HS BASE: Q & A with Taft coach Chuck Berrington
After struggling over recent seasons in the shadow of West Valley League powers Chatsworth, El Camino Real of Woodland Hills and Cleveland of Reseda, Taft of Woodland Hills is back on the baseball map under third-year coach Chuck Berrington.
Taft has registered upset victories over Chatsworth and Cleveland, and the Toreadors (7-10, 2-3) suddenly find themselves back in the thick of things.
DN: When you came to Taft three years ago, you took over a program that had won five of its previous 50 games. Did people say you were crazy for taking this job?
CB: Absolutely. But (then-athletic director) Troy Starr had called me while I was coaching as an assistant at Ventura College, and I was pretty much burned out with coaching JC baseball, and I didn’t like it. So I just ran with it.
DN: Your first impressions?
CB: Well, the field was a disaster, but I work on fields – it’s one of the things I do because I grew up on a farm. So every Saturday and Sunday I worked on the field. We were 5-22 our first year, and I had to get rid of some players that weren’t working hard. Then we went 12-20 last year.
DN: You’ve got a good pitcher, junior Ryan Santhon. He’s developing into one of the area’s top young left-handers, would you agree?
CB: Yes. He’s actually been our No. 1 pitcher since his freshman year. He’s also batting .407 this season.
DN: Who else is doing well?
CB: Matt Freeman. He’s our second baseman, a good clutch hitter who’s batting .345. Also, Madison Turner, he’s a transfer from Chaminade, a left-fielder batting .340.
DN: Well, you made a big statement this year by beating defending champion Chatsworth for the first time in 28 games, then beating Cleveland, the City runner-up last season – on the road.
CB: Yeah, I coached a long time at Westlake, and we had a lot of big wins. But beating Chatsworth was really special. Teams think they come here and win easily, but we’re playing well. I’m trying to rebuild the program, bring back the tradition that was built by some players who played at Taft like Larry Dierker, Robin Yount and Gabe Kapler. Back in those days Taft won a lot of games.
-- Gerry Gittelson