Former Notre Dame pitching coach Chuck Ristano writes goodbye to Irish in social media message
Chuck Ristano loves Notre Dame. Not past tense. Present tense. Because he always has, for the last 12 years, and he always will. The former Fighting Irish pitching coach made that very clear Saturday night in a social media message.
“Thank you Notre Dame,” wrote Ristano, who was named Florida State’s pitching coach earlier this week. “You changed my life. For the past 12 years, it has been my honor to wear the blue and gold. So many of my significant life events happened at ND…I got married in the shadow of the Dome, baptized my children in the log chapel and built a wonderful life around some of the greatest people in the world. I know the relationships forged throughout the entire campus community will last a lifetime.”
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Ristano’s tenure as Notre Dame’s pitching coach spanned the entirety of two different head coaching eras. He was here for all nine seasons of Mik Aoki‘s tenure (2011-2019) and stuck around for all three of the Link Jarrett (2020-2022) years. Grinding through a 248-253-1 record during the Aoki era made Notre Dame’s 86-32 record during the Jarrett era much more meaningful.
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It wasn’t always easy, but Ristano got where he wanted to be by seeing it through in South Bend.
“Our baseball team did some special things together and shared many unforgettable moments,” Ristano continued. “The 2022 season in particular will be something I never forget. I’ve loved the time spent with the players, their families, and our baseball crew. I can’t express in strong enough words how thankful I am to our players past and present for all you have done for me and my family. I gave you everything I had, and you gave me much more in return. I love you all.”
Notre Dame punched a ticket to the 2022 College World Series in large part due to elite pitching. Ristano’s staff had a team-wide 3.91 ERA at the end of the season, a mark that ranked tied for ninth nationally. He’s sticking with Jarrett and going down to Tallahassee, Fla., to try to guide the Seminoles to similar numbers.
Not all of him is leaving, though.
“A piece of my heart will always be in the shape of a shamrock,” he wrote. “Love thee…”
