Courtesy of Coppin State Athletics
BALTIMORE – Coppin State head baseball coach Sherman Reed has announced that Wayne Franklin, a former MLB pitcher for seven seasons, has been hired as the pitching coach at the Baltimore HBCU.
“We were fortunate to land a pitching coach of the caliber of Coach Franklin,” said Reed who is entering his 15th season at the helm of the CSU program. “The guys play this game in hopes of reaching the Big Leagues someday. Under the tutelage of a former Major League Baseball pitcher, the guys are getting instruction at the highest end. They have done a great job putting on the breaks of the past and buying into Coach Franklin’s pitching philosophy. I am excited to see what the future holds for our young and talented pitching staff.”
In Franklin’s own opinion, his entire Major League career has prepared him for this moment – to come back to his home state of Maryland as a college coach, and it will be at an HBCU for the upcoming season.
Born in Wilmington, Del., yet raised in North East, Maryland, Franklin was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1996 MLB Draft out of the University of Maryland and was picked up by the Houston Astros in the 1999 Rule Five Draft. Franklin made his big league debut with the Astros in 2000, forcing Hall of Famer Ken Griffey, Jr., the first batter he faced, to ground out.
Franklin spent his first three seasons with the Astros as a reliever before the Milwaukee Brewers converted him into a starter. He ended the 2002 season with a 2-1 record while recording a 2.62 ERA for the Brewers before winning ten games the following season, striking out a career-high 116 batters.
Over his professional career in Major League Baseball, Franklin was a teammate of several all-time great hitters, including Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Jeff Bagwell, Chipper Jones, Andruw Jones, Jason Giambi, Robinson Cano, Bernie Williams, Craig Biggio and Jorge Posada, and on the same pitching staffs as Mariano Rivera, Randy Johnson, Mike Mussina, John Smoltz, Tim Hudson, Kevin Brown and Billy Wagner.
A person whom Wayne attributes greatly to his knowledge of baseball is the late author and sports psychologist, H.A. Dorfman. Franklin says that Dorfman’s contributions to the mental game of baseball will never be quantified.
Following his MLB career, Franklin played three years at the International and Independent League levels before starting his collegiate coaching career at San Francisco State, then as the manager of the San Diego Jets, a Collegiate summer league team in 2019. That summer, he led the Jets to a League Championship. In 2021, he managed the Lake Mills 94’s of the Dairyland Collegiate League, losing in the league championship.
Franklin has also spent time in recent years as a pitching coach at Menlo College and Holy Names University.
About Coppin State
Since 1900, Coppin State University has been inspiring students from Maryland and beyond to achieve greatness in and out of the classroom.
With a proud HBCU history, colorful traditions, and deep community roots, Coppin State students and faculty are spreading Coppin pride far and wide, giving back to surrounding Baltimore communities, winning prestigious awards and much more.