Ruben Amaro Jr.'s Phillies general manager career started out nice and loud. After inheriting a 2008 World Series victorious team, Amaro helped the Phillies get back to the 2009 World Series by trading for ace pitcher Cliff Lee and signing the little bit left in Pedro Martinez's tank. By the time Amaro left, it was really quiet. The day of Amaro's dismissal and subsequent weeks he said nothing at all.
That is, until he got a new job.
We learned that Amaro would become the Boston Red Sox first base coach and outfield instructor on Saturday. The Red Sox dismissed first base coach Arnie Beyeler, the lone dismissal from the final 2015 coaching staff. (Pitching coach Juan Nieves was dismissed earlier in the season). Red Sox manager John Farrell is Amaro's former teammate with the Cleveland Indians and brought him aboard.
Amaro was officially named Red Sox coach yesterday, and talked about the nature of his unconventional move from the front office to a coaching staff. ESPN Boston explained how the move went down:
It’s something, Ruben Amaro Jr. said Monday, he couldn’t resist. Which is why, when Red Sox manager John Farrell, an old teammate from their days playing in Cleveland, called about 8 to 10 days ago to gauge Amaro’s interest, Farrell’s phone rang at 8:30 the next morning.
“I guess it is unusual,’’ Amaro said in a conference call Monday, “but for me, I’ve always had kind of an itch to be back on the field.’’
Amaro retired after the 1998 season and immediately became Ed Wade's assistant general manager. He held that role through 2008, at which time he was named Pat Gillick's successor. In other words, Amaro never needed to look for a job to coach.
At 50 years old, Amaro is young enough to coach. Amaro revealed in the ESPN piece that he is ambidextrous and would pitch batting practice from both sides.
His new boss Farrell had plenty of nice things to say about Amaro:
“Intelligent, and a goal-driven, goal-oriented person,’’ Farrell said of the Stanford-educated Amaro (degree in biology). “You want that eagerness, and you want that type of personality to be part of your staff. He’s going to help us create an atmosphere for our players that is very positive and upbeat.’’
Amaro's Phillies legacy is not a good one, but it's not over.
Amaro appears to be lone target to blame everything that went wrong with the Phillies since he was the team's bat boy. The final word on Amaro will be once his July 2015 trades get time to play out. If the Phillies end up with their next core of winners as the result of Amaro's trades, he will look brilliant. That is, if people are willing to see it.
