From the dugout

The role of the manager in baseball is often underestimated.

Though he spends his time in the dugout, on the bench, the game wouldn’t be played without the skipper. He is the decision-maker, the leader, the head of the team.

Kevin Jordan made his debut in the role this season for the Brisbane Bandits, after being a part of the coaching staff last year. Prior to finishing out his major league career in 2001, after seven seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies, KJ was also out on the field for the Bandits from 1993 to 1997 in the original Australian Baseball League. 

The former infielder’s expertise and experience in and of the game were both great assets for Brisbane, as acknowledged by players, coaches and the entire organisation. 

“The level of professionalism and the leadership skills that he brought to the team were outstanding,” Bandits General Manager Paul Gonzalez said. “His ability to work with the younger players was noticeable both on and off the field.

“His adaptation to his new role and his outstanding ability to strengthen areas where we were weak were both key in the push for a top-four spot, which was our goal. KJ had a great rapport with the organisation and was more than accommodating, making an effort to engage with the management team as well.”

In Jordan’s inaugural season as manager, the Bandits finished just short of a playoff spot, ending the regular season in a four-way tie for third place in the standings, and missing out on the post-season because of a tie-break rule. The team finished strong at the end of the year, a good indication of what the future will hold for Brisbane baseball.

“The second half of the year was probably the best highlight for us as a team,” Jordan said. “I think that probably getting some of the younger guys like [Andrew] Campbell in and getting them some consistent playing time helped. I think guys that started with us earlier, players like [Matt Roxburgh], got more comfortable. Having [Sean] Jarrett in the starting rotation helped us a lot, and guys like Rhys Niit, who hadn’t been with us early in the year. I could go on and on, there are so many guys that stepped up, that either were there in the first half and got better in the second half. I think we just gelled as a team more after the break.”

The season was a year-long learning process for Jordan, along with many of the players. The Bandits manager found out the hard way just what the toughest part of the game was, from his new point of view.

“I probably took the losses a lot harder,” the first-year skipper said. “More than the year before when I was coaching first base because I was actively involved in every aspect of the game outside of playing.

“You want to win every day. So when you don’t, it’s tough because you prepare the team to win, not just to play the game. It’s a lot of going back and re-evaluating things you could have done differently in the game when you do have those losses, whereas you don’t have that as much when you have the wins because usually that’s when things go the way you want them to. When you lose it’s more of a learning process where you try to figure out if there’s something you could have done different in the game to have a different outcome.”

Helping the rookie manager’s transition from coach to head honcho all season long were his staff. Coaches are an integral part of any manager’s team and the men behind KJ were no different. Jordan’s closest relationship on the field was with pitching coach Gary ‘Gabby’ Nilsson, who assisted him day in and day out.

“I played with Gabby, so I’ve known him for however many years and he and I are really in tune to each other and were on the same page with what we were trying to do this year,” Jordan said. “It was a tremendous help having him, from the time before the game, after the game, and all the conversations we had.

“We would go over stuff before the game, during the game we would talk about it, after the game we would talk about it, and the next day we’d talk about it. So it’s kind of strange now because I haven’t talked to him in about five days and we were talking every single day throughout the whole season.”

Another indispensable member of the Brisbane coaching staff this season was Shayne ‘Watto’ Watson, also a Development Officer for Baseball Queensland. After playing for the Bandits last season and coming back for tryouts this year, Watson was approached by KJ with the opportunity to take over a coaching role. He embraced his new position and did a great job in his first time coaching professionally.

“Watto did so much for the team,” Jordan said. “He basically went from a guy who was trying to make the team to, over the course of a week, had to make a decision of whether he wanted to coach. And he handled everything great. He has a good rapport with the players because he played with the guys before and he was a really big help." 

Taking over the reins at first base this year was Gareth Jones, Development Manager of Baseball Queensland. Jones was a valuable resource to the team and his absence was noticeable at the end of the year when his primary job took him away from the RNA Showgrounds.

“He takes his job so seriously when he coaches first base,” Jordan said. “He’ll come in between innings he’ll be like, ‘What can I do better? Or what do I need to change?’ So I knew from day one that he really wanted to make sure that he was going to be the best first base coach possible. And I just really appreciated having him there.

“Both him and Watto, they would get there early for early hitting and fungos, and they did everything. They definitely made my job easier because those were things I didn’t have to worry about when I was trying to make my lineup decisions. Over the course of not just each day, but the whole series, they were a tremendous help and I just really appreciate everything they did for me, individually, as well as for the Bandits this season.”