Jumping in the Bay with Gary Kendall
What are some things you love about Maryland?
The water. I love the water, the boating, the fishing and the seafood. Where we are geographically located, I think we have the best of both worlds. I think we have great weather, in our falls, springs and summers and you get just enough of winter. I like the change of seasons.
Do you get much of an opportunity to go boating?
I used to. I went last fall with my dad. He's a big fisherman, he's a retired steel worker. He gets after it and fishes a lot. The opportunity is always there, it's just finding my time to be able to go and do it. I really enjoy it.
Who are your all-time favorite Orioles?
Brooks Robinson, Mark Belanger and probably Jim Palmer, for different reasons. Brooks Robinson is the classiest person I've ever met in my life. With all he's done in the game, and all he's done for people and how he treats people. How he makes people feel when he meets you. Mark Belanger was just a guy that I grew up looking at, watching him field. Just the way he did things, to me he was the best glove I ever saw. I used to go out to Memorial Field just to watch him take infield. Jim Palmer because of his preparation. Just how he prepared and his intelligence. How he can remember things that go on in games. He can still remember things that happened 40 years ago pitch-by-pitch. That's a testament to him, and how bright he was and how prepared he was to attack hitters. He's a smart man. I enjoy listening to him talk baseball. They are probably my three, but there are a lot of guys throughout the years. Scottie McGregor was a coach on our team in Aberdeen, and I certainly enjoyed being around Scottie and guys like that.
Tell us about your playing career. What position did you play?
Second base. Second base and shortstop, but mainly second base. I played two years at a juco in Baltimore, called the Community College of Baltimore. At that time it was a nationally recognized junior college. I had a scholarship to go to Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas, and I severely broke my ankle playing basketball in a pick-up game. I had to get pins put in my ankle and from that point on my running speed really decreased. I really didn't have many options to go, but there was a man named David Jauss who was a Major League coach here for the Orioles, the Mets and the Expos and the Boston Red Sox. He got a job at a small school in North Carolina called Atlantic Christian College, and I was recommended by a scout named Bob Carter to go down there and play. I went down there, and it was the best thing that ever happened to me. I got an opportunity to not only play, but to learn the game from a very, very good baseball man.
Given your experience, how do you remind guys to take care of themselves?
Well, that was kind of a freaky thing. Basketball is a great game, and I think it's a really great game for agility, and to get you in shape. I do recommend [players] to take care of themselves, I don't really advise players to go out and ride motorcycles, or go parachute jumping or anything like that. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but you run a risk of hurting yourself, but you've got to go out there and experience life.
How did you get your start in coaching?
Right after I got done playing I put my name in the hat for the Community College of Baltimore head baseball job. I think that was 1987, and I was up against some guys that had some experience, and I wound up getting the job. I thought I had a pretty good resume. I was coaching a sandlot team called Johnnie's Used Cars, which was a national championship team. I don't know how familiar people are, but it was run by Walter Youse, we used to be Baltimore Jonnie's, and we used to win a lot of national championships. I was doing that in summertime, and I was the head coach at Community College of Baltimore, and I went on to be an assistant at Towson State, at that time it was Towson State.
While I was doing that, Walter Youse, who was a supervisor scout with the Brewers had me go out and pick up balls for the Brewers all the time. Whenever Milwaukee would come in to Memorial Stadium, I would go out and get balls from Andy Etchebarren, who was with the Brewers at the time. He told me to tell them that I threw good batting practice, so they put me in uniform and I threw. It got to the point where I started to throw to a lot of visiting clubs that would come to Memorial Stadium. That was '90-'91. I coached Terry Crowley's son Jimmy, and he was with the Twins in '91, so he brought me out there, and he tried to get me a job as a full-time BP guy with Minnesota. Andy MacPhail at that time was the [General Manager], didn't have it in their budget, so Roland Hemond, had seen me out there, called me up and offered me a job for the remainder of the year.
After the year was out, I went in to thank him for the opportunity in his office, and he asked me what I wanted to do in the game. We sat there and talked for a while and I told him I'd like to get in player development and he said 'What about a job right now in scouting?' One thing led to another, I started scouting part time, I threw batting practice for the ballclub until '95 for the Major League team. We had a coach in Baltimore at the time, Steve Boros, who just recently passed away. He was a third base coach for the Orioles, and he had formerly managed San Diego and had a lot of friends out there. Kevin Towers at that time was a scouting director, and they were looking for a full-time Mid-Atlantic scout to do the five states right around here and they were also looking for a guy to do short-season coaching. That kind of fit, so they came out, interviewed me and hired me. I stayed there for four years and then came back to the Orioles in 2000.
Was it tough leaving Maryland to coach the short-season team in Idaho?
