Sept. 17, 2013

Meet Cal State Northridge's Greg Moore

By Sean Ryan

CollegeBaseballInsider.com Co-Founder

sean@collegebaseballinsider.com @collbaseball

For most of his college baseball career, Greg Moore has suited up for San Francisco.

As a player, he pitched and was a backup catcher for the Dons, and an inspiration award given by the baseball program bears his name. As a coach, he most recently guided USF’s pitchers and saw three of his players selected in the first round of the Major League Draft during his time in the dugout.

One of Baseball America’s top 10 assistant coaches, Moore becomes a head coach for the first time, inheriting a Matadors team that went 15-12 in the Big West and 31-26 overall.

First Inning - You’ve spent the majority of your playing and coaching career at San Francisco. What will you miss about being a part of the Dons?

I’ll miss the people. Coach Giarratano is an impressive leader. The other coaches, players and alums truly understand and enjoy why they are at USF.

Second Inning - What are some of the things you liked about this opportunity?

I was drawn to the energy and vision of CSUN’s new President, Dianne Harrison, and of course our new AD, Dr. Brandon Martin. This is a new phase of building at this University. I’m grateful to be part of it.

Third Inning - At age 36, how does your age help or hinder you as a coach?

I’m sure that I’ll be a better coach in 10 years than I am now. But, my work is to make the players better in the next 10 minutes, 10 days and 10 years. That’s true at any age.

Fourth Inning - You have an award at San Francisco named after you for inspiration – how did that come about and what is it like to be the namesake for the award?

At that time and after a few injuries, I was one of the rare players to receive a sixth year of eligibility. Some must have found inspiration in finding a way to be a college baseball player for the over half of a decade.

Fifth Inning - What are a few of the most important things about being a head coach that you learned from Dons coach Nino Giarratano?

There is a long list of what I learned from Coach G. A new lesson or two appears on that list every day. Among the many, he teaches to simply center decisions on the right values. Most decisions are easy to make but difficult to communicate. He does both as well as anyone I’ve been around or studied in coaching.

Sixth Inning - What will be the toughest thing about being a head coach for the first time?

I’ve had to become a better delegator. It still needs work but is a developing skill.

Seventh Inning - Tell me about Diamond University.

Diamond University is a formalized 10-week class and an idea. We meet once a week to talk about lessons from the business and family. We compare and relate to the sports and team life that student-athletes live. What we find is that this enjoyable way to learn both baseball and life is usually a reminder of what our parents told us.  The book “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” is the text book.  From this class we do our community service, our campus outreach and individual goal-setting.

The idea is that we can always compare the skills and habits it takes to accomplish one task, and apply them to another. Taking out the trash, or writing a paper well is a lot like making a pitch. The class is discussion-based and in large part supported by the book.

Eighth Inning - What are three things that you look for when recruiting pitchers?

We look for those who are steady in their presence and can let the ball go out front. For one reason or another pitchers sometimes struggle, either physically or in their approach to be fully committed to the pitch. When a pitcher has a knack for both we evaluate on to late life and stuff.

Ninth Inning - What are three things high school pitchers should focus on to better prepare them for college? What are some of the things you have to “fix” with young college pitchers?

High school pitchers who focus on execution are best-prepared. How many pitches did I make out of the 100 I threw in today’s game or the 25 I threw in flat ground? At its simplest form pitching is hitting the spot.

If that becomes the focus then the priorities become pace, tempo and competing, rather than mechanics, velocity and showcasing. We often work fix the “showcase” mentality when pitchers get to campus. Some pitchers come in fixed on guns and line scores. I think it comes back to empowering pitchers to return to some of the simplicity of being 12 again.

(photos courtesy of CSUN Media Relations Office)