Historic San Marin Baseball Feat: Like Father, Like Son

There was some confusion around the Hickey family dinner table the other night.

Seems someone in the family, upon seeing senior in the room, cracked, “The best pitcher in the house wants his dinner.”

But it wasn’t Sean who responded. Rather, his dad, , interjected: “So, when am I going to get served?”

It was a legitimate response. After all, until March 31, Dan Hickey was the only member of the family to have thrown a no-hitter for the Mustangs.

Now, after Sean’s feat last week against San Rafael, the household boasts a pair.

“I’m very proud of him,” dad said of his son.

Dan Hickey, the San Marin football coach, was in attendance at the San Rafael game. But he stayed as far away from the tension as possible, operating the scoreboard from the press box.

“I played sports all my life,” dad noted, “but I’ve always been a step-back dad. I’ve never been a ‘this is how I did it’ type.”

In fact, Dan Hickey rarely boasts of his 1983 no-hitter against Tam. It might have been totally forgotten 28 years later if not for the fact that: A) His son duplicated the feat; and B) San Marin coach , who also was Dan’s coach, mentions it from time to time.

But, apparently, he’d never said it loud enough for Sean Hickey to hear.

“I think he just found out after the (San Rafael) game,” Dan Hickey said of his son. “He came up to me and said, ‘You pitched a no-hitter?’ “

Looking back, Dan Hickey, who was good enough to get drafted twice and play three years of professional ball in the minor leagues, isn’t surprised he pitched a no-hitter. He’s just surprised he threw the ball over the plate enough to finish seven innings that day before dark.

“It was probably easier for me,” he said in comparing the no-hitters. “Back in high school, I primarily had a fastball and that was it. I was a lefthander, and there weren’t a lot of them then.

“What stands out in my mind (about the no-hitter) was that I was throwing strikes that day. That wasn’t always the case.”

Dan Hickey went on to play for College of Marin and then in the Blue Jays organization, where he played with Jeff Musselman, who went on to be a TOPPS All-Star Rookie, and against the likes of future major leaguers Gary Sheffield and Walt Weiss.

Asked why he hadn’t been more boastful to his son about his playing days, which included stops in Medicine Hat, Canada, and Florence, S.C., dad assured, “It really wasn’t much of a career. I got injured in my first training and I was pretty much just a spot pitcher my whole career. There were no real highlights.

“I threw 94 mph. I found out up there the harder I threw it, the farther they hit it.”

Whitburn was on hand for both feats and understands the historic significance of the no-no’s.

“Having a father and son throw no-hitters in high school must be a rare feat, but do to it for the same school and coach must be ever rarer,” he gushed. “A great moment for me to witness.”

So, Dan, what about the crack at the dinner table the other night about being the best pitcher in the family?

“Sometimes you still have to keep him down,” dad assured.

SAN MARIN BASEBALL UPDATE

Recent results: Beat Marin Catholic, 2-0; beat Branson, 14-1; beat San Rafael, 10-0; beat Redwood, 11-1.

Record: 6-1-1 in MCAL, 7-1-1 overall.

San Marin highlights: pitched a no-hitter against Marin Catholic, striking out five … provided all the support Driscoll needed with a home run … went 4-for-4, drove in two runs and scored a pair to lead the win over Branson … Grossi belted a triple off the fence in left-center field … allowed three hits in five innings, striking out seven … Sean Hickey pitched a no-hitter in the win over San Rafael … and drove in two runs apiece … scored three runs … led off the Redwood game with a double, triggering a 14-hit attack … went 3-for-4 with three runs scored and three RBIs … Grossi also drove in three runs.

Coach Mark Whitburn’s comments: “I am very happy with how we have played so far, especially with the fact that we have not practiced on our field since Feb. 11.”

Coach Whitburn’s comments on Nick Driscoll: “With each outing this year, he is looking more confident. Against Redwood, he impressed me with his command since he had not pitched to a batter in two weeks.”

Upcoming schedule: Tuesday at home vs. Terra Linda, 4:30 p.m.; Friday at home vs. Drake, 4:30 p.m.; Saturday at Miramonte (Orinda), 1 p.m.