By Pete Cava
PBR Indiana Correspondent

Ron Washington resigned as manager of the Texas Rangers on September 5, citing a need to devote attention to an “off-the-field personal matter.”  Washington’s unexpected departure sent ripples of shock through the baseball world. 

It also opened the door for Rangers bench coach Tim Bogar to become the seventeenth Hoosier native to manage a big league club. 

While Bogar went to high school and college in Illinois, he was born in Indianapolis.  “My parents were originally from Chicago,” he said.  “They moved to Indianapolis when they got married because of my dad’s work.” 

Bogar’s boyhood home was about a mile north of Warren Central High School.  “We lived on Constellation Drive, on the Eastside,” he said.  “One memory I have is a huge rainstorm.  It filled a gully in our backyard with water, and kids from all over the neighborhood came and swam in our backyard.”

The Bogars moved back to Illinois when Tim was about four years old.  Growing up, his favorite team was the Chicago Cubs.  “My grandmother was a huge Cubs fan,” he explained.  “She made sure everybody in the family rooted for the Cubs.”    

At an early age, Bogar caught baseball fever.  “From my very first swing of the bat in tee-ball, I knew I wanted to play in the majors when I grew up,” he noted.  “I even wrote a paper about it in third grade.  … Baseball consumed my life.”     

After graduation from Buffalo Grove High School in Chicago’s northern suburbs in 1984, Bogar entered Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, about 40 miles west of Terre Haute.  “I didn’t get any scholarship offers out of high school,” he said, “so I really couldn’t look past state schools in Illinois.  I walked on at Eastern and made the team.”

In 1987 the right-handed hitter earned Mid-Continent Universities all-conference honors with a .409 average and 17 home runs.  That June, the New York Mets selected him in the eighth round of the draft.  Bogar rose steadily through the Mets organization, playing shortstop, second and third base.  On the final day of the 1991 Class AAA International League season, he saw action at all nine positions for the Tidewater Tides.

The 6-foot-2, 198-pound Bogar joined the Mets in 1993 as a backup infielder, and by late June he took over as the everyday shortstop.  Relegated to a backup role again in 1994, he remained in New York through 1996. 

 Joe and Jan Bogar, his parents, returned to Indiana around that time, purchasing a home in Carmel while Tim lived in Normal, Ill.  “Every time I’d go to spring training,” he said, “I’d visit mom and dad on my way out.”

On the eve of the 1997 season the Mets dealt Bogar to Houston.  He was an Astro for the next four seasons, taking over as the regular shortstop in August 1997 before a fractured bone in his forearm ended his season.  He made two appearances as a relief pitcher for the Astros in 2000.

Bogar became a free agent in 2001 and signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers as a backup infielder.  He began the 2002 season with Colorado Springs (Pacific Coast) but retired after just 13 games. 

Asked about his biggest thrill in baseball, Bogar recalled two games.  “First, in Philadelphia, when I was 4-for-5 with two home runs and two doubles,” he said.  “Second would be a game in Chicago, playing the Cubs.  My son T.J. was there that day, and before the game we played catch on the field.  I went 4-for-6, and T.J. got to see that.”  

In 701 major league contests, Bogar batted .228 with 24 home runs.  “I’d say I was blessed to play nine years in the bigs with the ability I was given” he said.  “I knew I would never be a superstar.  But I was the kind of guy teams need around to be competitive.  I’m proud of what I accomplished.”

In 2004 Bogar returned to baseball as field boss of the Greeneville (Tenn.) Astros of the rookie Appalachian League.  He earned manager-of-the-year honors when Greeneville won the league title with a 41-26 slate.  Promoted to Lexington of the low Class-A South Atlantic League for 2005, he guided the Legends to a circuit-leading 82-57 mark and was named the SAL’s top manager. 

Bogar joined the Cleveland Indians organization in 2006 and spent two seasons managing the Akron Aeros of the Class AA Eastern League.  He was the EL manager-of-the year in 2006 with an 87-55 mark.  After an 80-61 season at Akron in 2007, Baseball America tabbed him as the league’s top managerial prospect.  During his two years in Akron he was a coach for the MLB All-Star Futures Game.

Rays manager Joe Maddon brought Bogar to Tampa Bay in 2008, giving him the title of ‘quality assurance coach.’  Bogar was frequently on the field in uniform prior to contests, throwing batting and hitting fungoes.  When games got underway he was in civvies, following the action from the stands or the press box. 

“I’m another set of eyes for the rest of our staff, trying to take some of the pressure off them,” Bogar told USA Today.  “Sitting in the stands during a game, I don’t have the emotion of sitting in the dugout.  I’ll be making sure Joe has all the information he needs going into a series.  So, I’ll be checking the Internet and reading the local papers in advance besides evaluating what’s going on during games.”    

 Tampa Bay won its first pennant that summer, and for 2009 Red Sox manager Terry Francona hired Bogar as Boston’s first base coach.  Tim switched to third base in 2010.  In 2012 Bobby Valentine replaced Francona as Red Sox skipper.  Valentine had managed the Mets in 1996, Bogar’s final season in New York. 

