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Doug Bochtler retreated from reality to go hunting this weekend, secure in the knowledge that an incredible baseball opportunity had just found him.
After serving as the Class-A Cougars’ pitching coach last season, Bochtler anticipated a climb to Double-A Mobile in the parent Arizona Diamondbacks’ system in 2016. Instead, he not only is with a new organization, but working in the major leagues.
The San Diego Padres announced their field staff under new manager Andy Green this week, and the cast includes the 45-year-old Bochtler as bullpen coach. Rest assured, he won’t be approaching this chance like he would a layout blind.
“My role will be much more of a complementary role rather than I’m somebody’s friend who is down in the bullpen answering the telephone and telling them who’s coming up,” Bochtler said. “So it’ll be a tad more hands-on than the historical version of a bullpen coach’s role.”
Actually, Bochtler is somebody’s friend, or at least somebody’s confidant. Both he and Green entered the D’backs pipeline as coaches in 2011, and worked that season in extended spring training, the ground floor of the minor leagues.
As Green took a managerial route, Bochtler, a right-handed reliever for parts of six seasons with the Padres, Dodgers, Tigers and Royals from 1995 to 2000, developed a reputation as something of a staff whisperer.
Although “Boch,” as he’s known throughout clubhouses, can swap stories and jokes with the best, he took a shine to helping pitchers harness the biomechanical side of their craft, focusing on how to be in the optimal position to deliver a pitch. The equally cerebral Green took note of how Bochtler’s staffs flourished, and the two conversed during each season even as they worked at different organizational rungs.
The D’backs summoned Bochtler to interview for their major league pitching coach and bullpen coach vacancies during last month’s general managers meetings. Although neither opportunity panned out, Green, the D’backs third-base coach in 2015, soon came calling, asking Arizona for permission to speak with Bochtler.
“He was impressed with that and he opted to come after me,” Bochtler said.
When he’s not hunting or spending time with family, Bochtler plans to continue his coaching duties at the Cherokee Baseball Academy in Knoxville, Tennessee, where he works with pre-teens, prep stars and collegians alike.
Bochtler, a co-founder of the facility, long has contended that spending time with young pitchers boosts his communication skills and “helps me maintain my eyes.” He’ll simply pay that forward in the majors.
“It’s kind of multifaceted, the people that you’re dealing with at the big league level,” he said. “But, you know, the best people in the game – the best pitchers, the best position players – they’re all people that are never satisfied with where they’re at. They’re constantly trying to get better. And if you have a resource and some knowledge that can help them – whether it’s something that I heard or something that I experienced while I was a big league player – that could be the little nugget that kind of helps them get over the hump and take their game to the next level.”
As if Green’s influence weren’t enough, Bochtler came away giddy from meeting with the rest of the staff this week, namely new bench coach Mark McGwire, baseball’s one-time home run king.
Bochtler faced McGwire twice during his career, walking him and allowing a flyout to the warning track on a 2-1 changeup – “Boch” even remembered the count.
Now, he gets to powwow with McGwire in what Bochtler called a “cross-pollination” set-up in which Green welcomes feedback from all corners of the coaching staff at any time.
“There are benefits from a pitcher learning from a hitter. There are benefits from a hitter learning from a pitcher,” Bochtler said. “To really just be open and free to express your ideas and opinions and doing it through the right channels without ego, it’s kind of the way things are going.”
D’backs brass similarly have jockeyed to be part of baseball’s cutting edge, and Bochtler indicated nothing different while reflecting upon his time with the organization.
Years ago, while eager to get back into baseball as a coach, the Padres referred Bochtler to the D’backs and farm director Mike Bell, whose father, Buddy, managed Bochtler in Detroit.
San Diego and Arizona share the National League West and will meet early and often as division rivals. The Padres host the D’backs during the second weekend of the season, from April 15 to 17, 2016.
“I’ll forever be thankful for (the D’backs) for getting me back into professional baseball in this capacity. ... They are friends that will be friends off the field for the rest of my life,” Bochtler said. “But when it comes to playing the game, if any knowledge that I gained while I was there is a competitive advantage, then we will take every inch of that and use it to our fullest ability while we’re playing them.”
Unlike hunting, gamesmanship knows no offseason.
• Kevin Druley is sports editor of the Kane County Chronicle. He can be reached at 630-845-5347 or kdruley@shawmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @KevinDruley.
