Baseball lifer: Miscik still coaching in MLB after starring at Mount Pleasant, IUP
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Mount Pleasant graduate Bob Miscik is featured on a baseball card during his time playing for the Hawaii Islanders of the Pacific Coast League.
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Mount Pleasant graduate Bob Miscik was a coach in the Texas Rangers organization from 1997 to 2004. He无毛视频檚 currently in his 13th season with the Milwaukee Brewers organization.
If you are a follower of Mount Pleasant High School athletics the last name of 无毛视频淢iscik无毛视频� will be a familiar one.
Bob Miscik and his older brother Dennis were both outstanding athletes for the Vikings during the 1970s. We are going to focus in this Memory Lane on the younger Miscik brother, Bob.
无毛视频淚 learned a lot watching older brother Dennis do his thing. Miscik stated. 无毛视频淚 learned watching him. I didn无毛视频檛 follow in his footsteps necessarily because I had my own thing going on.无毛视频�
Bob Miscik excelled at football and baseball at Mount Pleasant. He was a quarterback on Viking squads that posted records of 6-3 in 1973, 2-7 in 1974 and 4-4-1 in 1975. The Vikings played in the tough Keystone Conference during that period.
无毛视频淲e were in a tough conference,无毛视频� Miscik said. 无毛视频淲e held our own.无毛视频�
Miscik tossed four touchdown passes for Mount Pleasant in 1973. He had four touchdown passes and scored one on the ground in 1974. During his senior campaign he had an outstanding season with 96 completions in 169 attempts for 1,297 yards and 13 touchdowns.
无毛视频淔or that era of football we ran a pro package,无毛视频� Miscik said. 无毛视频淲e had a pretty sophisticated passing program for the 1970s. It was all based on timing and we had a bunch of guys that I played with for a long time and we were seniors and we knew each other and it worked. My role in that was I was accurate, I didn无毛视频檛 have a big arm, but I was accurate.无毛视频�
The 6-foot, 165-pound Miscik made the most out of his ability.
无毛视频淚 wasn无毛视频檛 a big talent,无毛视频� Miscik said. 无毛视频淚 think I had a feel for it. I was an athlete, limited talent, but I had a good feel for playing sports at the high school level.无毛视频�
Miscik was fond of his old high school football coach Joe Arrigo.
无毛视频淛oe Arrigo was our football coach,无毛视频� Miscik recalled. 无毛视频淗e passed away at a young age. He was a passionate coach and teacher and we all liked him and respected him. We had a great experience playing high school football for him.无毛视频�
Miscik is proud of the fact that he was an All Keystone Conference selection as a senior.
无毛视频淚t felt good back then,无毛视频� Miscik said. 无毛视频淚 loved football, it was my first passion. Coming from that area if you were an athlete you played football. Becoming a conference All Star was a nice honor for a 17-year old.无毛视频�
On the baseball diamond Miscik was a solid performer at shortstop for the Vikings.
无毛视频淚 liked all sports,无毛视频� Miscik said. 无毛视频淚 enjoyed the competition and I enjoyed trying to become the best you could be. Mount Pleasant had a great baseball history. In fact Mount Pleasant-Connellsville were the two big competitors and it was a big rivalry back then.无毛视频�
Miscik remembers the great baseball rivalry with Connellsville.
无毛视频淐oach Tom Sankovich was a tough baseball guy,无毛视频� Miscik observed. 无毛视频淗e was part of that rivalry for sure.无毛视频�
The baseball coach at Mount Pleasant was Clarence Gorinski and Miscik holds him in high regard.
无毛视频淐oach Gorinski was a great baseball coach,无毛视频� Miscik opined. 无毛视频淔or that area and the resources we had coach Gorinski gave that community a really good baseball experience. He was passionate about it and he knew the game. The things he taught us and the way we went about our business, I still use a lot of stuff he did today. Simple, but effective things that he did.无毛视频�
Mount Pleasant played baseball in WPIAL Section 10 and was in the middle of the pack during Miscik无毛视频檚 sophomore and junior seasons. The Vikings went 13-1 and captured the section title when Miscik was a senior. They lost in the WPIAL playoffs to Penn Hills, 4-3.
无毛视频淲inning the section was always the first goal for us.无毛视频� Miscik said. 无毛视频淲inning the section my senior year was a proud moment for that group of players my senior year.无毛视频�
When Miscik graduated from Mount Pleasant in 1976 he did receive some interest from colleges to play football.
无毛视频淚 was recruited for football, but not heavily,无毛视频� Miscik explained. 无毛视频淚 wanted to play Division-1 college football and I was disappointed that didn无毛视频檛 happen. When it came down to the end back then it was a lot different than now. Exposure back then was much more difficult, especially in baseball. Back then Indiana University of Pennsylvania was a good baseball school. My brother Dennis played there. I knew about coach Arch Moore and it was close to home and a real affordable college to go to. So I went to IUP to play baseball.无毛视频�
Miscik was a four-year starter at IUP. The Indians posted records of 19-10 in 1976-77, 19-13 in 1977-78, and 13-12 in 1978-79 when Miscik was sidelined most of the season with an injury. In Miscik无毛视频檚 senior campaign he led the Indians to a 18-12 record and the PSAC Western Division crown.
