New Devil Rays manager kills 'em with quirkiness

Miller: Five things to know

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- So there the new Tampa Bay manager was, driving into the parking lot at Al Lang Field for the first time since he ... well ... since he ... uh ... hitchhiked there more than 30 years ago from across the bay in Tampa.

"Oh yeah," Joe Maddon says, speaking from behind his funky, chunky black glasses and before he would manage the Devil Rays for the first time in a Grapefruit League game the other day. "I was playing for Lafayette College and we came here to play some games over spring break, against the University of Tampa.

"When I was a kid I was the biggest St. Louis Cardinals fan, and it hit me that the Cardinals were playing an exhibition game that night. I have no idea how I got here, but I did it just to see the Cardinals. Hitchhiked here, walked in and sat out in right field, and hitchhiked back.

After 31 years in the Angels' organization, Joe Maddon is finally a manager. (AP)

"I didn't even ask any of my teammates to come. I don't remember if I rode in the back of a pickup or what. I probably broke curfew. Didn't matter, though, because I was coming to see the Cardinals.

"It was scary freaky, a little bit, that that team was so prominent to me growing up."

Scary? Freaky?

Scaryfreaky?

Tampa Bay, meet the new skipper.

"Eccentric," Los Angeles Angels outfielder Tim Salmon has called him.

"Eclectic," Tampa Bay center fielder Rocco Baldelli offers.

"Intelligent," Devil Rays backup catcher Josh Paul says.

As for the rest of the Devil Rays, they simply call him "Skip" ... and what an entertaining ride this could be.

It's not every day you walk into a major league clubhouse at 7:30 a.m. and the loud music that is pumping ... comes from the manager's office.

It's not an everyday occurrence to see a workout being interrupted ... so the manager can hold an impromptu skull sessions with his players and philosophize about the "concepts" he wants them to focus on.

It's not often that when the morning workout is finished and the players and coaching staff scatter for the day toward lunch and tee times ... the manager saddles up onto his bicycle and heads out for a 25-mile ride.

Perfect, really, because just now Maddon, who previously had spent each of his 31 seasons in professional ball in the Angels organization -- including the past 12 summers on the major league coaching staff -- is embarking on the ride of his life.

Not once through those years did he ever doubt that he eventually would get his chance to manage a major league team. No jokes, please, about "well, he still isn't managing a major league team."

Joe Maddon and GM Andrew Friedman are both new to their jobs. (AP)

"Honestly, had I not gotten this job, I'd have been highly disappointed because of the people I met when I interviewed and the vision they had for the situation," Maddon says, referring to, among others, new Rays owner Stuart Sternberg and new general manager Andrew Friedman. "I just knew. I thought it was a perfect fit for me."

Historically, of course, the Rays job has been one of the most thankless in baseball. Lou Piniella, the man who preceded Maddon, forfeited millions of dollars just to walk away from his contract so he could not manage the Devil Rays.

But nobody has yet actually had the guts to tell Maddon to his face that he can't win in Tampa Bay.

"I've heard, 'Oh, it's a great group of kids. They really were turning things around last year,'" he says. "I haven't heard, 'You can't win here.'

"Of course, you always hear trepidation in their voice. But again, that's their opinion."

Whatever happens, good or bad, Maddon undoubtedly will make his mark while doing it. There isn't another manager in baseball like him.

He has incorporated several quirky nuances into the Rays' daily routine.

He's had the inside corner of each base painted orange -- to give baserunners a visual reminder of the most efficient place to touch the bags while rounding them.

He's stopped workouts to allow the pitchers and catchers to mingle for 15 minutes, a sort of get-to-know-you mixer. He's asked the coaches to hit pop-ups to the outfielders, rather than shooting the baseballs out of a machine, so they can get the feel of the ball's different spins.

He plans to wrap some bats with duct tape so that Tampa Bay hitters can see exactly where they are striking the ball -- and count how many times they're getting the barrel of the bat on it.

"You know what? I only know how to be one way," Maddon says. "If it doesn't work, I'll go and do something else.

