It was to the memorable croon of Frank Sinatra’s ‘New York, New York’ that No. 18 finally said goodbye to the Bothell High baseball program as a head coach on Monday, May 2 at Bothell High School.

“Start spreading the news, I’m leaving today,” Sinatra voiced, adding an air of old history to Paul Moody’s 18-year tenure — and a 15-year run at Inglemoor preceding it.

Bothell dropped its KingCo finale, 7-3, to Woodinville, and will take the fourth seed into the upcoming KingCo 4A playoffs on Friday, May 7. The Cougars (11-8 overall, 9-6) are scheduled to play Eastlake, whom the Cougars swept with 3-1 and 8-3 victories this season.

And though Moody might have hoped for a better cap to his home career as a head coach, the loss didn’t chance things in the standings.

Besides, the crowd in attendance was enough to break Moody’s composure after the game as he took time to thank scores of former players, colleagues and coaches of his before thanking his wife and turning to thank the team behind him.

“That was wonderful,” said Moody, who was inducted into the Washington State Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007. “So many people from so many years, which was awesome. Very, very kind.”

Former players and their parents signed posters hung on the back of the scorekeeper’s box, leaving messages and memories. The school administration presented Moody with a wood bat, engraved with the many accomplishments he had piled up over the years, including the 2011 4A state championship.

In all that time, there have been few moments not shared by his brother, Ray, who has been an assistant alongside Paul since the two coached at Northshore Junior High nearly 40 years ago. Ray is in the Hall of Fame as well, as an assistant in the class of 2005.

“We went together to Inglemoor as baseball coaches,” Ray said. “He preceded me a year as a football coach. I still coach at Inglemoor during football, so it’s a bit of Hatfields and McCoys during football season.”

On Monday, the two prowled the coaches boxes on offense, and pause to chat with old players as they stop by to say hello. Ray, wearing the No. 19, slowly walks back from first base, sometimes carrying the helmet of a player just picked off, and goes to sit back down in the dugout.

Paul crouches just outside, one knee planted in the dark brown artificial turf — just as the brothers have for many years. Only the numbers on their shirts have changed since they were kids.

“I’d wear 15 and he wears 11,” Ray explained. “But Kids like those numbers. We had to choose numbers that not everybody got.”

Paul settled on 18, the number of his eldest son, and Ray followed suit with his son.

Both Paul and Ray warned that, though their run together at Bothell was likely over, their careers as coaches were still very much alive.

“I’m still a football coach here, and then we’ll see if I land some place as an assistant coach next year,” Paul said. “I’m not necessarily getting out of baseball, but it depends on the situation. I’m just done being a head coach.”

Ray said his reputation as an outfield coach would go a long way in landing another position.

“I’ll settle somewhere,” he said. “My wife, I told her I’ll have both feet in the grave when I stop coaching.”