When Sonoma State’s Daniel Barone made his major-league debut for the Florida Marlins two years ago, he did it at Shea Stadium in New York.
And his former coach at SSU, John Goelz, was there.
Now former SSU star Tommy Everidge will make his big-league debut at Fenway Park in Boston on Tuesday.
And guess who was checking plane flights Monday afternoon, preparing for another last-minute, 3,000-mile journey.
“There’s no way I’d miss it,” Goelz said.
One of the keys to Goelz’s success during his 24-career at SSU is his ability to relate to players. He doesn’t yell, insult or embarrass them. He allows them to have fun and he treats them like adults.
And years later, long after they’ve played their final college game, his players want to share some of the biggest moments of their lives with him.
“This is awesome,” Everidge wrote to Goelz in a text message Monday. “I love you.”