Why the Buchanan High baseball job was appealing to World Series champion Troy Glaus

World Series champion Troy Glaus met with Buchanan High players and the players’ families Monday night at the school library.

Glaus last week was hired to be the Buchanan baseball coach, replacing Brad Fontes, who stepped down because of family issues.

Glaus said the reason why he took the job: his son.

He said he wants his son to go through the Bears program.

“If it wasn’t a fit for him, it wouldn’t be a fit for me,” he said. “This program individually is, obviously it’s a great program. ... It’s had great success over the years, and I just hope to continue it and improve upon it and have as much success as we possibly can going forward.”

Glaus was in Major League Baseball for 13 seasons after he was drafted by the Los Angeles Angels in 1998.

He helped the Angels to the 2002 World Series title when they defeated the San Francisco Giants in seven games. Glaus drove in eight runs, including three home runs on his way to being named most valuable player of the series.

Glaus was a four-time All-Star and a two-time Silver Slugger Award winner. He belted 47 home runs to lead the American League in 2000, and finished with 320 in his career.

Besides playing for the Angels, Glaus played for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Toronto Blue Jays, St. Louis Cardinals and Atlanta Braves. He retired after the 2010 season.

Prior to Buchanan, Glaus coached baseball in the San Diego area for Let Them Play, helping players with conditioning regimes and improving training habits. He was an assistant at North Marion High in Ocala, Florida from 2016-2019.

Glaus will not be a full-time credentialed teacher; he said he applied because it was a walk-on job.

He cited a friend who lives in the Fresno area as the reason why he applied for the job after it was open.

Glaus said the job at Buchanan was “very appealing to me.”

““I know Buchanan is very important for this community,” he said. “Buchanan baseball is very important, and although I’ve never worn the Buchanan Bears logo, I do know what it’s like to really go to bat and fight for what you believe wearing another logo. This one, it will be just the same and like I said, I can’t wait to get started.”