Well, the University of Arizona has hired itself a new baseball coach.

The athletic department chose Jerry Stitt, a man who coached under Jerry Kindall for 18 years. I'll admit, I was pretty much against the idea at first, but the more I find out about Stitt, the more I like him.

He's dedicated to Arizona. Not only has he spent the last 18 years of his life playing second fiddle, Stitt spent his undergraduate days at UA as well. While an assistant coach, Stitt also earned his master's degree and recently was awarded a doctorate fr om the UA in educational administration.

It seems, though, that some people don't like the UA's choice for many reasons. Some even disliked the decision because Stitt is white. Hispanic groups at the university made their feelings felt in the local media. One man in the group went so far as to q uestion that if Stitt was such a good coach, why were the Wildcats in last place the last three years.

OK, I'll tell you why. On top of his impressive educational exploits, Stitt found time to become one of the best hitting coaches in college baseball. His Wildcat teams are consistently at the top of the Pacific 10 Conference Southern Division in hitting. UA knows how to score runs, and the pitching just can't keep runs off the board. The problem is pitching. Hiring a minority to fill the job just to say you hire minorities isn't the fix this team needs. It needs a guy who can recruit pitching and a big-ti me guy to do it.

Athletic Director Jim Livengood chose correctly when he chose Stitt over New Mexico coach Rich Alday. Alday is a fine coach, and although I've only met him once, he seems like a nice guy.

The biggest key to coaching at Arizona is recruiting. Alday plays and recruits against pretty inferior competition in the Western Athletic Conference. Stitt and the Wildcats battle against Six-Pac opponents on the field and in recruiting. Stitt knows abou t recruiting in Southern California against powerhouses like Pepperdine, Cal-State Fullerton, UCLA and Southern Cal. To put it in perspective, try to imagine how difficult life would be for Lute Olson if UCLA wasn't the only decent basketball team in the Los Angeles area.

The UA made the right choice. It may not have been the - oh, here comes that phrase - "politically correct" choice. Perhaps if we started hiring the most qualified person for a job instead of trying to reach a quota, we'd all be better off.

Ah, it's nice to be naive.

Craig Degel is a journalism and history junior and a sports reporter for the Arizona Summer Wildcat.