major-conference school with a top-notch football and basketball
program could offer. Perhaps Horton saw the same opportunity at
UCLA.
Horton maintained that he was happy with his current job during
the College World Series, but never once said that he wasn’t
interested in the UCLA opening.
In fact, he admitted that the lack of funding at Cal State
Fullerton was an issue, particularly during the playoffs.
“I don’t need a bunch of money in my pockets,”
Horton told Baseball America magazine. “I just need help.
Help for my assistants and my staff. We don’t have six pages
of support staff. When Augie says, “˜I want this done (at
Texas),’ it’s done. At Cal State Fullerton, you have to
do it yourself.”
There is certainly the possibility that Horton made it known
that he was interested in the UCLA job in order to gain leverage in
any future negotiations at Cal State Fullerton.
But if Horton was serious about leaving, it’s a shame
Guerrero didn’t give him more of a look.
John Savage is a safe choice to lead the UCLA baseball program.
George Horton might have been an inspired one.
E-mail Eisenberg at jeisenberg@media.ucla.edu.