I loved it. It's part of the country that I probably never would have visited if not for that [position], I met a great baseball man who wound up coming here to manage the Bowie Baysox, Don Werner. That's how I met Don Werner, and when Donny left San Diego I got him over here. That was a great thing. I really loved the area out there, it was beautiful. It was very spread out and very vast. I had never seen a mountain until I went out there. It was quite an experience and it was a great organization to work for. The San Diego Padres, a great organization to work for.
How did you end up back with the Orioles?
In 2000 San Diego went through kind of a purge. They were looking to downsize, so they did away with the area scout position. I could have been a coach in their system, but it was going to affect me financially, so they gave me an opportunity. Our contracts ran out in October, so Tony DeMacio, who I had scouted, who was a colleague of mine in the scouting circles was the Scouting Director for Baltimore. Through his urging, with Sid Thrift and Tom Trebelhorn, they hired me to do both. When I first came over here to do the Orioles I was a scout/coach. I would leave extended spring [training] at times and go scout and I would go to different states. Tony DeMacio would send me to Texas, Louisiana, wherever the area was swamped with players that year. It was kind of neat. You could go to Florida for two weeks, then you might be in Atlanta, Georgia for a week and then up in North Carolina. I kind of liked that. In 2004, Doc Rodgers was our Farm Director and has asked me if I'd like to manage. He'd like to have me to look at managing and I really wanted to do it, I was excited about doing it, but he told me that I could no longer scout because they would need me at spring training all the time. I couldn't leave for those weeks here and there. I jumped at that opportunity, and since then I've been managing.
Do you ever miss being a collegiate coach?
Not really. It's funny, from playing in college you get used to the aluminum bat, the sound of the aluminum bat. Then when you get into professional baseball, and I've been in professional baseball now for 20 years, a little over 20 years, and I don't think I could handle the sound of the aluminum bat. I hate to say never, because there is nothing wrong with collegiate baseball. Some of the best coaches in the game of baseball are in collegiate baseball. They are teachers and really good evaluators. But I really like what I'm doing in professional baseball. Minor League baseball doesn't bother me. The lower levels, I always got advice from some baseball people who always said 'Don't even look at the level that you're at. Just envision that it's the pinnacle, that it's the Major Leagues.' Look at everything that way, even if you are in Bluefield where there some nights that the lights are bad, and it's raining, and you're on the tarp crew as a manager. I've done just about everything at those lower levels, but I've enjoyed every moment of it.
You've worked with Pitching Coach Kennie Steenstra for a few years, what does he do well with young pitchers?
Kennie is very easy to talk to. He's a great parent, I've seen him with his kids. And I've seen him with these guys in here [the clubhouse]. He's got a good sense of humor. He knows when to back off, he knows when to make emphasis on things. He's a caring person. People respect him because of how he handles himself and how he is with people. He's a good teacher, a good evaluator, and I love the three years I worked with him in Delmarva.
What can you tell us about the two field coaches, Denny Hocking and Einar Diaz. What are their roles this year?
Denny's going to handle the hitting and he's also going to do some defensive stuff, as far as placement and moving guys around. He'll help with the infield, outfield defense also. Denny's going to be responsible for the hitting. Einar is going to work with the catchers, and work with the defense, but his main role is going to be with the catching and Denny's going to be with the hitting. Both of those guys are great to have. I've been with Einar the last couple years in extended spring [training] and he has some managing experience. Einar is probably going to coach third. At the beginning of the season, [Orioles Coordinator of Minor League Instruction] Brian Graham wanted me to do it just to get us off the ground. As we get into the season, if I wanted to manage from the bench since we have extra coaches, I could do that. Denny's going to be on the bench with the hitters, Einar's going to coach first base and possibly third base down the road, maybe at the midway point of the season. Kennie of course will be on the bench.
Who are some of the players on the team you have worked with in the past?
I had Pedro Florimon in Delmarva, I had him for a little while there. He was our shortstop. He always gave 100 percent, I am really impressed with how he has progressed offensively, compared to when I saw him in Delmarva. I had Greg Miclat in Aberdeen when he signed out of the University of Virginia. He came in and played the remaining part of the season after he signed and was a great addition to the ballclub. He hit at the top of the order. I never had Joe Mahoney, I never had Brandon Waring. I had Caleb Joseph his first year in Aberdeen where he a really good offensive season. He was a big catalyst for us, and drilled the ball to right field. I had Steve Lerud at the Hawaii Winter League, when he was with the Pirates. I really enjoyed having Steve. He has some power. And Billy Rowell in Delmarva, it was a lot of fun having Billy. Billy had a good season for us offensively. I had Robbie Widlansky a lot in extended [spring training], really never had him after that. He went up to Frederick and kind of took off offensively for them. Finally I catch up to him. I really like the way Robbie swings the bat. Xavier, this is my first year with Xavier outside of instructional league. I've never had Ronnie Welty before on a ballclub, or Carlos Rojas. I like all these kids and what they bring to the table. They all have ways to help a club.
