'Pretty big deal.' Stanislaus District baseball coach earns ABCA regional award.
Livingston High baseball coach Matt Winton has been named an American Baseball Coaches Association regional coach of the year.
"I was kind of floored, actually," Winton said. "I've always had great respect for the ABCA. I try my best to go to as many conventions as possible, especially when they're on the West Coast. I love the environment and love the program. To even be mentioned by the ABCA, I'm just honored and really humbled. I always thought that kind of stuff was for other people."
Winton is the ABCA/Diamond High School Division III Region 8 coach of the year.
Region 8 consists of California, Nevada, Hawaii and Alaska.
Other regional winners include: Matt Roventini, Poly Prep (N.Y.), region I; Ryan Terrill, Riverdale Baptist (Maryland), region II; Trent Mongero, North Hall (Georgia), region III; Tommy Pharr, Christian Academy (Tenn.), region IV; Don Hess, Manhattan (Kansas), region V; Randy Smith, Binger-Oney (Okla.), region VI; and Matt Perisho, Casteel (Ariz.), region VII.
Mongero was named the ABCA/Diamond High School Division III national coach of the year.
"To be mentioned with those coaches is humbling," Winton said.
Winton was nominated by Sierra High coach Jack Thomson, who is heavily involved with the ABCA. One of the state's all-time winningest coaches, Thomson has chaired the committee that selections All-Region and All-American teams, as well as selects regional and national coaches of the year. He was a regional coach of the year in the early 2000s.
In a message to The Bee, Thomson said the award is a "pretty big deal."
"When the ABCA picks their coaches of the year, it typically doesn't go to the coach that has had just one good year," Thomson said. "It encompasses everything -- they've been good coaches, they've been committed to the game of the ball, and they've been doing it for a long period of time. Matt fits that perfectly.
"He doesn't always get the greatest athletes, but we play them every year because he does a great job, especially with the short game. I want my kids to be exposed to that. He's a great model for a high school coach."
Winton said earning Thomson's nomination carries as much weight as the award itself.
In Winton's words, Thomson is a "local treasure."
"There are few baseball coaches I admire as much as Jack," Winton said. "It's the longevity of his career, the professionalism, and the way he goes about his business. It's an honor to watch him work and to be able to play his teams."
Winton has coached at Livingston High for a quarter of a century, winning the 1996 Trans-Valley League championship.
The Wolves have enjoyed five winning seasons since 2004, including a 15-13 campaign last spring. Livingston qualified for the Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV tournament as a No. 7 seed, losing 2-0 to eventual champion Lincoln of Lincoln in the first round.
To get there, though, the Wolves had to defeat Patterson in their regular-season finale and win a play-in game with Center. Livingston scored 10 runs over the first four innings and limited Center to just two hits, inducing the 10-run mercy rule.
Against Patterson, Livingston scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh to steal the Western Athletic Conference's final playoff berth from the Tigers.
"Last year was a lot of fun," Winton said. "We started playing well at the right time. To score four runs in the bottom of the seventh in a winner-goes-to-the-playoffs (game) was pretty dramatic. It was one of the most rewarding seasons.
"Hopefully, this reflects well on our program," Winton said. "I joke to some of my buddies, who found out about the award from my wife, that it's more of a lifetime perseverance award. I think it's cool for our program and for our assistant coaches. I've been blessed to have great assistants through the years to keep us going in the right direction."
This story was originally published January 4, 2018 at 11:13 AM with the headline "'Pretty big deal.' Stanislaus District baseball coach earns ABCA regional award.."