'He loves the game': Tallmadge baseball coach Kenny Linn surpasses 400 career wins
Coach Kenny Linn "loves baseball," according to Tallmadge athletic director Bill Johnson.
"He loves the game," Johnson said of Linn. "He loves everything about it. He loves the intricacies of it. He loves doing the small stuff, and on top of that he loves every one of his players.
"In my three years as athletic director and even before that [as a girls basketball and boys basketball coach at Tallmadge], you could just tell that he is always trying to do right by his players. The conversations we have had, it always comes back to what is best for the team and what is best for each player. I think that is really important, and that shows how much he cares."
Linn's passion for baseball has taken him to more than 400 career wins in his 25th season overall in the dugout. He is in his 20th season as Tallmadge's coach after five seasons leading the St. Vincent-St. Mary baseball team.
Linn entered the middle of the week with a 402-263 overall record as a head coach with a 344-184 record at Tallmadge, including 4-3 this season, and a 58-79 mark at STVM.
"No. 1, I have been fortunate to surround myself with a coaching staff that has helped with that success," Linn said. "Not only currently with Scott Campbell and Pat Henderson. Ben Shepherd, obviously the new head coach at St. Vincent-St. Mary, was there with me at Tallmadge for 17 years as the pitching coach. I think we won over 300 games together at Tallmadge during his 17 years. We won six district titles, two regional titles, a state championship and made another state semifinal appearance.
"I have been blessed to put together a coaching staff that has done a phenomenal job. I joke around, but it is like a defensive coordinator and an offensive coordinator [in football]. Shep was that way for 17 years. Soup has been that way for the last four. Tony Esola was the pitching coach for my last three years at St. Vincent-St. Mary. All those guys had the responsibility of calling every pitch. Those guys are important. They added to the accomplishments and success that we have had of working together from pitch calls to working through the defense and offense."
Linn, in his 25th year as an Akron Public Schools teacher, credits other coaches and his players through the years.
"Mike Barr was with me for 10 years as our outfield slash hitting instructor," Linn said. "He was with us during that state championship run and the other final four appearance we had recently at Tallmadge. Jim Hindel and JJ Wray were also great coaches, and [former Tallmadge baseball coach and athletic director] Don Seeker hired me.
"No. 2, you don't win without talent. No matter how hard we work on our end as coaches, you have to have talent to win. I have been very blessed during my entire career to have multiple talented players that have gone on and played college baseball. There have been about 20-some Division I college players in 25 years. A couple of guys have gotten drafted, one of them being Phil Glasser, who is absolutely tearing it up with the [Washington] Nationals. He is a 10th-rounder [in the 2023 MLB Draft] that is having a lot of success at the A ball level in his first two weeks.
"We have kids who have been committed, that wanted to succeed, that wanted to be coachable and have bought in. This is a community that backs us and surrounded us with support. It all leads into a lot of fun and a lot of wins."
Carlo Testa and Cory Hindel were two of Tallmadge's best players in Linn's early years as coach. The Kansas City Royals selected Testa in the 18th round of the 2008 MLB Draft.
Tallmadge won the Division II state championship in 2017 and the Blue Devils returned to a Division II state semifinal in 2018 under Linn. The state title team featured Glasser, Seth Gergely, Zach Boyd, Jared Burick, Scott Seeker, Sam Seeker, Josh Taylor, Jake Rensel, Richie Eyre, Derek Lightel, Jake Reifsnyder, Mikah McGlaughlin and Garrett Sands.
"Kenny is also crazy," Johnson said with a laugh. "He is the guy who is stealing home when it's a one-run game. He is sacrifice bunting and squeeze bunting. He likes to do the things you don't see on an everyday basis because he is trying anyway he can to win. I think that really sets him apart from all of the other coaches."
Linn played baseball at Hoban and graduated in 1992. He graduated from the University of Akron in 1998. He coached at STVM from 1999-2003 and won four sectional titles and two district crowns. He took over at Tallmadge in 2004 and has won 18 sectional crowns, six district titles and has been a district runner-up eight times.
Michael Beaven can be reached at mbeaven@thebeaconjournal and is on Twitter at @MBeavenABJ.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Tallmadge baseball coach Kenny Linn surpasses 400 wins in 25th season
