SARASOTA (SNN-TV) – A legendary figure on the Suncoast, and a man heralded as one of the nation’s top high school baseball coaches was honored at Sarasota High School tonight.
As part of the 1st Annual Clyde Metcalf Preseason Classic, the former Sailors baseball coach Clyde Metcalf was surrounded by friends, former players and family as he had his No. 32 retired by the Sailors baseball program.
Metcalf retired last March from the Sailors where he had been the head coach since taking over for friend and mentor Eddie Howell in 1981. Metcalf ends his career with 950 victories, 2 national titles and six state titles. The first state championship was won in 1987 and the most recent in 2007, which was in front of a home crowd at Ed Smith Stadium.
Metcalf was inducted into the FHSAA Hall of Fame in 2019, and inducted into the Sarasota HS Hall of Fame this past November. Metcalf’s No. 32 jersey will forever be painted on the press box behind home plate at Ronald K. Drews Field.