By that point, he'd coached in the minors, high school and college. He'd also played seven seasons in the minors. In 2013, he served as head coach at Cal State East Bay.
"I'm a firm believer in being a good teacher," Ralston told The Mercury News that April. "We try to teach the kids how to play the game the right way. We try to give them positive feedback."
Ralston's career in baseball began in 1984, taken by the Twins in the sixth round of the 1984 draft out of the University of Arizona. Ralston is also credited as Bobby Ralston and Robert Ralston.
With Arizona, Ralston led his team with a .363 average in 1984, after hitting .336 the year before. He also was named a Baseball America First Team All-American in 1984.
Ralston started off the 1984 season strong for Arizona, picking up four hits in a January game, according to The Arizona Republic.
"It's nice to get started on a positive note," Ralston told The Repubic after that contest. "It was important to me because I didn't have a good fall with the bat."
Ralston started with the Twins at AA Orlando. He got into 82 games and hit .275. He returned to Orlando for 1985. He hit .301 over that full season.
He made AAA Toledo for 1986, then returned to AAA with the Twins for 1988 and 1989 at Portland. He hit .286 in 80 games at Portland in 1988.
Ralston's final pro time came in 1990 with the Athletics at AA Huntsville. He hit .147 in 36 games, ending his playing career.
Ralston soon turned to coaching. He first served as infield coach at Cal in 1990 and 1991 and then as an assistant coach at Diablo Valley College in California from 1992 to 1994, according to his East Bay bio. He then turned head coach at St. Patrick-St. Vincent High School in Vallejo in 1995.
He also served as a manager in the minors, at short-season Williamsport in 1997 and 1998, then short-season Eugene in 1999.
After 13 total years at another school, Clayton Valley High School, Ralston arrived at East Bay in 2011. He continued there until he stepped down in 2016 - after winning conference Coach of the Year honors in 2016 with a school-record 33 victories.
- Arizona Republic, Jan. 31, 1984: UA batters Dominguez Hills in baseball opener
- San Jose Mercury News, April 17, 2013: Cal State East Bay baseball team in playoff hunt
Players/Coaches Featured: 2,492
Made the Majors:1,006-40.4%
Never Made Majors:1,486-59.6%-X
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 419
10+ Seasons in the Minors:256
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