Vision of Greatness: UH Baseball Celebrates Coach Les' Hall of Fame Career

Perhaps above all else, building is about vision. 

Where others may have seen obstacles, Les Murakami saw opportunity. A chance to elevate a local club team to national prominence and transform an overlooked plot of dirt and rocks into one of college baseball’s premier ballparks.

Close to 55 years after accepting a part-time position as head coach of the University of Hawai‘i baseball team, evidence of Murakami’s vision abounds throughout the stadium that now bears his name. Given his role in spurring the project from inception to construction to completion, it was altogether fitting that his long-awaited induction into the College Baseball Hall of Fame was celebrated on the field he helped clear all those years ago.

Along with the park that stands as testament to his vision, the dozens of former players spanning his 30 years as head coach who returned to Manoa for the celebration on Feb. 20 spoke to Murakami’s enduring imprint on Hawai‘i baseball. 

“This man was just a visionary,” said Gerald Ako, one the program’s early aces. “He saw things that we never imagined, never thought of. 

“He taught us about playing the best. At that time we’re only playing local teams and we would lose like 24-6. And then he would tell us that we’re going to be the best, one day we’re going to be there. And sure enough in 1977 we became the No. 1 team in the nation. Hard to imagine.”

Forward focused

While many lauded his humility, Murakami refused to settle for modest growth upon taking over the UH  baseball program in 1971.  

In a corner of the University of Hawai‘I’s Lower Campus, known as the quarry in those days, Murakami carved out a spot for the school’s fledgling baseball team to call home.

Before long, aluminum bleachers arose around the infield as the Rainbows ascended to full collegiate status. They quickly elevated their national profile by taking on established powers and just six years into his tenure Murakami led UH to the top spot in the national polls. 

The 1980 team earned a place in Hawai‘i sports lore with its now legendary run to the College World Series in Omaha, coming one win away from a national title. The ’Bows maintained national relevance throughout a coaching career highlighted by six Western Athletic Conference championships and 10 NCAA Regional appearances.

“His influence and achievements are unparalleled. He started this program from scratch,” said Rick Bass, the starting center fielder on the 1980 team and UH’s career leader in hits and stolen bases. “This area here was a rockpile and he turned it into a major Division I baseball program. That’s an achievement I don’t think people on the mainland can really grasp.” 

Sharing the vision

Derek Tatsuno didn’t see himself in UH’s green and orange as he was wrapping up a standout career at ‘Aiea High School. But Murakami convinced the left-hander to take a chance on staying home for college. 

“Originally out of high school I wasn’t intending on coming here,” Tatsuno said. “But Coach Les, he has the foresight, he turned the program into a D-I program. And that’s where it all started and it took off from there.”

The addition of Tatsuno to a staff that already featured Ako helped propel the Rainbows to a place among the nation’s elite and launched a career that would also lead to the Hall of Fame as a 2007 inductee.

“Like Coach Les said, to be good you gotta play the best, and he would always bring in the powerhouse teams early in the spring to see how we matched up with them,” said Tatsuno, who  became the NCAA’s first 20-game winner in 1979 and still holds the UH career records for wins, strikeouts and shutouts. “So we knew what level we had to be to be as competitive as all those big teams. That was the mantra of how to develop yourself to be at that level.”

Building Ballplayers

In constructing a lineup or roster, Murakami could spot potential.

“Coach is a guy who believed in me when no one else did,” said Glenn Braggs, who showed up on campus in 1981 with just one year of high school baseball experience but brimming with physical tools. 

“I was very raw. I came here and I really didn’t know what the heck I was doing and these guys coached me up. … They had to be patient with me for the first couple years and that’s one of the things a lot of people don’t see. With the knowledge of the game that he has, but he’s also able to be patient with guys.”

By his junior year, Braggs had developed into a dominant outfielder and was drafted in the second round by the Milwaukee Brewers of the 1983 Major League Baseball draft. He became the first UH product to break into the bigs in 1986 and went on to win a World Series ring with the Cincinnati Reds in 1990. 

“My time spent here I feel like I grew up, I became a man, I became a ballplayer,” Braggs said. “I think it’s because of the coaching I got here. These guys really rallied around me and they taught me the game. My success in the minor leagues after I left here and at the Major League level and then on to Japan after that was directly related to my time here at UH.”

Braggs hit next to Joey Meyer in the UH batting order to form one of the program’s most formidable power-hitting duos. Meyer was also drafted by Milwaukee and reached the big leagues in 1988. 

“Coach Les did so much for all of us and getting us to play against good competition, and just to find ourselves as players and helped us get drafted,” said Meyer, who earned renown for his 582-foot blast while playing Triple-A ball in Denver in 1987. “A lot of us here owe a lot to him for what he gave us.”

The Magic Eye

Whether from the corner of the dugout or the third-base coaches box, Murakami often saw a different game than most. 

Murakami’s penchant for playing hunches that paid off became as much a part of his persona as the satin jacket he wore on cool Manoa evenings. But those close enough to witness his process learned there was more to his success than good fortune.

“I always admired him a lot just because he was successful for such a long amount of time,” said Bill Blanchette, a Collegiate Baseball first-team All-American in 1991. “But also I thought he was a brilliant in-game strategist. 

“He could look at a lineup ahead of time and figure out where his matchups were and use that to his advantage late in the games. I think that’s why in our era (1990-92) we won a lot of games late, because Coach had a plan about if they brought in a certain relief pitcher then we’re going to bring in this guy off the bench. I don’t think anything surprised him. He was just always on the ball when it came to game situations.”

Carl Furutani played on Murakami’s earliest teams at UH then joined the coaching staff, and got an inside perspective of his thought process over his time as the ’Bows longtime pitching coach. 

“He had a sixth sense about things,” Furutani said. “A lot of things that he did were unconventional, but it always worked out.  He’s one that everyone respected so when he put his foot forward, that’s the direction we’re going. … He’s a magic man, he made things happen.”

Setting the Foundation

As Murakami laid the groundwork for a program that would evolve into a national contender, he provided players with opportunities and lessons that would extend beyond baseball. 

Howard Dashefsky starred on the CWS team in 1980 and embarked on a career in broadcasting after graduating in 1981. He served as color commentator with Don Robbs on radio broadcasts and went on to establish a career in local television. 

“Coach Les and University of Hawai‘i baseball gave me the life I have today,” Dashefsky said. “It was more than just an opportunity to play and suit up and wear Hawai‘i across my chest, but in the process eventually stayed here and broadcast the games on radio, got a job, got a wife and children now I have grandchildren. I owe everything to University of Hawai‘i baseball.”