What baseball lifer Phil Regan learned from managing Whitecaps

Phil Regan has a couple of things he'd do differently in a baseball career that has spanned more than 60 years, but managing the West Michigan Whitecaps isn't one of them.

The 80-year-old West Michigan native managed the Class A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers for two seasons, 2002-03, which interestingly came after he had managed the Baltimore Orioles, served as a major league pitching coach for three teams and had been the pitching coach in the Summer Olympics.

But, the chance to be near home at the time coupled with the opportunity to learn something different made it an appealing opportunity for Regan.

"It helped me to get back to the lower minor leagues and realize what we're really there for, and that's to teach the kids the game," said Regan, who will be inducted into the Whitecaps Hall of Fame at a team banquet Wednesday at Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park.

Also enshrined will be Tigers third baseman Nicholas Castellanos and team owners Denny Baxter and Lew Chamberlin.

"In Winter Ball and the Major Leagues, it's all about winning. But in the lower minors it was all about development," Regan added. "That was a new challenge and I gained valuable experiences from that."

There's a lot to tell about Regan's remarkable baseball life.

It began in Wayland, where he was a three-sport athlete in high school before he went to Western Michigan. He pitched there for one year before he signed with the Detroit Tigers in 1956.

Three-plus years later, he made his Major League debut in 1960 with the Tigers where he played six years. He was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers where teammate Sandy Koufax nicknamed him "The Vulture" because of his knack for late-inning relief wins.

Regan went on to also pitch for the Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox, compiling a 96-81 record over a 13-year career that ended in 1972. He appeared in 551 games, 105 as a starter, along with 92 saves.

That was the first part of his career. Then, he began coaching, starting with Grand Valley State. He stayed there from 1973-82 and won two conference and district titles.

In his major league coaching career, he saw Roger Clemens strike out 20 against him as the pitching coach of the Seattle Mariners in 1986; was the Chicago Cubs' pitching coach when Kerry Wood struck out 20 in 1998, and was the Orioles manager in 1995 when Cal Ripken Jr. broke Lou Gehrig's record consecutive games played at 2,131.

He has also been a scout, was the pitching coach for the 2000 USA team in the Sydney Summer Olympics and managed or coached in winter ball in the Dominican Republic and Venezuela more than 20 years.

So, in the big picture, managing the Whitecaps looks like the one that's not like the others.

"At the time, it was right for me," Regan said. "I really started to respect the West Michigan Whitecaps, the lower minors and all that went into it. Your hands were tied a little more (as far as in-game moves) because it was about development. But the people were great, the Whitecaps were terrific, and I learned a lot more patience than I had before."

The Whitecaps went 85-57 in 2002 and 67-72 in 2003. Among the players on those teams were Don Kelly, Ryan Raburn, Mike Rabelo and Joel Zumaya, all of whom played for the Tigers as part of their big-league careers.

Regan does wish he made different decisions at other points of his career. Regan recalled that after his interview to manage the Orioles in 1995, he was supposed to visit with the Texas Rangers the next day.

"It was a little bit more mixed up in Baltimore than Texas, but I was 57-years-old and the Orioles offered me a two-year contract," he said. "I didn't know if I would get Texas for sure, so I took the Orioles' job."

The Orioles went 71-73 in his lone season as manager.

Back when the Florida Marlins began in 1993, and Dave Dombrowski was the new general manager, Regan turned down an opportunity to interview as the Marlins' pitching coach. He was an advanced scout with the Dodgers and thought he had an inside track to eventually succeed Tommy Lasorda as manager.

"Well, Tommy stuck around a few more years and then Bill Russell eventually got the job instead," he said.

Regan then added, with a chuckle:

"Things happen. You look back on things you should have done maybe differently. But overall, I'd have to look back and say it's been a pretty exciting life."

Regan is still involved in baseball and amazing sharp. He officially retired in 2015, but serves as the New York Mets' assistant coordinator of pitching for minor leagues, handling the lower leagues, and last year pitched batting practice for the parent team in spring training. He still does fantasy camps, too, near his residency the past 10 years in St. Lucia.

"I've kept young working with the young kids," he said. "They kept your mind sharp because you have to stay up on them."

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