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© St. Petersburg Times, published May 16, 2002
The well-traveled Darnell Coles, a major-league baseball player for eight teams in 13 seasons, is the new head baseball coach at Countryside.
Coles replaces Steve Sharts, a former minor-league pitcher in the Philadelphia organization who resigned last week after five seasons.
A Safety Harbor resident, Coles has been active with local AAU baseball in Clearwater the past two years. His son, D.J., is a student at Clearwater, and his daughter, Deanna, played volleyball for the Tornadoes this fall and will attend Florida State.
Coles coached Deanna as an assistant on the Countryside softball team in 1999 before she transferred to Clearwater, his only other coaching job in Pinellas County.
"That's why I quit (as a roving hitting instructor for Seattle) in 1999, to spend more time with my daughter," Coles said. "I thought that was pretty important after 18 years (being away) playing baseball." Since then, he has remained active on the local baseball scene. His new job will be his first as a head coach.
"It's exciting for the simple reason I know all the kids and I know what it takes to get to the next level," said Coles, who turns 40 in June. "I played at that level and beyond and I think I'm the right person to get them on track."
Coles said he will focus much of his energy on getting his players into colleges.
"I'm a go-getter," he said. "If there are scholarships out there, I'll find them."
In 1986, Coles had a breakout season, his first with Detroit after three in Seattle. A third baseman (and sometime shortstop), he had 20 home runs and 86 RBIs while batting .273.
Coles hit 10 home runs three times in the following five seasons and hit 15 another. In that time, he was traded to Pittsburgh, then back to Seattle and to Detroit.
Though he never found the success he had in 1986, Coles hung around in the majors until 1997, when he retired after playing 21 games for Colorado.
For his career, he batted .245 with 75 home runs. He earned a World Series ring with Toronto in 1993.