A BASEBALL TRINITY : Master’s Enlists a Would-Be Minister, Manager-Turned-Coach and Former Big League Pitcher to Shepherd Program

For a school that 1) provides college education to just 685 students, 2) is best known for its painfully strict adherence to beer-free, dance-and-be-damned biblical living, and 3) has rarely known the sweet joy of success in athletics, The Master’s College has congregated an impressive, even ostentatious, coaching staff to guide its wandering baseball program to the straight and narrow.

History shows that Master’s has a record of 161-252 since the program’s inception in 1968. The next few seasons will reveal whether this surprising gathering of coaches at this relatively obscure NAIA school will attract players worthy of its tutelage. In the meantime, this season, we’ll find out how far that coaching can take what is generally regarded as mediocre talent.

Master’s baseball triplicity consists of: a head coach who, before coming to the school in June, played major roles over 15 years as an assistant at USC, Oral Roberts and Washington State; an assistant who, last season--as Master’s head coach--led the Mustangs to their first winning season in 12 years; another assistant who played professional baseball for 18 years, pitching in the major leagues for 12 seasons.

Pat Harrison’s circuitous path to Master’s began when he helped USC to college baseball’s national championship as a free-swinging second baseman in 1967. A year later, he was drafted by the Dodgers. He spent nearly three years in the minor leagues, bouncing from Albuquerque, N.M., to Bakersfield to Daytona Beach, Fla., to Medford, Ore., to oblivion. He then enrolled at the Fuller Seminary in Pasadena, where he prepared to become a Presbyterian minister. Harrison hoped his batting average in spiritual matters would exceed his numbers in double A.

It might have, but baseball remained an unyielding temptation. In 1973, USC Coach Rod Dedeaux needed an assistant and Harrison put aside the cloth and collar for cardinal and gold double-knits. Seeking redeeming rationalization for such a move, the would-be preacher said, “I figured the seminary was good preparation for coaching.”

If he was not working for Someone Up There, he might as well work for Dedeaux, the godfather of college baseball. Harrison shouldered a wide range of responsibilities for the longtime Trojan head man, who was known to spend more than a few afternoons attending to his trucking business. “I had the chance to be involved in everything,” Harrison said. “It was good preparation.”

He stayed at USC until 1976, when he jumped ship to become Larry Cochell’s assistant at Oral Roberts in Tulsa, Okla. From the 1977 season, during which Oral Roberts qualified for the College World Series, until 1986, Harrison helped the Titans to appearances in eight regional playoffs. He was considered for head coaching positions at Texas Tech and Kansas, but when most of the Oral Roberts coaching staff quit because of “changes in the budget,” Harrison wound up as an assistant at Washington State a year ago. “Good preparation,” he said.

But preparation for what? The head coaching position at Master’s College?

Besides, that position was already taken, which brings us to prong No. 2 in the school’s coaching triune.

John Zeller joined Master’s in 1985-86 as athletic director and head baseball coach. During the four previous years, he was baseball coach at Tennessee Temple, a member school of the National Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics in Chattanooga. He came to Master’s full of energy and predictions that the Mustangs--despite their sorrowful record--were aiming for national prominence within about three years.

In his first year, Zeller’s team stumbled to a 20-32 record. But in 1987, the Mustangs turned their program around, ever so humbly soaring to 25 wins in 45 games. They would have qualified for the District III playoffs but were not allowed to participate because of NAIA eligibility-rules violations that occurred during the previous year. A number of ineligible athletes in various sports, baseball included, had competed for the Mustangs.

As it turned out, Zeller had breathed new life into the program and embarrassed an administration that prides itself on its commitment to a high code of ethics and Christianity--all in the same year.

Two significant events took place in the interim during the fall of 1986. First, Master’s hired former Dodger and Angel pitcher Geoff Zahn as its athletic director. Zeller remained as head baseball coach and became sports information director. That fall, Zahn informed Zeller that Harrison, a longtime friend of Zahn’s, might be interested in moving to Master’s from Washington State as head coach. If Harrison, a well-known baseball man in Christian circles, wanted the head position, Zeller told Zahn, he could have it.

Zeller, 34, a knowledgeable coach and strong motivator, then complicated matters by leading the Mustangs to their first winning season since 1973. But shortly after, in June, he became an assistant when Harrison was hired.

