I had only intended to spend about thirty minutes in the baseball offices. The plan was to meet with coach Erik Bakich and Walter, the new director of operations, face-to-face for the first time and formally introduce myself.
Walter greeted me in a short-sleeve dress shirt with a tacky, yet classic tie with the words “Terps” and Testudo emblazoned all over it. When I left it was nearly 90 minutes later and for the majority of the time, we hadn’t even spoke about his new job or the state of the program.
Of course we did cover his new responsibilities and his hopes for the team in both the short-term and the long-term. But we also covered his job as a sexual education teacher for over two decades, his Man-Cave devoted to the Terps, and his experiences coaching players such as John Smoltz and Mike Mussina.
So follow me, if you dare, as I go deeper down the Walter rabbit hole.
The first thing I really picked up on was his nonchalant attitude. It seemed as though, as I was asking him questions, that Walter was just along for the ride- a retired high school coaching legend who was just looking for a way to have fun and stay connected to baseball at the same time.
But as I looked deeper, it was easy to see that I had been initially duped by his easy-going nature and charm. Because it was obvious, once I asked the right questions, that there are very few people in the entire country who want to see Maryland baseball succeed as much as this particular alumnus of the program.
“The truth of the matter is that for the past 30 years Maryland baseball has been an embarrassment to any fan, student, or former player,” Walter said. “There is no reason, with the kids in this state, that this program can’t be built into something special quickly.
Walter’s seemingly limitless enthusiasm and optimism may seem to hold little ground, especially considering the team’s recent success or lack there of. But Walter was around the first time of three the Terps won the ACC Title. After graduating from school and baseball in 1963, Walter coached the freshman team in 1964 to a 10-1 record, and then helped the varsity program the following year.
But, at the same time, even Walter himself will admit that he is a little bit of a homer. After all, this is a man who has a man-cave with Terps memorabilia everywhere. He even took the time to collect both Maryland and Duke bobbleheads from Chick-fil-A, positioning the victorious Terp on top of the unfortunate Blue Devil.
“I was born in Brooklyn Heights, I met my wife of 45 years, Barbara, when I was a Phi Delta and she was a Kappa,” Walter said. “I don’t think there is a bigger Terps fan than me. I don’t know how my wife puts up with me, especially with that room.”
When asked whether he will miss being a head coach Walter laughed and dismisses the idea unilaterally.
“Coaching is coaching, I don’t need to be in charge to help teach these kids,” Walter said. “A good coach doesn’t need to lead necessarily, but he does need to be an instructor and help his players get better. That’s when you are really cooking and who is in charge doesn’t matter.”
But despite those remarks it’s hard to imagine Walter, who was a coach for the first time when he led his softball teams when he was 17, not missing part of it. I can’t remember the exact number of major leaguers Walter said he had coached, but I did jot down some of the names of some of the more notable ones. Keep in mind not all of these players went to Arundel High School, he also coached the national team multiple times and also coached the state all-star team now known as Youse’s Orioles.
This list is as follows:
P- Denny Neagle
P- John Smoltz
P- Mike Mussina
C- Mike Matheny
OF- Shawn Green
1B- Willie Aikens
And those are just some of the names that Walter thought I would have heard of.
There is no doubt that the man has his own style of coaching, and it will be interesting to see how his personality and his passion for the game and the program fit into a part-administrative, part-instructor position that has even Walter admitting he doesn’t know what exactly he will be doing all year.
But you can bet that it will be something to improve the team, because I don’t think Walter would do anything that would hurt the success of his beloved Terrapins.
Note: As much as I would love to sit here for another hour and transcribe the entirety of our conversation, and trust me, you would enjoy it. I will hold back a lot of stuff because I want to do a more expansive, formal piece on the new director of ops during the school year. So until then, enjoy the taste.
Michael Lemaire was the Terrapin Baseball beat writer in 2009. He can be reached at lemairedbk@gmail.com.