BY STEVE KRAH
Giving it everything he had each time he stepped on the diamond.
That’s what Dan Frye did as a player and that’s what he does as a coach.
Frye was a baseball assistant at his alma mater — Logansport (Ind.) High School. After being away for five seasons, he is now head coach for the Berries.
The 1988 LHS graduate expects his players to share in a sense of commitment.
“The kids should get the same out of me that I expect out of them and that’s being there everyday,” says Frye, who takes over a program that was led for the past 22 seasons by Jim Turner Jr.
Frye was a middle infielder for the Berries when Jim Turner Sr., an Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Famer, was head coach.
“Both are pretty laid-back guys,” says Frye of the Turners. “It takes a lot to get them excited. They wanted the accountability to be on the players and leave it up to the players to get the job done.”
Frye considers both Turners great baseball minds.
“It’s how they think about the game and situations throughout the game,” says Frye. “We’ll continue to work on situations.
“You should be practicing the way you anticipate playing. I practiced as hard as I played. Anything less than that is unacceptable.”
Three Frye brothers were standouts at Logansport and then at Indiana State University of Hall of Fame coach Bob Warn. Older brother Paul Frye played on the 1986 College World Series team and was selected by the Montreal Expos in the 11th round of that year’s Major League Baseball First Year Draft. The outfielder/infielder played four seasons in the minors.
Twins Dan and Dennis started at ISU in 1989.
“My decision was pretty easy,” says Dan Frye. “That’s where I wanted to go. I wanted a part of it.
“Bob Warn was a great coach and it was great to be around him.”
Mitch Hannahs (who is now Indiana State head coach) was a senior shortstop at ISU when Frye was a freshman second baseman.
“I don’t think Indiana State could be in better hands,” says Frye of Hannahs.
Playing in the Missouri Valley Conference, the Frye brothers got to play against several future big leaguers.
“The competition was phenomenal,” says Frye, who counted Mike Farrell (who is now a baseball scout) as a teammate at Logansport and Indiana State.
Among the opponents during Dan and Dennis’ time were 6-foot-5 right-hander Tyler Green, catcher Doug Mirabelli, right-hander Greg Brummett, shortstop Pat Meares, second baseman Mike Lansing, infielder P.J. Forbes and catcher and future big league manager/college head coach Eric Wedge at Wichita State University. IHSBCA Hall of Famer Wedge is now the head coach at WSU.
The Sycamores beat the Shockers 4-of-6 the year Wichita State won the national championship (1989).
“Each level of competition prepared me for the next level,” says Frye. “I was not in shock about seeing a fastball.
“Everybody (in the North Central Conference) threw hard. It was not odd.”
Dan and Dennis were drafted in 1988 by the Los Angeles Dodgers after high school — infielder/outfielder Dan Frye in the 56th round and first baseman/outfielder Dennis Frye in the 57th — but opted for college.
Dan Frye was selected in the 20th round of the 1992 draft by the Cincinnati Reds and played four seasons in the minors.
That first year he played in Princeton, W.Va., and he later began his coaching coach at Princeton High School.
With two small children, Frye moved back to Logansport in 1999 to be closer to family.
A few years later, he began coaching Little League and Babe Ruth baseball around town.
He was hired by the Logansport Police Department in 2002 and worked his way up from patrolman to assistant chief. He spent nearly four years on the narcotics unit. While coaching at Logansport High School, he also served as school resource officer.
There are now three lawmen on the Berries coaching staff — Dan Frye, Clayton Frye (his son and a Logansport detective) and Chris Jones (a Cass County sheriff’s deputy) — plus other former LHS players Brad Platt, Brian Gleitz, Ron Kinnaman and Cooper Kinnaman. Clayton Frye and Gleitz will work with pitchers, Jones with catcher and Platt with outfielders. The Kinnamans and Jones are assigned to the junior varsity team.
Frye looks to have a young first squad in 2020. At this point, there are three seniors — Matt Foutz, C.J. Hallam and Drake McLochlin.
During the fall IHSAA Limited Contact Period, Frye and up to a dozen players got together for workouts.
“I saw some kids field, swing bats and throw,” says Frye. “The numbers weren’t always there to run a legitimate full practice. I was able to see what kids can and can’t do and start working on development stuff with ones who were there.”
Frye is catching up on the pitch count rule (1 to 35 pitches requires 0 days rest; 36 to 60 requires 1 day; 61 to 80 requires 2 days; 81 to 100 requires 3 days; and 101 to 120 requires 4 days), which was not in place the last time he was coaching high school ball.
“I agree with it,” says Frye. “It’s a good rule. It’s about the safety for the kids.
“We have to develop more pitching.
“It’ll be interesting to see how people coach a little differently with the pitch count and all that. I’m sure I’m going to learn some valuable lessons from coaches around here”
With the pitch limit, strike-throwing has become extra important.
“How many pitches can you waste anymore?,” says Frye. “When I played, I didn’t want to stand around taking pitches. One pitch and we’re headed around the base paths. I wanted to hit.”
He recalls hitting the first pitch of a game against Marion out of the park during his sophomore season.
“Walks put runners on base and I see it differently now.”
Logansport (enrollment around 1,250) is a member of the North Central Conference (with Anderson, Harrison of West Lafayette, Indianapolis Arsenal Tech, Kokomo, Lafayette Jeff, Marion, McCutcheon, Muncie Central and Richmond).
The NCC tends to play Tuesdays and Wednesdays with Saturday doubleheaders.
The Berries are part of an IHSAA Class 4A sectional grouping with Harrison (West Lafayette), Kokomo, Lafayette Jeff and McCutcheon. Logansport won its 29th sectional crown in 2019. The Berries have been in the State Finals 10 times with state championships in 1975, 1977, 1979 and 1991 and a state runner-up finish in 1989.
Logansport plays on an artificial turf surface. Jim Turner Field has been covered since the 2016 season.
Dan Frye, 49, is married to Cynthia and has four adult children — Clayton Frye and Krista Frye in Logansport, Dustin Clements in Nashville, Tenn., and Katie Clements in Denver, Colo.
Cynthia and Dan Frye are surrounded by children (from left) Katie Clements, Krista Frye, Dustin Clements, KyLeigh Frye (daughter-in-law) and Clayton Frye. Dan Frye is the head baseball coach at his alma mater — Logansport (Ind,) High School.
www.IndianaRBI.com 
5 thoughts on “Frye expects commitment from himself, Logansport Berries”