A man who once called home the many baseball diamonds of Bradley, Bourbonnais and Kankakee, took one major step forward in his professional baseball career.
Tom Prince, the 52-year-old who was a standout catcher for Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School and Kankakee Community College, has been promoted to bench coach for the Pittsburgh Pirates under manager Clint Hurdle.
Yep, Prince who spent last season in the minor leagues, is back in "the Show."
He will be Hurdle's right-hand man, and though bench coaches never say it out loud, he's one step from managing a major league team.
"I've been blessed," the son of Tom and Patsy Prince, of Bradley, said as he recently was traveling through southern Illinois. "I started out playing ball as a young kid and I was allowed to dream. Now I'm going to be able to give something back. I've had a very blessed life."
Prince said he always has tried to remember two simple messages his parents reiterated.
First, always treat people the right way. And secondly, remember where you came from.
He also follows the example set before him by his former BBCHS baseball coaches Dick Carley and Mike Mulligan.
"I don't ever remember those two guys every taking a day off. There is no doubt about it that they have had a lasting impact on me. They would continue throwing battling practice until no one was there to hit anymore," he said. "And we always had the best field in the area."
Prince began his professional career as the 64th player selected in the 1984 draft. Prince played two seasons at KCC. He previously had been selected on two occasions by the Atlanta Braves, but declined to sign.
He joined the Pirates and played in the big leagues from 1987-93. He played with four other organizations — Los Angeles Dodgers [1994-98], Philadelphia Phillies [1999-2000], Minnesota Twins [2001-2003] and Kansas City Royals [2003] — before calling it quits on his playing career.
Prince enjoyed a 17-year career, but mainly on his defensive skills behind the plate. He was a lifetime .208 right-handed hitter with 24 career homers in 519 games.
Prince replaces bench coach Dave Jauss, who was moved to another coaching role. Prince said he had no idea the move was coming. After being in various coaching roles within the Pirates organization the past 13 years, including stints as the single-A and double-A manager, Prince was the organization's field coordinator in 2016.
In that role, he traveled throughout the Pirates farm system and assisted coaches.
Now living in Bradenton, Fla., where he and his wife, Gail, raised son, Johnny, 24, and daughter, Shannon, 20, Prince will be once again criss-crossing the country this spring, summer and early fall.
"I had no idea this was coming. Two years ago, I let them know I was interested," Prince said.
He was in the Dominican Republic working with some prospects after the 2016 season's conclusion. That's when the team checked in with again. Prince said he still was interested.
He came home and talked with General Manager Neal Huntington and Hurdle. He was offered the post a short time later. Prince said his salary is still being negotiated.
Prince has some learning to do. He will be dealing with instant replay, the media and personnel decisions for the first time. "I'll be watching how Clint runs things. I'd like to manage at the big league level some day.
"But I live by the words 'Expect the unexpected.' I'm in no rush to do that. I want to stay in the game. If that's coaching or managing it doesn't matter. Just any way possible."
So Prince will be in the Major League camp once again. It's one of the places he feels most comfortable.
"I've been to MLB camps my whole adult life. I'll just have some more responsibilities."