New Manager Brian Buchanan Makes His First Trip To Frawley Stadium

Wilmington, DE-  Brian Buchanan's first view of Frawley Stadium was far different from the one he will get in two months. The 13th manager in Blue Rocks history arrived in Wilmington on Tuesday to meet the local media. Before his introductory press conference, Buchanan took a tour of the ballpark he will call home this summer. Standing on the infield with Blue Rocks general manager Chris Kemple and Royals Director of Minor League Operations Ronnie Richardson, two things stood out instantly to Buchanan.

"Well, the stadium is beautiful, the weather isn't," Buchanan said. "Hopefully in April it will clear up, but the area is nice around the stadium, some restaurants, some things to do, so my first impressions are 'I can't wait to get up here.' Once you get into February, you start getting the itch a little bit about getting back to baseball."

While the chill of a Riverfront winter may not bring summer's game to most people's minds instantly, the passion of a manager who spent seven seasons as a player in the Big Leagues and one more in Japan stokes a fire that's immune to even the coldest of climates. Buchanan comes to Wilmington with a proven pedigree. On top of his resume as a player, he has spent five seasons as a coach in the Royals organization-- the last three of which he managed Kansas CIty's Low-A club.

He learned at the knee of two great managers, playing under Tom Kelly early in his career with the Twins and for parts of three seasons in San Diego under Bruce Bochy. Buchanan watched those men closely and took one primary lesson from both.

"They would teach you how to play the game, and once the game started, they let you go out and play," Buchanan remarked about his former mentors. "Win or lose, they wanted you to go out and just compete, compete, compete. I loved playing for both those guys. The personalities were kind of relaxed, and they didn't get too uptight when things were hitting the fan so to speak."

Buchanan said that lesson is applicable at every level of the game. Of course he concedes the atmosphere is different in the Carolina League than in the majors, where winning is all that counts. But the process is his primary focus.

"You get all the work in at spring training and then before the game you do your batting practice, infield, or whatever you're going to do," Buchanan said. "Once the game starts, you have to let the game teach them what they need to know. Obviously, they're going to need some guidance, and that's what our staff is here for because at this level, you do a lot more teaching than you do at the big leagues.

"But our biggest goal is to just make sure they're doing it the right way. I want them to play hard, I want them to just compete, that's the only thing. Win or lose, if you go out and compete for the season or for that at-bat or for that pitch, that's the name of the game; being competitive and competing. That's all we can ask for."

The Blue Rocks, who drew 284,701 fans to Frawley Stadium in 2014 and averaged more than 4,400 patrons per game, have season seats and group packages for the 2015 season available now to watch Buchanan's team play. The home opener is Thursday, April 16 at 6:35 p.m. and individual tickets for that or any other game this season will go on sale on Presidents Day. Fans should call 302-888-BLUE or visit BlueRocks.com for more information.

 

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