Hernando baseball coach Tim Sims picks up 500th career win

Leopards deliver milestone for their coach with a victory over Nature Coast in the Class 4A-District 6 championship game

BROOKSVILLE, FLORIDA – The simple way to say this is that Hernando High baseball coach Tim Sims picked up the 500th win of his career Thursday night as winning pitcher Michael Savarese hit a three-run home run and Patrick Green added a two run-shot in a 6-2 victory against Nature Coast in the championship game of the Class 4A-District 6 tournament.

But that just wouldn’t be the right way because it goes so much deeper than a single game. What happened here wasn’t just about Sims. It was about every single kid that has played for him and the coaches and players who came before Sims, who long ago, had surpassed the legendary Tom Varn and Ernie Chatman to become the winningest coach in Hernando history.

Hernando baseball coach Tim Sims, along with players Patrick Green (left) and Michael Savarese, show off a commemorative T-shirt marking the occasion of Smith's 500th career win. Both Green and Savarese homered in the historic victory, which came against Nature Coast in the Class 4A, District 6 tournament championship game / Photo by Jeff Laing

“I always say that players win games, not coaches,’’ Sims said. “I haven’t won 500 games the kids that play for me have won 500 games. I’m just lucky that I am in a community that loves baseball and has produced so much talent through the years.’’

To understand why Hernando baseball is different than most high schools, you need to realize that Brooksville is …well, different.

“When you play baseball at Hernando, there is a lot of pride and tradition involved,’’ said Tyson Ellis, a star on Sims’ first team in 1994 and now an assist coach. “It’s something that stays with you for life.’’

“The best way to describe Hernando baseball is that it’s a fraternity,’’ said Eddie Looper, who starred with Sims and future NFL defensive tackle Jerome Brown in the same Hernando infield in the early 1980s and went on to be Sims’ teammate and roommate at Seminole Community College and the University of Alabama. “Once you’ve played for Hernando, you’re in the fraternity. I don’t care if you played with me back in the ‘80s or if you played last year. It’s all one big team.’’

And Sims, who also works his family’s furniture business as his main job, just so happens to be the current keeper of the flame at one of the few high schools in Florida (the Leopards offer a season-ticket package online and the bleachers behind the home dugout at Emerson Field are always full), where baseball is even close to being on a par with football.

“You know, you don’t think much about those type of things when you’re younger,’’ said Looper, who also played quarterback on Hernando’s football team. “But when I look back now, I realize I was part of something really special in Hernando baseball and Tim has kept it special for all of us.’’

When Chatman decided to give up coaching baseball at the end of the 1993 season, former Hernando principal Elaine Sullivan didn’t have to look far for a replacement. In the summer of 1993, Sims, who already was an assistant to Chatman, coached a Brooksville team that was loaded with players who would make up Hernando’s 1994 roster to a Dixie Youth League World Series championship.

Tim Sims (left) began his long association with Hernando baseball as a player with the Leopards. In 1982, he is seen with former Hernando coach Ernie Chatman (center) and teammate Eddie Looper / Photo courtesy of Eddie Looper

With future major league pitcher Bronson Arroyo on his first team, Sims won big immediately. But it wasn’t just the wins that earned Sims instant respect across Florida. It was the way he won.

“Sure, Tim wants to win like all coaches want to win,’’ said Chuck Moehle, who was the coach at Springstead High, Hernando’s biggest rival at the time Sims took over. “But he’s going to do it the right way because he was raised in a family that emphasized morals and principles. He’s not going to cheat or bend the system to try to win.’’

In fact, there have been instances where Sims has gone out of his way to do what he perceived as the right thing. Take the time when district coaches gathered to pick a representative for the Florida Athletic Coaches Association All-Star game when Sims was a young coach. Arroyo was the big name on Florida’s North Suncoast that year, but Springstead also had an outstanding pitcher in Greg Long.

Sims approached Moehle and essentially offered up a move that looked like it came straight out of Chatman’s playbook. Knowing full well that major league scouts, who also had a say in who played in the game, would make sure Arroyo got there, Sims dropped a perfectly-executed bunt.

“Tim came to me and said that Greg belonged in the game, but he wasn’t going to get there if Bronson was selected by district coaches,’’ Moehle said. “I said, “Are you sure you want to do this?’’ He said it was the right thing to do.’’

Sims, 59, has done it for 30 seasons now and has established himself as his own man. But there are still many who view Sims as a Chatman clone. After all, like Chatman, Sims is all Brooksville to his very core.

“I think Tim is a lot like Coach Chatman in that he expects a lot out of you,’’ Looper said. “He wants you to give everything you’ve got. If you do that, he’s going to do everything he can for you and will always have your back.’’

But others, including Sims, say the similarities stop there. Chatman was famous throughout Florida for winning games by asking his players to bunt and steal bases. In baseball circles, those tactics are called “small ball’’. Sims prefers to call it "Ernie Ball'' and tries to avoid it.

“Ernie was a great coach and so is Tim,’’ Moehle said. “Their styles are different. But I think Tim is the kind of coach that would be successful no matter what generation he was coaching in.’’

Chatman was known for being fiercely independent. For years, Chatman and Chuck Alderman, who doubled as the junior varsity coach, were the only coaches in Hernando’s dugout. These days, Sims has six assistants and each is assigned a certain duty.

“It’s truly an honor to be a Hernando assistant,’’ Ellis said. “Coach Sims doesn’t ask just anyone to work with him. He watches the youth league coaches develop and only asks them to join him when he feels they are ready to coach at this level.’’

The 500th win was a well-kept secret. When asked by a ScoreBookLive.com writer in the preseason how many victories he had, Sims said he doesn't keep track of that type of thing.

With the help of officials in the Hernando athletic department, an exact count was determined. Athletic director and Sims assistant Jeff Laing worked behind the scenes to prepare for a celebration when the coach hit the 500 mark.

After the game, the public-address announcer announced Sims' accomplishment and players were handed shirts that commemorated the occasion.

For now, Sims said the next step is to get ready for Tuesday's home game in the Regionals. An opponent won't be known until Saturday.

When asked how much longer he plans to coach, Sims said his focus is only on Tuesday's Regional playoff game at home against an opponent that won't be determined until Saturday.

"I think I have a few left in me,'' Sims said.

Yes, it’s hard to believe that Sims, who started off as a boy wonder, is now second only to Land O’ Lakes Calvin Baisley when it comes to seniority on the North Suncoast. Now, he has 500 wins to show for it.

There are lots of people out there that hold Sims in high regard. This story could go on for days or weeks. But let’s turn it back to Looper, perhaps the person who knows Sims best, to summarize how many feel about the latest Florida high school baseball coach to join the 500-win club.

“I’ve been incredibly blessed to have Tim Sims in my life,’’ Looper said. “We’ve been through a lot together and he was a tremendous teammate and roommate. But he’s an even better man. You’re not going to find a better man than Tim Sims.''