Former Elk Grove High School and Cosumnes River
College pitcher Raymond Hernandez texted me Monday night that he was going to
be the new pitching coach at CRC.
Hernandez, the younger brother of Arizona
Diamondbacks’ reliever David Hernandez, was the freshman coach at Elk Grove
this past spring.
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| Ray Hernandez |
After a successful stint with the Hawks, he went
on to Fullerton State. After graduation Hernandez was a late-round draft choice
of the D-backs and spent a couple summers in the minors, but a shoulder injury
ended his pro career.
Hernandez will be replacing Brad Kilby on the
CRC staff. Kilby told me he was likely going to take a year off, “to watch lots
of baseball on TV and try to get a real job.”
He was a social science major at San Jose State
and would like to earn a teaching certificate and perhaps get a teaching job
locally. He was CRC’s pitching coach the past three seasons.
Kilby is also engaged and will marry next year,
but admits he’ll miss coaching.
“(CRC) will be really good next year, really strong
and will likely go deep in the playoffs,” he said.
The Hawks return 17 players next season
including shortstop Andre Gregory, who Kilby said may be one of the top junior
college prospects not just in California, but perhaps in the entire country.
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| Brad Kilby |
Kilby spent seven seasons playing in the Oakland
A’s organization, four of those with the Sacramento River Cats where he became
a fan favorite, especially with his “rally pants.” He would don very tight
fitting baseball pants and then coach first base and it became a fad especially
in the 2010 and 2011 seasons when the River Cats were Pacific Coast League
North Division champions.
In 2012, Kilby coached alongside his brother
Bryan at Franklin High School. The Wildcats won the Sac-Joaquin Section
Division I North title that year, Brad’s fondest memory thus far in coaching.
