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With a long to-do list — recruiting, retaining, scouting, budget planning — summer is a no-nap time for a college baseball head coach.
But as coach of the University of San Diego in 2004, Rich Hill decided to put the search for a new pitching coach on hold. One of the candidates was Eric Valenzuela, whose pregnant wife was diagnosed with leukemia.
“I was in the hospital with her for over a month,” said Valenzuela, whose wife is now healthy. “Instead of moving on, (Hill) stayed with me. He hadn’t offered me the job yet, but he said, “I won’t hire anyone else until I meet you.” He did, and we just got along. He waited for me during a very difficult time for me and my family. And he hired me.
Initially, it was a full-time job with a part-time salary. Valenzuela was at USD for six years, working with Hill to win four league titles. Valenzuela went on to serve as an assistant coach under Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn at San Diego State, and head coaching positions at Saint Mary’s and, since 2019, Long Beach State.
Hill, who was hired as Hawaii’s head coach in June after 23 seasons at USD, will face Valenzuela tonight in the opener of a three-game series between the Rainbow Warriors and Long Beach State.
“He’s my mentor,” Valenzuela said of Hill. “I wouldn’t be in this position without him. I owe him my career. I really do. I say that with everything I have. He took my chance as a young coach when many other schools didn’t. I have so much respect for him. He is my boss. He’s my guy.
Valenzuela feels at home in Southern California. He grew up in San Gabriel Valley, just east of Los Angeles, the son of a trainer. His father coached and coached boxers for over 40 years. Valenzuela boxed as a child, but was later encouraged to focus more on baseball, which offered a more direct path to college.
“He wanted me to be the first in my family to go to college,” Valenzuela said. “He wanted a different route for me.”
Valenzuela was a pitcher who wore the No. 34 jersey in high school, then Arizona State and then Pepperdine. “I’ve been asked a million times if Fernando (Valenzuela) is my dad or if we’re related,” said Valenzuela, who is unrelated to the Dodger who donned No. 34 and spawned ‘Fernandomania’ . But Eric Valenzuela said he may be related to the late musician Richard Valenzuela, better known as Ritchie Valens.
While at Pepperdine, it was a man-in-the-mirror moment when Valenzuela realized he might not be destined to be a major league pitcher. He then focused more on his studies, becoming the first university graduate in his family and preparing for a coaching career.
Valenzuela has a skill for developing players, especially pitching teams. When recruiting, he prioritizes high school pitchers with “throwing ability” over speed. He said it’s easier to build strength and increase speed than it is to teach a pitcher to consistently throw strikes.
“We’ve had the chance to do that since we were with Coach Hill at USD,” Valenzuela said.
UH will face an effective pitching team from Long Beach State. Luis Ramirez, who skipped his scheduled outing last week due to shoulder stiffness, will start tonight. Ramirez is 1-0 with a 0.50 ERA and 0.89 WHIP.
Jack Noble, who started the year in the bullpen, is back in the rotation. Noble is 3-0 with a 0.84 ERA and 1.08 WHIP. Juaron Watts-Brown, a sophomore freshman, was a league MVP in baseball, basketball, and football at Hanford High.
Devereaux Harrison, a closer, was a freshman All-American (NCBWAA, Collegiate Baseball) after making 10 saves and averaging 11.02 strikeouts per nine innings last year.
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