By Johnny Carey, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) — New Red Sox first base coach Ruben Amaro Jr. owns one of the most uneven career paths in MLB history.
Only a year ago, Amaro was the general manager of the Philadelphia Phillies. Now, he’s accepted the first coaching job of his career, ready to perfect his “GET BACK” scream and pat players on their backsides after reaching first base. To say that general managers generally don’t find themselves coaching first base would be a colossal understatement.
For Amaro, it’s a welcomed challenge.
“To me it’s about getting a brand new opportunity,” Amaro said. “For me it’s about baseball, it’s the game. That’s all I’ve ever known.
“This is a great opportunity for me to be on the dirt to rub elbows with the players, be closer and see what it’s like to be on the field again. It gives me perspective whether I’m on the field or I’m back in the front office.”
While this development is certainly one of the more odd and obscure situations in recent Red Sox memory, it’s only one chapter of Amaro’s extremely volatile baseball life. His baseball odyssey is one of a man who constantly seems to scale the highest of highs, and shortly thereafter, drop to the lowest of lows. It makes no sense, and thus, it’s pretty darn interesting.
Baseball runs in Amaro’s blood. The Red Sox first base coach’s father, Ruben Amaro Sr., played 11 years in the big leagues for four different teams. He wasn’t a superstar by any means, but he was a solid defensive player who won a Gold Glove for the Phillies in 1964.
Because of his father, Amaro Jr. was exposed to the game at a very young age. He was even the Phillies’ bat boy in 1980 while his father coached first base. If his goal was to follow in his father’s footsteps, Amaro Jr. certainly succeeded.
Statistically speaking, Amaro Jr. and Amaro Sr. could have been the same player.
Amaro Sr. finished his career hitting .234 with a .309 OBP and 156 RBIs.
Amaro Jr. hit .235 with a .310 OBP and 100 RBIs.
They may not quite be the Griffeys, but still — like father, like son.
Everything was looking up for Amaro Jr. toward the end of his college career. He was a key member of the 1987 Stanford team that won the College World Series, where he led the team in runs and stolen bases. Soon after, Amaro signed with the California Angels as the team’s 11th round draft pick, and found himself on the fast path to the majors.
In 1991, Amaro made it to the big leagues with the Angels. He’d only get to play 10 games for the team that drafted him, however, before being shipped away to Philadelphia, where his father played most of his career. After a two-year stint in Philly, Amaro was dealt to Cleveland for Heathcliff Slocumb (better known in Boston as the man traded for Jason Varitek and Derek Lowe).
In Cleveland, Amaro would epitomize the peak-valley slope of his career. Despite batting just .200 in 28 games during the 1995 season for Cleveland, Amaro was named to the Indians’ World Series roster over Hall of Famer Dave Winfield, who retired after the season. While he only recorded two at-bats in the series, just to play in the World Series is any baseball player’s dream. He had once again reached a peak.
Only a couple of weeks after being named to the World Series roster, Amaro was released. In a span of weeks, Amaro had gone from a struggling back-up, to being chosen over the great Dave Winfield in the World Series, to not being wanted at all. Life is crazy.
The rest of his career followed the pattern of unpredictability, as Amaro played a few more years in Philadelphia, batting .316 in his first year back, before hitting .187 in his final season.
Retirement saw another golden opportunity for Amaro, as the Phillies hired him immediately to be an assistant GM. For someone right out of the game to earn a spot in the front office proved that there was plenty of confidence in Amaro’s baseball judgement. Once again, Amaro was on the fast track.
He took advantage. In 2009, Amaro was named the Phillies GM. The team had just won its first World Series title since 1980, when Amaro was a bat boy. Everything was looking up for Amaro, as he was in prime position to keep the Phillies at the peak of baseball for years to come.
Of course, it all came crashing down. The Phillies made it back to the World Series in 2009, where they lost to the Yankees. In 2010, the Phillies lost in the NLCS. In 2011, they lost in the NLDS. The team hasn’t made the playoffs since, finishing in third in the NL East in 2012, fourth in 2013, and last place in 2014 and 2015.
It’s safe to say that the Phillies underwent a steady decline under Amaro.
By the time Amaro was fired, he was seen in the eyes of many as the worst GM in baseball. In seven years, Amaro had gone from 2009 “Executive of the Year” to the image of incompetence in a front office.
Once again, Amaro’s path makes little sense.
So while first base coach may not be exactly where Amaro pictured himself at this point in his career, who knows? Maybe he’ll prove to be a valuable extra asset in Boston. Judging by his career path, Amaro may only be a few years away from a managerial job. At this point, nothing would be shocking.
In fact, that might just be Amaro’s plan for the next chapter.
“I still have a passion to run an organization, and I think it would be extraordinary to get an opportunity to be a manager,’’ Amaro told USA Today.
While the first base coach won’t make-or-break a season by any means, the Amaro story line is something to follow in the background. After all, Amaro’s been down long enough to expect a resurrection.
Johnny Carey is a senior at BostonCollege. You can find him on Twitter @JohnnyHeights.
