Bombard Making His Mark
Round Rock manager's life a tome in the making
ROUND ROCK - The baseball stadium where Marc Bombard got his managerial start was demolished nearly two years ago in Billings, Mont.
The minor league club he managed for eight seasons in Pennsylvania has switched its name from the Red Barons to the Yankees. The team he once coached in El Paso is no longer affiliated with a major league club.
After nearly a quarter-century as a minor league manager, Bombard had seen plenty by the time he joined the Round Rock Express before this season. With 11 different clubs, ranging from Rookie League to Triple-A, he has become the minors' winningest active manager with a 1,739-1,584 career record.
"It just seems like yesterday. It isn't, but it seems like it," said Bombard, who will turn 60 in November. "But if it seems like it's going so fast, you must be doing something right."
Bombard even managed the man he replaced in Round Rock, Dave Clark, who's now the third-base coach for the Houston Astros.
In 1992, Clark played for Bombard at Triple-A Buffalo and hit .304 with 11 home runs in 78 games. Clark, who managed Astros minor league affiliates in Corpus Christi and Round Rock, isn't the only one of Bombard's former players to become a manager after his playing days.
Three current Triple-A managers - Sacramento's Tony DeFrancesco, Columbus' Torey Luvullo and Dave Miley of Scranton/Wilkes-Barre - played for Bombard. Among major league skippers, the Arizona Diamondbacks' A.J. Hinch played for Bombard for 77 games with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in 2004.
"You never know in this game, but it's good that they got that opportunity," Bombard said. "You want to see everyone succeed in this game in some aspect."
When Clark was promoted to Houston, the Astros took less than three months to find his replacement. Houston narrowed its field of candidates to three before settling on Bombard, who had been part of the Philadelphia Phillies organization during Ed Wade's eight-year tenure as general manager. Wade is now in his second season as the Astros' general manager.
The Express are 32-42 after a 2-1 loss Friday night at Oklahoma City. They are in last place in the Pacific Coast League's American South Division, 51/2 games behind first-place Albuquerque, which had a late game against Nashville.
"We've got more losses than wins, but we're right there in the hunt, and that's where you want to be," Bombard said.
Versatile training
A natural right-hander, Bombard taught himself at a young age to throw a baseball with his left arm.
He parlayed that transformation into a minor league pitching career that spanned seven years and reached the Double-A level. The one-time roommate of a minor league catcher named Randy Poffo - later the famed wrestler "Macho Man" Randy Savage - Bombard pitched in 152 games. During the 1975 season, he threw a perfect game for the Single-A Tampa Tarpons. He also pitched a no-hitter that season.
Two years later, Bombard's playing career ended, but he stayed in the Cincinnati Reds' farm system as a pitching coach. In 1982, Bombard was hired to manage a Reds rookie-level affiliate, the Billings Mustangs.
Bombard went 31-39 during his first season in Billings, but he won a league championship the next year.
"I've known a lot of guys that have gone through Billings with the Mustangs, but he (was one of) the ones that did things the right way," said Sam Matthews, the team's bus driver for nearly 25 years from the 1970s to the '90s.
After the Mustangs' title-winning season in 1983, Bombard was promoted to take over the Reds' Single-A team in Tampa. Eight seasons later, Bombard found himself managing at the Triple-A level, and he has remained there for 15 of the past 18 years.
He spent 11 seasons with International League teams, including eight with the Phillies' Triple-A club in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, where he oversaw the development of infielders Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley.
Before the 2005 major league season, the Phillies promoted Bombard to first-base coach under manager Charlie Manuel. After the 2006 season, Bombard and two other coaches were fired, and in 2007 he returned to the International League to manage the Charlotte Knights, the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox.
Including his two seasons with the Phillies, Bombard has spent parts of four seasons coaching in the majors. He has been granted one managerial interview by a major league club - the Reds in 1993 - and admitted that he still hopes to manage from a major league dugout one day.
"That's where you want to be," he said. "That's everybody's goal, whether you're a trainer, a clubhouse guy, a player, manager or coach."
Those hopes may be fading for Bombard. Of the 32 current managers, only eight are older than Bombard. And of those, only Philadelphia's Manuel was hired for his first major league managerial job after his 50th birthday.
