Santa Ana College’s baseball team did something Tuesday the Dons had not done since 1981.
They played without Don Sneddon as their coach.
Sneddon, 61, quietly submitted his resignation last week. On Monday, the Modesto Nuts of the California League announced he is their manager.
Modesto is a Colorado Rockies Class A affiliate.
“The timing is good,” Sneddon said. “This opportunity (to manage Modesto) is one I could not pass up.”
Sneddon is the California community college career leader in baseball coaching victories. His record at Santa Ana is 1,072-383-3. Sneddon’s teams won three state championships and 16 conference championships in his 32 seasons at SAC.
John Bryant and Bryan Harris will be co-head coaches of Santa Ana baseball this season. The school is offering a full-time baseball coaching position for the 2015 season.
The Dons played their season opener Tuesday with a home game against L.A. Harbor. Wanting to let Bryant and Harris run the show without looking over their shoulders, Sneddon did not attend the game.
“I did pregame with them a little,” Sneddon said. “But I’m just trying to let them fly on their own.”
Among the players Sneddon coached at SAC were pitchers C.J. Wilson of the Angels, Kris Medlen of the Atlanta Braves and Heath Bell of the Tampa Bay Rays.
His favorite Dons player? Bob Hamelin, who went on to play six MLB seasons, including a 24-homer season in 1994 when he was AL Rookie of the Year for for the Kansas City Royals.
“When he started hitting in the cage,” Sneddon said, “people would stop what they were doing to see where that sound was coming from.”
Sneddon, who played at Cal State Fullerton, said he is looking forward to the transition from community college to pro baseball.
“I don’t have to worry about raising the flag, mowing the grass or recruiting,” he said. “I just have to coach baseball.”
Contact the writer: sfryer@ocregister.com
