Andrew Barragan was selected as the new baseball coach at Anzar
High School on Thursday, replacing longtime coach Leroy Dozel.
Andrew Barragan was selected as the new baseball coach at Anzar High School on Thursday, replacing longtime coach Leroy Dozel.
Dozel helped start the program in 1999 as a club team before it became a regular high school team the following year.
“He (Dozel) said I can probably improve on the team and take them a little farther,” Barragan said. “He did a lot for that program and a lot for the school. He won a lot more games than he was expected to. I learned a lot from.”
Barragan, 35, is no stranger to the Anzar baseball team after having served as the team’s first pitching coach in 1999 and 2000.
Both Dozel and Barragan have played together on the Hollister Black Sox adult baseball team. Barragan has served as the league president.
Barragan was an All-MBL player while pitching for San Benito High School. He was selected to the All-Coast Conference first team his freshman season at Hartnell College.
But Barragan, who was receiving professional looks from teams such as Montreal and Cincinnati, threw out his arm and was never able to regain the velocity on his fast ball again.
“My main priority is to get these kids ready for JC ball or DI or D2 ball,” Barragan said. “Because I know what it takes to get there, I’m not going to ask the kids to do something I haven’t done. I really feel I can help the team be successful, especially in the pitching. When you have a small school, you have to rely on the little things like playing small ball and the pitching staff to win games.”
One of Barragan’s first tasks at Anzar will be overseeing the field improvements at the school, which include installing a new scoreboard.
Barragan will be meeting his new team for an informal meeting during lunchtime Tuesday at the school.
“The talent is there,” Barragan said. “We have the whole starting infield back. I feel like he (Dozel) left me a team that is well instructed and well coached. We’re going to shoot for realistic goals – play .500 ball and take it from there and hopefully make a run in the playoffs.”
