Pitching Coach Dobson Doubts He’ll Be Back

Citing the continuing rift and dissension among the Padre players, pitching coach Pat Dobson said Saturday that he is 95% certain that he will not return to the Padres for the 1991 season.

“The only thing that would keep me here,” Dobson said, “is if I don’t get a job somewhere else. That’s it.

“You just get to a point where you get stagnant. It’s not fun around here, especially with all the crap that’s going on around here.

“It just takes away everything you’re trying to accomplish. It’s out of your control. You just sit there and watch it happen.”

Dobson, the only coach on the Padre staff who has another year left on his contract, which will pay him $75,000, was granted permission by Padre chairman Tom Werner to talk with other clubs. Although Dobson said he has received no job offers, sources indicate that he is likely to be approached by the Kansas City Royals, New York Yankees, and Houston Astros, among others.

“The big thing to me is to go to a team that has spring training in Florida,” Dobson said, “to be close to my family (in Fort Myers, Fla.). I won’t go to a team that trains in Arizona. It’s just not worth it to me.”

It’s unknown who would replace Dobson, and Padre Manager Greg Riddoch said that he has not interviewed any candidates. Yet, sources said that Riddoch would strongly consider Larry Rothschild, bullpen coach of the Cincinnati Reds, and John Matlack, pitching coach of the Padres’ double-A Wichita club.

Dobson, who has been with the Padres for the past three seasons, helping Mark Davis evolve from a middle reliever into a Cy Young winner in 1989, said that he believes he has little left to accomplish as a pitching coach in San Diego. The pitching staff has ranked among the top in the league each of the three years, and not one pitcher has required a stint on the disabled list with an arm or shoulder injury.

“In the last three years, that might be the most stable thing we’ve put on the field,” Dobson said. “I’m pretty damn proud of the work we’ve done, especially without having many big-name guys.”

Yet, Dobson will leave San Diego with one goal unmet. He wanted to manage this team. He at least wanted consideration for the job. He never got either, with the Padres instead hiring Riddoch.

“I just don’t see this as a land of opportunity for me, based on what’s happened to me,” Dobson said. “I told Werner the same thing. And he didn’t disagree.”

“You know, it’s a nice place to work and all, but great weather and no rain delays isn’t everything.”

Padre Notes

Mariano Duncan, whom the Dodgers traded to the Reds last season, took some shots at his former team yesterday after Cincinnati clinched the NL West title. “Hey, I wonder what the Dodgers are thinking now,” he said. “I wonder if they know they made a mistake now. They gave up on me, and look what happened. I have a chance to be in the World Series. They don’t have a chance to be in anything.