Manager Has Quick Transitions Long, New Indians Skipper, Left Playing Ranks In 1997
Kevin Long’s coaching career began 24 hours after his playing career officially ended.
Long never quite made the major leagues as a baseball player, but his first steps on a new route to the bigs began Thursday at Seafirst Stadium.
Long and his two coaches arrived in town to inaugurate their summer as leaders of the Spokane Indians of the Northwest League.
“I’m just waiting for the (players) to get here,” Long said. “That’s when the fun starts.”
The transition from player, to coach, to manager has been relatively quick for Long.
He learned during spring training of 1997 that his eight-year stint as a professional player would go no higher than Omaha, Neb., the Kansas City Royals’ Triple-A team.
Long immediately asked for a coaching job from Bob Hegman, Kansas City’s senior director of minor league operations. The next day, he was a coach.
Long served as hitting coach for the Wilmington (Del.) Blue Rocks of the Carolina League in ‘97 and ‘98. He coached third base, a duty usually assigned to the manager, for three-fourths of the games during Wilmington’s league-championship season.
Much of Wilmington’s roster had played for Jeff Garber during the first of Garber’s two seasons (‘97) as Indians manager. Garber, one of Long’s good friends, has inherited the managerial job at Wilmington this season.
Long sought out Garber for vital information about Spokane, but not about managing in general.
“I asked him what he did at minicamp, but not so much about how he ran the team,” Long said. “I feel pretty comfortable about that.”
Long played for a College World Series champion at Arizona in 1986. He was selected by the Royals in the 31st round of the ‘89 amateur draft and hit .312 for the Eugene Emeralds that summer, when he had the NWL’s eighth-best average.
“I have fond memories of Eugene,” Long said. “The league, I don’t remember much except for Eugene. But I remember my first manager, Paul Kirsch, and his managing philosophy was much of what I’ve adopted.”
Notes
The Indians announced the addition of right-handed pitcher Ryan Baerlocher of NAIA national champion Lewis-Clark State to the roster. Baerlocher, a Lewiston native, was selected in the sixth round of last week’s draft after finishing 7-1 with the Warriors. He struck out 96 in 84-1/3 innings and had a 4.16 earned-run average… . Catcher Casey Dunn and infielder Mark Ellis also joined the squad. Dunn, a 15th-round selection, hit .379 with 16 home runs and 86 runs batted in for Auburn. Ellis led Florida with 56 runs, 84 hits and 20 stolen bases. He was chosen in the ninth round.
Left-handed pitcher Abel Garcia was reassigned to the Gulf Coast League… . The Indians also corrected a Wednesday news release that said infielder Steve Medrano had been assigned to Spokane. The correct player is right-handed pitcher Juan Carlos Medrano… . Indians players begin arriving today. Pitching coach Randy Smith arrived on time Thursday, but hitting coach Joe Szekely’s flight was delayed until evening.
The starting time for the final day of minicamp on Thursday has been changed from 6 p.m. to 3 p.m. All other starting times remain the same: 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, and 11 a.m. Sunday through Wednesday.