HomeSportsMillan, Titans Eager to Get Back to Baseball

Millan, Titans Eager to Get Back to Baseball

Photos by Mitch Lehman / TRIBUNE
The coronavirus pandemic limited Adam Millan’s first season as San Marino High School’s baseball coach to just seven games, leaving him ready for action.

Baseball coach Adam Millan has been forced to endure an ignominy unlike few before him. On Friday, March 6, 2020 — exactly one week before the pandemic-induced lockdown, his Titans dropped a 4-2 decision to South Pasadena in the Rio Hondo League opener.
It wasn’t the loss or the fact that it took place at the hands of the rival Tigers that was distinctive, rather the fact that Millan is one of the few coaches who has had to wait a full year to exact his revenge.
“It’s all still fresh in our minds,” Millan said during a phone conversation Monday evening. “With baseball, it’s not necessarily how you start a season, it’s how you finish a season. I remember telling the boys after that game that the beauty of the game is that you have an opportunity to make up for your mistakes. But we are anxious to get back on the field. Regardless of who we play, we are going out there to win. I knew our boys will be up to the challenge, we just got cut short last year.”
Hired in August 2019 to replace Mack Paciorek, Millan arrived in San Marino with over 25 years of experience as a teacher, instructor, coach and player. He played at Schurr High School in Montebello, Cerritos College and Cal State Fullerton. While at Cerritos, he was a two-time All-American, South Coast Conference Most Valuable Player and a two-time team MVP.
At Cal State Fullerton, Millan played on the 1994 Big West championship team that advanced to the College World Series. He was also an All-Big West Conference selection.
After being selected in the 28th round by Philadelphia Phillies, Millan played from 1994 to ’99 in the minor leagues. He was a three-time organizational player of the month, a 1995 team MVP, and a major league non-roster invitee during 1995-99. After his stint with the Phillies, Millan played independent league baseball for the Lehigh Valley Black Diamonds (1999) and the Long Beach Breakers in 2002. He was selected to all-star teams while a member of both squads.
Millan later coached in the Hawaiian Collegiate Baseball League as both an assistant and head coach. He also spent six seasons as an assistant at East Los Angeles College and Claremont McKenna College. His experience as a coach includes all facets of the game as he has instructed pitchers, catchers, batters and has served as a recruiter as well.
At the high school level, Millan has coached at Bishop Amat, Montebello and Hamilton in Los Angeles. He has also helped out with school curriculum and non-baseball coaching positions.
That brings us to the present in San Marino. The Titans began workouts in November but after the holiday break in December, all activities were halted at the suggestion of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health because of a surge in COVID-19 cases. The Titans returned to the diamond on Feb. 1.
“We haven’t had a lot of time on the field, but we have made really, really good progress,” Millan said. “The guys have been sticking with the routine and playing hard. The final workout of last week, on Friday February 12, we showed a lot of progress and I told the team that.”
Baseball, which is classified in the new vernacular as a Season 1 sport, officially begins
on March 15 with games allowed on March 18. Baseball is tabbed as a “red” sport, meaning that Los Angeles County need only improve by a single tier — from purple, or “widespread,” to red, or “substantial” — in the metric that measures infection rates.
“I feel very good,” Millan said. “If we started the season right now, I feel as though we would be in good shape. We are making really good progress right now. We are going to stay steadfast and I am going to keep monitoring our progress.”
The Titans are scheduled to participate in an informal 20-team warm-up tournament when and if play officially begins.
“The players are looking good,” Millan said. “They are starting to get their arms back and swinging the bat better. You can see that they are really happy to be back out there. I told them that we shouldn’t take this for granted and we have to keep going as though we are going to play the season. They are happy to be out on the field and I’m really happy where we are at.”

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