By Dan Powell
Just five short years ago, the words Pride Baseball were virtually an oxymoron.
However, after joining a more competitive conference (the Colonial Athletic Association) and hiring a new coach in 2002, the Pride has begun to build the type of program to merit national respect.
Coach Chris Dotolo came to the Pride with seven years of assistant coaching experience, including five years on the Division I level. Before joining the squad, Dotolo was in charge of recruiting as well as working with catchers, outfielders and hitters at St. John’s University. But coaching has not always been Dotolo’s passion.
During college, Dotolo played ball at Virginia Wesleyan College, where he received All-Conference honors in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. After graduating in 1991 with a degree in history, Dotolo went on to play professionally for the San Francisco Giants’ organization from 1991-94. He went as high as the Pacific Coast League’s (AAA) Phoenix Firebirds before his playing career ended. He says he feels privileged to have played with many great ballplayers, including some current major leaguers.
“[Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman] Bill Mueller was probably the best player I ever played with,” Dotolo said. “He has had the most success on the major league level anyway.”
The transition from playing to coaching was easy for Dotolo.
“I knew deep down inside coaching was what I was going to end up doing,” Dotolo said. And he has been just as successful on the bench as he was on the field.
Since taking over at the helm for the Pride, Dotolo has led the movement to bring the baseball team to respectability. He was able to successfully lobby for several improvements to the team’s facilities including sunken dugouts, a better drainage system and a turf infield. He has also raised the Pride’s level of play, posting his best record of 24-32 last season.
Many people are quick to criticize Dotolo for scheduling top-notch competition such as Auburn University and N.C. State, who are on a much higher level than the Pride, but the coach feels this is key to improving the program.
“In order for us to be good, we need to play good teams to have some gauge where we are as a team each year,” Dotolo said. “It shows the players what good baseball is. Whether you win or lose or you get blown out, I learn something about our team every time we play an N.C. State or an Auburn. In the long run, it’s going to make us better.”
This year Dotolo hopes the team can return to the CAA Tournament and be competitive with other teams in the conference. He also wants to continue to build a strong program that he hopes one day will become a regular in the NCAA Division I Regionals.
While he has not accomplished all he wants to at the college level, Dotolo is a family man with a wife and three young daughters and has his own personal goals.
“Right now I’m pretty satisfied with being at the college ranks, but at some point I do think I would like to get back to the major league ranks,” he said.
For now, though, Dotolo has his hands full trying to improve a Pride squad that has gotten off to a miserable 1-10 start. If the team hopes to make it back to the conference tournament, it will be a long road ahead.