Playing for the Angels, Darin Erstad caught the final out of the 2002 World Series. (Getty Images)
Before we get to today’s news, two things to keep in mind about the Dodgers’ search for a new manager:
- They have no major league coaches under contract.
- The favored candidate for the manager’s job, farm director Gabe Kapler, already holds a key position within the organization. Potentially, that affords him a level of access to information about the hiring process that an external candidate might not have.
To that end, knowing the front office wants a manager “who’s a teacher and a leader, (who can) help guys get over the hump to the big leagues,” why wouldn’t the farm director at least be part of the team collaborating on this decision?
So, the news. Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com and Jon Heyman of CBSsports.com are reporting that Darin Erstad will get an interview. Erstad is the head coach at the University of Nebraska and a 14-year major league veteran.
As a coach, Erstad has guided the Cornhuskers to a 138-105 record the last four seasons, and ended the program’s five-year NCAA postseason drought in 2014. As a player, Erstad won three Gold Glove awards — two as an outfielder, one as a first baseman — and had a career .282 batting average.
It’s hard to say what an inside-the-box managerial hire is anymore. Current major league managers include a former major league farm director and two high school baseball coaches. Still, the head coach of an NCAA program ought to qualify as outside-the-box — particularly one with no major league coaching experience.
College baseball players are generally in their late teens and early 20s. Given the parameters for the Dodgers’ ideal manager, that kind of work experience might be an asset for Erstad. It also might not be enough.
Back to our first two points.
If Mark McGwire and Tim Wallach choose not to return as hitting coach and bench coach, respectively, maybe Erstad emerges as a candidate for one of those positions. Or, if Kapler becomes the manager, maybe Erstad emerges as a candidate for farm director. The more outside-the-box the candidate, the more possibilities figure to be in play.
#Huskers baseball coach Darin Erstad told me “he’s still processing all of this” and has “no comment” at this time about the Dodgers job.
— Sean Callahan (@Sean_Callahan) October 30, 2015
