Former Delaware Hayes baseball coach Mike Yinger was one of two elected to the Central District Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame Wednesday.
He was elected along with Watkins Memorial coach Don Schone.
“I think we have a really good class,” said CDBCA president and Olentangy coach Ryan Lucas. “These are two quality coaches in the area that have been doing it for (a long time).”
Yinger coached 14 seasons at St. Francis DeSales, Hayes and Worthington Kilbourne where he compiled a career record of 235-148 before becoming the athletic director at Buckeye Valley before the 2017-18 school year.
“The main thing is just being able to compete every day,” Yinger said. “It becomes a challenge because you want to have the ability to win against such great coaches and a lot of times it takes everything that you have.
“The relationships seemed to be strained, but at the end of the day you have such a respect for those people that have done so much. They’re putting in the same hours and they have the same expectations that you do. So, that would be the No. 1 thing – being able to compete.”
He helmed the Pacers to a district championship in 2007 and guided his alma mater DeSales to the state final four in 2002 – the school’s first since his sophomore year.
Phil Callaghan, who recently resigned at Olentangy Orange, was the coach of that Stallion team. He was elected in 2005.
“You always look at the people that coached you and your family – your mom and your dad, your wife and your kids – and know that they’re a part of any successful situation,” Yinger said.
“The people that mentored me … I’d probably miss somebody if I started mentioning names. There are just so many people. To say that there is one individual … it wouldn’t be fair.”
Yinger coached baseball for 17 years, starting as an assistant at Dublin Scioto and DeSales. He also spent one season as an assistant at Ohio Wesleyan.
He was nominated by Buckeye Valley’s Drew Kirby.
“I assumed he was already in,” Lucas said. “At Delaware, he built that indoor hitting facility they have. The new thing for all the coaches is building indoor hitting facilities and it just feels like he was ahead of his time with that.”
Schone, who’s brother Jack coaches at Big Walnut, has been at Watkins for 18 seasons. He has compiled a 243-149 record in 17 seasons as a head coach at the school after starting as an assistant.
Schone, who was nominated by St. Charles’ Ray Benjamin, coached teams to two OCC titles before Watkins moved to the Licking County League where it has won three league titles.
Watkins has three district titles, including back-to-back in 2006 and 2007 – the former of which preceded a regional crown.
Yinger and Schone represent the 19th class to be elected to the CDBCA Hall.
Buckeye Valley’s Richard Mayer (2001 class) and Olentangy’s Steve Little (2012) are also in the Hall as well as Callaghan, who was elected in 2005 while he was the coach at Dublin Scioto.
“It is nice to see that a lot of the guys that are in the Hall of Fame are Delaware County guys,” Lucas said. “Me being an Olentangy guy, it’s an honor to be the president and stand up there and talk about these guys and introduce guys like Mike Yinger into the Hall of Fame.”
The ceremony will take place Nov. 1 at 7 p.m. at St. Charles High School.
The CDBCA is associated with the Ohio High School Baseball Coaches Association serving Delaware, Fairfield, Franklin, Knox, Licking, Madison, Morrow, Pickaway and Union Counties.
