Ken Macha on Pitt Hall of Fame, almost managing Pirates, Dave Parker legends

For nearly 70 years, baseball has been tied to Ken Macha. At age 69, the former Major Leaguer is still coaching with Westmoreland County Community College.

His path on the diamond saw him roam as far as Venezuela, Montreal and Japan. But it so often threaded its way back through Western Pennsylvania.

High School. College. And the Major Leagues.

This October 16, that career will be recognized at a Heinz Field ceremony when the University of Pittsburgh inducts Macha into its athletics Hall of Fame.

The former Panther went to Pitt as a freshman walk-on out of Gateway High School in 1968. He left as a sixth-round draft choice of the Pittsburgh Pirates (1972).

He’ll be enshrined with the likes of football legends Curtis Martin, Craig “Ironhead” Heyward, Jackie Sherrill and basketball star Brandin Knight.

“Back then Bobby Lewis was the coach,” Macha recalled. “We just got things together and went out and played. There weren’t a lot of scholarship players. Just a bunch of players who played with the ‘Little Pirates’ and went to high schools around the area.

“The program has grown immensely since my departure.”

Macha is one of the program’s most accomplished alumni. In 1971, he ranked among the nation’s leaders in batting average, RBI and slugging percentage. As a senior captain in 1972, Macha was a Sporting News Honorable Mention All-American.

From there, Macha spent three campaigns with the Pirates (1974, 1977-78), two with the Montreal Expos (1979-80) and one with the Toronto Blue Jays (1981). He then played professionally in Japan.

Macha also managed the Oakland A’s from 2003-06, leading them to the playoffs twice. And he was the bench boss for the Milwaukee Brewers in 2009 and 2010. He compiled a 525-447 regular-season record.

There was a time in 2005 when it looked like Macha may become the manager of the Pirates. His contract expired in Oakland. He talked to the Pirates about their job opening. But ended up going back to Oakland for one more year, and Jim Tracy became the manager of the Bucs.

He was also believed to be a candidate back in 2010 before Clint Hurdle was hired.

“Having that Pittsburgh blood. Having to answer to everybody in town every time you went to the grocery store. I don’t think you could have hired a more passionate guy about winning in Pittsburgh,” Macha said. “But that didn’t work out. I’m totally proud of the career I did have. We had some great teams in Oakland. Some great players in Milwaukee. The only thing that didn’t get fulfilled was not managing in Pittsburgh. But so be it.”

In a wide-ranging interview for Thursday’s podcast, Macha touches on a number of subjects.

What Pitt’s move to the ACC has meant for baseball: “I like the move going to the ACC. I thought — at that time — (former coach) Joe Jordano would have his hands full. Which he did. But I thought he did a nice job recruiting some players out of town, having the program become relevant in his last year.”

Macha added that he’s optimistic new coach Mike Bell will continue that trend given his background as Florida State’s former pitching coach.

Jordano got the Panthers to the semifinals of the ACC tournament in his last year. Bell’s team was 10-6 in his second season before the covid-19 shutdown.

Memories of his time with the Pirates of the 1970s: “The clubhouse? When they said ‘We are a Family,’ it was absolutely that … In the early 70s, most of the players with the Pirates were groomed through the farm system and there was a tremendous amount of camaraderie.”

Playing with Dave Parker right before he broke into the big leagues in 1974: “He was the fastest player in the organization. He ran a 6.2 (second) 60-yard dash. He was huge and he could run.

“He had this down stroke. And he hit some vicious line drives out of the park in A-ball. He’d hit a two hopper to second base and beat it out.”

Macha also discusses his history with Shaler’s Art Howe, if general manager Ben Cherington can help the Pirates get competitive again, his continued ties to Pitt athletics, and why he thinks Major League Baseball can still successfully reboot in 2020.

Listen: Tim Benz speaks with Ken Macha about his baseball days at Pitt and his career in the majors