New manager DeShields ready to lead Bats
Delino DeShields thought being a baseball player was going to be easy after getting four hits in his major-league debut in 1990. The .268 career hitter quickly learned the humbling realities of the sport.
Perhaps those experiences make him the ideal manager. DeShields, 45, is the new Louisville Bats skipper. He was officially named to the position earlier this month. DeShields will be the fourth different manager in five seasons for the Cincinnati Reds' Triple-A affiliate.
DeShields didn't plan on being a manager after his 13-year big-league career ended in 2002.
"I kind of caught the bug just working with kids after I retired, working with my son's teams," the former second baseman said. "That kind of made me realize that I could teach a little bit."
DeShields' oldest son, Delino DeShields Jr., is a Texas Rangers second baseman who played for the Lexington Legends in 2011 and 2012.
DeShields spent the past two seasons at Pensacola, the Reds' Double-A affiliate. He went 119-159 with the Wahoos, succeeding Jim Riggleman. He'll replace Riggleman again after Riggleman was promoted from Louisville to be the Reds' third-base coach.
DeShields said the managers who influenced him the most were Felipe Alou and Tony La Russa. But he plans to have his own style. DeShields worked with major leaguers Didi Gregorius and Billy Hamilton.
"I'm not a standoffish type of manager," DeShields said. "I like to get to know my guys. I think I'm pretty easy to play for. I can be strict at times but I've been around long enough to do it the way I would have wanted it done."
At Pensacola, DeShields had Reds prospect Robert Stephenson. Baseball America named the right-hander Cincinnati's top overall prospect before the 2014 season. Last year, Stephenson went 7-10 with a 4.74 ERA. He had 140 strikeouts in 136.2 innings pitched.
DeShields said it's likely that at some point Stephenson will be with Louisville in 2015. He compared Stephenson's curveball to Dwight Gooden's devastating breaking pitch.
"Robert is a potential No.1 starter in the big leagues," DeShields said of the 21-year-old. "He's a young kid with a big arm."
DeShields was a top prospect in the Montreal Expos system after being taken the 12th overall pick in the 1987 draft. That's the same draft that produced first-rounders like Ken Griffey Jr. (No.1 overall), Jack McDowell (No.5), and Craig Biggio (No.22).
In 1990, DeShields finished second in National League rookie of the year honors to David Justice of the Atlanta Braves. After the 1993 season, DeShields was involved in what turned out to be one of the most lopsided deals in baseball history. DeShields was traded to Los Angeles for a hard-throwing Dodgers prospect named Pedro Martínez.
DeShields had a solid career. Martínez became a three-time Cy Young award winner.
Now DeShields is in charge of nurturing prospects.
"Minor league baseball can always throw some surprises at you," he said. "It's always a game of adjustments in the minors."
Contact Michael Grant at (502) 582-4069, and on Twitter @MichaelGrant_CJ