With a wealth of 37 years in coaching, Bill Erickson returns to Cal State Dominguez Hills for his third year as an assistant coach for the Toro ballclub. He primarily focuses on the pitching aspect of the team.
In his 37 years of coaching, he has coached at every level of amateur baseball while also working with professional players and serving as a scout for two MLB organizations.
On the international level, he served as the pitching coach for Team USA at the World Championships in Canada as well as in Boston, coaching 10 players who played in the big leagues. Nationally, he was an assistant coach for the U.S. Olympic Sports Festivals in 1991 and 1993 and ran the National Baseball Championships for USA Baseball in 1992 that featured Alex Rodriguez and three future MLB players. He also has been a featured clinician for USA Baseball in several states and in Australia and New Zealand.
Erickson also coached the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox in the Cape Cod League, coaching pitchers such as J.J. Putz, Justin Lehr and recruiting and working with several other future MLB players.
On the local high school level, Bill was the head baseball coach at Beverly Hills High School for 18 years, producing one first-round draft choice, 41 college players and three future major leaguers. He was the head coach for the California North-South series twice and was an executive board member of the California Coaches Association.
In 1998, he moved to El Segundo High School where he was the pitching coach for three teams that advanced to the CIF championship game.
The University of Steubenville (Ohio) graduate and CSULA Master's recipient has also served the Los Angeles Dodgers since 1989, both as a pre-game batting practice pitcher as well as taking on “special assignments.” In 1984 he was the batting practice pitcher for the US Olympic team at Dodger Stadium and West LA College – home of the team’s practice facility, and served as the BP pitcher for many of the games of the Equitable Old Timers series, traveling the country pitching to such greats as Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle and Duke Snider, among many other HOF players.
Erickson is the very proud father of Logan, a recent University of South Carolina graduate.
(October 2016)
