Bruce Bochy and Archie Bradley each experienced different stages of the path that finally landed Phil Nevin a major league manager’s job, but their opinion is the same.
Bochy, a future Hall of Fame manager, had Nevin as a player for most of his time with the Padres. Bradley, now an Angels reliever, played under Nevin when he was learning the managerial ropes with the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Triple-A team.
“He is the ultimate player’s manager,” Bradley said. “In this game communication is key. … He communicates with the best of them.”
That communication, however, isn’t always positive.
“I don’t know Phil’s playing career, like if he got in a lot of fights,” Bradley added, “but his reputation is he’s not afraid to get in someone’s (face).”
Bochy can attest to Nevin’s demeanor as a player, and he said he’s softened just the right amount.
“He’s gonna have an edge, but it’s the good edge,” Bochy said. “The kind of edge you need. That’s going to stand out with him.”
The Angels are betting that Nevin, 51, has a winning mix of managerial acumen, communication skills and assertiveness. Last week, General Manager Perry Minasian fired Manager Joe Maddon because a team with high expectations had crashed. Amid the rubble of a 12-game losing streak, Minasian turned to Nevin as the interim manager.
“When making this decision and trying to take a look at who the right person is to replace Joe, Nev was the first one that came to mind,” Minasian said. “I believe in him.”
Minasian added that he respected Nevin for even picking the managerial route, when he certainly could have just drifted into a comfortable retirement after an 11-year career in the majors.
Nevin is the first player ever to be selected first overall in the draft and go on to become a manager.
The Houston Astros used the first pick in the 1992 draft on Nevin, who had been a star at El Dorado High and then Cal State Fullerton, both within 10 miles of Angel Stadium.
The journey to get back home was a long one, with a one-year stop as a player for the Angels in 1998. Otherwise, he bounced around the majors from the Astros to the Detroit Tigers to the Angels before he settled in with the Padres from 1999 to 2005. In 2001, he was an All-Star, mashing 41 home runs with a .976 OPS.
Nevin moved around the field throughout his career, which Bochy said will now be a key advantage for him.
“This guy has played everywhere: outfield, third base, first base, catcher,” Bochy said. “Catching helped him get an understanding of pitching. He’s well rounded on the field, and all this helps him have a better understanding of all positions.”
When he wasn’t on the field, though, Bochy also got a clue that Nevin might be destined to manage.
“He was always paying attention to what’s going on in the game,” Bochy said. “He was wondering why the opposing manager or myself did certain things, so he would ask. He loved the game. That passion to manage, that fire, has been there for a long time.”
Nevin played his final major league season in 2006 with the Minnesota Twins. After doing a little work on the Padres television broadcasts, he got his first managing opportunity with the independent Orange County Flyers in 2009.
Nevin said he was “reluctant” but he was encouraged to give it a try by Tim Wallach, a former big league player and Cal State Fullerton product, and Kevin Towers, the longtime Padres GM.
“The second I was on the field with the players in uniform, and that team camaraderie, I missed that part of it,” Nevin said. “This is what I’ve done my whole life. I love being in the clubhouse with the guys. I love the games. I love the relationships you create with the players, the clubhouse kids, the media, everybody. For me, that’s what this game and my life has been all about. After being away from the game for a couple years, you miss that.”
After one year managing in independent ball, Nevin was hired as the Tigers’ Double-A manager. He then spent three years managing the Tigers’ Triple-A team, followed by three years managing in Triple-A with the Diamondbacks. Nevin was 481-525 in seven seasons managing in the Tigers’ and Diamondbacks’ systems.
Bochy brought him to the big leagues as the San Francisco Giants’ third base coach in 2017. Nevin then spent four seasons as the New York Yankees’ third base coach before taking the same role with the Angels this year.
Last Tuesday, his long-awaited chance to be a major league manager finally came. Although he was disappointed that it was at the expense of Maddon, Nevin said a conversation with Maddon relieved any of the awkwardness of the transition.
While it’s too early to know if Nevin will be successful as a major league manager, those around the Angels who know him best are confident.
“He’s gonna be great,” said infielder Tyler Wade, who was with the Yankees throughout Nevin’s tenure in New York. “I think he’s been working for this for a long, long time. He’s a great baseball mind. … He sees things most people don’t see.”
Wade added that Nevin is “very personable and good at communicating.”
That, of course, is a significant part of a major league manager’s job nowadays. He also needs to serve as a liaison between the analytics team in the front office and the clubhouse. Even 20 years after the start of the analytics revolution, there still can be a divide between those at the computers and those in uniform. Maddon said on his way out that he felt the game in general – not just the Angels – had shifted too far toward the numbers.
Nevin conceded that early in his post-playing career he might not have been as receptive to analytical input as he is now.
“There’s information that is given to you and I know these conversations maybe 8-10 years ago with me might have been a little different,” Nevin said. “But you certainly learn to grow in the game and understand and evolve, not just with the players, but strategies and intricacies of what this game means. It’s something that I’ve learned to embrace.”
Bochy has no doubt that Nevin can find the balance in the way he communicates with players below him and with the front office above because he knows the path that Nevin took to get here.
“I know how hard he’s worked,” Bochy said. “I’m proud of him. I’m happy for him. He’s going to do a great job.”
