ABCA Release

DALLAS -- Former Ohio baseball head coach Joe Carbone will be inducted into the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame this evening as part of the 75th annual ABCA Convention at the Gaylord Texas Resort & Convention Center.

Carbone will be joined in the ABCA Hall of Fame Class of 2019 by Gary "Bo" Collins (Southern Illinois Edwardsville), Ron Davini (Corona del Sol High School, Ariz.), Pat Doyle (San Joaquin Delta College, Calif.), Dave Grant (Glendale Community College, Ariz.), Steve Kittrell (South Alabama) and Scott Pickler (Cypress College, Calif.).

Induction to the ABCA Hall of Fame is the highest honor bestowed by the organization. The ABCA was founded in 1945 and the Hall of Fame began in 1966. Carbone becomes the second former Bobcats' skipper to be inducted into the ABCA Hall of Fame, joining his former head coach, Bob Wren, who was inducted in 1978.

Carbone spent 24 seasons (1989-2012) as the head baseball coach at Ohio, cementing his status as the institution's winningest coach.

Carbone compiled a 689-611-2 overall record as head coach of his alma mater, more than any coach in any sport at Ohio. Carbone's 689 total wins places him third all-time in Mid-American Conference history. His 368 conference wins is second in MAC history as well.

The 2004, '05, '07 and '08 seasons each featured milestone victories for the Bobcat skipper. On March 30, 2008, a 5-4 Ohio win over Western Michigan moved Carbone into second place for career MAC wins with his 301st, passing Eastern Michigan long-time skipper Roger Coryell. Carbone passed former Toledo coach Stan Sanders for second place on the MAC all-time wins list with his 535th career victory, a defeat of Otterbein on March 3, 2007. Carbone gained his 500th career coaching victory on April 15, 2005 with a 12-3 decision over Marshall, and a 9-4 victory over Cleveland State on March 29, 2004 saw him overtake Bob Wren to become the all-time leader in wins at the school. Carbone then claimed his 600th win with a 6-4 victory over Eastern Michigan on April 27, 2009.

During his tenure, Ohio won two MAC titles, the most recent coming in 1997. That 1997 season also produced the most wins ever by an Ohio baseball team in one season with 43. 

The Carbone era saw Bobcat teams almost completely rewrite Ohio's record book. Working directly with the hitters and defense, Carbone was instrumental in the breaking of 55 individual regular-season or career records as well as 63 single-season team marks. In 2001, 12 individual and 19 team records were set when the Bobcats led the NCAA in home runs as a team (122). In 2002, outfielder Mike Arbinger was the first Ohio player to bat over .400 since 1985, and he recorded the highest offensive efficiency average in the history of the Bob Wren Efficiency Award.

In addition, Carbone was named MAC Coach of the Year twice (1991, '97), also earning Mideast Region Coach of the Year in 1997.

Over the course of his coaching career, 44 players signed professional baseball contracts. Eight of Carbone's players achieved All-America status - Josh Sorge in 1996, Tom Miller in '97, Ryan Kyes in 2001, Arbinger in '02, Adam Fox in '03, Anthony Gressick in '04 and '06, Ben Crabtree in '05, Marc Krauss in '09 and Robert Maddox III in '10. Carbone coached 43 All-MAC First Team and 33 All-Mideast Region performers during his 24 years at Ohio. Krauss claimed MAC Player of the Year honors in 2009, becoming the first Bobcat student-athlete to claim the honor.

Carbone's players were talented in the classroom as well. Fifteen of his athletes earned Academic All-MAC honors while eight others garnered CoSIDA Academic All-America accolades (Mark Bradley, Ben Crabtree, Rick Czajkowski, Jason Graham, Kyes, Miller, Krauss and Hayden Johnston). During his tenure, the program boasted a graduation rate that ranked Ohio in the 99th percentile of all Division I baseball.

