by Adrian Doerfler
Daily Lobo
UNM Athletic Director Paul Krebs didn't have to travel far to find his new baseball coach.
Ray Birmingham, who spent 18 seasons as the head coach at New Mexico Junior College in Hobbs, replaces Rich Alday, who led the Lobos for 18 seasons.
"We were impressed with his winning percentage, but more than that, we are encouraged by his ability to develop talent," Krebs said. "There is no question he is a tireless worker with the energy and focus to develop our baseball program. Coach Birmingham has the highest expectations for this program, and there is no question that he is dedicated to seeing the Lobo program succeed."
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Birmingham, a New Mexico resident for nearly his entire life, brings a career head-coaching record of 818-328-2, a .713 winning percentage. During his tenure in Hobbs, he went 765-255-2 (.750). His career with NMJC was highlighted by a national championship in 2005 and national runner-up in 2007. In his inaugural season in Hobbs, he had a sub-.500 win season, but his teams have had winning seasons every year since.
Birmingham's success and
involvement in the community at Hobbs was so renowned that the school recently named the baseball field after him.
Now that he will be overseeing a Lobo program that finished in the top of the conference standings only once in the last 18 seasons, Birmingham is excited about his new challenges.
"I'm very proud to put this Lobos hat on, and I'm ready to go to work," he said. "I'm excited to be part of a very progressive time at the University of New Mexico. I was attracted to this job because you can feel the excitement that is being built by Paul Krebs and President David Schmidly."
Birmingham's coaching career began in Las Cruces at Mayfield High School, where he won the 1981 national championship. He then went to NMJC in 1983 as a public relations officer and basketball assistant.
He coached baseball at the College of the Southwest in 1988-89 before returning to NMJC in 1990 to become the first skipper of the baseball program at the school.
Through hard work, Birmingham said he expects the UNM baseball team to achieve the highest of successes.
"We have a big dream, and I believe in the dream," Birmingham said. "We are going to work towards that goal, and we have to use the kids of New Mexico to do that. I believe in that because there are great players in this state. We are going to work hard to get to Omaha and the College World Series."
Birmingham, who met his players for the first time a few hours before his news conference on June 25, stressed the importance of team unity by sending his players home to change into similar attire.
"I have high expectations on the baseball field and in the classroom," he said. "We are going to look like a team. We're going to act like a team and be a team. New Mexico wants a large family of athletes, and that's what we are going to try and do. We all have the same goals in being successful in every walk of life."
