Manager Prospects: Tim Wallach

We are going to take a look at some of the guys who could possibly become our next manager. Let's start with Tim Wallach.

Tim Wallach is 55 and is currently the third base coach for the LA Dodgers.

Playing Career:

Tim Wallach was a very good third baseman, not Hall of Fame level, but definitely one that could make the "Hall of Nearly Great".

Tim was a first round draft pick by the Expos in 1979, 10th overall. He played for the Expos for 13 seasons, then was traded to the Dodgers before the 1993 season. He played there for 3 years, signed with the Angels as a free agent, was released half way through the season and went back to the Dodgers to finish off the year and his playing career.

In his 17 seasons he hit .257/.316/.416, 260 home runs, 432 doubles and 1125 RBI. His best season was 1987, he hit.298/.343/.514, with 26 home runs, 42 doubles, 123 RBI. He made the All-Star team, finished 4th in MVP balloting and got the Silver Slugger. In his career made 5 All-Star teams, 3 Gold Gloves and 2 Silver Sluggers.

My memory of him is of a very straight up stance at the plate, which I remember not liking, but now I'm not really sure why. I guess I liked the guys with stranger stances. He was more a doubles hitter than a home runs hitter, nice line drives coming off his bat. He could have taken more walks, he never had a high OBP, but then we didn't worry about that sort of thing back then as much.

Coaching Career:

After his playing career ended he took a batting coach job for the Dodgers Single-A team in San Bernardino in 1997, and took over as manager near the end of the 1998 season. In 2000 he coached for Cal State University then managed an A-Ball team for the Angels in 2001.

Tim became the Dodgers hitting coach in 2004. For 2009-2010 he managed the Dodger's Triple-A team in Albuquerque. They posted a 152-135 record in his 2 seasons there, and was picked as the PCL Manager of the Year in 2009 as well as Baseball America's "Best Manager Prospect" but the Dodgers still gave their manager job to Don Mattingly. The last 2 years Wallach has been 3rd base coach for the Dodgers.

His Chance in Toronto:

Well, clearly he's worth talking too. People say 'he played in Montreal, so he knows Canada'. I'll admit, I hate that line. How hard is it go get used to Toronto if you are American? It's not like Toronto is on the dark side of the moon or anything.

Obviously to me, the first question ought to be: If we sign you and the Dodgers' job comes open, would you want to leave us for the Dodgers? Is managing the Dodgers your 'dream job'?

I don't know if Wallach would be interested in managing in Toronto. Maybe he is happy in California, he was born in Huntington Beach.

I don't know what kind of manager he'd be, he doesn't have an MLB as a manager to look at. He did have Dick Williams, Jim Fanning, Bill Virdon, Buck Rodgers, Felipe Alou and Tom Lasorda manage him in the majors so he's had some great examples on how to run a team.

We just had a former pitching coach as a manager, maybe it is time to go back to a former hitting coach. It worked pretty well with Cito.