Padres Think Boros Is a Nice Way to Start Season

When the Padres went in search of a manager to replace Dick Williams Tuesday, the choices seemed rather obvious.

Baby Doc Duvalier and Ferdinand Marcos were available.

Williams, after all, was a taskmaster who was extremely unpopular with his subjects. They likened him at times to a modern-day Attila the Hun. Those were times when they were feeling good about him.

However, the Padres had enjoyed their greatest success under the perceived totalitarian rule of the cantankerous Williams. Though Williams had resigned on Monday, presumably hopping a plane for exile in someplace such as Tampa or Oahu, there had to be a tinge of fear in the players’ minds that the front office would chose another such villainous ruler.

Because their affection for Williams ran about as deep as a bird bath, the Padre players surely tipped a brew or two in relief Monday night in either of Yuma’s night spots--all the while warily wondering who their new leader would be.

Their concern was groundless.

You see, Valentine’s Day came late for the Padres this year. Their card was flesh and blood and came attached with the name Steve Boros, he of the heart-shaped face and the pleasant disposition.

Steve Boros, a man they could love, would be their new manager.

This guy is nice. You can write the word in capital letters or italics or fancy script. It should stand out because it is new and different for the Padres, at least since Frank Howard--The Gentle Giant--was their skipper in 1981. Maybe the word NICE should be surrounded with hearts and flowers.

The Padres have replaced arsenic with old lace.

Boros has had one major league managerial position, that with the Oakland A’s in 1983 and part of 1984, and he lost that job because he was too nice.

Boros’ personality and managing style are not the type that require a doghouse the size of the Hotel Intercontinental. Players will not read his complaints before they hear them. And they won’t hear them expressed in caustic terms in the dugout or clubhouse or hotel saloon.

That was not the way he operated in Oakland, and that is not how he will operate in San Diego.

“That’s not to say I won’t take a player aside when he’s let me down, the coaches down, his teammates down, his family down and himself down,” he said. “I’ll do it one-on-one, usually a day after. I’m not much for public demonstrations.”

This is called communications, but it is more than that. It is diplomacy. It conveys a message without embarrassment. Anyone would rather be upbraided in a closet--or quiet office--than in front of his peers.

And Boros’ office will be quite the busy place.

Asked if he planned to give Steve Garvey the occasional day of rest that Steve Garvey does not seem to think he needs, he said: “I haven’t made any decision. I’ll talk to Steve about it. I plan on having a number of conversations. Hopefully, I’ll be able to get a lot accomplished in the first three or four days. I want to get to everybody.”

Much has been made of late, in fact, about an impending meeting between Williams and center fielder Kevin McReynolds. This was to be an attempt to clear the air between two long-time antagonists, but became unnecessary when Williams elected to clear out instead.

“I’ll be talking to all the players,” Boros said, “and Kevin will be one of them.”

McReynolds will most assuredly be looking forward to that conversation. The Williams meeting would have been more like going to a dentist.

Boros, after all, seems a bit more concerned with players’ feelings.

Asked about statistical applications to strategy, he smiled: “I don’t want to say I use a computer, because the players don’t like that. I’m not someone who makes decisions by pushing a button. That’s too cold and impersonal. But I do want to know what each player does against each pitcher and vice versa. You can make more intelligent decisions if you know the matchups.”

Can you imagine Dick Williams not doing something because it might irritate his players? Balderdash, he would say.

Steve Boros is more reminiscent of everyone’s favorite English teacher than a major league manager. That is probably appropriate, because a teacher is what he considers himself to be.

As the Padres’ coordinator of minor league instruction, he has been in Yuma for close to two weeks conducting a mini-camp for the major leaguers of the future. It has been an all-day chore, and the tip-off to his time in the sun is that the lower part of his face is deeply tanned and the upper part--where his baseball cap has been pulled down over his forehead--is pale.

The major league club will not work quite those same 9-to-5 hours, but Boros talks like his role will be much the same. The teaching does not stop when the buck stops with Steve Boros.

“You have to teach at the major league level,” he said, “so we’re going to teach . . . I’ll be very accessible to the press, for example, before and after workouts. I’ll be busy during the workouts.”

The Padres have some old dogs, but you sense they will heel or speak or roll over for Steve Boros. These guys have something to prove. They have complained about Dick Williams, and his approach, since the first year. And now they get a fresh start, a chance to show that they can win for a nice guy.

In a sense, they should be thankful to Dick Williams for the opportunity. Sure, he could have resigned a few weeks--or months--ago, and didn’t. However, he also could have gone a few weeks into the season and either resigned or been fired in the midst of turmoil. He avoided that, perhaps knowing it was inevitable.

Steve Boros understands that there might be a tendency for the Padres to consider this occasion to be a cause for celebration, but he warns that leadership is leadership and work is work. His athletes should probably take it a little easy on the streets of Yuma.

“I’m sure there’s a sense of jubilation over there,” he said. “I won’t argue with that. But, when someone leaves an organization, it’s not a happy experience. I know. I don’t share their jubilation. This magical thing called winning won’t happen because of a change in managers. It takes work, sweat, teaching and learning.”

When class begins today, this teacher may have 40 apples on his desk.