Raising stars
When Bombard was a third-base coach with the Reds in 1996, a ballpark security guard made him a clock that held 20 baseball cards. Bombard decorated the clock with cards featuring some of his former players.
The clock, which is at Bombard's home in Tampa, Fla., is covered with the cards of such players as Lenny Harris, Joe Oliver, Reggie Jefferson and Kevin Young. More than 20 years after he first received the clock, Bombard wishes that it could fit more cards.
Among the minor leaguers Bombard managed who developed into big-league stars are reliever Rob Dibble and outfielder Moises Alou.
The Astros hope similar stars will emerge from Bombard's club in Round Rock, which has endured a roller-coaster season that included a 4-11 start and a season-best winning streak of just five games. The Express boast one of the best pitching staffs in the Pacific Coast League, but their offense owns one of the PCL's lowest team batting averages.
Described as disciplined but patient, Bombard speaks some Spanish - aided by his wife, Gema, a native of Mexico- and that helps him connect with more players. His lengthy managing record also has impressed players in the Express clubhouse.
"Baseball is the same everywhere, and he's a baseball guy," said infielder Mark Saccomanno, who also played under former Express managers Clark and Jackie Moore. "He's a guy you want to play for."
Bombard's playing days are well behind him, but he routinely throws for batting practice, still using that left arm. And in every inning, he trots out to the third-base coaching box, a No. 13 embroidered on the back of his jersey, to deliver signs to Express batters and baserunners.
It's a sight that Round Rock owner Reid Ryan is hoping to see for a while. After having just one manager in its first eight seasons, the team has had three skippers in the past three years.
"What we had with Jackie being here for eight years is so unusual," Ryan said. "I personally feel that baseball today does not give people enough time. I hope that Marc is with us for a long time."
After nearly 40 years in pro baseball, Bombard sometimes thinks about life after baseball. There's his home in Tampa, and he likes to travel to Mexico with Gema. He has a daughter who attends the University of South Florida and another who lives in Miami.
But he said he doesn't plan to walk away anytime soon.
"I guess when that day comes," he said, "I will take it from there."
The minor league club he managed for eight seasons in Pennsylvania has switched its name from the Red Barons to the Yankees. The team he once coached in El Paso is no longer affiliated with a major league club.
After nearly a quarter-century as a minor league manager, Bombard had seen plenty by the time he joined the Round Rock Express before this season. With 11 different clubs, ranging from Rookie League to Triple-A, he has become the minors' winningest active manager with a 1,739-1,584 career record.
"It just seems like yesterday. It isn't, but it seems like it," said Bombard, who will turn 60 in November. "But if it seems like it's going so fast, you must be doing something right."
Bombard even managed the man he replaced in Round Rock, Dave Clark, who's now the third-base coach for the Houston Astros.
In 1992, Clark played for Bombard at Triple-A Buffalo and hit .304 with 11 home runs in 78 games. Clark, who managed Astros minor league affiliates in Corpus Christi and Round Rock, isn't the only one of Bombard's former players to become a manager after his playing days.
Three current Triple-A managers - Sacramento's Tony DeFrancesco, Columbus' Torey Luvullo and Dave Miley of Scranton/Wilkes-Barre - played for Bombard. Among major league skippers, the Arizona Diamondbacks' A.J. Hinch played for Bombard for 77 games with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in 2004.
"You never know in this game, but it's good that they got that opportunity," Bombard said. "You want to see everyone succeed in this game in some aspect."
When Clark was promoted to Houston, the Astros took less than three months to find his replacement. Houston narrowed its field of candidates to three before settling on Bombard, who had been part of the Philadelphia Phillies organization during Ed Wade's eight-year tenure as general manager. Wade is now in his second season as the Astros' general manager.
The Express are 32-42 after a 2-1 loss Friday night at Oklahoma City. They are in last place in the Pacific Coast League's American South Division, 51/2 games behind first-place Albuquerque, which had a late game against Nashville.
"We've got more losses than wins, but we're right there in the hunt, and that's where you want to be," Bombard said.
