Rangers gig 'blessing in disguise' for Beasley

In a recent phone interview with MLB.com, interim Rangers manager Tony Beasley talked about a wide range of topics, from his philosophy on pitching to his respect for Frank Robinson, who gave him his first big league job as a third-base coach in 2006.

MLB.com: You have paid your dues. You have been in the game of baseball for 35 years. What was your reaction after you accepted the job as manager of the Rangers on Aug. 15?

Tony Beasley: It was bittersweet. Chris Woodward had to lose his job. That was something I did not celebrate. Again, at the same time, I was offered an opportunity to do something. It wasn’t something I was thinking about. It was something in years past I wanted to achieve. It was a bittersweet moment. I’m grateful for the opportunity, and I’m thankful to have an opportunity to lead a group of men on a Major League team.

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I’ve been in this game 35 years, and to have this opportunity come about when you least expected it, it’s somewhat of a blessing in disguise.

MLB.com: Did you give up becoming a manager prior to this year?

Beasley: I haven’t thought about it, to be honest with you. I never pursued or lobbied or schemed to get a managerial job. It was something I felt like, if it happened, let it happen organically. I wanted it to happen because I’m qualified. … I’m just grateful that it did come about, because it was not on my mind.

MLB.com: I’ve been listening to your press conferences. I heard you say that you want your starters to go deep in games. Please explain.

Beasley: I don’t mean that as a blanket statement. I want the starters to maximize their pitch count. … I want them to pitch as deep in the game as they can. It’s tough every night to use the bullpen for four innings. That’s a tall order. To be successful, that’s hard to do. There are going to be times you have to do that. I don’t think anybody would draw up a blueprint and that would be the blueprint, or that you want your starters to go five innings and then you just hand it off. Everybody would like the starter to go six, possibly seven innings and then let your bullpen [get in the game]. That’s ideal. I don’t think that’s far-fetched to say that.

MLB.com: Your offense is not bad. What would you like to see the team improve on?

Beasley: To really have good at-bats, to be honest with you. I think we have been grinding as an offense. Hitting comes and goes. It’s a very difficult thing to do. It’s tough to think that a team is going to score five or six runs a night. That’s a very difficult thing to do. As long as the quality is there and we are executing our plan -- how we want to attack a certain starter that day and do things situationally -- I’m good with it. I like the offense we have. I think we have some guys in our lineup that can do some things, that can change the scoreboard. We have some guys that can impact the games with speed. I just want every player to play to their skill set and maximize that.

MLB.com: When you first became the manager of the Rangers, did you think about Frank Robinson, who gave you your first big league job as a third-base coach in 2006?

Beasley: I was very cognizant of Frank. I know how Frank was in 2006. I respected him. It was my first Major League experience with the Nationals. It came under Frank Robinson. It was an honor. He was stern and firm, but he had a heart as well. His capacity to care [is something I will never forget].

The Matt LeCroy situation where Frank had to take him out of the game during a mid-inning because he wasn’t able to throw runners out -- it was against the Astros and they were running us blind. Frank had to take out LeCroy in favor of Robert Fick. It brought Frank to tears. I saw a side of him that was compassionate towards his players. As firm and as tough as he could be, he cared. I saw his heart that day. I never forgot that. He impacted me in a positive way.

MLB.com: Former Nationals farm director and assistant general manager Doug Harris is a guy that also believed in you. You were not only a Minor League manager for him, but you were a field coordinator as well.

Beasley: Doug is like my brother. That’s forever. We still talk often. I would say I worked for him, but he said we worked together. That’s the type of person he is. We shared a similar battle together. We both have endured cancer. So we have a special bond. We are brothers for life. We are way deeper than the game of baseball. I’m thankful that the game of baseball is what brought us together.

Doug gave me an opportunity after I was let go in Pittsburgh. He was there. I had some other opportunities, but I just felt right with Doug. We had a connection there. We worked well together. We communicated well together. We shared similar ideas on how the game should be played, how we should develop players. We took a lot of pride in creating a mantra of how we want to play the game of baseball. It was a brotherhood that is still connected to this day.

MLB.com: The one thing I noticed about you is your energy. Where did you get it?

Beasley: I think you have to bring energy every day. I don’t think you can be very successful in any kind of coaching role if you don’t have energy. The things that we ask from our players, we have to do it as well. I’m passionate in what I do. I think if you are passionate about what you do, you are going to exude a certain level of energy that is going to transform, transcend to others that are around you.

I’ve never been lazy. My father was a lumberjack. He taught me the value of hard work pretty early. As a kid, my brothers and I worked. That has been instilled in me forever. The game of baseball is fun. It should be fun. When it comes to the baseball field, that is joyful experience. I love the game of baseball.

MLB.com: I have to ask about your family. What was their reaction when they found out you were named manager of the Rangers?

Beasley: I have seven brothers and sisters. My parents are deceased. The outpouring of support from my family has been overwhelming from my wife to my son. The amount of love and encouragement from my family -- they are just elated for me. They are almost over-the-top; I try to calm them down. I’m not thinking beyond this year, but they are.

I try to keep everything in perspective. My focus is today and let’s just get through the day. We’ll deal with tomorrow when we get to the end, we'll deal with whatever comes then. They always want to talk about next year, futuristic stuff, moving interim titles and all that. I can’t allow myself to entertain it at this time. That just shows how happy they are for me. They understand the time, dedication and sacrifice that I put in throughout the years. This is like the highest honor. They are celebrating, and they should celebrate.

I can’t allow my mind to do that because I have a job to do right now. The team is asking me to take a group of men to the finish line. That is what my focus is right now because that is all I’ve been asked to do. Anything that comes beyond that, we’ll deal with it when and if it gets there. I just want to do a good job with what I have in front of me right now.