Former Rays pitcher leading Tarpon Springs turnaround

TARPON SPRINGS, Fla. - Seth McClung is passing on his knowledge and passion for baseball to players at Tarpon Springs High School, where the former Tampa Bay Rays pitcher now serves as a coach.

McClung says he doesn't take life, or his job, too seriously.

"I'm a much better, humbly, coach than I ever was as a player," McClung said.

Make no mistake, it is still a job that McClung attacks just like the Major League batters he used to face. Because McClung knows that he was born to coach.

"I didn't have terrible coaches growing up, but I was in rural West Virginia so my access to coaches was really small," McClung said. "I look at these kids today and think that since I have this knowledge, if I can help somebody, I want to help somebody."

This isn't McClung's introduction to coaching, however. While he was still a member of the Rays, McClung was an assistant coach with the University of Tampa women's basketball team. With stops along the way as a high school basketball coach and travel baseball team coach, McClung finally decided to step back onto a high school baseball diamond when he saw an opening at Tarpon Springs.

"It's something I really wanted," said McClung. "It's a community school and something that needs to be rebuilt. I love rebuilding projects."

When he took over the program, the Spongers were coming off their 11th straight losing season.

"It was kind of a mess," said senior pitcher Drew Dalena. "We weren't really good, nothing was really organized and it was kind of just a mess overall. We weren't winning very much and it wasn't very fun."

Now, thanks to McClung, baseball at Tarpon Springs High is as much about fun as it is about fundamentals.

"I feel like he is a mentor because coaching is supposed to teach the boys about life and get you ready for life after high school," said senior pitcher Kole Hopkins.

Since McClung's arrival, meanwhile, the Spongers have started to turn things around. With a third of their season still left, the Spongers have already secured their best finish in 12 seasons.

"It just feels great," said junior pitcher Danny Scott. b"Freshman year, I wasn't too psyched about it because we were losing a lot and it was the same with last year. We're finally getting it together and it feels great."

While it's not every day the Tarpon Springs players get to take batting practice from a former MLB arm, it is every day they get to learn from a coach who played on the game's biggest stage.

"When you play almost a decade in the big leagues you figure some things out," said McClung. "But knowing nothing as a dumb kid from West Virginia and being able to learn from that aspect, that really resonates with these kids."

Now that McClung's calling has brought him back to a diamond, it is a calling that the former big-league pitcher hopes to continue for a long time to come.

SIGN UP: Click here to sign up for the FOX 13 daily newsletter

WATCH FOX 13 NEWS