By: Maverick Pallack

The 6-foot-4,190-pound Luther Salinas looks more like he could be strolling off the baseball diamond, rather than the typical 39-year-old father. Ball bag in one hand, his son’s equipment in the other, Salinas takes time out from work to coach his son’s sports teams just like many fathers; the main difference being that Salinas at one point expected to play pro baseball, if it weren’t for one thing.

 

Growing up, Luther Salinas loved all sports. Being an exceptional athlete, Salinas lettered in baseball, basketball and football. Although football was his favorite sport, baseball was his best. “I realized around my junior year that I was way better at baseball, so I started to take that more seriously.”

 

As scouts came calling, Salinas accepted a full-ride baseball scholarship to Cal Poly, knowing that would give him the exposure needed to be drafted by the pros. While there, Salinas took the easiest classes. As the star pitcher, he was on track to be drafted his junior year when everything changed with one pitch, when he felt his shoulder completely tear.

 

Salinas recalled, “Talking to all the doctors, and all the scouts, realizing I wasn’t going to play anymore.” His career was over. No draft. No MLB. “That is when I knew I had to start focusing on school. I had to graduate.”

 

After graduation, he immediately took a job as a pitching coach at a local high school. He has remained active in coaching various sports ever since.

 

Salinas now has a 7-year-old son who inherited his exceptional athleticism. While Jimmy began his love of sports when Luther put a ball in his hands, Jimmy is now getting to that age where he doesn’t always want to listen to his dad. Salinas continues anyway. Being the breadwinner of a family forced Salinas to choose more lucrative jobs over coaching. Yet, Salinas feels there is a lack of quality coaches at the youth level so he remains involved in every sport Jimmy plays. “I don’t want to be his coach, that’s not really my thing. As long as his coach is good, I don’t mind stepping back.”

 

Salinas is not forcing his dreams on his son. “Jimmy is so competitive that he likes playing any sport. Just like Luther,” Salinas’ girlfriend, Caryn Moutinho, said during one of Jimmy’s games. “Jimmy just wants to be the best at everything he does, and Luther wants that, too.”
Until the point where Salinas doesn’t have to coach anymore, he will enjoy a front row seat to his son chasing the same dreams he had when he was that age. “I just want him to have fun when he plays, and he is.”