Orioles reunite with former skipper Dave Trembley

We all know the struggles that befell the Baltimore Orioles from 1998-2011. The tail end of that involved the “managership” of Dave Trembley, who skippered the Orioles from the middle of 2007 until the middle of 2010. Trembley had previously managed in the minors in several other organization, and joined the Orioles as the manager of double-A Bowie in 2003. He was promoted to be the Orioles’ bullpen coach in 2007, and took over for the fired Sam Perlozzo as the manager in June of that year. Throughout his tenure as the Orioles’ manager, Trembley posted a 187-283 record.

Courtesy of Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

I liked Dave Trembley when he was in Baltimore. I’ll be very honest in that I’m not sure he was the guy to take the O’s to the next level at that time. However he did come across to me as a good baseball man and he definitely had experience in dealing with young players as a result of his time in the minors. Trembley is now the third base coach for the Houston Astros, which is who the Orioles are playing starting tonight. Many of the players that are currently on the Orioles were under Trembley’s guidance, including Chris Tillman, Adam Jones, Nick Markakis, and Matt Wieters.

Keep in mind that when Trembley managed all of these guys, they were at totally different points in their careers. They were much younger players, and furthermore the supporting cast around them wasn’t anywhere near as good as what’s there now. Again, whether or not Trembley was the right man for the job at that time is another story. However the respect for which Trembley held for baseball was evident in how he handled himself as the Orioles’ skipper. I always noticed that Trembley would leave the dugout and sign autographs for fans – mainly kids – for 15-20 minutes before every game (home and away). That might sound like a small thing, but those kids will never forget the day that they met a big league manager before a game. That means something, and it’s an act that fans shouldn’t take lightly.

Trembley was largely blamed for the team’s slow start in 2010, which was why he was relieved of his duties in June of that year. Granted the move was probably warranted at the time, it would be foolish to say that Trembley was the root cause of the team’s struggles at that time. However keep in mind that Trembley’s dismissal set in motion a series of events that culminated with Buck Showalter being hired. As for Trembley, he worked in the Atlanta Braves’ system for the past couple of seasons before being hired by new Houston manager Bo Porter this season. Speaking for myself, I’m happy for Trembley. A quality baseball guy and a quality person has such deserves a spot in MLB if he wants it. Furthermore, Houston is a young team, which is the type of team with which Trembley excels. One of Trembley’s former players, Chris Tillman will be on the mound tonight for the Orioles at Minute Maid Park in Houston. Tillman will be opposed by Houston’s Luke Harrell.