无毛视频淚t ended up being a good choice,无毛视频� Miscik said. 无毛视频淎t first it was going to be a football and baseball type thing at IUP. Then I changed my mind on the football. I just went strictly baseball and I enjoyed every minute of it at IUP.无毛视频�
At the plate, Miscik batted .308 as a freshman, and .340 as a sophomore. He was injured as a junior and slipped to a .285 batting average, but he rebounded as a senior and hit .408.
无毛视频淚 played third base my freshman year,无毛视频� Miscik said. 无毛视频淭hen I played shortstop the rest of the time. It was a proud baseball program at IUP.
无毛视频淟ooking back on it we didn无毛视频檛 have great facilities back then and in that area you are hampered by the weather and you are indoors a lot the early part of the year, but there was a proud baseball program there. It started with Arch Moore and the players that were there. For the PSAC, it无毛视频檚 a really good school. IUP had a lot to offer for somebody that was in my shoes.无毛视频�
IUP coach Arch Moore had high hopes that Miscik was going to be selected in the Major League Baseball draft following his solid senior season.
无毛视频淚 was a passed-over player in the draft as a senior,无毛视频� Miscik explained. 无毛视频淚 got a call a couple of weeks after the draft. Branch Rickey, who was the great Branch Rickey Jr无毛视频檚 grandson, signed me. He was minor league director of the Pirates and he offered me a chance to play, and I jumped at it.无毛视频�
Miscik played nine minor league seasons in the Pirates (1980-1986) and California Angels无毛视频� (1987-1988) chains. He spent 1983-1988 entirely at AAA but never made the majors. His career minor league numbers were a .266 batting average with 64 home runs and 411 RBIs.
无毛视频淚 took the minor league career as far as I could take it,无毛视频� Miscik said. 无毛视频淏aseball is in my blood, it started in Mount Pleasant, it continued at IUP.
无毛视频淲hen I got into pro baseball it was sort of like a natural thing. Except now I无毛视频檓 doing it every day and that was something that was actually a perfect fit for me. That无毛视频檚 what I wanted, I thrived with limited skills. I could do some things well, but I took what I had and used it and I played nine years. I took it to the Major League roster with the Pirates and that无毛视频檚 where it stopped.无毛视频�
Miscik started his post-playing career in the Baltimore Orioles无毛视频� organization as a coach for the Frederick Keys in 1990. He managed in the Orioles无毛视频� chain from 1991 to 1996. Miscik was then the Texas Rangers无毛视频� Minor League Field Coordinator from 1997 to 2003 and the Rangers无毛视频� Player Development Coordinator in 2004. He also spent part of 2000 managing the Charlotte Rangers. Miscik was then the Cincinnati Reds assistant Minor League Field Coordinator in 2005-2006. After managing two years in the Milwaukee Brewers无毛视频� chain, Miscik was named roving infield instructor for the club for 2011.
无毛视频淚 played in Triple A in the Pacific Coast League for six years,无毛视频� Miscik said. 无毛视频淚 played it to the end. I was 30 years old when I stopped playing. I pushed it as far as I was going to push it. At Triple A you are exposed to a lot of things and I was in big league camp a fair amount at that point. People were talking to me about being a manager. I wanted to keep playing. My career came to an end and I went back to IUP and got a Master无毛视频檚 Degree in 无毛视频 Science. I made a couple of calls and then I took a job with Baltimore as a coach in the minors and then became a manager and it无毛视频檚 led to where I无毛视频檓 at right now. I无毛视频檝e had a 31-year coaching career.
无毛视频淚 returned to IUP as baseball coach for a little bit. I had gotten married and took the IUP job. But I got a call to come back into pro ball and I decided to take it with the Texas Rangers. Now I无毛视频檓 with Milwaukee and it无毛视频檚 my 13th year with the Brewers organization.无毛视频�
In nine seasons as a minor league manager Miscik posted a career mark of 606-652.
无毛视频淚 started out as a senior signed out of college and I无毛视频檓 still working in the game today,无毛视频� Miscik said. 无毛视频淭hat无毛视频檚 41 years later and I无毛视频檓 still working in the game of baseball and I plan to keep working.无毛视频�
Miscik shows no signs of slowing down.
无毛视频淚 still enjoy being involved with the game and I still enjoy being on the field with the players.无毛视频� Miscik said. 无毛视频淏ecause of all the experiences I had, I无毛视频檓 more at easy with a lot of things. Now I无毛视频檓 actually having more fun than I无毛视频檝e had before.
无毛视频淚无毛视频檓 going to do it as long as my health allows me to and as long as somebody wants me to do it. I feel like I无毛视频檓 still having an impact on the organization.无毛视频�
Miscik was inducted into the Indiana University of Pennsylvania Athletic Hall of Fame in 1998.
无毛视频淚t was an honor,无毛视频� Miscik reflected. 无毛视频淚 was the first baseball person inducted and I无毛视频檓 proud of that.无毛视频�
Miscik, 62, is divorced and resides in Venice, Florida. He has a daughter, Natalie, who just graduated from the University of Florida.
Looking back on his career Miscik is pleased.
无毛视频淢y dad was a coal miner for 30 some years and worked his tail off,无毛视频� Miscik said. 无毛视频淚无毛视频檝e been able to work in a game I love for about the same amount of time. I feel like I无毛视频檓 blessed, and thankful and I would do it again.无毛视频�
George Von Benko无毛视频檚 无毛视频�Memory Lane无毛视频� column appears in the Sunday editions of the 无毛视频-Standard. He also hosts a sports talk show on WMBS-AM radio from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturdays.