Kansas City Royals third base coach Vance Wilson reportedly was a candidate to be the next manager of the Twins, a move that seemed straight out of left field, if you ask me.
Perhaps there was positive chatter about him in baseball circles, but otherwise his resume underwhelmed. He is a former catcher turned minor league manager, coach and then he advanced to his current role with the Royals.
Even Sports Illustrated struggled to find the superlatives.
“As with the other candidates for the Twins’ opening, it’s hard to know too much about what exactly Wilson’s priorities and strengths would be in the role.”
You can say that again.
But the biggest disappointment in all of this is that if the Twins are seriously considering third-base coaches for the job of manager, the best candidate already works for them, and before Wilson’s name was ever mentioned, someone should have spoken up about Tommy Watkins.
Watkins is the Twins’ current third base coach. Now, I guess there’s the possibility that Tommy is viewed as Rocco’s guy, and that if Baldelli lands a new managing job, then perhaps Tommy goes with him.
But if not, Watkins deserved to be interviewed.
Wilson has zero connection to the Twins, but Watkins is a lifelong member of the team. He was drafted by the Twins in 1998 and then spent a decade in the minor leagues before he got his shot with the parent club on Aug. 10, 2007.
“Tommy Watkins entered the clubhouse at 11:08 a.m. Thursday and received plenty of hugs and handshakes,” the Star Tribune reported. …”It’s been a long road, man,” said Watkins, 27. “And just to have a chance to be in this situation is something else.”
The majority of professional athletes never become stars. In baseball terms, it’s known as a “cup of coffee,” and for Tommy it amounted to nine games in the major leagues.
What were the highlights? Well, on Aug. 17, 2007, he had a 2-for-3 day at the plate, with a walk and stolen base in a 2-1, 10-inning victory over the Texas Rangers.
Tommy spent a total of 12 seasons in the minors before he moved on to become a hitting coach and manager in the Twins’ farm system, and then was first-base coach under Baldelli before moving across the diamond to third.
Extra innings…
-Although Wilson was reportedly a candidate for the job, he is not a finalist, according to MLB Trade Rumors, citing a report by The Athletic.
The four finalists: former Bucs manager Derek Shelton, former Twins hitting coach James Rowson, current Cubs bench coach Ryan Flaherty and former M’s skipper Scott Servais.
Source: Newspapers.com