Incaviglia finds good managerial fit
Former Astro to guide prosperous team without having to be ‘a glorified babysitter’
SUGAR LAND — The Skeeters, with their modern stadium, reliable attendance and appeal to the lucrative communities of Fort Bend County, offer players and coaches a rare chance for stability in the fluctuating fringe of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball.
On Wednesday, the franchise welcomed Pete Incaviglia, a former outfielder for the Rangers and Astros but most recently the skipper of the Laredo Lemurs, as its new manager.
Known as one of the greatest hitters in college baseball history and a major leaguer who debuted without appearing in the minors, Incaviglia played 12 seasons in the big leagues from 1986 to 1998.
After his playing days, which started with the Rangers and ended with a second stint with the Astros, Incaviglia spent three seasons as the hitting coach for the Detroit Tigers’ Class AA affiliate. He then coached and managed in independent ball the last decade, until his most recent team, the Laredo Lemurs, folded.
Incaviglia, 53, will succeed Gary Gaetti as the second manager in the franchise’s six-year
history.
“This is by far the best or one of the best organizations in independent baseball,” said Incaviglia, who has been based in Fort Worth since his rookie year with the Rangers.
The second-chance nature of the Skeeters, who are not affiliated with Major League Baseball, is not lost on Incaviglia. He said he passed up offers to coach in the minors so he could manage hopefuls in their pursuit of a career in the majors.
In an era when major league front offices are increasingly involved in on-field decisions, Incaviglia said he did not want to have to ask permission to tweak players or lord over millionaire stars like “a glorified babysitter.”
Not made to be broken
More than 30 years ago, Incaviglia, a native of Monterey, Calif., emerged at Oklahoma State as a power-hitting wunderkind. In 1985, he set NCAA singleseason records, which still stand, with 48 home runs and 143 RBIs. He remains the all-time college leader with 100 career home runs.
After the Montreal Expos drafted Incaviglia in 1985, he resisted playing in the minors and never reached a contract agreement. The Expos then traded his rights to the Rangers, where his rate of home runs plummeted and strikeouts skyrocketed.
He became a short-term reclamation project in 1992 for a rising Astros team that included youngsters Craig Biggio, Jeff Bagwell and Ken Caminiti.
In 1993, he played in the World Series for the Philadelphia Phillies.
Astros teammates remembered “Inky” for introducing the three-man lift, a prank on unsuspecting rookies. Incaviglia had waged that he could lift three players off the ground. Other players, who were in on the prank, raced in to bet Incaviglia could not do it. Incaviglia selected rookie center fielder Steve Finley to lift, and Finley lay down between Eddie Taubensee and Bagwell. The three players got on the floor and locked arms and legs. When Finley was trapped in the middle, several teammates doused him with shaving cream, baby oil and powder.
“The only reason I know about the three-man lift was they got me my first year with the Rangers,” Incaviglia said on Wednesday. He said that second baseman Toby Harrah and designated hitter Larry Parrish lured him.
“Once Larry got over me, they pulled my shirt over my head and dumped everything but the kitchen sink all over me,” he remembered with a grin. “I got somebody about 11 years in a row after that.”
He said he has not continued the trick in independent ball: “Not yet.”
Calling on his past
Incaviglia has rekindled some Texas connections with the Skeeters. With the Rangers in the 1980s, he worked with Skeeters president Jay Miller, who also previously worked with Reid Ryan for the minor league affiliate in Round Rock.
Miller and Incaviglia said former major league player and coach Jackie Moore, who attended the Wednesday announcement, would work with the Skeeters part time.
Tim Pearce, a retired maintenance superintendent for Chevron-Phillips, already has tested Incaviglia’s accountability. Pearce has held season tickets since the Skeeters’ first game and he wears a replica championship ring that he had purchased, which resembles the one Skeeters players received for winning the league in 2016.
Pearce showed up at Constellation Field to put the new manager on the spot.
“You gonna bring us a championship?” Pearce asked from his seat at the news conference.
“Of course,” said Incaviglia, whose thick-framed glasses are reminiscent of Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon.
Incaviglia said he signed outfielder D’Arby Myers, a league All-Star last season, and Tyler Badamo, a 25-year-old pitcher who the Diamondbacks released this year.
Pearce followed his question with effusive support but snuck in: “We will boo you.”
More important than the honesty was the reassurance that Incaviglia can rely on a committed fan base.
“Perfect,” Incaviglia responded, with a smile.