Baltimore Orioles: Wayne Kirby And Bobby Dickerson Reunite In San Diego

Two former Baltimore Orioles coaches are reunited in San Diego.

The band is slowly starting to get back together. Just days after the San Diego Padres announced the hiring of first-year manager Jayce Tingler, the new head man in America’s Finest City has started to form his team of coaches to help him lead a young and exciting group at Petco Park, including two former Baltimore Orioles coaches.

According to MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell, Tingler is hiring former Baltimore Orioles third base coach (among various titles held in the organization) Bobby Dickerson to be his bench coach in San Diego. Dickerson isn’t the only former Orioles’ coach to join Tinger’s staff.

Per Joel Sherman of the New York Post, the Padres are also expected to hire Wayne Kirby as their first base coach. He is also expected to work with the outfielders and baserunning, as he did in Baltimore.

After nearly a decade with the Orioles, Bobby Dickerson spent the 2019 season coaching infielders in Philadelphia. In 2018, the Philly defenders recorded -146 Defensive Runs Saved and a -45.6 Ultimate Zone Rating. Those numbers improved to 53 Defensive Runs Saved and a 21.1 Ultimate Zone Rating in 2019. These numbers also include outfielders, but that big of an increase helps to show the effect Dickerson had on the defense.

While his new role may be that of bench coach, Dickerson will still have the opportunity to pass his knowledge along to an infield consisting of Eric Hosmer, Luis Urias, Fernando Tatis Jr, and his old friend, Manny Machado.

After spending the 2018 season covering the San Diego Padres and continuing my late-night Padres watching in 2019 after the conclusion of Orioles games, I say with a lot of confidence that the Padres are one of the more exciting teams to watch in all of baseball, they just need to put it all together.

The organization has spent years under general manager AJ Preller stockpiling elite talent in the farm system. The first waves of those prospects are now entering the majors or becoming Rule 5 daft eligible, meaning San Diego has a lot of roster decisions to make over the coming weeks.

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Based on what the roster looks like in early November, Wayne Kirby should have his fair share of fun coaching this up and coming roster. Hunter Renfroe ranked second in the majors with 22 Defensive Runs Saved, Manuel Margot is a former top prospect who showcases his elite defensive abilities but just can’t seem to put it together at the plate, and Wil Myers has all the ability to be a 20/20 guy every season, but has been a bit of a headcase recently.

The Padres still have to fill in a few gaps in their roster, most notably putting together a starting rotation, however, they are an organization on the rise with a new manager who is surrounding himself with valuable experience.

I guess this means I will continue to stay up until 1 am watching San Diego games next season. Now, do they want San Diego native Adam Jones? Hmm…

San Diego is getting two outstanding leaders who will instantly make a big difference, including one of the most beloved figures in Birdland over the last decade. As current Orioles beat writer for BaltimoreBaseball.com Rich Dubroff put it a few years ago for Pressboxonline.com, everybody loves Kirby.

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