Under Valentine, Bogar served as Boston’s bench coach.  During the season, however, friction began to develop between the manager and his coaches.  At the end of the year The Red Sox fired Valentine, who blasted his players and claimed he’d been undermined by his coaching staff.  “I should have made sure the coaches were my guys,” he told NBC Sports. 

Bogar fired back in an interview with ESPN Boston.  “The coaching staff was prepared to do everything that we were supposed to do to help Bobby succeed,” said Tim, “but not once did he portray what he wanted us to do to help him and eventually he shut some of us out completely.”

Several Red Sox players came to Bogar’s defense.  Second baseman Dustin Pedroia described Tim as a “calming voice,” while utilityman Mike Aviles said he frequently turned to Bogar for help because “he’s one of those guys who has great communication skills.”

Three weeks after Valentine’s dismissal, Boston released Bogar.  He was back in the minors in 2013, this time as manager of the Arkansas Travelers (Class AA Texas League).  The Travelers, a Los Angeles Angels farm club, went 73-66 to give Bogar a career managerial record of 362 wins and 266 losses.  Arkansas lost to San Antonio in the best-of-five championship series and, once again, Baseball America selected him as the league’s top managerial candidate.

The Rangers hired Bogar as bench coach for 2014.  When Ron Washington resigned, Texas was last in the American League West.  “Tim is well regarded, and he has the respect of his peers and players,” Rangers general manager Jon Daniels told ESPN.com.  “Hard-working, organized, knowledgeable about the game, respect among the staff – and he was a natural choice to manage the club down the stretch.”

Bogar joins Don Mattingly of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Lloyd McClendon of the Seattle Mariners as one of three Indiana natives currently managing major league teams.  Here is  a list of every Hoosier-born big league pilot, with birthplaces in brackets.

Harry Wheeler (Versailles).  Wheeler worked in three different major leagues at various times in his career as an infielder, outfielder, pitcher, manager and umpire.  In 1884 he was briefly a player-manager for the Kansas City Unions of the Union Association and compiled an 0-4 record.

 Fred Thomas (Indianapolis).  The Indianapolis Hoosiers finished last in the National League.  They went through three managers in 1887, none of whom ever played baseball.  Thomas, the team secretary, replaced Watch Burnham, a former umpire, in June.  Thomas later gave way to Horace Fogel, a sportswriter.   

John Kerins (Indianapolis).  A big league first baseman-catcher from 1884-1890, Kerins managed two American Association teams, the Louisville Colonels (1888) and St. Louis Browns (1890).  He was the first Indianapolis native to reach the big leagues.   

Louie Heilbroner (Fort Wayne).  The St. Louis Cardinals team secretary, Heilbroner took over the managerial reins for the last 50 games of the 1900 campaign.  He handled administrative duties while third baseman John McGraw made on-field decisions.

Chick Stahl (Avilla).  Stahl was a standout outfielder for the Boston Red Sox who closed out the 1906 season as the team’s playing manager.  He resigned at the end of the year and committed suicide in 1907 during a spring training stop in West Baden Springs, Ind. 

Three-Finger Brown (Nyesville).  The right-handed pitcher punched his ticket to Cooperstown with 239 victories, most of them for the Cubs’ Tinker-to-Evers-to-Chance dynasty of the early 1900s.  He began the 1914 campaign as manager of the Federal League’s St. Louis Terriers. 

Donie Bush (Indianapolis).  A star shortstop who teamed with Ty Cobb in Detroit, Bush spent seven decades in baseball as a player, manager, executive and scout.  He piloted the Washington Senators (1923), Pittsburgh (1927-29), Chicago White Sox (1930-31) and Cincinnati (1933), guiding the Pirates to the 1927 pennant.

Max Carey (Terre Haute).  Carey, a Hall of Fame outfielder, managed the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1932-33.  His replacement was rookie skipper Casey Stengel.  

Bob Coleman (Huntingburg).  A former catcher, Coleman replaced Stengel as manager of the Boston Braves and held the post in 1944 and 1945. 

Fred Fitzsimmons (Mishawaka).  Fitzsimmons won 217 games as a big league pitcher and piloted the Philadelphia Phillies from 1943-1945.

Billy Herman (New Albany).  Herman made the Hall of Fame as a star second baseman for the Cubs, Dodgers and Braves.  He managed the Pirates in 1947 and the Red Sox from 1964-66. 

Red Corriden (Logansport).  A five-year big-league infielder and long-time coach, Corriden closed out the 1950 season as manager of the White Sox. 

Gil Hodges (Princeton).  Hodges was the first baseman on the Brooklyn Dodgers ‘Boys of Summer’ teams of the 1950s.  He managed the Washington Senators (1963-67) and New York Mets (1968-1971), leading the Mets to a surprising World Series victory in 1969.

Lloyd McClendon (Gary).  McClendon was a utility player for the Reds, Cubs and Pirates from 1987-1994.  He managed Pittsburgh from 2001-05 and took over as Seattle skipper in 2014.

Eric Wedge (Fort Wayne). Wedge turned to managing after injuries curtailed a promising catching career.  He piloted the Cleveland Indians from 2003-2008 and the Mariners from 2011-2013. 

Don Mattingly (Evansville).  A star first sacker for the Yankees, Mattingly has managed the Dodgers in 2011.