feel the rath

Gary Rath, a former pitcher whose pro career took him far and wide, takes over for Cooper Farris as head coach at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. Rath, a Long Beach native who played at Mississippi State, spent 15 years in the pros, including stints in the big leagues here and in Japan, Korea and Taiwan. He was an assistant this past season to Farris, who retired after 20 years — mostly good ones — at Gulf Coast. Rath knows what he’s getting into. Specifically? Well, he’s taking over a team with a bevy of returning players for a program with high expectations that competes in a very tough league. That’s about it.