Jason Bugg was named the new manager of the San Benito High
varsity baseball team on Friday during a meet-and-greet lunch
period with prospective players, and will replace Michael Luna at
the helm of the five-time defending Tri-County Athletic League
champion Balers.
HOLLISTER
While thinking about each position he’s played on the baseball diamond, Jason Bugg couldn’t help but smile.
“It’s kind of like my coaching career,” he quipped.
A 1988 graduate of Oak Grove High School, Bugg has played just about everywhere on the field and coached at just about every level. But the San Jose resident said he’s ready to settle down at just one position.
Bugg was named the new manager of the San Benito High varsity baseball team on Friday during a meet-and-greet lunch period with prospective players, and will replace Michael Luna at the helm of the five-time defending Tri-County Athletic League champion Balers.
“We’re real confident coach (Bugg) is gonna come in and do a great job here,” Athletic Director Tod Thatcher said. “It’s real important to us because this is obviously one of our hardest working programs on campus.”
Having worn many different hats, and having held many different positions, the new Baler skipper feels the knowledge gleaned at each spot will help translate into a successful program in Hollister. He spoke of “Baler Ball,” which will be tough, relentless and unselfish, and introduced a voluntary offseason conditioning program.
“His playing experience is rather extensive,” Thatcher said during his introduction.
Bugg played second base in high school at Oak Grove, then transitioned to the outfield while playing at San Jose City College, where, ironically, one of his coaches was Luna.
“I learned a lot from him,” Bugg said. “And he was a great guy.”
He then transferred to San Jose State, where he played center field for the Spartans under manager Sam Piraro in 1991 and 1992. According to the San Jose State website, he shared the team lead in stolen bases as a junior, and led the team in batting average, runs scored, extra-base hits and walks as a senior, and was second on the team in RBI.
It was also at San Jose State where Bugg earned honors in the Big West Conference. He was a second team all-conference selection in 1992.
His name still graces the Spartan record books as well, as his seven triples in 1992 is second all-time, while his 47 RBI that same year was 10th all-time when he graduated, according to the school’s website.
Bugg’s playing days weren’t over after graduation, though. He signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Braves organization in 1992, where his role was that of a utility player, and later played in the Idaho Falls Rookie League in 1993, the California League in 1994, and later the Bend Bandits of the Western League, totaling five years of professional baseball.
For the Bandits, where he played every position but pitcher, Bugg was an all-star selection while playing positions at second and third base, according to the San Jose State website.
“That gives me a lot of knowledge, knowing each position and to have played them at a fairly high level,” Bugg said Friday after he broke down some of his expectations, goals and coaching philosophies with roughly 40 student-athletes on the SBHS campus.
“I’ve always wanted an opportunity to be a head coach at a big, traditional high school,” he later added. “I have family here and it’s close to home.”
Bugg’s playing career is really only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to his experience, though. Said Thatcher, “From there, coach got the coaching bug.”
He previously coached at San Leandro High, which was coming off a 4-20 season in 2000. But Bugg quickly turned the tables into a winning record in 2001, leading the Pirates to a 14-11 record, then managed the team to a 19-6 overall record in 2002, 16-0 in league, and a second straight postseason appearance in the North Coast Section playoffs.
He also coached at American High School in Fremont and later at Athenian High in Danville, where he led the Owls to their first playoff appearance in 11 seasons. He also coached at San Jose State, as well as at the junior college level, with stints at Chabot College and Mission College, where he was most recently in 2009-10.
Ironically, Luna departed San Benito High after six seasons for a coaching position at Mission, which is located in Santa Clara.
“We switched positions,” Bugg said.
While Bugg’s coaching resume began in 1999 at American High, he moved from the high school, to the junior college, to the Division I level by 2005, when he was a first-base coach for the Spartans. His return to the high school level, meanwhile, reflects a return to his coaching roots.
“I wanted to be a head coach again,” said Bugg, who next spring will enter his 11th year of coaching, fifth at the managerial position.
The new skipper takes over a Baler squad that went 16-2 in the TCAL last season, 21-7 overall. Although the school is still in search of both junior varsity and freshmen head coaches, Bugg’s varsity staff will include Ernie Miller, Dave Ortiz, Billy Aviles and father Richard Bugg, who previously coached baseball at San Benito High in the 90s.
“I want to be here for a really long period of time and I want to continue to keep up the tradition of winning baseball here,” Bugg said. “This program is a well-oiled machine, and it will continue to be.”
Over the last six seasons under Luna, the Balers compiled a 147-41-1 overall mark and went 85-14 in the TCAL. Those big shoes piqued Bugg’s interest, though.
“It excites me. That’s what I was attracted to,” Bugg said. “The tradition. The expectations. That’s what you coach for.”