Baseball America ranked Xavier Avery as the third best prospect in the organization after last season, what are your hopes and expectations for him this year?
He's a leadoff guy for one, so you would like to have learn to be a typical leadoff hitter. We kind of profile there a little bit. He needs to get a little more confident about taking pitches, not being worried about hitting with two strikes. He's going to have to see pitches, he's going to have to gather information for his benefit and for our benefit. He's going to have to work on hitting against left-handed pitchers, left-handed breaking balls. That's one of the things he's going to need to work on. He brings a lot to the table, he's got speed, he's got a lot of natural ability. It's going to be fun to watch him develop. He's going to have to work hard to just refine his game. Refine the bunting part of his game, to refine his hitting approach and continue to work hard defensively in the outfield on his routes to fly balls and ground balls. He's going to be an exciting player to watch.
Every pitcher on the roster already has experience in Double-A, how much of an advantage is that going in to the season?
It's a big advantage as far as knowing how to pace themselves and knowing what it takes to get outs in this league. That's going to be really invaluable. But the league changes offensively year-to-year and they're going to have to go out there and still make pitches. Experience is great, but if you don't make pitches and get ahead, pitch smart and pitch effectively, it's just like being in the big leagues year-to-year. You've still got to go out and get outs. The more years you've got, that's great. That's good stuff, but you've got to make smart pitches, you've got to locate, and we've got some guys that I think are capable of doing that.
Greg Miclat is playing a new position this year, how do you think he will handle the adjustment?
I don't think that's a big change for him. He was a good shortstop, but he's going to be a much better second baseman. It's going to take a lot of urgency out of his game. I think his feet are going to work really well over there, I think his hands are going to work really well over there. He turned some really good double plays down in spring training. [He was] really quick with runners bearing down on him. He's got good footwork, he's got enough arm. I think he profiles more there, down the road, in the organization's eyes. I'm looking forward to Greg grabbing that position and liking to go out there and perform every day.
You have a number of players who can play the corner infield positions, how do you expect playing time to work out for Waring, Mahoney, Widlansky and Rowell this year?
Joe's going to get most of the playing time at first base, and the organization wants to take a look at him a little bit in left field. When that happens, Billy Rowell's an alternative over there and Brandon Waring is an alternative over there. Maybe even Caleb Joseph or Steve Lerud, who both have some experience over there. We do have some options at first base. Backing up Joe over there will probably be Billy and Brandon. At third base when Brandon gets a day off, or if it's a situation where he needs to be replaced in the middle of a game, Carlos Rojas is kind of a guy who can come off the bench.
If Billy is in the game as a DH, I can't lose my DH for that reason, so Carlos Rojas is a guy who is going to come in there to fill in at third base, at shortstop or at second base, whenever a move has to be made. Billy's going to get some innings at third base, a game or two a week. When that happens, Brandon could be in left field, could be a DH, could be at first base that day. It's going to be kind of an interesting thing. We only have one guy [on the bench] that can play up the middle, but we've got a lot of guys that can play first, third and left field. It's kind of a unique roster in that way. That's kind of the plan right now. We'll see how guys go and how healthy they are, and what it looks like when we get some games under our belt.
How good do you think this Baysox team can be this year?
That's a hard question for me to answer, because I have no idea how this league is. From being in the New York-Penn League to being in the South Atlantic League, I could always go from year-to-year and say 'Well, if it's as good as it was last year,' so I really don't have that comparison. I do believe that we're going to have to get good starting pitching to get us into the middle innings. I think the problem with our pitching staff is that if our starters can't get deep enough into the game that our bullpen is more put together with short inning guys than with long inning guys. If we're in a situation where three nights in a row our starter gets knocked out in the third or fourth inning, we're going to be sucking wind a little bit. We're only going to be as good as our starting pitching.
I think our bullpen, we've got some arm strength out there. We've got some power arms out there. I think offensively, there are going to be some times when we go in ruts, and streaks. I saw it in spring training where any given day six of the nine guys aren't hitting. But I think we've got enough speed and our defense is good enough to stay in some ballgames. I really want to see a team that's much better than us that we have to play. I'd really be interested in taking a look at that team because we do have some experience and there is some quality out there. If a team is 20 games better than us, I'd really like to see them. I'd take my hat off to them, but I'd really like to see them.
Baysox Baseball - We'll Knock Your 'Sox Off. The Baysox 19th season as the class Double-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles is underway. Parking is free at every Baysox home game and tickets are now available at www.baysox.com.