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Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Buller's new gig

Sean Buller came by the Armada office the other day to deliver his good news. The big lefty has been tapped as the new head coach at Valley Christian in Cerritos. Here's the official release:

Buller named head coach at Valley Christian
Left-hander could still be involved with LB in 2010


LONG BEACH (October 20, 2009) -- For the past three seasons, Sean Buller has cut his coaching teeth with the Golden League’s Long Beach Armada. Now the Long Beach native will take over his own program as the newly named head baseball coach at Valley Christian High School in Cerritos.

The official announcement came from Valley Christian this weekend, less than two months after the Armada’s season ended in August.

Buller served as the Armada’s only player/coach in 2009, his second straight year of double-duty. A fan favorite at Armada games, Garry Templeton kept Buller on his staff as Bullpen Coach – a position he held since the 2008 campaign – to begin this past season and promoted him to Pitching Coach at the season’s midway point.

Not only did the Armada lead the GBL with a team ERA of 3.94, almost one run better than the next best team (Tucson at 4.77), but Buller led by example from the mound. In 2009, he worked out of the bullpen for three saves and a 2.70 ERA while striking out 19 batters in 20 innings of work.

After pitching collegiately at University of San Francisco, Buller began his professional career as an undrafted free agent with the Detroit Tigers in 1998. The left-hander worked his way up the Tigers farm system to become one of the organization’s top pitching prospects in 2001 for the Triple-A Toledo Mudhens before a shoulder injury kept him out of baseball until his 2007 comeback with the Armada.

While Buller’s main responsibilities lie with Valley Christian’s baseball program, he’s tenure with the Armada isn’t necessarily over as a result.

“If Garry decided to bring me back, I’m still a part of the team,” said Buller. “The school is okay with it as long as I can balance it.”

The school’s season would finish in May, around the same time as the Armada begins training camp for the 2010 campaign.

1 comment:

Marty Miera said...

JUST WANTED TO COME ON HERE AND SAY THAT I AM VERY SADDENED TO READ ABOUT THE PASSING OF JONATHAN "FIGGY" FIGUEROA. I HAD THE HONOR OF GETTING TO KNOW THIS YOUNG MAN WHILE PLAYING FOR THE ARMADA. EVEN TOOK HIM OUT TO DINNER AFTER SOME GAMES. MY WIFE WOULD COOK FOR HIM AND BRING HIM DINNER ALMOST EVERY GAME HE PITCHED. HE LOVED HER "ARROZ CON POLLO" (CHICKEN WITH RICE)
HE ALWAYS LOOKED FOR ME BEFORE THE GAMES JUST TO SAY "HOLA JEFFE" (HIGH BOSS). HE LOVED TO SIGN AUTOGRAPHS...ESPECIALLY FOR KIDS. I REMEMBER PLAYING WITH HIS SON VICTOR ONE DAY BEFORE A GAME.
WHY HE HAD TO GO SOOOOO SOON AND SOOO YOUNG? I'M SURE HE IS UP IN HEAVEN WARMING UP TO TAKE THE HILL FOR SOME TEAM. MY PRAYERS GO OUT TO HIS LOVELY WIFE AND KIDS.