Sam Blalock won 946 games in 43 varsity baseball seasons, including 29 wins this season.
But the Rancho Bernardo High coach stepped down Tuesday, saying, “I have to answer to myself. I have to satisfy myself.
“In the end, I didn’t satisfy my definition of what a head coach should do.”
Blalock started his varsity coaching career in 1975 with the opening of Mt. Carmel and won 298 games in 16 seasons.
The 68-year-old Blalock moved to Rancho Bernardo in 1991 when the school opened and coached the Broncos for 27 seasons.
“I said I’d retire when it wasn’t fun anymore, when I wasn’t making an impact on players’ lives and the game,” Blalock said. “It was still fun. I was still making an impact, but not as much.
“There was no one thing that led to this. It was a lot of things.
“Certainly this was a tough decision because I love coaching. But I felt the kids deserved more.”
Blalock retires as the second-winningest coach in California history behind only John Stevenson, who won 1,059 games in 50 years at El Segundo High. Only 26 other baseball coaches nationally have reached the 900-win plateau.
No other coach in San Diego in any sport has won more games than Blalock.
Blalock’s last game was a 7-6 loss to eventual champion Eastlake in the Open Division playoffs.
“I got a text from someone saying I made Sam retire,” said Eastlake coach David Gallegos.
“The man is a legend, not only in San Diego, but in California.
“Year after year, Rancho Bernardo has been one of the best programs. Of course he gets good players, but winning is a tribute to Sam and his staff.
“He’s going to be hard to replace.”
Longtime RB pitching coach Mark Furtak, a middle school teacher in the Poway school district, doesn’t figure to be a candidate to succeed Blalock.
Mike Hymes and Juan Aukerman were Blalock’s other varsity assistants this season. Hymes has experience as the head coach at Canyon Crest Academy.
Aukerman was one of the best hitters in program history.
At one time, head coaches Beau Champoux of Westview, Rielly Embrey of Del Norte and Bob Parry of Poway all coached the JV teams at RB.
“I consider Sam the Bill Belichick of high school coaches,” said Parry, who played for Blalock at Mt. Carmel, coached with him and coached against him.
“To me, he was always a step ahead of everyone. He had things figured out. He knew tendencies for hitters and pitchers.
“He always held his players and coaches to the highest standards. He strove to be the best. And he was.”
Rancho Bernardo Athletic Director Peggy Brose said the school will open up the job.
“I had a feeling for a couple of weeks that this might happen, but it wasn’t final until Sam came in Tuesday and handed me his keys,” Brose said.
“What he has accomplished is amazing.
“In a perfect world, we’d like to hire someone who would be a teacher on campus. We’re still finalizing our teaching openings for next school year, so we’re not sure if there will be a teaching position involved.
“I want to have a person in place by August.”
Blalock retired as a teacher several years ago and has been working as a walk-on coach.
“We’ll see who applies,” Brose said. “I don’t know if guys will be gun-shy to follow Sam.
“There is no one on staff who is an automatic promotion, but we have good people and they certainly will be considered if they apply. We want to get the right person.
“We have a lot of talent coming back. We have a beautiful facility that is in good shape.
“This isn’t a bad place to work.”
CAREER NUMBERS
Totals for high school baseball coach Sam Blalock:
946-333: overall record
298-108: 16 years at Mt. Carmel
648-225: 27 years at Rancho Bernardo
23: first-place league finishes
18: appearances in San Diego Section championship games
12: section championships
6: major leaguers coached — Billy Beane, Hank Blalock, Danny Putnam, Cole Hamels, Allan Dykstra, Trevor Williams
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