My feature
article on Bob Symonds, this is published in the 5th Ave. Journal
The Trojans walk over
to the right field line to stretch and play some catch after dropping the first of a double header to Harper, 13-10. To the
left of them is an outfield that has taken a beating from Mother Nature; there is a small quagmire in center field. Bare spots
molest left-center and left field. The infield is looking nice for the most part. The new sod that was put in down the first
and third base line is finally starting to blend in with the old grass. The Wrigley Field like seating area that is positioned
behind the first base dugout is dominated with water. A Triton official actually gets a broom and pushes the puddle water
down the stairs.
A ball gets away from Steve Pelleck, the first basemen, as they are warming up for the second game.
It goes all the way to the right field wall and hits the fence. He picks it up and looks up at the scoreboard and then shifts
his attention to the left.
And there it is, in big letters; Symonds/Puckett Field.
Surely you all know of the late Kirby Puckett, the former Minnesota Twin and the MLB Hall of Famer
who played baseball for a year here at Triton. But what about the name Symonds that comes before his? Surely he had to have
done something remarkable for the Triton Baseball program to have the field named after him along with Puckett’s.
Well all Bob Symonds did during his tenure here at Triton College was compile a record
of 1,226-377 over 33 seasons as head coach. That is, for all the mathematically disabled, a .765 winning percentage. He coached
85 different players that would go on to be drafted by a professional ball club including the likes of Puckett and Lance Johnson
who played for the Chicago White Sox and the Chicago Cubs. That number of professional ball players doesn’t take into
consideration the amount that went on to continue their playing at other universities.
Why so much success?
“Reputation and hard work,” says athletic director and head wrestling Coach Harry McGinnis. “He
knew how to get it done and everyone knew that. So [ball players] wanted to come here.”
McGinnis knew Symonds well. He recalls how they would always joke around about who had the better team
and how Symonds would claim his pitchers could wrestle better than McGinnis’ wrestlers. But joking aside, McGinnis was
and is still impressed with Symonds’ success. And he wasn’t the only one that knew what kind of product Symonds
had on the field.
“There would always
be scouts here looking at pitchers, infielders, and outfielders. It was pretty amazing.”
It wasn’t just the fact that great baseball players would come to play here that contributed
to the success of Symonds. The small things also helped.
“He was here all the time,” McGinnis says with a laugh. “He was always here early,
early in the morning working on the field and making it look nice. And it paid off.”
McGinnis isn’t the only one who raves about Symonds. In fact, before Puckett passed away he had
given all of his credit in the big leagues to Symonds.
"I am in the Hall of Fame because of the way Bob Symonds taught me how to play baseball," Puckett said
in a CBC sports article. "He took me under his wing and was a coach, father and brother all in one. I give him all the credit
for the player and man that I am today."
Normally a tribute, like naming a field after a coach, is endorsed after the coach retires or moves
on to another job. Symonds’ name actually went on the board in right field during his coaching time at Triton sometime
during the early 80’s—a testament to how big of a hit he was to Triton baseball. When you’re getting credit
for producing a player of Puckett’s status, how could you not be a hit?
These days Symonds is back in Iowa where he grew up;
no coaching, no raking or giving bunt signs; just golfing.
Pelleck picks up the ball and jogs back to the rest of the squad. They still have the
bad taste of that 13-10 loss and they take the field for the second game of the double header.
The Trojans would go on to win 10-8. The
win gave current head coach Harry Torgerson his 79th career victory.
Only
1,147 more to go
