After 25 years at the helm of the Emory University Baseball Team, Head Coach Mike Twardoski announced his retirement on May 15. He departs the program as one of the most decoratedhead coaches in Emory and Division III history.
Twardoski played collegiate baseball at the University of Alabama where he led the Southeastern Conference (SEC) with a .399 batting average in 1986. He followed that with a professional baseball career that spanned 10 years in the Cleveland Guardians, Boston Red Sox, New York Mets and Atlanta Braves organizations.
Although he knew he wanted to get into coaching once his playing career was over, Twardoski figured he would get into coaching professionally or in the SEC. However, a friend referred him to Emory even though he was unfamiliar with the school and Division III.
“When I came to Emory, the first thing I did as I talked to someone, they said, ‘Listen, it's about academics,’” Twardoski said. “I didn't know anything like that but I saw the facilities were incredible. I had an incredible team, meeting great kids and I fell in love with it.”
Twardoski joined the staff as an assistant coach in 1999 before becoming head coach the following season. Former Emory pitcher and assistant coach Ethan Solomon (02C) said that Twardoski was able to connect well with his team from the beginning of his coaching career.
“You could tell he enjoyed the game, he enjoyed being around players,” Solomon said. “I think early on at the beginning of his coaching career, he still had a little bit of a player mentality and kind of just was one of the guys in some ways and really tried to relate to the players.”
The team experienced tremendous success throughout Twardoski’s tenure, capturing 12 University Athletic Association Championships, six NCAA regional championships and 11 NCAA tournament berths. The Eagles finished as the national runner-ups in 2007 and 2014, and the 2007 team set the program record for wins in a single season with 43.
Associate Head Coach Bobby Perez, who will become Emory baseball’s next head coach on Aug. 1, said that the team’s consistent success can be attributed to Twardoski’s passion and intelligence for baseball.
“He had a great knowledge for the game,” Perez said. “Baseball is a very consistent sport, one that requires sort of the everyday approach to be good. He was very good at getting that across to the guys”
In addition to securing success on the field, Twardoski built a tight-knit team culture that spans across generations. Perez said creating this environment was Twardoski’s biggest accomplishment.
“There's such a big group of alums that enjoy coming back and seeing us play and being a part of the program, and that sort of family belonging is probably more important than really all the on-the-field accomplishments,” Perez said.
Solomon also emphasized the tight-knit nature of the program and said he believes it began with the team’s trip to the World Series in 2000, when the athletes’ families fully experienced Twardoski for the first time.
“The Emory Baseball family became a thing,” Solomon said. “The group of parents that just loved this program and loved Coach T, that's when it established itself … I think that's a testament to how he built up this program, how he communicated with the families and how he brought everybody together.”
Solomon said that Twardoski did not only focus on creating a family environment for his teams, but also made sure to appreciate the legends of Emory Baseball from before his time, such as Clyde “Doc” Partin (50C, 51G) and Robert E. Chappell Jr (56Ox, 58B, 68B).
“Coach T embraced them and ensured that we all knew where the program really started,” Solomon said. “That helps to sort of emphasize the family focus that he had on the program.”
According to Twardoski, strong team bonds are what set great teams apart.
“I think that great athleticism, great potential wins games. But great team unity, great fit, family orientation — all that — wins championships and that's why we've had very, very much success consistently since I've been here,” Twardoski said.
As Perez prepares to take over as head coach, he said he has learned a lot from Twardoski that he will apply in his own experience. Aside from baseball knowledge, Perez highlighted skills in managing the team in the locker room and the broader team community.
“His ability to handle and deal with different personalities is something that I've paid a lot of attention to,” Perez said. “His ability to sort of traverse generations, like current players, former players, older alums. All of those folks that he has great relationships with … are still a part of the program.”
As for the future of the team, Twardoski said he is confident in the direction of the program under Perez. He said he is eager to see Perez get more recognition and lead the team after serving as “co-head coach” for so long.
“I can tell you thousands of things he's done behind the scenes that he never takes credit for,” Twardoski said. “People are going to see what kind of great coach he is because he's going to be able to take over the reins.”
