Editor’s Note: Mark Maloney, while on a recent vacation in New England, had a chance to reunite with Rodney Linares. Maloney was the Lexington Herald-Leader’s beat writer for Legends baseball from 2001 until his retirement in 2015. Linares served as a Legends coach 2005-06, and as manager 2010-11. He is now the Bench Coach for the Tampa Bay Rays, who were playing at Boston when this interview took place.
By Mark Maloney
BOSTON, MA - Rodney Linares has come a long way since he joined the Lexington Legends coaching staff 25 years ago.
Linares, 47, is in his seventh season of coaching in the Major Leagues, serving as Bench Coach for the Tampa Bay Rays.
“There’s no ‘bad part’ (to the job). You’re in the Big Leagues. They treat you like a rock star. You’re flying on private planes. You’re in the best hotels,” Linares said during a pre-game interview in the Fenway Park visitors’ dugout. “It’s a far, far cry from being on a bus for 14, 15 hours.
“But I would not have done it any other way than the way I did it, having spent all that time in the minor leagues. That’s helped mold me to be the man that I am.”
Linares began his minor-league coaching career at 21.
He came to Lexington in 2005, serving as Legends hitting coach under Tim Bogar. The next year, Linares assisted Jack Lind.
Linares’ rotation in the Houston Astros organization brought him back to Lexington in 2010-11, this time as manager. The Legends finished 71-68 in 2010, 59-79 the next season.
“The people were awesome. Mr. (Alan) Stein was awesome. His son (Scooter),” Linares said. “Their Baseball Operations guy (Gary Durbin), he was really good to me. Everybody was so good with the players, and they were even better with the staff. … My best memories in the minor leagues were in Kentucky.”
During his two seasons as manager, Linares oversaw 16 future Major Leaguers.
“I had a lot of good players there, starting with (Jose) Altuve and J.D. (Martinez). Jio Mier, who was a really good player. A lot of good pitchers,” Linares said. “But out of that group, my time in Lexington, Altuve and J.D. stood out the most. They’ve had the longest careers and probably the best careers.”
Another player of noteworthy stature, on the 2011 roster, was Kike Hernandez of the World Champion Los Angeles Dodgers. Hernandez was injured much of that season, but proved versatile when available.
“Delino (DeShields Jr.) was playing second and Kike had to go all over the place,” Linares said. “Luckily, he became really good at doing it, and he’s parlayed it into a really good Big League career.”
In addition to Bogar and Lind, Linares had other mentors while in Lexington.
One was his father, Julio, who often made visits as a roving instructor for the Houston Astros. At 86, Julio continues to work for the Astros – his 52nd season in the organization. He serves in an advisory capacity in his native Dominican Republic, reporting to the Astros Academy there on a daily basis.
Another confidant was the Legends’ late longtime pitching coach, Charley Taylor.
“Charley was special. He cared about our players more than probably any pitching coach I’ve ever seen,” Linares said. “He went to battle for every one of his players.
“I remember that when he started getting sick (from cancer), we would talk all the time. To this day, I still tell (what) he used to tell pitchers when I was manager: ‘Pitch to what you see, not what you know. Watch the game. Hitters will tell you (what to throw).’ I’ve been blessed to work with a lot of great people in the minor leagues who helped me become the man I am today.”
As bench coach, Linares is Tampa Bay’s next in line to Kevin Cash. If the manager gets ejected, Linares takes over. Last season, when Cash served a one-game suspension, Linares managed the entire game.
The Bench Coach often has the task of telling a player that he is being replaced by a pinch hitter. The primary focus, though, is game tactics.
“It’s mostly preparing for every situation in the game,” Linares said. “I go through all the scouting reports, all the advance reports, what that team’s tendencies are – so when the manager asks a question, you have an answer.
“I always keep my notes. So when he comes up and says ‘when are they running? Are they running first to third? What are they doing? What are they throwing when we’re on the offense, first and third? Who’s their best pinch hitter? Who pitches against righties? Who pitches against lefties? … There’s a lot that goes into the preparation. During the game, it’s all about helping out where I’m needed.”
That includes thinking ahead, anticipating situations.
Linares says Cash is “really good at how he uses his bullpen.” Linares defers bullpen talk to Cash and Kyle Snyder, the Rays’ pitching coach.
“All the other stuff is what I do – preparation in the day, the in-game decisions. I’ll let (Cash) know what I think and then he’ll tell me (yes or no). Believe me, a lot of times he’ll say no. You just don’t have an ego about it. It’s just part of your work.
“We’re not a $300 million team, but we have to compete with the $300 million teams. We have to be really, really good at winning the little margins. I think that’s why our information, and the way (Cash) applies that information, helps us be successful.”
