Baseball Profiles: Eddie Bonine was baseball guy, went into HS athletics

Sunday, August 9, 2015

Eddie Bonine was baseball guy, went into HS athletics

Eddie Bonine 1990 Gate City Pioneers card

The two-day Nevada high school baseball tournaments were likely moving to three-day affairs in 2007 and Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association executive director Eddie Bonine was all for it, according to The Pahrump Valley Times.

"I'm a baseball guy," Bonine said, according to The Times, "and I'm in position to exercise my knowledge and be heard. ... It's a safety concern, so I want to move forward with it."

Bonine was a baseball guy going back nearly three decades, one who saw time as a pro in the minors, and as a coach. He was also a baseball guy who passed on his knowledge to his son, with his son taking that knowledge to the majors.

Bonine's baseball career began in 1979, taken by the Astros in the 15th round of the draft, out of Grand Canyon University.

With the Astros, Bonine started in the rookie Gulf Coast League, moving to single-A Daytona Beach for 1980. He moved to AA Columbus for 1981, going 11-7 over 20 starts, with a 3.07 ERA.

Bonine stayed at Columbus for 1982, going 11-13, over 33 outings, 26 starts. He picked up a relief win in a May game. Bonine made AAA Tucson for 1983, returning there for 1984 and 1985, but he never made Houston.

From there, Bonine turned coach with the Giants. In 1988, he served as a coach at Everett, moving to Pocatello for 1989, according to his ProCards card. He then stayed in Pocatello for 1990, with Gate City.

He then eventually arrived in Nevada, taking the helm of the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association as executive director, a position he continues in 2013. In 2014, Bonine took a new job in Louisiana as executive director of that state's high school athletics association.

In 2003, Bonine saw his son, also named Eddie Bonine, follow him into the pros. In June 2008, the younger Eddie Bonine debuted in the majors.

Just after he made the bigs, the younger Bonine told MLive.com his father helped him with his mechanics.

"I grew up around professional baseball players," the younger Bonine told MLive.com. "My dad was a pitching coach in the San Francisco Giants' farm system. I was around the game, and so this stuff does not feel uncomfortable to me. That made baseball a way of life for me."

Originally published Dec. 23, 2013; Updated August 2015