Phillip Wellman has always wanted another chance as a minor-league manager, but he had no idea if it would ever come.
Then, about a week and a half ago, the Los Angeles Angels came calling.
Wellman accepted a job last week as a manager inthe Angels’ minor-league system, and it was announced Tuesday that he will serve as manager of the Class AA Arkansas Travelers for the 2014 season.
“I’m pretty fired up,” Wellman said Tuesday afternoon by phone from Chattanooga, Tenn. “It’s a tremendous opportunity that I just couldn’t pass up. I’m joining a solid organization. I see it’s heading in the right direction, and I’ve had the opportunity to watch it head in the right direction.”
Wellman, 52, has coached in the minor leagues for 28 seasons, spending 15 as a manager at various levels. He has spent the past three seasons as the hitting coach for the Springfield Cardinals, who play against the Travs in the Texas League North Division, but his career has seen him manage in the Baltimore Orioles, Cincinnati Reds and Atlanta Braves organizations.
Wellman might be best known for an outburst on a field in Chattanooga, Tenn., in June 2007. While managing the Class AA Mississippi Braves, Wellman disputed an umpire’s call and set off on a three-minute tirade that landed the manager all over national television and the Internet. The fit included Wellman covering home plate with dirt, tossing the rosin bag like it was a grenade toward an umpire, and taking two bases and plopping them down in the outfield.
Wellman said he still gets asked about the outburst, which has been watched on YouTube almost 800,000 times.
“It’s obviously not my proudest moment in the game,” Wellman said. “There’s a lot of things that I felt like I’ve done well that didn’t end up on ESPN. It’s a long story.
“It’s probably better left untold, but there’s no reason to run and hide from it.”
Wellman will be joined in North Little Rock by hitting coach Tom Tornincasa, who has spent the past 14 seasons in the San Diego Padres organization, and pitching coach Pat Rice, who has spent the past five seasons as pitching coach for the San Francisco Giants’ Class AAA affiliate in Fresno, Calif.
Wellman’s last managerial position was with the Mississippi Braves from 2007 to 2010, a run that saw players like Jared Saltalamacchia, Jeff Francouer and Freddie Freeman pass through that organization.
He was let go after a 63-74 finish in 2010 and took a job as hitting coach with the Cardinals when another managerial job didn’t present itself.
“Those don’t just fall off trees,” he said.
The chance to head up a club didn’t come again until about two weeks ago, when the Angels called the Cardinals asking to speak with Wellman, whose tutelage of the Texas League’s top prospects the past three years has included first baseman Matt Adams, infielder Kolten Wong and outfielder Oscar Taveras.
“It’s always nice to be wanted,” Wellman said. “They wanted me, and I wanted to manage. It seemed like a logical fit.”
Wellman is hoping his stay in North Little Rock ends a string of short stops for Travs managers. When the 2014 season begins, he’ll be their fifth manager in the past four seasons. Bill Mosiello quit midway through the 2011 season to take a job at the University of Tennessee, and Todd Takayoshi and Bobby Mitchell both served as interim managers through that season.
Mike Micucci managed the 2012 season before becoming a roving instructor for the Angels, and Tim Bogar managed last year’s team that reached the Texas League championship series before becoming a bench coach for the Texas Rangers.
Wellman has no qualms about being with the Travelers longer than that.
“I do know they’re looking for continuity,” Wellman said. “If that means staying here four or five years, I don’t have any problem with that. I’m no different than anybody in the minor leagues. I’d like to coach in the big leagues one day, but I think that’s what they’re after, keep some people in place for awhile.”
At a glance PHILLIP WELLMAN
POSITION Manager TEAM Arkansas Travelers AGE 52 PLAYING EXPERIENCE Atlanta Braves (1984-1985), Minnesota Twins (1986) and Pittsburgh Pirates (1987) organizations.
MANAGING EXPERIENCE Rookie league Orioles (1992), Winston-Salem (Class A Reds, 1996), Burlington (Class A Reds, 1997-1998), Chattanooga (Class AA Reds, 1999-2003), Mississippi (Class AA Braves, 2007-2010)
HIGHLIGHTS Managed the Mississippi Braves to the 2008 Southern League Championship. … Springfield first baseman Matt Adams (2011) and outfielder Oscar Taveras (2012) were named Texas League Players of the Year. … Has a 862-939 record in 15 seasons as a manager.
Sports, Pages 23 on 12/11/2013