2010 Coach Profile: Pat Perry

#27 Pat Perry
Hitting Coach - Anchorage Glacier Pilots
Coaching Experience: University of Northern Colorado assistant coach, 2010
Playing Experience: Otero Junior College, 2002-03
University of Northern Colorado, 2004
MiLB, Red Sox organization, 2004-05
Ind. Minor Leagues, Can-Am/Frontier leagues, 2006-09
BaseballReference Profile

It was early in the season, during the Pilots' exhibition series with the Mat-Su Miners. I was still out of state during this time, so I was listening to the game on streaming audio. I heard the radio commentators mention that the Pilots' hitting coach -- a guy called Pat Perry -- was playing catcher for the team because both of their regular catchers had yet to arrive in Alaska. Of course, not being able to see what this assistant coach looked like, I had images of a portly middle-aged man hobbling to the plate. How funny is that? And then, he got a hit. Hillarious, right?

And then I did some research. And I realized that the guy was THE Pat Perry. And I found out that he was THE Pat Perry who won the 2004 NCAA DI Batting title. And I learned that he also won the DI All-American and Independent Player of the Year that year. And then I learned that he was the same Pat Perry who was taken by the Red Sox in the seventh round of the draft.

And then I introduced my foot to my mouth.

Reflections: Pilots @ Miners, June 7 2010

Last night's preseason exhibition between the Anchorage Glacier Pilots and the Mat-Su Miners was a good one. I'm still in Oregon, so I had to catch the game audio online at the Glacier Pilots' website, and participated in the live chatroom available from the Miners. But the play-by-play was excellent and I'll share my thoughts with you from afar.

It was kind of a bad night for Ben Mount. He gave up three runs in the first two innings, and he's lucky to have escaped without more than that. He seemed like he was hit-or-miss on the night; it sounded like his breaking stuff was sharp but had trouble with his location. In any event, he racked up almost 60 pitches in the first two innings and the Pilots lifted him for local product Jesse McCartney.

After that it was solid pitching. And where the heck did McCartney come from? He's a local guy from the Anchorage adult league, listed as a fielder, but after Mount got smacked around he came in to pitch and totally tamed the Miners' bats. I don't know if he's for real or not, but A+ performance. On the other side, how about Miners left-hander Blake Dieterich out of the University of Georgia? To me, it didn't sound like he was treating it as a preseason warm-up; he was in it to win it. He pitched into the fifth when Bradley left-hander Joe Birch and then Florida State rightie Gage Smith came in to successfully close it out. Both looked very good.