A perfect game from dugout
The Yakima Bears compiled the second-best record in the Northwest League last season.
Darryl Kennedy points to that fact when the subject of his baseball managerial streak comes up.
Nobody, Kennedy says, would accuse Yakima of having a bad season in 2003. The Bears pieced together a .592 winning percentage, better than any team in the NWL West Division.
But Yakima plays in the NWL East, the same division as the Spokane Indians. The 2003 Indians, under Kennedy’s guidance, piled up 50 wins to defeat Yakima by five games.
Some baseball season, Kennedy realizes, one of his teams will play the role of the 2003 Yakima Bears.
Some year, a Kennedy team won’t qualify for the postseason.
It hasn’t happened yet. The 35-year-old skipper owns a 6-for-6 record when it comes to leading teams into the playoffs. Four times, including last season with the Indians, Kennedy has been named manager of the year while piloting teams in the Texas Rangers organization.
Pressure exists to extend the streak to 7 for 7 this summer, but Kennedy attempts to be realistic about the odds.
“There’s going to come a day when it’s not going to happen, and I’m not going to get in the playoffs,” Kennedy said. “I’d like the streak to keep going, but you know you can still have a great year and not get in the playoffs.”
The casual fan might ask how Kennedy could lead six consecutive teams into the postseason and still be stuck at short-season Class A ball.
One major factor influencing promotions is the amount of changeover in the organization. The Rangers’ six minor-league teams have the same managers as last season.
Kennedy said it’s important to understand that managers, unlike players, don’t need to consistently move up the ladder in the minors to prove their worth.
“I managed high-A ball for two years and came back to this level,” Kennedy said. “I don’t see that as a setback, and I don’t think the organization sees that as a setback.
“For me, it’s a compliment that they trust me to be here.”
Having spent a summer in Spokane, Kennedy enters the NWL campaign with fewer worries about all the little details that come with a new experience.
This summer holds an extra bonus for Kennedy because his family will be in town all three months. Wife Beth stayed at home for much of last year while awaiting the birth of daughter Emma.
Kennedy laughed while recalling this week’s ride from extended spring training in Arizona with Beth, Emma and 4-year-old son Cade. It could have been worse, because the family home is in Bradenton, Fla.
Kennedy, a native Floridian, graduated from Winter Haven (Fla.) High in 1987, then played baseball at Manatee (Fla.) Community College and the University of North Florida.
He was drafted in the 37th round by Texas in 1991. He played catcher in the Rangers farm system from 1991-96, topping out at Triple-A Oklahoma City.
As he said last summer, Kennedy spent much of his professional playing days preparing for the chance to manage. Should Kennedy lead the 2004 Indians to the playoffs, he’ll share the credit with his returning staff, pitching coach Dave Chavarria and batting coach Derek Lee.
“Working with Derek last year was great,” Kennedy said. “The relationship is probably stronger between pitching coach and manager, and Dave always knows what I’m thinking while I know what he’s thinking. We’re on the same page.”
Notes
Spokane’s dugout won’t be the place for anyone with arachnophobia. The Rangers announced Friday that first baseman Jim Fasano and shortstop Bobby LeNoir, both of whom played for the University of Richmond Spiders, have been assigned to Spokane. Fasano, selected in the ninth round of this week’s amateur draft, was Atlantic-10 Conference player of the year in 2003 and led the conference with 18 home runs this season. LeNoir, tabbed in the 21st round, hit .315 this year and led the Spiders with 23 stolen bases… . The third day of the Indians’ eight-day minicamp will run from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. today.