October 1, 1996
Cal Coach Bob Milano to Lead 1997 USA Baseball Team
The USA Baseball Board of Directors have selected California head baseball coach
Bob Milano to serve as head coach of the 1997 USA Baseball Team.
"We're extremely pleased to have coach Milano again involved in the
USA Baseball program," said Michael Fiore, USA Baseball Team General Manager.
"I look forward to working with Bob as USA Baseball aims to build on its
successes of the last two summers and begins to prepare for the 2000 Olympic
Games in Sydney."
Milano will lead Team USA at the Intercontinental Cup, August 1-10, 1997 in
Barcelona, Spain. The Intercontinental Cup will be played in the same baseball
stadium, Estadi de Beisbol de L'Hospitalet, in which 1992 Olympic Games were
played. The eight-team invitational tournament will include Cuba, France,
Italy, Japan, Nicaragua, United States, Spain and a team to be announced.
In 1988, Milano served as USA Baseball Team Business Manager for the team
that captured the Olympic Gold Medal in Seoul, Korea. Further, he served
as an assistant coach of the 1985 squad which finished with a record of 23-13.
"It sure is great to be back with USA Baseball, once again," said Milano.
"I look forward to the challenge of the Intercontinental Cup. I have been
involved with USA Baseball before and it has been a great experience for me,
and it is a great experience for a college athlete. I think it is tremendous
to see more and more foreign countries involved in baseball, a sport basically
invented in the United States, and to see these countries improve.
It is prestigious for an individual to be selected to work for USA Baseball,
and it is prestigious for the university in which the individual works.
To be involved in USA Baseball is a great honor."
Milano played for Cal in 1960 and '61 and is the winningest coach in
Cal baseball history. He has compiled a 19-year record of 618-543-5.
In that period, Milano has led his teams to three College World Series
appearances ('80, '88 and '92), six NCAA postseason showings
('80, '85, '88, '91, '92 and '95) and a Pac-10 Southern Division
Championship ('80). He earned Pac-10 Co-Coach of the Year honors in
1980 and '92, and has coached more than 70 players drafted by Major League Baseball
organizations.
