Bob Straight wasn’t born in Morgan Hill. Nor did he attend Live Oak High. But he is fully invested in baseball in the southern Santa Clara County city.
After a three-year absence from the Sobrato baseball team, Straight has returned to the dugout for the Bulldogs. The former assistant coach under Shorty Gutierrez will be the fourth coach in four years for the Bulldogs.
After being a part of the Central Coast Section finalist club in 2009, Straight hopes to return the Bulldogs to prominence on the diamond this spring.
It won’t be easy, as Sobrato is coming off a 9-18 record last year. It was the Bulldogs’ third consecutive losing season.
His first goal will be to simply bring consistency to the Bulldogs, who have experienced too much turnover the last few years.
“Four coaches in four years,” Straight said. “It’s not good for the kids or the parents or the program. Stability is the key to aid the program. I’m local. I live in Morgan Hill. From my standpoint, it’s a good combination. I’m allowed to coach with all the time that you dedicate to it.”
And with a winning history that includes a berth in Little League and Pony world series, Straight expects a lot of success for Sobrato under his watch.
“That’s one thing I bring as a coach, is a history of winning,” he said. “… I’m used to winning and I expect that. And I think that part will help the kids to focus and realize what they need to do to win.”
As a life-long baseball enthusiast, Straight, who played for San Jose State in the 1980s, is excited to work with high school kids again, he said. The team expects to be good in the spring.
“I think we will have the best pitching in the league,” he said. “We have some really good pitchers. That’s going to be our strength. If we play solid defense – which I think we have the capabilities of doing – we are going to be really good.”
 And his coaching style will only push them to do that. Instead of focusing on the team as a whole, Straight intends to work with each kid individually to build the collective group. After only a couple of weeks of practice – still without the team’s full roster – he has started to see the difference.
“I think my coaching style is to try and work with each kid on an individual basis based on what motivates them,” he said. “I really work hard with that. I work one-on-one with them. And I just try to make them a better baseball player and a better person on and off the field.”
He continued: “I think I will do a lot for you if I can show consistency. If I show you my passion for the game, it’s going to rub off on you.”
With so many different backgrounds and skill levels, developing camaraderie is the key.
“I’m passionate about baseball, and hopefully that comes through,” Straight said. “Some kids love it and some kids don’t. That’s why it comes down to how you motivate. With all these different personalities, if you can do that and get them on the same page and same goal, then you have something special.”
A team can’t win without the team playing together, Straight said.
“You need that in order to win,” he said. “You have to have it. I’ve been on some great teams with some great individuals but at the end of the day you don’t win. You can always go so far with that type of team. You might not have the best talent but you might end up winning.”
The Bulldogs open their season on Tuesday against Lynbrook on the road.
