Coach Jerry Long tipped his hat to an applauding crowd Monday at the Broncos softball field after it was announced that he recently returned from winning the American Legion baseball World Series.
The veteran high school baseball and softball coach's dream of winning the championship came true on Aug. 17 in Spokane, Wash. Long won the World Series in his second year as an assistant coach for the Oklahoma Outlaws senior division team.
“I told them I wanted to go to the World Series, but the only way I could get there is they had to take me,” said Long, who has been affiliated with the Outlaws program since playing in the late 1960s. “For myself, I adhere to the belief that timing is everything. In this case, I was definitely in the right place at the right time with a group of young men that would not take no for an answer.”
The Outlaws are made up of players from the Mid-Del and surrounding school districts. They became the second team from Oklahoma to ever win the World Series since the league's inception in 1925.
Long helped coach the Double-A and Triple-A squads for many years while coaching at Midwest City. The Outlaws were beat out of the regional tournament in his first year with the association's top-division team.
“Being able to watch your young men gradually take steps toward the ultimate, it was a very justifiable feeling, from the standpoint of a coach, that your young men were able to do this,” Long said.
Many of the players for Legion teams, including the Outlaws, go on to play Division-I college or the majors. One of Long's players, J.T. Realmuto from Carl Albert, was drafted this summer by the Florida Marlins as a catching prospect. Long said winning the series didn't stir up any aspirations to pursue coaching at a higher level, but he has entertained the idea.
“I enjoy what I'm doing. Working with high school athletes gives you an opportunity to really work with their skills and try to get them ready for the next level,” said Long, who has coached high school for 34 years. “If the right situation came up, then yeah I could coach at the college level.”
His areas of focus as a coach are the infield and hitting.
“I feel like I have a good knowledge of what it takes to be an offensive producer. I take a lot of pride in good defense and trying to score some runs. Those two areas I work hard at,” he said.
Midwest City's squad claimed the World Series title in a doubleheader Aug. 17 against Eden Prairie, the 2009 runners-up from Minnesota.
The Outlaws lost to Eden Prairie 6-9 in the second round of the World Series this year but dominated them 11-6 and 10-1 in the doubleheader championship.
“The second and third time through, our pitchers were throwing strikes. It afforded us the opportunity to be more defensive-minded. We were much more aggressive on the base paths. I think we ended up stealing around 16 bases, and stole home four times in the World Series,” Long said. “I think our discipline at the plate allowed us to swing at strikes that we wanted to hit, not what they wanted us to hit.”
The Outlaws went out on top with a 66-10 record. All of the games in the state, regional and national tournaments were nine-inning games, including some doubleheaders.
“For each young man to stay focused day in and day out, it was a very big tribute to them and their desire to accomplish their goals,” Long said.
The Outlaws' season may be over, but the fun continues. Midwest City hosted a banquet for the team Thursday, and a parade Tuesday will give local fans a chance to show their support. As tradition for the winner of the American Legion World Series champion, the league will treat Long and the Outlaws with tickets to game one of the Major League World Series later this year, a thought that brings a boyish smile to Long's face.
“For someone that's been in baseball as long as I have, and had the opportunity to go to a lot of major league ball games, it's going to be extremely exciting,” Long said. “I just hope we have very nice weather and have the ability to take in the entire atmosphere of the World Series.”
Long received a lot of positive accolades from the administration, faculty and students at MHS.
“My softball girls were very knowledgeable of what we'd done. I guess Coach Wade had kept them updated on what we were doing. They were very happy,” he said.
Long originally came to coach softball at Mustang High School after almost five years of retirement in 2004, and later became involved with the baseball program. He began his career in 1973 at Midwest City High School, where he was at the helm of Bombers baseball for 18 years. Head Coach Tim Wade and Long have led the Broncos softball team to four state tournament appearances since they both started six years ago.