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Coach of the Year: Cliff Rold

The Fresno Bee

Saturday, Jun. 20, 2009 | 12:00 PM

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School: Edison

He’s qualified because: In his 18th season with the Tigers — the past 16 as varsity coach — Rold molded a “dirty dozen” roster into an electrifying unit that hit .349, averaged 7.6 runs — 9.5 in four playoff wins — and stole 95 bases while capturing the Central Section Division II championship.

It was the first baseball title in the school’s 84-year history. And it brought particular satisfaction to Rold, who likens Edison to Butler Park, the Southeast Fresno subdivision in which he was raised.

He said it: “Edison is a very unique place. If you wrote a book, it would be entitled: ‘Black, brown, white and yellow — a story of integration.’ That’s what Edison baseball is all about. And that’s what I dreamed about 18 years ago. This [championship] is a culmination of that dream. It was the most unselfish team, with the greatest leadership, I’ve ever been around in my life. It was magical.” — Rold


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