Coach Bob Babb elected to ABCA Hall of Fame

By TARIQ OMER

On Aug. 11, Hopkins baseball Coach Bob Babb was selected to join the ranks of the most elite coaches in collegiate baseball history by being elected into the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Hall of Fame.

Along with Babb three other well-respected coaches were selected from across the country: Augie Garrido (University of Texas), Sam Riggleman (Spring Arbor University) and Ray Tanner (University of South Carolina).

Babb, who has been head coach since 1980, was extremely proud to receive this honor as well as quick to give credit to his coworkers and players.

“It’s certainly quite an honor,” Babb said. “I’ve been very fortunate to be surrounded by such amazing players, good coaches and to have the support of the administration. The fact that a number of other people thought me worth of the Hall of Fame makes me feel good and I am very humbled. But, at the same time, I’m very proud of the accomplishments that our program has made over the past few years.”

Coach Babb, one of the winningest coaches in NCAA D-III history, has had an honor-laden two years. Along with his induction to the Hall of Fame, Babb also recently became only the ninth coach in D-III history to win 1000 games in his career.

When asked about how the Hall of Fame recognition compares to his other numerous accomplishments, Babb pointed out that the Hall of Fame was a different kind of honor.

“This award is a little different [from my others] as this is an accomplishment that was generated by an accumulation of the other accomplishments,” Babb said. “This is really special and nice, but by the same token its not one thing that brought this about but rather its an accumulation of all the other wonderful times I’ve had, the successes that the program has had. What’s nice is that people across the country recognize how strong our program is and has been. That’s as rewarding as the award itself.”

Furthermore, following a $4 million renovation during the summer of 2014, the baseball stadium on the Homewood Campus was renamed in Babb’s honor (Babb Field at Stromberg Stadium) to further recognize his impact on the Hopkins baseball program and the legacy he will leave behind.

Babb was characteristically humble when talking about the field renaming, again not failing to recognize the efforts of others along with himself.

“That’s certainly a really nice honor,” he said. “It speaks to both my longevity but also the special relationship that I’ve been fortunate to have with my former players, coaches and families — that they were so supportive and we were able to raise so much money for that stadium in such a short amount of time with so many people contributing. That is a special honor.”

It is easy to see why Babb was selected for this honor. Not only has he collected a treasure trove of individual accolades himself, but he has coached 21 All-American Players, 12 Centennial Conference Players-of-the-Year, 75 First-Team All-Centennial Players and nine Centennial Conference Pitchers-of-the-Year.

Having coached so many players to individual recognition, it is clear why so many former players, among others, were quick to personally contact Babb and congratulate him for his Hall of Fame selection.

“I’ve gotten a ton of emails, calls and letters from previous players, former and current coaches, coaches against whom we compete, coaches that I am on various committees with and parents,” Babb said. “It’s been very nice that so many people have taken a little bit of time to congratulate me.”

Along with the support of his peers, the support of his family over the course of his long tenure as coach was not lost on Babb. He attributes a significant amount of his success to his family, whose unwavering support helped him  achieve so much.

“My wife has been incredible,” Babb said. “Years ago, when I was coaching both football and baseball here, I was pretty much never home and she had to pretty much raise the kids and drive them around herself. But I’ve had a very, very supportive wife who got very involved with our program and the community service projects that we do.

“My children have also been very supportive, and my father has been extremely supportive my whole life. He’s just tickled to death to see the honors that I have received.”

Babb, along with his peers, will be inducted to the Hall of Fame in Jan. 8, 2016 during the ABCA/Diamond Hall of Fame/Coach of the Year Banquet at the ABCA Convention in Nashville, Tenn.

In looking forward to accepting the reward, Babb was typically appreciative of all that support he has received as well as being excited for the Banquet.

“I am so thankful of everyone who has made this honor possible,” Babb said. “I really look forward to receiving the award at the national banquet in January, and I am very appreciative of everyone who has helped me and who’ve been a part of it with me.”