Class A-1 Treatment Poquette Will Guide Prospects With Same Care As Big Leaguers

Tom Poquette prepares for his second Northwest League managing job with the same outlook he had while coaching in the major leagues.

When it comes to coaching, Poquette said, a 76-game summer with the Spokane Indians deserves the same respect as a 162-game season with the Kansas City Royals.

“What matters is the experience you can get through all phases of coaching,” Poquette said Tuesday while taking a break from arranging his new office at Avista Stadium.

Poquette was the NWL’s manager of the year in 1991 with Eugene, when the Emeralds were affiliated with Kansas City.

Poquette spent the 1990s moving up the Royals’ coaching stepladder. He managed at Double-A, coached at Triple-A, and served as Kansas City’s minor-league hitting instructor before his big move in 1997.

For part of ‘97, and all of ‘98, Poquette served as the Royals’ major-league hitting coach. He was dismissed in October after Kansas City’s weak offensive output of ‘98, but the Royals asked him to stay with the organization.

“I talked to about 12 other clubs … but Kansas City’s been my organization for many years,” Poquette said. “I have quite a bit of loyalty to them.”

Kansas City’s hitting has improved greatly from 1998, but Poquette wasn’t the problem. Poquette has been instrumental in assisting talented hitters such as Jermaine Dye, who struggled early in his career.

Poquette managed Charleston (W.Va.) of the Class A South Atlantic League last season. This year, he accepted an assignment to Spokane, the defending NWL champion.

“At Charleston, I had players who had been around three or four years,” Poquette said. “Here you have some first-year guys, and you have to show them the way the organization wants them to play.”

Many of the Indians under his guidance will be older than Poquette was (21) when he made his big-league debut with the Royals in 1973.

A major knee injury stalled Poquette’s career, but the left-handed-hitting outfielder was the Royals rookie of the year in 1976, when he hit .302.

Poquette played during the Royals’ glory days, when they generally won the American League West. George Brett and Hal McRae were offensive leaders who helped Poquette hone his line-drive hitting abilities.

He was traded to Boston in 1979.

“I learned I was traded during a game in Boston,” he said. “I just went from one side to the other. Don Zimmer was the manager, and he put me right in that game.”

Poquette later played for Texas, then returned to Kansas City when a deal with Milwaukee fell through. But seven operations, and a shoulder that wouldn’t heal, forced Poquette to retire in 1982.

“When I look at it, I blew out at 30 because I played hard,” Poquette said. “But I played hard because I had to. … I had to work for everything because it didn’t come easy.”

Poquette spent four years with a business in Boston, then another two selling real estate in his home state of Wisconsin. His coaching career began in 1988.

Notes

Spokane added to its roster right-handed pitcher Michael Natale of NAIA World Series champion Lewis-Clark State. Natale was selected in the 22nd round of last week’s amateur draft. Also added: left-handed pitcher Carlos Martinez, a non-drafted free agent in 1996; second baseman Abel Martinez, a non-drafted free agent in ‘98; and outfielder Billy Keppinger, a 17th-rounder from Cumberland (Ky.) University… . Poquette set times for the Indians’ five-day minicamp. Thursday’s opening workout is scheduled from noon to 4 p.m. Other practices, Friday through Monday, should begin around 10 a.m., although Sunday’s may start slightly earlier. All workouts are free and open to the public.