A couple months into what he has described as hopefully his last head coaching job, Dave Esquer sits in the office once occupied by his mentor, Mark Marquess.
Cardinal Sports Report had a one-on-one conversation with Esquer to talk about the new staff and getting started at Stanford. It still hasn’t completely sunk in for the former walk-on shortstop at Stanford that he is the program’s second head coach since 1977.
“Not even close,” he laughed. “Trying to catch up and it has been a little bit of scramble to get our feet on the ground. I don’t think our staff -- all four -- has been in the office all at once. We’ve been on the road recruiting and guys have been in and out. There will be a time when we’re all here together working … maybe it will hit me then.”
Joining Esquer on the staff is pitching coach Thomas Eager, infield/hitting coach Tommy Nicholson and volunteer coach Jack Marder. Esquer broke down the strengths of each, starting with Eager, who was his pitching coach at Cal and played at Cal Poly.
“He’s an extremely aggressive recruiter, which I really appreciate,” Esquer said. “He’s a real hustler out on the recruiting trail and will look to find kids who will help us win games. He does an excellent job with the pitchers.”
Nicholson played at Texas and coached with Augie Garrido before spending last season at Sacramento State. Esquer praised "his ability to coach infielders and help with the hitters and bring new ideas. He can challenge some of the ideas that I’ve established over 18 years. That’s what I’m looking for from the staff.
“Jack Marder falls into that role as well. He’s a great young coach with a great baseball mind. I think he’ll challenge the status quo and what we’ve done in the past by asking questions. Is there a better way to do it?”
Marder spent last season as an assistant coach of the NAIA Keiser Seahawks.
The team they will all coach hasn't had a chance, yet, to come together and get to know each other.
Esquer has mostly introduced himself over the phone, although Tristan Beck has been on campus. And several freshmen played summer ball in a local college league.
“It’s really going to be one big introduction when they get back to campus,” Esquer said.
He’s followed from afar as Kris Bubic and Nico Hoerner starred during the summer. Bubic was recognized as the top pitcher in the Cape Cod League. He was 4-1 with a 1.65 ERA and struck out 41 in 32 ⅔ innings.
“He continues to ascend and improve,” Esquer said. “His growth from freshman year was very impressive. You see him go to the Cape Cod League and turns head to an even greater degree. Scouts were saying he could be a first round draft pick. People wouldn’t have said that coming out of his freshman year. Certainly after his sophomore year they knew he was a prospect but he continues to get better.”
Hoerner was an All-Star for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox, where he hit better than .300.
Esquer also pointed to sophomore Andrew Daschbach as someone who had a good summer. And the freshmen he tracked locally, such as former Oregon prep star Tim Tawa, fared well against college competition for the first time.
“I really don’t look at the summer numbers much to give me an indication of necessarily where they’re at,” Esquer said. “Sometimes I think the most valuable lesson is to learn what not to do anymore. They come back and say, ‘I know what I need to work on because it magnified where I’m a little deficient.' I’d like to see guys have good summers, but I’m pretty open minded that it’s a learning experience and they’ll come back ready to focus on what they need to do.”
Stanford has plenty of experienced players returning for Esquer’s first year. The pitching staff trio of Kris Bubic, Tristan Beck and Erik Miller is an encouraging place to start. Esquer doesn’t expect the Cardinal will need freshmen pitchers for big performances.
Jack Little is someone Esquer said is expected to step into a pitching greater role. Freshmen Jacob Palisch of Jesuit College Prep (Richardson, Texas) and Austin Weiermiller of Cambridge High (Milton, Georgia) are likely candidates to get some innings and be developed for their sophomore years.
Tawa and Christian Robinson of Viera High (Melbourne, Florida) “could be impact players but may have to wait their turn. That’s a good problem to have when you have talent behind talent.”
Zach Sehgal (La Jolla High) will be an understudy to Nico Hoerner and Duke Kinamon in the middle infield.
The freshmen and returning players will work with a coach who was greatly influenced by the man who paced the dugout last year. Esquer will wear No. 8 instead of No. 9, and while it may be similar in some ways, Esquer and his staff will build their own experience at Stanford.
“I completely plan to honor many of the traditions,” he said. “I don’t believe that this program is in need of a overhaul. There are some things that will naturally be done differently because of personality. And we will try to establish new traditions while I’m here as well. The Stanford baseball that I know was brought here by Coach Marquess.”
And Esquer, who won a College World Series with Marquess and has reached Omaha as an assistant and head coach, has one major goal left: “The last box I want to check is not only take my alma mater there, but win one.”
