Would Garrido Make a Return Engagement?

Augie Garrido was on the phone, returning one of the dozen messages that awaited him Tuesday evening in his Austin, Tex., hotel room. As usual, his vocal cords were cranked to buzz-saw speed.

“Just got back from Japan. TO-KEE-YO!” Garrido exclaimed. “We got our butts kicked. Lost four out of five to the Japanese collegiate champion. They’re way ahead of us, lemme tell you. They’re all 22, 23 years old and they play like their lives depend on it. Uncle Sam, glad to see ya.

“Now we’re playing the Mexican national team. We just drove from San Antonio to Austin in a bus, in 100-degree weather, with no air conditioning. We’re ready for the Mexican national team.”

This is the man who preceded Larry Cochell as baseball coach at Cal State Fullerton.

Ready for a return engagement?

The timing surrounding Cochell’s move to the University of Oklahoma is, to scratch the surface, very interesting. Garrido, winner of two national championships during his tenure at Fullerton, has been at Illinois three years--or long enough to find that he gets no kick from Champaign. His contract with Illinois just expired. And ground-breaking for Fullerton’s $8 million on-campus sports complex--long just a twinkle in Garrido’s eye--is finally on the docket, officially scheduled for July 19.

Garrido knew people weren’t calling to wish him a safe and sane Fourth.

“It is a timely thing,” Garrido had to admit. “And, things have changed. Fullerton has a new president coming in. Neale Stoner (the former Illinois athletic director who hired Garrido) went out. And I’ve been taking my share of abuse from being from California.”

Abuse?

“It’s mostly kidding,” Garrido says, “but they tell me, ‘You’re from la-la land, where they have no value system.’ They say, ‘You’re not a real man--you don’t know how to freeze and take it.’

“I admit it. I bitch about the weather. I don’t like the cold.”

Last time Garrido noticed, it was warm in Fullerton.

“I’m not looking to get out,” he adds. “(But) an opportunity is an opportunity. I don’t know if Fullerton sees me as something they want.”

False modesty doesn’t become Garrido. Garrido is in Austin because he’s coaching Team USA, the amateur baseball team that will represent the United States in the Goodwill Games. There’s a reason Garrido was hired to coach Team USA.

Yeah, Fullerton would hate to have Garrido return. Those trips to the College World Series are a real pain in the travel budget.

“I don’t see myself as a candidate,” Garrido says, stepping gingerly. “If Fullerton does, I’m sure they’ll get in touch with me. And if they get in touch, we’ll talk.

“Let’s leave it there for now.”

No doubt, a Garrido comeback would be lined with obstacles. First and foremost would be money; Garrido’s salary package at Illinois, including income from summer camps and a shoe contract, is in the $100,000 neighborhood. The Titans live on the other side of the tracks.

Then there’s culture shock. Fullerton went from fire to ice when by-the-book Cochell replaced throw-away-the-book Garrido. It was like Tony Bennett filling in for Guns N’ Roses. Bill Cosby following Eddie Murphy.

Could Titan Athletic Director Ed Carroll properly brace himself for the reverse?

Cochell always looked out of uniform at Fullerton. What, no khaki, no spit shine? Garrido always looked as if he had a half-dozen hot Rolexes up his sleeve. Cochell had his players dress like the Cincinnati Reds, stirrups pushed down to the ankle. Garrido’s Titans swaggered in the garb of the New York Mets, orange and blue pinstripes blaring.

Talk to both men. Ask Cochell about a losing pitcher and he’ll say, “He didn’t do too well--but that’s off the record.” Ask Garrido about the go-ahead for the Fullerton sports complex, as a writer did Tuesday, and he’ll say, “What, did they hire Moses to do the fund-raising?” Or tell Garrido that the school plans to add locker rooms and a drainage system after the complex is built. “Yeah, I know about this adding stuff,” he says. “ ‘We’ll start by adding bases . . . ‘ “

It’s a matter of style, but if Fullerton baseball has demonstrated anything, it’s that style doesn’t matter. The Titans won under Garrido and they won under Cochell. Cochell inherited the impossible act to follow--he was Gene Bartow in spikes--and he made it to Omaha twice in three years.

Now Fullerton has to find someone capable of following Cochell.

Garrido would fit the bill. He already has. Presently, he’s negotiating a new contract with Illinois, but nothing has been signed. He claims, “I’m certainly happy at Illinois,” but concedes that “any time a big-time job opens, it’s going to draw your attention--and Fullerton is a big-time program.”

Once upon a time, Garrido was the one who made it big-time. If Fullerton has any interest in having Garrido finish his work, it knows where to reach him.