Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Lee Driggers, More Satisfaction - PC2480

Speaking to his hometown paper in 1986, Lee Driggers tried to compare his brief playing career with his then-14-season coaching career.

Driggers grew up in the Orlando area, playing Colonial High School there, before one season as a pro. Then, in 1986, Driggers was head coach at Brenham High in Texas. His team also had just won the state title.

''We had some good teams at Colonial, and playing on them back then was a tremendous thrill,'' Driggers told The Orlando Sentinel that August. ''But I get a whole lot more satisfaction out of coaching."

Driggers has continued getting that satisfaction since, going on to manage in the minor leagues with the Pirates and coach in college.  Most recently, Driggers has returned to Texas, serving as head baseball coach at East Texas Baptist University, a post he continues with in 2013.

Driggers' baseball career began 1968, with his selection by the Dodgers in the 63rd round of the draft, out of Colonial.

With the Dodgers, Driggers is credited as lasting just one season, playing at rookie Ogden and single-A Daytona Beach. In 21 outings, two starts, Driggers' ERA hit 7.55.

His playing career quickly over, Driggers went back to school, and started coaching, according to The Sentinel. He started in the junior high and high school ranks, taking Brenham to that state title.

In 1987, Driggers took his first college job, at Tarleton State in Texas. By 1990, Driggers was in the minors, managing with the Pirates at single-A Augusta.

In June 1990, Driggers watched his Pirates dismantle opposing Charleston 22-3, Augusta compiling 26 hits.

"A game like this happens once in a season to every minor-league team," Driggers told The Charleston News and Currier afterward. "There's not much you can do when you're on either side of a game like this. You just sit back and watch it and try to play as many people as you can."

Driggers is credited with staying with the Pirates just two seasons. By 1996, he was back coaching in college, at McMurry State University. He ended up staying at McMurry for a decade.

After moving to Wheaton College in 2008, Driggers arrived at East Texas Baptist in 2012. In March 2013, Driggers' club reached .500, after an earlier seven-game losing streak. Driggers told The Marshall News Messenger his team's better standing came from better focus.

"We had to re-evaluate what we were doing (after the seven-game losing streak), because we didn't want to go back there again," Driggers told The News Messenger. "Our guys have shown a lot of focus the last couple of weeks. It's been about concentration, because they were doing a good job pitching to us. We didn't swing at the pitches outside of the strike zone and showed a tremendous amount of discipline."
1990 CMC-Pro Cards Tally
Players/Coaches Featured:1,067
Made the Majors: 656 - 61.5%
Never Made Majors: 411-38.5%-X
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 286
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 169

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