Dan McCarty is currently coaching catchers remotely for Indiana University-Purdue University Columbus. He spent the previous three seasons as an assistant for Wilmington College, specializing in catching, outfield, hitting development, and serving as recruiting coordinator. During his stint, the Quakers attained their first winning season in 17 years.
McCarty was the inaugural recipient of the Coaches Fore Coaches Award (2021), earned Collegiate Baseball Assistant Coach of the Year honors in 2022, and spent the summer of 2023 as the associate head coach in the Coastal Plains League (High Point), guiding five players to All-Star nods and a pair who signed professionally.
In addition to coaching, McCarty hosts a podcast, is an accomplished public speaker, and has continued to pursue an advanced certification in Ministry.
Inside Pitch: Can you talk a little bit about your condition and what your childhood was like?
Dan McCarty: In simple terms, I was born with a disease called osteogenesis imperfecta. It’s a rare condition that makes my bones really fragile. To most of the world, it’s known as “brittle bone disease.” My disease impacts other parts of my life as well. I’m very small in stature, I have scoliosis and some lung complications. I wasn’t expected to survive the birth process as you might imagine. When I was younger, my bones were basically like eggshells...I’ve broken over 300 in my life, so I have always had to be really careful.
IP: So it makes perfect sense that you decide baseball was going to be your thing?
DM: Right?! Of course people think I’m a goofball for having a love for the game of baseball. And they are right, I’m at risk every time I’m at a ballpark, but that’s not gonna stop me. I grew up in a big sports family—I have seven siblings who all played sports, and my dad played college football.
My coaching fire really sparked when I watched my older brother play, though. Of course you want to be a good big brother, and I quickly realized how hard he played, so then I was looking for ways I could help him. There’s a lot more to it than meets the eye—the mental side, analytics, simple observation—I realized I could help him and make a real impact on many others as well, regardless of my situation.
IP: So you got a chance to kickstart your coaching career at an early age…
DM: I started coaching with my dad when I was maybe 10 or 11. I grew up in a baseball-rich town near Vegas, so I was around elite talent and world-class instructors, and I learned a ton. But I got to be involved and help my dad coach and find things I could do to help. Then a few years later I was picking up a lot, and my dad lets me manage for an entire tournament. And I’ll never forget it, we went 6-0 and won the thing, and the rest is history.
IP: Who else has made an impact on your coaching career?
DM: Tony Vittorio has been a family friend for as long as I remember, so when he was at Dayton and came out west, we would always try to go see him and his teams play. When I was in school I got asked to write about who I wanted to be when I grew up—I wrote about Coach V. When he left UD, we ended up reconnecting at one of my brother’s games, and were finishing each other’s sentences. It was a pivotal moment when he looked me and said, “you really do know baseball, don’t you?” That was such a powerful thing to hear that really made me feel legitimate.
IP: And he left the door cracked open for you, right?
DM: Yep, V tells me he’s gonna get back into coaching and once I graduate, he wants me to join him on whatever staff he’s running. Well, not even a calendar year later, he’s got the head job at Wilmington, but I’m only a junior in high school—that’s a problem. So I get home and I tell my parents I’m going online to graduate early and I’m gonna move to someplace in Ohio and go coach with V. And they supported me, can you believe it? That was another huge moment for my career.
IP: How long does it take before you feel like you’re getting buy-in from the players? Your condition may be one thing, but you’re also in your early 20s!
DM: I got interviewed one time by a news channel and I told them “I don’t wanna be here handing out water” and people kind of laughed, but that’s true. I coach to win championships and be an asset. I can help players get better. I didn’t graduate high school online to sit in the freezing cold just to be Coach Vittorio’s moral support.
I was in his back pocket for the first year. I’d listen to everything he was saying. I would figure out the charts, the reason why we do each of our drills, and the next thing you know, I’m in the middle of it. It’s all about surrounding yourself with people that genuinely want to help you grow. And I think everyone I was around at Wilmington wanted to help me grow.
So many people have helped me in my journey, and I have truly enjoyed being able to help so many others through coaching as a result. And I also love to compete! So with coaching I get to help people and compete at the same time? Sign me up!
IP: How do your players draw inspiration from how you live your life?
DM: I don’t intentionally bring my condition up and I’m not going to walk around hoping people feel sorry for me, but we can definitely have some conversations about handling adversity and overcoming challenges, right? I look at things a lot differently from most people, but the reality is I’m a baseball guy. I know you’re gonna fail seven out of 10 times at the plate, right?
I try to challenge myself every day to be who I am, and I think that does impact the guys around me. I’m a big believer in mentality—sometimes you are right on the money and just don’t get the breaks. That’s baseball.
IP: How about when it’s time to make a change? What’s that process like?
DM: I tell our players, “we wouldn’t have recruited you if we thought you had a ton of mechanical flaws, but it’s time to make some tweaks.” If someone’s struggling or in a slump, it’s not because their swing completely sucks! Some kids that go out there and want to dissect their old swing and build it up from ground zero. Sometimes you just need to get back to a better mindset. I can inspire and motivate and fire them up to want to run through a wall, but if they’re not doing alright mentally, I don’t think they’re set up to perform well physically.
IP: What are some off-the-field goals you have set for yourself?
DM: With my disability, there are multiple complications, not just physical. Getting around is obviously one of those complications. I try to set goals every year, and one of my more recent ones is that I wanted to move out! To get my own place and live independently without needing family or friends to help get me around. By the grace of God, I’ve been able to do that, but now the desire to drive is really something I am striving towards.
It’s something most people look forward to when they turn 16, and at that time, it was just harder for me to ask for that type of help. After all, it’s expensive to modify a motor vehicle to the point where I can operate it safely. But I decided to just put myself out there and see what happens.