Doug Bochtler retreated from reality to go hunting this weekend, secure in the knowledge that an incredible baseball opportunity had just found him.
After serving as the Class-A Cougars’ pitching coach last season, Bochtler anticipated a climb to Double-A Mobile in the parent Arizona Diamondbacks’ system in 2016. Instead, he not only is with a new organization, but working in the major leagues.
The San Diego Padres announced their field staff under new manager Andy Green this week, and the cast includes the 45-year-old Bochtler as bullpen coach. Rest assured, he won’t be approaching this chance like he would a layout blind.
“My role will be much more of a complementary role rather than I’m somebody’s friend who is down in the bullpen answering the telephone and telling them who’s coming up,” Bochtler said. “So it’ll be a tad more hands-on than the historical version of a bullpen coach’s role.”
Actually, Bochtler is somebody’s friend, or at least somebody’s confidant. Both he and Green entered the D’backs pipeline as coaches in 2011, and worked that season in extended spring training, the ground floor of the minor leagues.
As Green took a managerial route, Bochtler, a right-handed reliever for parts of six seasons with the Padres, Dodgers, Tigers and Royals from 1995 to 2000, developed a reputation as something of a staff whisperer.
Although “Boch,” as he’s known throughout clubhouses, can swap stories and jokes with the best, he took a shine to helping pitchers harness the biomechanical side of their craft, focusing on how to be in the optimal position to deliver a pitch. The equally cerebral Green took note of how Bochtler’s staffs flourished, and the two conversed during each season even as they worked at different organizational rungs.
The D’backs summoned Bochtler to interview for their major league pitching coach and bullpen coach vacancies during last month’s general managers meetings. Although neither opportunity panned out, Green, the D’backs third-base coach in 2015, soon came calling, asking Arizona for permission to speak with Bochtler.
“He was impressed with that and he opted to come after me,” Bochtler said.
When he’s not hunting or spending time with family, Bochtler plans to continue his coaching duties at the Cherokee Baseball Academy in Knoxville, Tennessee, where he works with pre-teens, prep stars and collegians alike.
Bochtler, a co-founder of the facility, long has contended that spending time with young pitchers boosts his communication skills and “helps me maintain my eyes.” He’ll simply pay that forward in the majors.
“It’s kind of multifaceted, the people that you’re dealing with at the big league level,” he said. “But, you know, the best people in the game – the best pitchers, the best position players – they’re all people that are never satisfied with where they’re at. They’re constantly trying to get better. And if you have a resource and some knowledge that can help them – whether it’s something that I heard or something that I experienced while I was a big league player – that could be the little nugget that kind of helps them get over the hump and take their game to the next level.”
As if Green’s influence weren’t enough, Bochtler came away giddy from meeting with the rest of the staff this week, namely new bench coach Mark McGwire, baseball’s one-time home run king.
Bochtler faced McGwire twice during his career, walking him and allowing a flyout to the warning track on a 2-1 changeup – “Boch” even remembered the count.
Now, he gets to powwow with McGwire in what Bochtler called a “cross-pollination” set-up in which Green welcomes feedback from all corners of the coaching staff at any time.
“There are benefits from a pitcher learning from a hitter. There are benefits from a hitter learning from a pitcher,” Bochtler said. “To really just be open and free to express your ideas and opinions and doing it through the right channels without ego, it’s kind of the way things are going.”
D’backs brass similarly have jockeyed to be part of baseball’s cutting edge, and Bochtler indicated nothing different while reflecting upon his time with the organization.
Years ago, while eager to get back into baseball as a coach, the Padres referred Bochtler to the D’backs and farm director Mike Bell, whose father, Buddy, managed Bochtler in Detroit.
San Diego and Arizona share the National League West and will meet early and often as division rivals. The Padres host the D’backs during the second weekend of the season, from April 15 to 17, 2016.
“I’ll forever be thankful for (the D’backs) for getting me back into professional baseball in this capacity. ... They are friends that will be friends off the field for the rest of my life,” Bochtler said. “But when it comes to playing the game, if any knowledge that I gained while I was there is a competitive advantage, then we will take every inch of that and use it to our fullest ability while we’re playing them.”
Unlike hunting, gamesmanship knows no offseason.
• Kevin Druley is sports editor of the Kane County Chronicle. He can be reached at 630-845-5347 or kdruley@shawmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @KevinDruley.