Grand Slam
Summer in Yankee pinstripes is a dream come true for UMW coach
By Jack Bales
The mention of the New York Yankees, America’s most decorated baseball team, brings to mind some of the biggest names in sports, among them Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Joe DiMaggio,
Lou Gehrig, and, of course, Babe Ruth. UMW baseball coach Tom Sheridan became a part of this storied organization last summer when Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman invited him to join the baseball operations department for eight weeks at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx.
While Sheridan was coaching baseball at Mary Washington, he met Cashman when the latter was playing second base for Catholic University. Cashman joined the Yankees as an intern in 1986, and Sheridan occasionally visited him. Now, as the team’s general manager, Cashman is one of the most prominent members of the baseball franchise.
For Sheridan, who has been a Yankees fan for decades and has been involved in baseball “for as long as I can remember,” the eight-week stint was the fulfillment of a childhood fantasy. But he knew it also would be a challenge. Before he left for New York – with the blessings of his wife, Eileen, and daughter, Katy – he remarked: “It’s one thing to think you are knowledgeable about baseball. It’s something else to test that knowledge with major league personnel. But at the same time, how many opportunities do you get to work at the highest level of your profession? I just hope that I’ll be able to help the team, and, at the same time, learn a lot and do some things I’ve never done.”
From all indications, Sheridan surpassed his goals. “It was 100 times better than what I imagined, not only because of the things I was able to do, but also because of the people I met, shared ideas with, and learned from. The daily interaction is what made it so special.”
As part of Sheridan’s job, he quickly had to master a computer database called Bats Input, which the team uses for advance scouting and potential player trades. While viewing video feeds of minor league baseball games, he would analyze pitchers’ deliveries, noting the type of pitch, its location, and whether it was a ball or a strike. If the ball was put in play, what was the outcome – a ground ball, a line drive, or a fly? Where and how was it hit, and what was the result? Was it an out or a hit, and did the hitter make high-quality contact, or was he defensive in his swing? Sheridan also examined how hitters reacted when they were thrown certain types of pitches.
The first day “was definitely a challenge,” he said. “My head was spinning. I was fine with the baseball aspect, but this was different. I thought, ‘How am I ever going to learn all this and be able to put it in the computer so quickly?’” But by the third day, Sheridan had it under control, so much so that when he sat in the stands to watch a Yankees game, he found himself predicting players’ moves.
Grant Woodwell, UMW geology professor, and his wife, Sherrie, visited him in New York, and Woodwell was amazed when Sheridan foresaw the pitch sequence thrown to a Texas Rangers batter, who subsequently struck out. “You were able to predict what the Yankees pitcher was going to throw in regard to pitch type and location,” Woodwell said as the two reminisced about their weekend visit.
For Sheridan, however, it was all in a day’s work. “I had scouted that hitter on previous games,” he said. “I read the write-ups and knew the way we were going to attack him. After you study a lot of games, especially one team quite often, you get to know their players. It all just registers in your mind.”
A highlight for the UMW coach was All-Star Week, held this year at Yankee Stadium. Because this was the final year for the legendary ballpark (a new state-of-the-art stadium will open next season), the celebration was grander than usual. Deborah Tymon, Yankees senior vice president of marketing, asked Sheridan to work as a team liaison with Major League Baseball, which meant he had to attend production meetings for all the events, including the Home Run Derby, the All-Star Game, and the Legends and Celebrities Softball Game. He also mingled with members of baseball’s most prestigious fraternity, the Hall of Fame; sat with the players during the Home Run Derby and All-Star Game; escorted celebrities Billy Crystal, Whoopi Goldberg, Sheryl Crow, Josh Groban, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Matthew Broderick around the park; and witnessed the national anthem sung by the Jersey Boys (who took time out during rehearsals to croon happy birthday to Sheridan’s wife via cell phone).
Sheridan tackled his baseball duties in New York with the same intensity and dedication that he gives to his head coaching job at Mary Washington. Arriving on campus in 1988 after six years with James Madison University’s athletic department, he recalled years later that he “was starting the baseball program here completely from scratch, but that’s what made the opportunity so attractive for me.” Since 1988, his teams have won 496 games, lost 209, and tied three. He has garnered many awards as well as wins. He has received various conference coach-of-the-year awards 12 times and twice has been chosen Virginia State College Division III Coach of the Year. He is one of only nine current Division III baseball head coaches who have coached a minimum of 20 years, taken their teams to 10 NCAA tournament appearances, and have earned a .700 or better winning percentage.
Martin A. Wilder, UMW vice president for enrollment and communications, recently observed, “Tom Sheridan works very hard to recruit high-quality student athletes to UMW. He has an incredible work ethic that is transmitted to his players, and he is an exemplary representative of the University and its values – demonstrating the highest integrity and a genuine personal interest in each student he recruits.”
Those student athletes are as quick to praise Sheridan as his baseball peers and UMW colleagues. Eagles pitcher Seth Kaas ’08 has continued to follow the values his coach instilled in him. “Coach Sheridan is the foundation of Mary Washington baseball,” said Kaas. “In my four years at UMW, he not only prepared me for the upcoming baseball season, but also, and more important, he prepared me for life. Honesty and hard work go a long way in his program, and they work pretty well in the real world, too.”
More than a few of Sheridan’s baseball players have transferred the skills gained at UMW into their real-world lives. Twelve of his players have signed professional contracts, including former UMW All-American Jin Wong, who is director of baseball administration for the Kansas City Royals. Former Eagles catcher Tim Deyesu ’03 worked with Cal and Billy Ripken at the Ripken Baseball Complex in Aberdeen, Md. Deyesu is now general manager of operations for the Ripken Experience baseball facility in Myrtle Beach, S.C. “The common thread among all these individuals was their work ethic,” Sheridan said. “They all went above and beyond everything I ever asked of them.”
The same thing could also be said for Sheridan and his summer with the New York Yankees. Although he said he just tried to “work hard and do whatever I could to help out,” others have a different take. “Tom was a huge asset,” Brian Cashman said in a recent interview. “Because he is a field guy, he knows the nuances of the game and how to evaluate talent. We have people on the technical side who are familiar with computers, but Tom brought to us a most important skill set – understanding the game inside and out. Mary Washington has a unique asset. I wish he was still with us. If he ever wants to jump ship, we’ll take him.”
Jean Afterman, assistant general manager of the New York Yankees, echoed Cashman’s sentiments, commenting on the “wonderful way Tom blended in, whether it was interacting with a department vice president or a summer intern. I wish he’d come work for us.”
But UMW is pleased that Sheridan bade farewell to the Bronx Bombers – at least until summer perhaps – and returned to Fredericksburg. After all, his 22nd season of Eagles baseball will soon be starting.
Jack Bales, author of numerous books and articles, is UMW’s longtime reference and humanities librarian. He is currently researching a book on the Chicago Cubs and their pennant-winning decade of the 1930s.