Mike Goodwin steps down as Post 15 skipper
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PARKERSBURG -- After a decade-long run of guiding the American Legion Post 15 baseball team on the diamond, manager Mike Goodwin has decided to hang up his cleats after 350 games.
“It’s time. It’s time,” he said. “I want to give Jeff (Thompson) a chance to run the team. He’s going to take over for me.
“He’s been with me from the beginning and he’s more than qualified and ready to continue a good strong program.”
A program which didn’t have a losing season, averaged 22 wins, made six state tournament appearances, was this year’s runner-up and the 2018 champions.
During his tenure, Post 15 captured the Don Coss Memorial Tournament title in Cambridge four times, including an undefeated run this summer, along with claiming two Area championships and a quartet of Area runner-up efforts.
When asked how this all started Goodwin explained “the Legion Commander has to sign off on it, but my dad (Jim) coached before me and he got cancer and got sick, and before he passed he asked me to take the team.
“I could not say no to my dad, so 10 years later here we are. I owe it all to my dad. He gave me the chance and of course the veterans of Post 15 have been very good to me and I feel like we’ve been good to them.”
Goodwin coached in exactly 350 games with 224 victories and won at a 64% clip.
“It does,” Goodwin said of the title year sticking out. “In 2018 when we won it all and went to the regionals in North Carolina, that was a very exciting year. A very special group of kids.
“Then this year’s team, 2026, we made a run at it. We finished runner-up in the state to Wheeling. This year was a very special team as well. We’ve had good success.”
Stepping away might not be easy for Goodwin though.
“That’s the hardest part of it all is not being with the kids everyday,” he said. “It’s very difficult and very special to spend that kind of time with the kids on the road, and playing games.
“We developed, I developed a great relationship with all the kids who have played for us. That’s the biggest part I’m going to miss is the relationship with the kids.”
Goodwin also talked about some of his memories from being with Post 15 and all the games.
“I’ll never forget the state championship game against South Charleston in 2018,” he said. “That was, you know, Ben Menarchek pitched that game and I will never forget that game. Every play, every out, you know, because when you get to that point, just like this past year, I could tell you every at-bat. It’s so intense and it’s a challenge.
“It’s not easy to coach. It’s easy being an assistant, but it’s one thing to be the head coach. I got a lot of assistants in the crowd. There’s a lot of assistants in the crowd, but it’s one thing to have to make the decisions on the field.”
The now retired Parkersburg Post 15 manager admitted the title win against South Charleston probably sticks out the most.
“It’s the most significant and then honestly what sticks out second most is this year’s championship game against Wheeling because it’s so fresh and we were so close,” Goodwin added. “We only lost 11-8. We gave them a run for their money. Wheeling, they are a powerhouse. We were underdogs this year. Nobody expected us to go this far. I only had 12 kids. I had kids that went to Marietta. I had kids that went to Ritchie County.
“I’m not going to stop them from playing, but if they don’t want to play for me then OK fine, we’ll just beat you. Ritchie and Marietta both we were victorious against them. That’s just how you answer. This team had a chip on its shoulder in the state tournament. It really did. Nobody believed in us. Nobody thought we could go that far, but we proved them wrong. That’s what’s most significant and fresh in my mind, this year’s run.”
Thompson, who spent nearly two decades as the head baseball coach for the Raiders of Roane County, has plenty of support from his now former manager.
“I think Jeff Thompson is a great coach,” Goodwin stressed. “He’s set up for success because we have a core group of kids coming back from this year’s team that will only get better. I have to thank the veterans of Wood County and Jackson County and Pleasants, and even Roane, the Mid-Ohio Valley.
“I’m very thankful for the veterans that supported us and I hope that they feel like we supported them and gave them a great product. I’ve got a lot of people to thank along the way, but our focus every game has always been about the veterans because that’s who we played for.”
Contact Jay Bennett at jbennett@newsandsentinel.com