Mastodon’s Troy Sanders is a Damn Good Little League Coach
When they’re not killing it on stage and traveling the world, it’s sometimes nice to see all the impressive, good and wholesome shit our favorite musicians get up to. For example, we all know Cannibal Corpse vocalist George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher‘s love of the crane game and resulting toy donations. Insomnium‘s Dr. Ville Friman is a distinguished scientist with a PhD in evolutionary ecology when he’s not killing it on stage.
And now, we know that Mastodon bassist/vocalist Troy Sanders is a big ol’ softie whose love of baseball and dedication to his son has made him Positive Coaching Alliance’s 2024 Regional Baseball Coach of the Year.
Sanders was one of 36 total regional winners who were selected out of a pool of 500 nominated coaches from across the U.S. Representing Indian Rocks Beach (Fla.) Little League as both a coach and the League President, he said the win wasn’t on his radar when he received word that he’d won.
“I was not expecting it and knew nothing about it until I received the email letting me know I was selected. Then, once I did a little more research and learned about the nomination process that 10 of my current and former players’ parents went through for me, I was very excited and humbled.
“To have what I feel is the most natural way to coach and lead these young players recognized outside of my own circle, it helped me feel like I am doing at least something right for these kids and it just felt exciting to be recognized in this way.”
It’s really funny to read the post about Sanders’ selection, because they don’t mention his affiliation with Mastodon or his rock star lifestyle at all. But we all know the truth.
According to Little League, Sanders grew up playing in the system from five to 14 years old. After graduating out of the league, he eventually came back after three decades when his son signed up at eight years old. After supporting his son’s teams for two seasons, Sanders began doing wholesome shit like volunteering at the concessions stand and becoming an assistant coach for his son’s team when needed.
Eventually, he said he decided to share his knowledge of the game with more than just his son, opting to become a coach and team manager, eventually joining the local league’s Board of Directors for four years. He eventually was elected as League President, which is the position he’s had for the last two years.
“Once I started as an assistant coach, it felt like a very natural and authentic progression. My son was very interested in baseball, and still is, which has allowed me to be super close to the game and a very active volunteer. There’s nothing I love more than coaching Little League.”
Nothing, Mr. Sanders?! Not even… metal?!
In all honesty, I’ve never heard a bad thing about Sanders, so this all tracks. The dude seems to be just a loving father and someone who wants to give back to the community through the best damn sport in the world — baseball. (Go Mets!)
