Jim Sherman (baseball)

Jim Sherman

Biographical details
Born	(1960-01-26) January 26, 1960 Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.
Playing career
1979–1982	Delaware
1982	Gulf Coast League Astros
1982–1983	Asheville Tourists
1983–1985	Columbus Astros
1984	Daytona Beach Astros
1986	Tucson Toros
1987	Boise Hawks
Position(s)	Outfielder / Third baseman
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1988–1994	Wilmington
1995–2000	Delaware (asst.)
2001–2022	Delaware
Head coaching record
Overall	822–658
Tournaments	CAA 23–20 NCAA: 1–4
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
America East Champions (2001) America East Tournament champions (2001) CAA Champions (2007) CAA Tournament champions (2017)
Awards
CAA Coach of the Year (2007)

James Herbert Sherman is an American baseball coach and former outfielder and third baseman. He played college baseball at Delaware for coach Bob Hannah from 1979 to 1982 and played in the Houston Astros organization for 6 seasons from 1982 to 1987. He then served as the head coach of the Wilmington Wildcats (1988–1994) and the Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens (2001–2022).

Amateur career

Sherman attended William Penn High School in New Castle, Delaware. Sherman played for the school's varsity baseball and football teams. Sherman then enrolled at the University of Delaware, to play college baseball for the Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens baseball team.

As a freshman at the University of Delaware in 1979, Sherman had a .367 batting average, a .419 on-base percentage (OBP) and a .623 SLG. He was named to the first team All-East Coast Conference (ECC). As a sophomore in 1980, Sherman batted .328 with a .661 SLG, 13 home runs, and 56 RBIs. In the 1981 season as a junior, Sherman hit 10 home runs and 12 doubles, and was then selected by the Chicago Cubs in the 20th round of the 1981 Major League Baseball draft, but returned for his senior year at Delaware. Sherman had his best season as a senior in 1982, leading the team in doubles (13), home runs (15), RBIs (68), batting average (.394) and slugging (.794). He was named First Team All-ECC.

In 1980 and 1981 following his sophomore and junior seasons at Delaware, Sherman played collegiate summer baseball for the Chatham A's of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL). Batting .339 and .335, he was named a league all-star in both seasons, and was inducted into the CCBL Hall of Fame in 2012.

Professional career

Sherman was drafted in the 14th round of the 1982 Major League Baseball draft by the Houston Astros.

Coaching career

Sherman was hired as the head coach of the Wilmington University Wildcats baseball program in 1988. He led the Wildcats to the NAIA World Series in 1992 and 1994. In the summer of 1994, Sherman was named an assistant coach at the University of Delaware. Sherman was elevated to head coach in 2000, following Bob Hannah's retirement. In May 2017, Sherman won his 500th career game at Delaware.

Head coaching record

Statistics overview

Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
Wilmington Wildcats (Independent) (1988–1994)
1988	Wilmington	29–13
1989	Wilmington	29–17
1990	Wilmington	26–18
1991	Wilmington	23–24
1992	Wilmington	42–19			NAIA World Series
1993	Wilmington	36–13
1994	Wilmington	33–24			NAIA World Series
Wilmington:		218–128
Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens (America East Conference) (2001)
2001	Delaware	45–15	22–6	1st	NCAA Regional
Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens (Colonial Athletic Association) (2002–2022)
2002	Delaware	35–22	12–7	4th	CAA tournament
2003	Delaware	21–32	7–13	4th
2004	Delaware	33–24	12–11	6th	CAA tournament
2005	Delaware	27–31	13–11	5th	CAA tournament
2006	Delaware	30–24	12–18	7th
2007	Delaware	32–23	18–11	1st	CAA tournament
2008	Delaware	22–31	11–17	9th
2009	Delaware	28–20	11–10	6th	CAA tournament
2010	Delaware	27–24	9–15	10th
2011	Delaware	27–26	16–14	5th
2012	Delaware	31–27	17–13	3rd	CAA tournament
2013	Delaware	33–22	15–12	3rd	CAA tournament
2014	Delaware	26–27	10–10	4th	CAA tournament
2015	Delaware	26–24	11–13	5th	CAA tournament
2016	Delaware	32–22	10–14	7th
2017	Delaware	34–23	15–8	4th	NCAA Regional
2018	Delaware	29–25	12–11	5th	CAA tournament
2019	Delaware	21–33	9–15	8th
2020	Delaware	8–7	0–0		Season canceled due to COVID-19
2021	Delaware	12–22	8–16	T-3rd (North)
2022	Delaware	25–26	8-15	8th
Delaware:		604–530	258–250
Total:		822–658
National champion         Postseason invitational champion         Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion       Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion       Conference tournament champion

External links

• Career statistics from Baseball Reference (Minors)
• Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens bio