Versatile training
A natural right-hander, Bombard taught himself at a young age to throw a baseball with his left arm.
He parlayed that transformation into a minor league pitching career that spanned seven years and reached the Double-A level. The one-time roommate of a minor league catcher named Randy Poffo - later the famed wrestler "Macho Man" Randy Savage - Bombard pitched in 152 games. During the 1975 season, he threw a perfect game for the Single-A Tampa Tarpons. He also pitched a no-hitter that season.
Two years later, Bombard's playing career ended, but he stayed in the Cincinnati Reds' farm system as a pitching coach. In 1982, Bombard was hired to manage a Reds rookie-level affiliate, the Billings Mustangs.
Bombard went 31-39 during his first season in Billings, but he won a league championship the next year.
"I've known a lot of guys that have gone through Billings with the Mustangs, but he (was one of) the ones that did things the right way," said Sam Matthews, the team's bus driver for nearly 25 years from the 1970s to the '90s.
After the Mustangs' title-winning season in 1983, Bombard was promoted to take over the Reds' Single-A team in Tampa. Eight seasons later, Bombard found himself managing at the Triple-A level, and he has remained there for 15 of the past 18 years.
He spent 11 seasons with International League teams, including eight with the Phillies' Triple-A club in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, where he oversaw the development of infielders Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley.
Before the 2005 major league season, the Phillies promoted Bombard to first-base coach under manager Charlie Manuel. After the 2006 season, Bombard and two other coaches were fired, and in 2007 he returned to the International League to manage the Charlotte Knights, the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox.
Including his two seasons with the Phillies, Bombard has spent parts of four seasons coaching in the majors. He has been granted one managerial interview by a major league club - the Reds in 1993 - and admitted that he still hopes to manage from a major league dugout one day.
"That's where you want to be," he said. "That's everybody's goal, whether you're a trainer, a clubhouse guy, a player, manager or coach."
Those hopes may be fading for Bombard. Of the 32 current managers, only eight are older than Bombard. And of those, only Philadelphia's Manuel was hired for his first major league managerial job after his 50th birthday.
Raising stars
When Bombard was a third-base coach with the Reds in 1996, a ballpark security guard made him a clock that held 20 baseball cards. Bombard decorated the clock with cards featuring some of his former players.
The clock, which is at Bombard's home in Tampa, Fla., is covered with the cards of such players as Lenny Harris, Joe Oliver, Reggie Jefferson and Kevin Young. More than 20 years after he first received the clock, Bombard wishes that it could fit more cards.
Among the minor leaguers Bombard managed who developed into big-league stars are reliever Rob Dibble and outfielder Moises Alou.
The Astros hope similar stars will emerge from Bombard's club in Round Rock, which has endured a roller-coaster season that included a 4-11 start and a season-best winning streak of just five games. The Express boast one of the best pitching staffs in the Pacific Coast League, but their offense owns one of the PCL's lowest team batting averages.
Described as disciplined but patient, Bombard speaks some Spanish - aided by his wife, Gema, a native of Mexico- and that helps him connect with more players. His lengthy managing record also has impressed players in the Express clubhouse.
"Baseball is the same everywhere, and he's a baseball guy," said infielder Mark Saccomanno, who also played under former Express managers Clark and Jackie Moore. "He's a guy you want to play for."
Bombard's playing days are well behind him, but he routinely throws for batting practice, still using that left arm. And in every inning, he trots out to the third-base coaching box, a No. 13 embroidered on the back of his jersey, to deliver signs to Express batters and baserunners.
It's a sight that Round Rock owner Reid Ryan is hoping to see for a while. After having just one manager in its first eight seasons, the team has had three skippers in the past three years.
"What we had with Jackie being here for eight years is so unusual," Ryan said. "I personally feel that baseball today does not give people enough time. I hope that Marc is with us for a long time."
After nearly 40 years in pro baseball, Bombard sometimes thinks about life after baseball. There's his home in Tampa, and he likes to travel to Mexico with Gema. He has a daughter who attends the University of South Florida and another who lives in Miami.
But he said he doesn't plan to walk away anytime soon.
"I guess when that day comes," he said, "I will take it from there."