Diamond Disciplinarian Says Farewell -- Coach Macdonald Leaves UW Baseball On A High Note

Baseball coach Bob MacDonald grew up on discipline. It's probably only natural that he is departing the University of Washington to accept a coaching position at the Naval Academy.

"I feel very strongly about discipline in all aspects of life," MacDonald said. "It seems there are very few places left in society that stress that," he said.

Less than three months ago, MacDonald's Husky team proudly qualified for the NCAA baseball playoffs for the first time in 33 years.

Washington went on to stun host Arizona and upset Fresno State in the opening rounds of the regional tournament, before losing to Hawaii and eventual World Series team Pepperdine.

After the climax of such a memorable season, few Husky fans expected to be bidding MacDonald good-bye. But he hopes the traditions developed in his 16 seasons - including 12 teams with 20 or more wins - will provide the foundation for further success.

"I hope people remember me as being a hard-working guy who had the best interest of his players at heart," MacDonald said.

He takes pride in the fact that the discipline he instilled in players on the field transferred to discipline off of it.

"Whether we had the talent or not, we were always disciplined and fundamentally sound," MacDonald said. "Our kids behaved themselves, and everywhere we went, we got positive comments about their behavior. That's what I'm the most proud about."

MacDonald winds up his career at Washington with a 419-324-7 record. Among the landmarks of the era, his 1979 team finished with a record of 37-13 - the most victories in school history - and set a Pac-10 Northern Division record with 19 wins in a row. His 1981 Huskies won the Pac-10 Northern Division crown.

"He's put this program back on the map," said Kenny Knutson, Husky assistant coach. "We're scheduling more top 10 and top 20 teams for the future.

"Mac's married to baseball. I played for him for two years and have coached with him for eight. I know he's touched a lot of people."

At Navy, MacDonald will be an assistant to Joe Duff for the 1993 season and will take over head coaching duties after Duff retires at the end of the season.

Right now, MacDonald is frantically packing his bags, saying fond farewells and trying to sell his house in Kirkland. "There are a lot emotions going on inside of me, but I sure am tired from trying to take care of everything," he said.

MacDonald is also taking the job at Navy because he wants more job security. Like all coaches of non-revenue sports at the UW, MacDonald's contracts were negotiated on a year-to-year basis.

"This is a chance for me to become tenured in the physical education department and a chance to get involved in the athletic administration," he said.

MacDonald, 49, grew up in Cranston, R.I. Not only were his parents a big influence in his life, but so was a junior-high basketball coach, Louis Gelsomino.

"He worked us harder than anybody I ever played for, and we were always fundamentally sound," MacDonald said.

That later became a trademark of MacDonald's own teams.

At the UW, MacDonald gave mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to a program that was near death when he took over as head coach in 1977. In 16 seasons, only five teams finished below .500.

Knutson said MacDonald's reputation for being strict and hard-nosed is accurate.

"He can be painfully honest at times, but he wants to get his experiences across to the players," Knutson said. "He's honest and he's fair, but he doesn't wait to tell you what's on his mind - and he doesn't candy-coat what's on his mind either."

Knutson said MacDonald communicates things to his players that some don't necessarily want to hear. For example, Knutson said there are times when a player needs to be told about his deficiencies and what he needs to do to work on them, but doesn't want to hear about deficiencies.

"Some coaches aren't that honest with their players," Knutson said. "As a coach, you have to be as direct as possible with your players. He's not the kind of person to look away and stick his head in the sand."

In spite of his success, there were times when MacDonald was openly criticized, and they came in a difficult period in his life.

"There were some Eastside alums that were on my case," MacDonald said. "It just so happened that at that time, my father was dying of cancer and my mother had a couple of strokes." He had no full-time assistant coach and he was trying to take care of his parents.

"It was a very difficult time for me, as far as trying to recruit and do everything else I needed to do," MacDonald said. He said that many of those differences have been resolved and have nothing to do with his departure.

Mike O'Brien, a senior pitcher on this season's NCAA team, said MacDonald was more than a coach.

"He taught off the field," O'Brien said. "He always let it be known that his door was open, he gave his home and office telephone number to the team, and told us not to hesitate to call him at any hour if we needed him."

O'Brien said most people in the area don't realize how much MacDonald did for Husky baseball.

"As much as he did, he wasn't appreciated the way he should have been by supporters of Washington baseball," O'Brien said. "We were two games away from the World Series. I'm not sure if that registered with everyone."

When MacDonald accepted the Navy job, he telephoned all his players to let them know of his decision. "That's the way he is. He wanted everyone to know that he was leaving and why he took another job," O'Brien said.

MacDonald looks at the new job as an opportunity to serve the country.

"They're trying to develop officers through leadership and discipline," he said.

In that case, Navy has found its man.