When Petaluma native and former professional baseball player Jeff Inglin received a call from Matt Williams asking him to join his coaching staff, it was nearly impossible for Inglin to say no.
Williams, the former Giants third baseman and Major League Baseball coach, is the head coach for the new San Francisco Firebells, one of four teams in the Women’s Pro Baseball League (WPBL).
This year marks the inaugural season for the WPBL, and the league will play all of its games at Robin Roberts Stadium in Springfield, Illinois.
Inglin took the role offered by Williams to be an assistant coach for the Firebells, whose season started this past weekend.
Inglin is the owner of Athletic Edge baseball training facility and batting cages in Petaluma, as well as the Beyond the Glory sports bar and grill in Petaluma.
Williams met Inglin through their significant others. Their relationship kicked off when they met at dinner following Matt Williams retirement from coaching last year, and Williams was getting started with his company that teaches youth baseball and softball players, Elevation 9. Athletic Edge has collaborated on multiple events with Elevation 9 in the past year.
Inglin is part of a three-person coaching staff that includes Williams and Sam Unger.
“It’s been an awesome experience,” Inglin said of working alongside Williams. “Just when you think you know a little bit about the game, it’s always humbling to stand beside someone and coach with someone who’s had 40 years of major league baseball experience.”
San Francisco beat the Boston Hunters 11-3 Sunday in its debut.
“There is so much energy, and it’s just been a fun time being out there and just watching these players just really get after it in the way they go about the game and the professionalism,” Inglin said.
Inglin is the Firebells’ third base coach, and the position has had its learning curve.
“It’s a little bit faster of a game because of the shorter dimensions,” Inglin said.
But Williams knew Inglin would be perfect for the role.
“He’s well versed in that, that that’s a difficult position often times to be thrust into if you’re not used to doing it,” Williams said of Inglin coaching third base. “He’s aggressive and he’s spent a long time in professional baseball, so he understands the game completely, so it’s nice to have him with us here.”
He wanted to say “yes” right away to Williams, but there were other factors to consider. He also owns a landscaping company in Petaluma and in Arizona, as well as three restaurants in Northern California and two in Arizona, along with the batting cages.
Inglin said he thought about it for 30 minutes before he decided to join the Firebells coaching staff. His family will help oversee his other endeavors while he’s coaching.
“It was an opportunity I really couldn’t pass up.” Inglin said. “He could have gone halfway across the world and coached a wiffle ball team and I would go with Matt because you don’t say no when you have an opportunity like that.”
The Casa Grande High School alum was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in 1996 after playing for USC in college.
Inglin played 10 seasons of minor league baseball along with other international leagues.
“He’s extremely organized. It goes well beyond the baseball part of it. He owns restaurants and Athletic Edge,” Williams said. “So he understands all of the scheduling aspects of all the stuff we’re doing, he understands how to coach the players and make them better and ultimately, that’s what we’re trying to do.”
The pair is also working on a 22-team fall league for youth players.
“He knows the youth space, so I lean on him a lot, being the newbie within the amateur space and he’s very well respected in the area,” Williams said. “He knows what he’s doing for sure.”
The Firebells also have former Sonoma Stompers and Oakland Ballers player Kelsie Whitmore, who was selected with the first overall pick.
Former Analy High baseball player Kaija Bazzano was also drafted by San Francisco, a fourth-round selection. She isn’t on the current roster, but could be called up by the Firebells in case of injury.