THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, October 24, 1996 TAG: 9610240659
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY RICH RADFORD, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 70 lines
Rick Dempsey, hero of the 1983 World Series and a Baltimore Orioles' fan favorite, will manage the Norfolk Tides in 1997.
It will be Dempsey's second stint as a Triple-A manager. He won a Pacific Coast League title in 1994 while with the Albuquerque Dukes.
``With the great young pitching coming up in the (New York) Mets' organization, I'm very excited to be coming over there,'' said Dempsey, 47, from his Southern California home in Westlake Village. ``I keep drawing a picture in my head of Miracle Mets II. And I want to do everything possible to make that happen.''
Following a 24-year playing career in the majors, Dempsey managed for three seasons in the Los Angeles Dodgers' minor-league chain, posting a record of 200-219. He managed one season with Class A Bakersfield in 1993, where he was a dismal 42-94, but followed with winning years in Albuquerque - 83-56 in '94 and 75-69 in '95.
After the 1995 season, Dempsey had ``a heart-to-heart'' with Dodgers general manager Fred Claire, who indicated it was in Dempsey's best interest to ``look elsewhere if I wanted to get to the major league level any time soon.''
``Bill Russell had the inside track (as Los Angeles manager Tom Lasorda's replacement),'' Dempsey said. ``And Phil Regan and Mike Scioscia were rejoining the organization. Moving up was going to be difficult.''
Dempsey opted not to return to the Dodgers organization for 1996, instead serving as an advance scout for the Colorado Rockies.
The Tides job opened after Bobby Valentine was promoted to manage the Mets in late August, replacing fired Dallas Green. Bruce Benedict, who served as interim Tides manager for the remainder of the season, was promoted to Mets catchers coach last week.
The highlight of Dempsey's career, in which he played for six different organizations, came in 1983 when he went 5 for 13 (.385) with four doubles and a home run as the Orioles won the World Series, beating the Philadelphia Phillies in five games.
Dempsey, who also won a World Series ring with the Dodgers in 1988, played for the Orioles from 1976 to 1986 and briefly in 1992, catching 1,222 games while in Baltimore, still an Orioles record. He also earned a reputation for his moments of good-natured tomfoolery at Memorial Stadium, most notably sliding across a tarp-covered infield during rain delays.
``Back in the days when I was an energetic young player, I'd do different things to keep the other players loose,'' Dempsey said. ``I wasn't flaky enough to swallow gold fish or eat glass. The only thing is that you do it once and people want you doing it all the time.''
One of Dempsey's Baltimore connections played a part in his landing the Tides managerial position. Former Mets general manager Frank Cashen, who still serves as a consulting vice president for the Mets, was general manager of the Orioles from 1966 to 1975.
``I hit it off real well with (Mets minor-league director) Jack Zduriencik and (Mets GM) Joe McIlvaine, once it got to the point of talking to them seriously about the job,'' Dempsey said. ``I want to be a significant part of the workings of this organization.
``I realize my job is to develop players who are ready to help the big-league team and I'm looking forward to working closely with Bobby Valentine. Then some day, if I stick it out and show loyalty, sooner or later an opening at the big-league level will come along.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL
Graphic
RICK DEMPSEY'S CAREER
[For complete graphic, please see microfilm] by CNB