October 13, 2017
Larry Bowa has spent 33 of 52 years in professional baseball working for the Phillies. He’ll be back for another in 2018, fulfilling a goal he made known two weeks ago when the bench coach was in limbo following Pete Mackanin’s removal as manager.
Bowa will work as a senior advisor to general manager Matt Klentak. It’s the same title fellow former manager Charlie Manuel has with the organization. Former general manager and team president Pat Gillick has a somewhat similar title: he’s a senior advisor to the GM and the team president (Andy MacPhail).
Bowa spent the last four seasons as the bench coach for both Ryne Sandberg and Mackanin. The 71-year-old Bowa was the club’s energetic, slick-fielding shortstop through the 70s and the World Championship 1980 team (1970-81), he was the club’s third base coach when they went to the 1993 World Series (1988-96), he came back as manager (2001-04), and then came back yet again as a bench coach when Sandberg was hired as manager (2014-17).
“Larry Bowa is a genuine Phillies icon and he has made enormous contributions to this franchise during his 33 years in uniform,” Klentak in a press release. “I have a tremendous amount of respect for what Larry has accomplished throughout his baseball career and I am thrilled that he has agreed to continue to impact the organization in this new role.”
Bowa has been a popular figure at two different Phillies ballparks and most recently was a respected mentor for the young infielders on the rebuilding team’s roster.
“I have to say, man, he elevated my defensive game to different places,” Gold Glove-hopeful shortstop Freddy Galvis said. “I always knew I could pick the ball and I can make some outs, but working with Bo he elevated my game to a different level.”
There would seem to be a pretty fair chance that, like Manuel, Bowa will be in uniform in spring training as a on-field instructor as a part of his new role. And, like Manuel, he could also be utilized as a roving instructor throughout the minor leagues during the summer, too.
“Philadelphia has been my home for the last four decades and I bleed Phillies red,” Bowa in the press release regarding his new role. “Whether it is at the major or minor league level, my number one goal is to help with the Phillies organization bring home another championship for our fans.”
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