READING — Managing in the minor leagues can often feel like riding a carousel.
When Dusty Wathan came to Reading three years ago, he was the club’s third leader in as many seasons.
Upper Dauphin graduate Steve Roadcap left after two years to become a scout in the Cincinnati Reds organization.
Mark Parent stayed for only a year before getting offered a job as the Chicago White Sox’ bench coach.
Then came Wathan.
He was 258-230 in four seasons as a minor league skipper when he jumped up to Reading in 2012, leading Single-A Lakewood to the South Atlantic League title in 2009 before going 140-135 in charge of Clearwater during 2010 and 2011.
It’s not unusual to see such rapid changes in staffs at the minor league levels, especially with all the shuffle that occurs within baseball organizations these days.
But three years later, Wathan is into his fourth season leading the Fightin Phils.
“It’s been tremendous. I love it here,” Wathan said at the club’s Media Day on April 7. “I’ve been to a lot of cities as a player, as a manager, and there’s nothing better than
here. The front office does a tremendous job, the atmosphere these guys get to play in every night, it’s fun, it’s exciting.”
Reading has had only one other manager for four consecutive years — Don McCormack from 1990-93 — while only four others have stayed for three consecutive years since the team’s inception in 1933, and all of those have been under the Phillies affiliation.
“I’ve really enjoyed my time here,” Wathan said. “Hopefully we can put a better product on the field this year than we have the last couple years.”
Last season was, indeed, one to forget. The Fightin Phils finished 66-76, last in the Eastern League’s Eastern Division. In 2013, Reading was last in the Eastern League at 62-80.
But there’s a brighter glow around this season’s team, with so many of the Philadelphia Phillies’ top prospects starting the season in Reading.
It recalls memories of Wathan’s first year with the club in 2012, when Darin Ruf caught fire for 38 home runs, 104 RBIs, 155 hits and a .317 batting average. Cesar Hernandez and Cody Asche also had big seasons.
“You saw what we did in 2012,” Wathan said. “It was an exciting year with Darin Ruf and some players that are playing the big leagues now. So hopefully we can kind of recapture that 2012. When we win ball games, it’s even more exciting here.”
At the center of that excitement is a starting rotation featuring two Phillies’ first-round draft picks in Aaron Nola and Jesse Biddle and offseason trade acquisitions-turned top-10 Philly prospects Zach Eflin, Tom Windle and Ben Lively.
Roman Quinn, another Phillies’ top-10 prospect, is leading off the batting order.
Managing all that talent both on and off the field can sometimes be difficult for a manager. But with the attention showered on top prospects these days, Wathan isn’t worried how the young players will handle the limelight.
“You look at our starting staff, they’re top of the draft guys. So they’re used to attention all through high school and college,” Wathan said, also noting the growth in travel teams and ranking websites like Baseball America.
“I don’t think it’s that big a deal anymore for them. I think it just comes with the territory.”
But not all of the attention is coming from outside the organization. Wathan said it wasn’t unusual during spring training for Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. to come over to the minor league complex and take in a couple innings.
“I think the guys are used to (the attention),” Wathan said. “I don’t think it’s a big deal, it’s just part of the growing process. They’re going to have speed bumps, but I don’t think it has anything to do with who’s sitting in the stands or the pressure that (the media) put on them or the fans put on them.
“They have high expectations for themselves, probably higher than what anybody else has for them.”
Wathan’s own minor league career lasted 1,019 games, during which he compiled a .273 batting average, 58 home runs and 417 RBIs.
The former catcher played one game for Reading on April 21, 2007, when he hit 2-for-5 with a run scored. He was later sent to Triple-A Ottawa, where he would finish his playing career.
He reached the majors for the first time in 2002, playing three games for Kansas City.
So jumping around from place to place isn’t unusual to Wathan. The stability he’s had in Reading is a welcomed change of pace.
“It’s helped me. I love it here,” Wathan said. “I think it’s one of the best places you can manage in the minor leagues. You go from (general manager) Scott Hunsinger and the whole front office, they do a tremendous job taking care of the players and coaches, giving us everything we need to do our job and making life comfortable on my family. They love it here. They get to come up in the summertime. I love it.”
Wathan doesn’t plan on going anywhere anytime soon. But the 41-year-old Jacksonville, Florida, native knows you can never be too certain in the world of minor league baseball.
“I usually see what happens at the end of the year. You never know where you’re going to be the next year,” Wathan said. “That was kind of what my life’s been since I was 20 years old and I signed my first professional contract.
“So we don’t think about those things. You just think about right now, the task at hand and what we’re going to do here this year.”
Saturday’s game
Reading 6, Richmond 5
READING — Brock Stassi hit a walk-off single in the bottom of the 10th inning to score Gabriel Lino and give the Fightin Phils a victory over the Flying Squirrels.
Stassi had three RBIs in the game, bringing his season total to 16.
Jesse Biddle started on the mound for Reading. He went six innings, allowed five hits and two runs and struck out eight.