He’d like to teach the world to swing

For many, a move to the other side of the world, with the differences in culture and language, would be frightening. For Rick Dell, formerly the head baseball coach at TCNJ, the move was the opportunity of a lifetime.

Words by Madeline M. Patrick ’10

Rick Dell

For many, a move to the other side of the world, with the differences in culture and language, would be frightening. For Rick Dell, formerly the head baseball coach at TCNJ, the move was the opportunity of a lifetime.

Rick Dell

After 27 years at TCNJ, Dell left the College last summer to take the position of director of baseball operations in Asia for Major League Baseball (MLB). He is based in Beijing, China. His new position started on September 1, but during the summer, he headed the first-ever China Baseball Academy in Wuxi, China, to train young baseball talent from across China, in conjunction with the China Baseball League.

During his coaching career at TCNJ (25 seasons with baseball, and 14 with soccer), Dell and his teams accumulated over 800 career wins and 19 NCAA Tournament berths.

“During the past 27 years, it has been an honor and a privilege to be the head baseball coach at TCNJ. I have been fortunate enough to have worked in a positive and progressive environment provided by the College, and to have been surrounded by quality players, coaches, parents, alumni, and particularly my long-time assistants Bill Dearden, Dean Glus ’02, and Ed Yaris. I will miss the relationships here at TCNJ but look forward to following the successes of the baseball team in years to come,” Dell said.

Traveling overseas for the United States Baseball Federation and Major League Baseball has been routine for Dell. Since 1989, Dell has traveled to countries such as Italy, Germany, Estonia, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, and Australia to instruct baseball players. In 1999, Dell promoted development of baseball for MLB in the Philippines and New Zealand.

Following Dell’s departure, Glus was appointed interim head baseball coach by John Castaldo. Glus has served as the baseball program ’s assistant coach for 16 years.