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Cal head baseball coach David Esquer will leave the Bears to join rival Stanford in the same role, a source confirmed to California Golden Blogs.
The news was first reported by John Manuel of Baseball America.
Two sources telling me David Esquer will leave Cal to become Stanford's new head coach. Not a shock; Cal has financial issues, he's an alum
— John Manuel (@johnmanuelba) June 15, 2017
As Manuel mentions, Esquer is a Stanford alum. He was the starting shortstop on the Cardinal’s 1987 national championship team and went on to serve as an assistant coach at Stanford from 1991-96.
Esquer took over as Cal head coach in 2000. In 18 seasons, he compiled a record of 525-467-2 (.528). He led the Bears to the College World Series in 2011 and was named National Coach of the Year. Esquer’s Cal teams also qualified for NCAA Regionals in 2001, 2008, and 2010.
Esquer will replace legendary Stanford head coach Mark Marquess, who retired after 41 seasons at the helm.