Garry Templeton Deserves Better

Greg Riddoch is somewhat of a mystery man as a manager. School is still out on the substitute teacher from Greeley, Colo. He knows this as well as anybody.

The Padre players do not yet know what to make of him. He seems a study in contradictions, outgoing but guarded.

He comes out of his corner office for forays through the clubhouse, kibitzing and joking and encouraging. One of the regulars whispered that the approach seems more appropriate for a minor league camp, noting Riddoch’s background in minor league administration. Others share this sentiment, but shy away from public comment.

Whisper is a key word here, because a couple of players who have issued only the mildest of semi-critical observations have been hauled behind closed doors. The point to understand is that suppressing what people say does not suppress what they think or feel.

What seems to be at issue here is Greg Riddoch’s handling of veteran players.

With that thought in mind, understand that one locker he does NOT visit is the one inhabited by Garry Templeton. This man has been left in the garage because Riddoch is driving a new shortstop. You’d think nine years of service would get him a few strokes of attention, but nothing that kind and gentle has happened.

Yes, this comes under the heading of How to (or How Not to) Handle Veteran Players, Chapter 4, Good Citizens Making Career Adjustments.

This situation dates back to December, when the Padres acquired Tony Fernandez in the celebrated trade with the Toronto Blue Jays. This was the new model shortstop who put Templeton in the garage. The man is a star, a 28-year-old star. He has to play. If he plays, Templeton can’t . . . at least not as a starter.

Templeton, at 35, had been redefined as a utility player. This was understood.

When he arrived at training camp, he also found out he was no longer the team captain. In baseball, captaincy reflects respect more than specific duty. To take it away is to say the respect is gone. It is a slap in the face.

Garry Templeton reacted passively.

What could he say?

Then came March 24, Templeton’s 35th birthday. As a teammate noted, Templeton had usually been given his birthday off.

Not THIS March 24.

He was penciled into the lineup to play in a B game. In center field. Not a bad idea. This would give Templeton an opportunity to enhance his value as a utility player.

Good move, manager Riddoch.

However, Templeton found this out by looking at the lineup cards. This had to be shocking to a guy who had not played center field in his professional career. You simply do not stick a veteran player in an unfamiliar place without sitting down and explaining what you have in mind.

Bad move, manager Riddoch.

You see, Templeton is not an aging veteran off some other roster trying to battle his way onto the varsity as a non-roster player. He has given nine nice years to THIS team. The last two or three years have been particularly solid. Not spectacular, but solid. He has lost range defensively, but he is a savvy player whose smarts have helped compensate for diminishing skills.

OK, so what is the situation with these “candidates” for infield utility?

“Tempy, Paul Faries, Joey Cora and Marty Barrett have all done adequately well,” Riddoch said. “We’ll just have to weigh what’s going to be right for the club.”

No, he said, he didn’t see that anyone had any particular edge.

No knock on Paul Faries and Joey Cora, a couple of kids trying to make the grade, but Templeton has to be a cut above them in terms of what he can offer the club. To lump him into the mix with no such acknowledgement also amounts to a slap in the face.

OK, specifically, what of Templeton coming off the bench?

“I realize he’s never done that,” Riddoch said. “He’s making a big transition. It would be tough on anybody.”

He doesn’t say he can do it and doesn’t say he can’t do it and doesn’t say he HOPES he can do it because it would help the club. If anything, he seems defensive about the subject.

Garry Templeton himself was sitting in front of his locker, tapping a bat on the floor in front of him. Yes, this HAS been a tough spring, the first of a kind in all of his years of playing baseball.

“I’m just trying to prepare myself for whatever,” he said. “I’m just trying to get myself into the best shape I can, mentally and physically. Whatever happens happens. I knew eventually that this would happen, but I didn’t expect it to happen this year.”

If there is any bitterness, it is deep inside.

“There haven’t been too many things I haven’t experienced,” he said. “I’m trying to learn from this. You keep a positive attitude and good things can happen. You go on about your business and life. I’d accomplish nothing with a chip on my shoulder. I came here to play baseball.”

Indeed, this IS a learning process. Garry Templeton is in the middle of it. He may stick as a utility player or he may be traded or he may even be waived. The next few days will title the next chapter in HIS life.

Meanwhile, it might be noted that there are also things the teacher can learn.