Mike Batesole

Michael H. Batesole

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 200 lb.
• School Oral Roberts University

• Born ~1964

BR minors page

Biographical Information

Mike Batesole played in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization from 1985 to 1988, reaching AA with the San Antonio Missions. He then became a coach, winning Collegiate Baseball Coach of the Year honors in 1998 along with Mike Gillespie. He led his school to the 2008 College World Series title.

Mike was a backup for Team USA when they won Bronze in the 1984 Amateur World Series. He was 1 for 12 with a walk and two times plunked; his hit was a homer off Nelson Cespedes of the Dominican national team. He handled 14 chances error-free, backing up Tim Dulin at third base. He was picked in the 14th round of the 1985 amateur draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers. He debuted with the Great Falls Dodgers and batted .262/~.314/.364. His 20 doubles were two shy of Pioneer League leader Geronimo Berroa. In 1986, Batesole hit .231/~.292/.357 for the Bakersfield Dodgers. The next year, his batting line read .285/~.352/.423 with the Vero Beach Dodgers. He hit a team-high 11 home runs and drove in 77, the most. He was hit by pitch 13 times, leading the Florida State League and his 9 sacrifice flies tied Craig Mills for the lead. Batesole tied for 7th in the FSL in home runs and was 4th in RBI.

He finished his playing career in 1988 with Vero Beach (.237/~.321/.343 in 51 games) and the San Antonio Missions (.286/~.323/.401 in 53 games).

Batesole was an assistant coach for five years at Cypress College and Orange Coast Junior College. He was then head coach at California State University, Northridge from 1996 to 2002. He has been the head coach at California State University, Fresno since 2003. He led the team to the 2008 College World Series, their first College World Series in 17 years. The lowest-ranked seed ever to make a College World Series (#4 in their regional), Fresno State became the team with the most losses (31) ever to win a CWS in a dazzling underdog postseason performance.

Batesole's son, Korby Batesole, played for him at Fresno State and played in the minors.