Meet the Coaching Staff
MIKE GAMBINO Assistant Coach
Mike Gambino joined the Virginia Tech staff as an assistant coach in the summer of 2006 not only with playing and coaching accolades on his resumé, but with professional scouting experience
as well. Now in his third season in Blacksburg, he serves as the Hokies’ recruiting coordinator and works with Tech’s infielders and hitters. Much like associate head coach Dave Turgeon, Gambino has a history with head coach Pete Hughes, having both played and coached for him at Boston College. “We are very fortunate to have someone with Mike’s extensive background on our staff,” Hughes said. “We believe his talents as an instructor and as a recruiter/ evaluator are instrumental in carrying on the winning tradition of Hokie baseball. I have had the pleasure of both coaching Mike and working with him. He is loyal, a tremendous worker and a true competitor – all qualities that we need to have in our program to win in the ACC.” Gambino, 31, came to the Hokies from the Detroit Tigers, where he worked as a regional scout. Gambino was an infielder for Hughes at Boston College from 1995 through 2000, earning the team’s leadership award as a redshirt sophomore in 1997-98. He was named second-team All-New England and made the BIG EAST
Gambino’s File Personal: Born: 7/9/77, Garrison, N.Y. Hometown: Garrison, N.Y. Education: High School: James I. O’Neill High School (1995) College: Boston College (1999) Postgraduate: Boston College (2000) Playing Experience: 1995-2000 Boston College 1998 Orleans Cardinals (Cape Cod League) 2000-02 Boston Red Sox system Coaching Experience: 2002 Boston Red Sox (special assistant to major league staff) 2002 Lowell Spinners (hitting, infield, first-base coach) 2003-05 Boston College (volunteer coach) 2006- Virginia Tech (assistant coach, recruiting coordinator) Scouting Experience: 2002 Major League Baseball Scout Development Program 2005-06 Detroit Tigers (Northeast & Deep South)
Academic team following the 1999 season. In 2000, Gambino collected a school record 78 hits on the way to earning first-team All-Big East, All-New England and All-Northeast Region honors. Following his collegiate playing career, Gambino spent two seasons as a minor league infielder for the Boston Red Sox. In February 2002, he became a special assistant to the Red Sox Major League staff. In that capacity, he assisted the coaching staff with all on-field activity and aided the scouting department with coordinating the Amateur Draft. Gambino was a coach for the Lowell Spinners, the Red Sox Short Season-A team in the New York-Penn League, from June-September 2002. He worked with hitters and infielders and coached first base for the Spinners. He also assisted with all game and prospect reports. When the season concluded, the Red Sox sent Gambino to the Major League Baseball Scout Development Program. In January 2003, Gambino returned to Hitting Boston College as a volunteer coach for “First and foremost, our hitters need to get a good pitch to hit. You can have the best swing in the Hughes. He coordinated the developmental world, but if you consistently swing at bad pitches and pitches out of the zone, it becomes very hard program for hitters and infielders, and also to have success at the plate. coordinated BC’s summer baseball camps. “After that, my overlying theme is to ‘keep it simple.’ I don’t believe in a ‘cookie cutter’ approach After two seasons with the Eagles, to hitting – or making every hitter do the exact some thing at the plate. There are a few basic things Gambino moved back to the pro ranks in that all good hitters must do, but there are numerous ways to do them. Our guys have all had some November 2005 to become an area scout level of success to get here, so let’s figure out what it is that they do well and help them stay there. for Detroit, working in the Northeast Hitting is all about comfort, and if you manufacture swings, players cannot ever really get comfortable. and Deep South (Alabama, Louisiana and “As a team, we’ll stress a short, quick and inside approach to the baseball, with good extension Mississippi). through the baseball. We’ll focus on our situational hitting – especially our two-strike approach – and Gambino, who received a bachelor’s getting a good pitch to hit. We will not spend a lot of time trying to rework swings and make all of our degree in English and theology from BC, is guys look the same, as that is counterproductive, in my opinion.” a native of Garrison, N.Y.
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Gambino’s Philosophy On …
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