Reaction to the death of former Miami baseball coach Ron Fraser:
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Florida State coach Mike Martin, who estimated he faced Fraser at least 120 times in his career:
"He competed hard, but when the game was over, we were all friends, we'd go out and get a beer and talk baseball. He wasn't a guy who tried to keep everything to himself. He passed along his ideas to many coaches in the promotion and the teaching area. He was just a guy who was a great, if not the greatest, promoter of college baseball that we've ever had."
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Texas coach Augie Garrido, the winningest coach in Division I history:
"He brought creativity and innovation to the sport. You could say he was the Bill Veeck of college baseball in that he found different ways and taught college baseball coaches how to fundraise and promote their product. No one did it better and it taught us that if you believe in something, you can be successful. ... He was unique in a different period of time and his vision was important to the progress of college baseball."
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Current Miami coach Jim Morris, who took over the Hurricanes one year after Fraser retired:
"Coach Fraser was like a father to me ... He was the most influential man in my career and a great friend who I knew I could always rely on. He played such a significant role in the history of college baseball and of this program and we will always be a tribute to him."
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LSU coach Paul Mainieri, who faced Fraser as a young coach at St. Thomas University in the mid-1980s:
"Ron Fraser was one of the true pioneers of the modern era of college baseball. I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that if it wasn't for him taking college baseball to a new level of popularity with his promotional tactics, coaches like myself would not have the conditions we enjoy today in the areas of facilities, budgets, fan support, television games, etc. With me growing up in Miami as the son of another college coach there and watching the evolution of the program at the University of Miami, as well as having a great deal of interaction with him, this is a tremendous personal loss for me."
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University of Miami President Donna Shalala:
"Coach Fraser had a tremendous impact on the baseball program at the University of Miami at a pivotal time in our history. His love of the sport and the program can still be felt, years after this legendary tenure at 'The U.'"
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Mike Martin:
"This is a guy who never put himself above baseball. He just wanted college baseball to be successful."
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