Carbone's success as a coach helped to earn him perhaps his most prestigious honor in the spring of 1999. USA Baseball named him as an assistant coach for its 1999 team that competed in the Pan-Am Games in Winnipeg, Canada. He joined former Kansas City Royals, Detroit Tigers and Colorado Rockies manager Buddy Bell's staff that also included Dick Cooke (Davidson College), Marcel Lachemann (former manager of the Anaheim Angels), Jackie Moore (former Oakland Athletic) and Reggie Smith (seven-time MLB All-Star). The team's silver-medal-winning performance earned it a spot in the 2000 Summer Olympics, where it went on to win the gold medal. 

Among his many career accomplishments, Carbone was named chairman of the NCAA Mideast Region All-America Committee in August 2004. As the representative for the region, he was part of selecting the nation's All-America team.

Ohio was not Carbone's first coaching stop. He spent 18 years as an assistant coach at Marshall, Toledo and Ohio State. During his stint with the Buckeyes from 1977-88, Carbone was very active in collegiate summer leagues. He was a coach and general manager of the Columbus All-Americans, also helping to develop the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League in Michigan and Ohio. In 1982, he guided Winchester to the Shenandoah Valley Collegiate League championship. For Carbone's accomplishments and continued commitment to development of the GLSCL, the league named the Manager of the Year Award after him in his honor.

From 1992-97, Carbone served as a taskforce member for USA Baseball's fall trials in Homestead, Fla., and Tucson, Ariz. He was also a member of the task force that aided in the selection of the 1992 and '96 Olympic Teams. His coaching experience with the 1999 team served as the continuation of an enduring relationship with USA Baseball. In 1992, he took part in a United States/Italy coaches' exchange sponsored by the United States Baseball Federation's Ambassadors Committee. Carbone and nine other coaches from American colleges and universities conducted baseball clinics throughout Italy.

Carbone has been a frequent speaker at coaches' clinics across the United States and Canada. He has produced baseball videos and publications and has also addressed the American College Baseball Coaches Convention four times. Carbone hosted annual summer camps at Ohio where he instructed youngsters on his philosophy of baseball fundamentals.

Carbone's success was not limited to his coaching career. He was a talented player for the Bobcats as well. In three seasons as a starter (1968-70), he proved himself versatile, seeing time at second base, shortstop, third base and in the outfield. In those three seasons, Ohio compiled an overall record of 74-24, going 36-4 in MAC play with three conference titles. Carbone was captain for the 1970 team that participated in the College World Series. In 1969, as a center fielder, Carbone led the team with a .367 average and was an All-MAC Second Team selection. Following a move to second base in 1970, Carbone teamed with future Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt to form the greatest double play tandem in Bobcat history. His playing days did not end after the completion of his Bobcat career. After signing with Kansas City following the 1970 season, Carbone played for Kingsport and Waterloo in the Royals' organization. He then traveled to Italy, acting as a player/coach for Edipen.

Carbone has received Hall of Fame recognition from a number of organizations, most notably the Kermit Blosser Ohio University Hall of Fame where he was inducted in 2011 as a player and a coach. He is also a member of the Tioga County Athletic Hall of Fame where he excelled in soccer, basketball and baseball for Elkland High School of Elkland, Pa. As one of six charter members, Carbone was inducted into the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League Hall of Fame in a special ceremony during the GLSCL All-Star Game on July 18, 2004. The Great Lakes League Coach of the Year Award is also named in his honor. In 2007, Carbone was named to the George Whitfield Baseball Clinic Hall of Fame for his role as a speaker at the annual event. In 2016, Carbone was inducted into the All American Amateur Baseball Association Hall of Fame as both a player and coach.

Since his retirement, Carbone has served as an NCAA site representative at the NCAA Baseball Championship Regionals and Super Regionals each of the last five years. He also serves as an associate scout for the Miami Marlins, helping to cover the states of Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia.

Carbone earned a bachelor's degree in education from Ohio and a master's degree in physical education from Marshall. He is married to the former Pat Facer of Toledo. They have two daughters, 2005 Ohio graduate Cristin and '06 Ohio graduate Sarah.