For twelve seasons, Roger McDowell was a major league reliever known for pranking teammates and earning the win in Game Seven of the 1986 World Series. McDowell played for five different teams over his career though most casual baseball fans simply remember McDowell donning a kilt for the Awayboys on MTV’s Rock ‘N Jock or being the secret-spitter on one episode of Seinfeld. After many hotfoots and bubblegum tricks on teammates as a player, McDowell got into coaching after retiring in 1996 and his career has been skyrocketing ever since. McDowell began his coaching career in the Dodgers farm system, instructing in Class A then Class AAA before Atlanta came calling in October 2005. Leo Mazzone left to go to Baltimore and suddenly one of the premier coaching jobs was available and the Braves sought out McDowell. Manager Bobby Cox in particular wanted McDowell on his staff and the skipper got his wish, much to the pleasure of McDowell. “I’m very lucky to have gotten the opportunity to be on the staff with Bobby Cox as manager and everybody knows how great a manager Bobby Cox is but he’s an even better person,” said McDowell recently before a game in Cox’s final season. This is the pair’s fifth season together and McDowell calls the experience special. “I’ve had the luxury of being with him for five years now, and I’ve formed a tremendous relationship and good friendship and hopefully we’ll continue that as the years go on.”
McDowell may credit Cox for helping him once he got to the major leagues as a coach, but McDowell has come a long way since the hotfoots. While his goofy antics may have been what people remember about his career, McDowell was also quite a pitcher. In addition to earning the win for the New York Mets in the seventh game of the 1986 World Series, McDowell won seventy games in his career while posting a 3.30 ERA as a reliever over 723 games and 1050 innings. The righty earned 159 saves over his career and struck out 1928 batters while playing for the Mets, Phillies, Dodgers, Rangers and Orioles. McDowell made the transition from reliever to pitching coach by continuing to learn everyday. “Obviously whether we’re playing or we’re coaching, we learn everyday in this business, so at this level I’ve had the opportunity to learn a lot, especially from Bobby Cox about handling the pitching staff, and a lot about the game.”
This season has been one to write home about for McDowell. The staff has been one of the best in baseball despite a rebuilt bullpen and a crucial injury to an expected ace. Kris Medlen stepped in earlier this season when last year’s ace Jair Jurrjens went down, and the converted reliever has really contributed with six wins thus far this season. McDowell could not have seen the Jurrjens injury coming but he prepared his staff just in case an injury like that did occur. “Kris Medlen was a big part of our team last year out of our bullpen,” McDowell said before a recent Medlen start. “He started in the minor leagues, so that was always a fallback plan if one of the starters were to go down. But Kris Medlen would have the knowledge and the knowhow from pitching and starting in the minor leagues and he’s done it very successfully.”
Medlen concedes that having McDowell as the Braves pitching coach has been good for his career. “It’s been cool having a guy that’s been in the big leagues before, been with different teams, different situations,” Medlen revealed. “He was a reliever too. It’s cool. He’s very personable and he knows everybody and each individual’s personal flaw in their delivery and so it’s good having him around.”
McDowell has also worked his magic with Tim Hudson, who returned from Tommy John surgery and was counted on to replace Javier Vazquez. “The only loss (to the rotation) really from last year was Javy Vazquez and the addition was Hudson, who was coming back from Tommy John. He pitched five games at the end of the year last year and so having him and Derek Lowe… it’s been a real joy” A healthy Hudson was named to his third career all-star appearance earlier this month while Lowe is on pace to surpass his fifteen wins he recorded last year, a feat that shouldn’t be glossed over. “(Lowe’s) in his second year here now and is obviously a little more comfortable and having success.”
So how does McDowell build a successful pitching staff that is far different today than it was Opening Day 2009? Communication and time, for starters. “You spend time with them,” McDowell reveals. “You get to know them, you get to know their personality, get to know a little bit more about them than what they’re like on the field. That’s a part of it, but their background, everything that’s involved is a piece of that person.” McDowell admits that he tries to learn everything he can about a player. “How he works and how he ticks, things that are his positives and negatives can help me.”
And McDowell is one of the best in the business at doing just that according to one of his charges. Second-year star Tommy Hanson believes McDowell really knows his stuff. “He’s an easy guy to talk to and if you ever have a question or you need to get some advice from him he knows and he’s a great guy to go to. He’s helped me out a lot and I’m glad he’s the pitching coach here.”
Backup catcher David Ross says that McDowell isn’t just a psychologist. Ross believes McDowell is quite a “baseball man” as well. “Roger McDowell does a really good job on scouting reports and communications,” Ross says. “His communication skills with the players, the pitchers and catchers are some of the best I’ve ever been around. He lets us know what he is thinking and we give each other feedback and come up with a good gameplan.”
So perhaps some folks underestimated the man that once wore a wig on Rock ‘N Jock while trying to strike out Bill Bellamy. McDowell is constantly thinking and analyzing and tweaking while sitting beside Bobby Cox in the Braves dugout. McDowell last appeared in the playoffs in 1988 when he surrendered the game-winning home run to Kirk Gibson and the LA Dodgers. If his pitchers keep making their coach proud and the former prankster can keep his charges motivated and focused, then maybe he can make the experience some postseason baseball once again this Fall.
No comments:
Post a Comment