“I realized, to go farther in baseball, I needed to be under someone,” Zeller said. “I never had the chance to coach under someone like a Pat Harrison. This satisfies my desire to be a better coach. I feel honored.”

Which may rank in the annals of baseball history as the most self-abasing diplomatic response a coach ever gave to being demoted.

Zeller’s surprisingly benevolent attitude marked a fortunate turn for Master’s; the baseball program now had three gifted coaches in place of two.

Zahn, in addition to being the athletic director, is the third member of the threesome. After ending his long and spasmodically eventful major league career with the Angels after the 1985 season, he became an administrative assistant to John MacArthur, president of Master’s, in the spring of 1986. Later, he moved to the athletics office.

His reason for coming to Master’s? “It’s where the Lord wants me,” Zahn said.

The left-hander, whose lifetime record in the majors rests at 111-109, primarily is responsible for the Mustang pitching staff. It’s an appropriate set-up, really, since Master’s, as Zeller says, “doesn’t have any serious gassers.” For 18 years, Zahn managed to build a successful career by throwing junk and now he’s trying to pass the art along to his soft-throwing underlings.

While the Harrison-Zeller-Zahn coaching coup at Master’s signals an impressive commitment to small-college baseball, understanding the dynamics of the arrangement is a complicated proposition. As athletic director, Zahn is the boss, at least off the field. During office hours, Harrison works as an assistant under Zeller in the sports information office. But during practices and games, Harrison rules over both Zahn and Zeller.

“Things like this--you know, switching jobs around and working for each other--usually don’t work too well,” Harrison said. “But we’ve all got good senses of humor. We have to.”

Of particular concern for Harrison was his relationship with Zeller, the man he replaced. “I told John at the first of the year that if I’d been in the same position he was, I couldn’t handle it as well,” Harrison said. “It’s got to be a tough thing. But he’s been helpful and supportive.”

Said the subservient Zeller, who has turned down head coaching positions at other colleges to stay at Master’s: “I’ll do whatever Pat instructs me to do.”

Regarding Zahn, Harrison said there are few clashes of egos, the former minor leaguer vs. the major leaguer. “It helps that we’ve been friends for so long,” he said. “We don’t worry about who’s the smartest.”

Besides handling the pitchers, Zahn lends general counsel on a variety of matters, as does Zeller, whose specific stewardship is with the catchers. He is also the third-base coach. Another assistant, Jack Mutz, takes care of the field and helps with the outfielders, while Harrison supervises the hitting instruction, works with the infielders and manages the club.

All the bases seemingly are covered, except the matter of winning games. So far this season, Master’s has sputtered to a 14-15 record. The culprit in many instances has been the team’s pitching staff, which has a combined earned-run average of nearly 10.00.

True to the Zahn legacy, Mustang hurlers are taught to switch speeds and hit the corners. Mostly, though, they’ve hit the skids and then the showers.

“That’s Geoff’s area,” Zeller said, obviously not wanting to take credit outside his domain. “But we’ve definitely had trouble there.”

Cal State Fullerton, for instance, scored 22 runs against the Mustangs, Southern Utah scored 18, and Cal State Dominguez Hills and Cal State San Bernardino each scored 17.

“Right now, we’re dealing with four freshman pitchers,” Zahn said. “One has had good coaching. The rest are competitive and want to learn, but it still boils down to what talent you have and going from there.”

Regardless of whether Harrison, Zeller and Zahn can revivify the team this season, they leave little doubt that their emphasis is on tomorrow’s successes. “We’re going to recruit hard,” Harrison said. “I have friends in baseball who already have given me a list of names.”

And Zeller, as the recruiting coordinator, will drop recruits his own list of names--with heavy emphasis on and frequent mention of Zahn and Harrison.

“There are a lot of quality players out there and we have a good chance of signing them,” Zeller said. “When you say, ‘John Zeller,’ you have to explain a few things. Having Joe Blow as your pitching coach is one thing, but having Geoff Zahn is another. And Pat has the credentials to get a lot of players.”

As for the players and season of 1988, Harrison, speaking for Zeller and Zahn, said: “We just want to see how far we can take them.”