"I'd like to stay here awhile, though, because I really like it here."

Early indications are the feeling is mutual.

Already, the organization is holding a "Joe Maddon Retro Glasses Night" on the second night of the season.

Already, the players can't stop smiling.

"I'll tell you, I've been through all the managers we've ever had here," veteran Aubrey Huff says. "He's by far the most outgoing and positive. You see the positivity in the clubhouse. It's probably the best I've ever seen it in the clubhouse.

"Honestly, when we hired him, I had never heard of him. Then you meet him, and you're first impression is huge. Then you talk to him, and it's like talking with your next door neighbor."

The small Bose speakers hooked up to the laptop in his office comprise a better sound system than you find in most movie theatres. Bruce Springsteen, the Rolling Stones, the Eagles ... something different every day, all downloaded onto his hard drive.

He is a voracious reader. He keeps a copy of Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking -- an examination of making snap judgments within the first two seconds of looking at something -- within reach of his desk. He devoured Wayne Dyer's Wisdom of the Ages. He loved Leon Uris' Exodus and Ken Follett's Pillars of the Earth. And he finds himself continually wandering into bookstores on the lookout for a new Pat Conroy book.

"I'd read that guy's notes that he throws into the trash can," Maddon says. "He's my favorite author. I've read all of his books -- Beach Music, Prince of Tides. If he reads this, tell him he's always welcome at Rays camp. He can take batting practice, pitch batting practice, whatever he wants to do."

Though Maddon never taught, he would be a natural.

What would he do if he wasn't devoting his life to baseball?

"There are a lot of things," he says. "I love to travel. My job would have to include something with travel. And the restaurant business has always intrigued me. I almost went to the Cornell School of Hotel and Restaurant Management. I probably would have enjoyed that also.

"I would love to sit and read all the time, too. I don't know if I'd want to be a professor somewhere, or consultant, but I like to read as much as I possibly can. Whenever I walk into a bookstore or library, it's like, 'God, there's so little I know.'"

The other night he was up late watching Midnight Cowboy.

"Great, great movie. And Jon Voigt? You can totally see Angelina Jolie," he says of the actress' father.

Says Baldelli: "He throws stuff at you that you don't expect or usually see from a manager. It's fun."

Last week, he wore a Mexico World Baseball Classic jersey with second baseman Jorge Cantu's name and number on it during a workout. The players liked it so much, and Maddon so enjoyed honoring Cantu, that he came back a few days ago with a replica Italy jersey in tribute pitcher Dan Miceli and a Netherlands cap in deference to minor league catcher Chairon Isenia.

"One of my mantras is 'Necessity is the mother of invention,'" Maddon says. "When it comes to teaching, you have to get your point across. To get your point across, sometimes you have to invent the approach."

Three managers before him -- Larry Rothschild, Hal McRae and Piniella -- have failed in their approach in Tampa Bay -- or, at least, failed to pull rabbits out of the hats handed them by former owner Vince Naimoli and former GM Chuck LaMar. So, right about now, invention is sounding pretty good in these parts.

"For me, as much as I love the game, I want to get away from it sometimes, too," Maddon says of his wide variety of interests. "You need balance in your life, too. You need other interests. I've always enjoyed players who come in and talk about other things.

"I love what I do, and I love what I do when I'm not here, also."

But by all means, don't take that as anything less than total commitment to the game, to his players and to the Devil Rays' organization.

Why, as club officials internally discuss changing the franchise nickname, Maddon already has offered multiple suggestions (don't ask, he won't reveal them yet).

And the other night, he went out with the marketing folks, of all people. Among others, Maddon, Brian Auld, Tampa Bay's chief of staff, and Darcy Raymond, vice president of branding and fan experience, had an extended dinner discussing all the possibilities in front of them.

Make no mistake, it isn't every manager in the game who not only wouldn't immediately reach for the Pepto-Bismol at the prospect of having dinner with the marketing folks, but would come away saying, "Trust me, these people are brilliant and hysterical."

Yes, as Baldelli says, "He's just ... cool."