Coach goes from high school to head of Class AA

Bill Richardson's promotion to manager of the Arkansas Travelers isn't a giant leap considering where he was last year, but it gets a little more interesting when you consider where he was seven years ago.

Richardson, 54, spent last season managing at Class A Burlington, and the move up to Class AA Arkansas for 2015 is a natural enough progression through the Los Angeles Angels' minor league system.

What makes it so notable is that Richardson never played, coached or managed in affiliated professional baseball until 2008. He was a 47-year-old high school baseball coach in 2007 when a scout for the Texas Rangers watched one of Richardson's practices and asked if he wanted to interview for a job within the organization.

"That's the beauty of that game," Richardson said Wednesday in a telephone interview. "It takes a lot of work to not be playing in the big leagues or in professional baseball and end up managing it.

"I would feel like it's quite a feat."

Richardson's playing career didn't ascend any higher than junior college. He then spent 20 years coaching high school baseball in Sacramento -- for 15 of those years he also owned a sporting goods store -- before the Rangers scout showed up and asked him if he wanted to interview for a job.

"I said, 'I don't know why, but yes,' " Richardson recalled Wednesday.

Richardson interviewed and was offered the job, but he didn't take it until the following year because it was in the middle of his high school team's season. Richardson remembers a confused Scott Servais, then with the Texas Rangers and now the Angels' head of scouting and player development, being a bit confused by his initial delay in accepting the offer.

"I remember Scott Servais telling me, 'So let me get this straight. You would rather coach high school than pro ball?' " Richardson said. "I said 'No, I would rather be a man of his word and I told some kids I would be back.' "

It's been a steady climb ever since. He was a rookie league manager in 2008-2009 and was promoted to Class A Hickory in 2010-2012 before joining the Angels organization in 2013. He was at rookie level Orem in 2013 before taking over at Burlington last year.

"I wouldn't say I'm a prospect coach, but then again here's a high school coach from Sacramento that was in the dugout when the Los Angeles Angels' clinched [the American League West Division title]," Richardson said. "That's a pretty good feat."

At Arkansas, he'll be tasked with player development while invoking the Angels' overall philosophy. The "Halo way" -- as Richardson refers to it -- includes quality at-bats and aggressive base running.

"I don't think it's cutting edge or anything new, but you've got to put a product out there that you're going to be proud of and you've got to dictate that tempo," he said. "We've got to play one way, and that's the Halo way."

Richardson might be new to North Little Rock -- he said he's never been to Arkansas -- but he'll have a couple of helpful voices pop in throughout the season. He said former Travs managers Mike Micucci, now the organization's minor league field coordinator, and Tim Bogar, a special assistant to the Angels' general manager, are the two guys he respects the most in baseball.

Richardson said Bogar, who spent last year as a bench coach with the Rangers, has told him stories about the apartment he'll be living in and Bill Valentine, the Travs' former general manager.

"I just think the world of Bogar," Richardson said. "He's kind of given me his insight already, and I look forward to him coming back when he's roving through."

Sports on 12/18/2014