Ron Roenicke was in a good situation as the third base coach for the Los Angeles Angels in his home state of California before former Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora brought him in as the team’s bench coach.
But after Cora and the Red Sox mutually parted ways ahead of the 2020 season, Roenicke was promoted to the team’s manager. And though it was unexpected, the change was welcome.
So much so, that he hopes to return to manage the club in 2021.
“Certainly,” Roenicke said when asked if he wants to manage next season in a radio spot on WEEI’s “Ordway, Merloni and Fauria.”
“Even as crazy and as tough as this season has been, yes. I definitely do. It’s something that I wanted to do. I was gone for a while after I managed Milwaukee, so it wasn’t something I was like, ‘I have to do this again.’ But I wanted to do it again. The challenge of it is what I enjoy so much. Just being able to help guys in all different areas.”
This is Roenicke’s second whack at the job, as he served as the Milwaukee Brewers manager from 2010-15. After that, he returned home to California, but in the back of his mind hoped to have another opportunity as manager.
Under Roenicke in the abbreviated season, Boston has gone 18-31 and will miss the postseason for the second consecutive year. Still, he inherited a decent amount of adversity, and Boston’s woes can’t fully be placed on his shoulders.
He said conversation to return hasn’t happened yet between Roenicke and chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom. But the Red Sox have made it clear they’ll talk at the end of the season.
Given the way the season has played out, and Roenicke’s short, one-year contract with the Red Sox, uncertainty looms.
In the event the manager isn’t brought back next year, Roenicke said he hasn’t thought about going back to being a bench coach.
“I don’t know, I haven’t really thought that far,” Roenicke said. “With Alex, it’s different because I like him, I respect him, he’s a good manager and he brought me over when I knew I could help him out. With somebody else, probably, it would be different. That’s why I came over, because of him. I was in a good spot. I was at home (in Anaheim) and coaching with a good friend of mine in Mike Scioscia. For me to leave that was because of Alex and the possibility of being with a really good team.”
Roenicke prefers his role as manager, where he can have a hand in all aspects of coaching, as opposed to being a bench or third base coach.
“The constant conversation with guys, you can really make a difference,” Roenicke said. “That’s really what I want to do. I want to make a difference and make these guys great player if they have that ability. I want to make them good players if they don’t have quite the ability. And then the other guys are trying to hang on. I want to help them stay in the big leagues because that’s what I had to try to do. Just stay on a team and get as many years as I could. That’s the goal of what I like to do and I’m able to do that as a manager.”
Only time will tell what the future holds for Roenicke.
Thumbnail photo Brian Fluharty/USA TODAY Sports Images
