"You don't really understand the magnitude of the moment until it happens," said Fresno City pitcher Jake Pizzo.
Ron Scott, the head coach of the Fresno City College baseball team the last thirty years, soaking in career win number 1,000.
When asked what was the most rewarding part of the job he said, "I'll probably get emotional, but getting all of those texts from former players and saying how much they loved it, loved me and loved everything about Fresno City. How it was one of the best years of their life."
Scott is just the second community college coach in California to ever reach such a milestone. "You hear Fresno City baseball, you think of Ron Scott and the winning tradition he's built," said Matt Contreras, redshirt sophomore pitcher.
But it's a tradition that almost didn't happen. 16 years ago when the head gig was up at Fresno State, Scott thought he had the job. "I was bitter for a while but not anymore. No reason to be. Just the relationships I have with players and the town of Fresno," Scott said.
Relationships with hundreds of players, a handful of big leaguers and the closest of friends for thirty years. "We've had people call us Batman and Robin," said assistant coach Eric Solberg. "I prefer the Starsky and Hutch."
Back in 1988, when Ron took first the job, he called Solberg to be his assistant and the two have been side by side ever since.
To get to 1,000 wins, you need consistency. Solberg estimates Scott is averaging 33 or 34 wins a season. But to get to 1,000 it also means the majority of his coaching years are now behind him. "No one ever asks how you're doing anymore, they go, 'How much longer?'," Scott said.
As to when it ends, after 21 conference championships, the answer lies in the one state title Scott and Solberg won in 1992. "To be honest with you, I don't think we appreciated it, because we thought we'd rattle off a bunch more," Solberg said.
"You wouldn't have to ask me how much longer. That would be it. I would give everyone a hug and say it's been fun and try and go out on top," Scott reflected.
While the players are working on writing that ending, even if Scott doesn't get to ride off into the sunset they say there's no question he's left a legacy here in Fresno. "What I learned from coach Scott is to work hard, because you never know what could happen," said sophomore pitcher Noah Parsons.
Where there was once bitterness for getting passed on, now a belief that everything happens for a reason. "I'll try not to get emotional because my players think I'm a tough guy, but when it says time flies when you're having fun, it's just unbelievable how fast 30 years have gone," Scott said during a ceremony to honor him before a recent Rams game.
Scott currently sits on 1,002 career wins, just 69 shy of the all-time record held by Santa Ana's Don Sneddon.