Bellingham Bells head coach Jim Clem’s name is known around Washington state by baseball fanatics — at the high school level, especially — and he is steadfast in his love for the game.
A storied 28-year coaching career at Burlington-Edison High School landed Clem in numerous hall-of-fame classes — such as the Washington State Baseball Coaches Association in 1993 and the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association in 2014 — with his 481 career wins.
Now, after a stint as pitching coach and recruiting coordinator from 2011–21, Clem is leading this year’s Bells team for the first time.
His new role comes on the heels of a gap year, which he used to spend time with family.
When he got the call from Bells General Manager Stephanie Morrell and owner Glen Kirkpatrick asking him to return, it was a no-brainer for the area legend.
“At the end of the season last year, [Morrell] and [Kirkpatrick] got ahold of me and asked me if I’d come back,” Clem said. “It didn’t take me long to make the decision to come back. But I didn’t know that was going to happen. It just all seemed to fit.”
Clem replaced Adam Geaslan, who served as the team’s head coach for two seasons. Despite having never been in the lead role with the Bells, Clem said it’s been business as usual.
“Nothing’s really surprised me, to be honest,” Clem said. “I’ve already known the lay of the land and the people I’m working with. The organization is really why I came back.”
Through 12 games in 2023, Clem’s resume has been backed up by Bellingham’s play. The team is 10-2 overall and has the best record in the West Coast League.
Clem takes pride in coaching the WCL’s “rising stars,” noting that around 30 former Bells players are currently playing professional baseball.
“It’s just fun to help them on their path to either being a better college player or to eventually become a professional player,” Clem said. “Some of these guys will get their chance, too.”
Among the biggest challenges in coaching a WCL team is the roster’s turnover. Many players that begin the season with the team won’t complete it. As of June 12, 10 players on the Bells’ roster hadn’t joined the team yet.
Six of those are still in postseason play with their college programs, Clem said. Each year, players need to leave the team for myriad reasons like injuries, other opportunities or completing summer college courses.
“It’s a real puzzle, honestly,” Clem said. “It’s not an easy thing because the unexpected happens … We hope that it doesn’t happen, but it invariably does. So, yeah, there’s a lot of moving parts.”
Playing baseball night-in and night-out is the only certainty as a WCL coach. But that’s what makes it so special: the schedule. With their college programs, players might play three-to-four games per week. With the Bells they play, on average, six games per week.
“They’ve got to get used to playing every day. It’s different; it’s a lot more taxing on them, honestly,” Clem said. “If you’re serious about baseball, this is the place to be in the summer. You get a real taste of what it’s like beyond college.”
It also might teach them a thing or two about themselves, Clem added.
“It’s the best, man. It’s the best. These guys, they really find out if they love baseball or not,” he said. “It’s a test of your character — it really is.”
The rigorous schedule of games also means Clem doesn’t get much of a break. Monday — the team’s typical day off — is part work, part “recharging the batteries” for the Bells coach.
He uses the day to work on roster-related tasks, such as sending reports to players’ college coaches. When that work is done, he spends time with his family.
But they understand, in the summertime, baseball comes first.
“There’s more to life than baseball, but sometimes when you’re in the middle of it, it doesn’t seem like it,” Clem said.
