Nanner
11-10-2003, 12:14 PM
I like his wife, too!!! :thumbsup:
11/10/2003 7:33 AM ET
For Mazzilli, it's all about family
New O's skipper took 7 years off before managing
By Gary Washburn / MLB.com
http://baltimore.orioles.mlb.com/images/2003/11/10/ubpYZ5pU.jpg
Lee Mazzilli took seven years off after retiring as a player to be a full-time father. (Gail Burton/AP)
BALTIMORE -- After finishing his 14-year Major League career with a growing desire to teach, Lee Mazzilli easily could have continued managing some lower-level minor-league team in some barren town.
Mazzilli, however, arrived home after retiring from the Toronto Blue Jays in 1989 and observed his wife Dani caring for their 18-month-old daughter and newborn twins.
When asked why he took a seven-year break after his playing career, Mazzilli, just hired Friday as the Orioles manager, pointed to his family sitting to the right of the podium.
"Those guys right there," he said. "I was busy doing that."
Dani Mazzilli knew her husband wanted to begin coaching but she also needed help with their growing family.
"He could have started out in A ball, riding the buses in the minor leagues, doing what it took to become a manager," Dani said. "But when there are diapers and strollers all over the place, it was what we wanted. If he would have taken that opportunity to coach, he would have missed out."
Mazzilli was one of those rare ex-players who stepped away from the game to serve as a full-time father. Had Mazzilli not taken the seven-year break from baseball, he likely would have gotten his first chance to manage years ago. But Mazzilli sacrificed that.
"It had taken us a long time to have a family," Dani said. "And Lee, being an old-school Italian man, family was important. It was something he wanted to do. We wanted him home. And he wanted to be home. I am glad he wasn't like a lot of ex-ballplayers who miss their kids growing up."
Six years passed, and Lee was working various jobs and watching his kids sprout quickly. But Dani noticed that baseball never quite became just recreation. Lee still lived the game, even though he was two hours away from the nearest Major League ballpark in St. Petersburg, Fla. Every ballgame Lee watched on television became his personal outlet, as he attempted to manage the game and second-guess decisions from his living room.
Dani said she knew it was time for Lee to pursue his life's passion.
"He really has known his whole life this is what he wanted to do," Dani said. "He sat with Jim Leyland in Pittsburgh and Joe Torre (with the Mets). He had been home long enough, the kids and I were ready. We were not that far from Tampa. If you are not doing something you love, you are pretty miserable. And I'm not going to say he was miserable, but it was time for him to do something else. He wanted to get back into the game."
Mazzilli called on old friend Joe Torre, who had just led the New York Yankees to their first World Series title in 18 years. Torre recommended Mazzilli as manager of Single-A Tampa in 1997. Mazzilli led Tampa to the Florida State League championship series in 1998 and Double-A Norwich to the Eastern League playoffs a year later.
After four years on Torre's staff, including a World Series title in 2000, Mazzilli said he felt prepared for a big league job. And Dani has no problem with moving from Connecticut to Baltimore and 13-year-old L.J. sported an Orioles' cap and jacket to his dad's press conference.
"My husband wants to win, that's all he knows and all he wants," Dani said. "He's been fortunate enough to be part of an organization where that's all they want to do. My boy can go anywhere. He is so looking forward to being part of an organization that wants to win. The chance to manage, in a city such as this with a great baseball tradition, right now he's walking on a cloud."
Gary Washburn is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
11/10/2003 7:33 AM ET
For Mazzilli, it's all about family
New O's skipper took 7 years off before managing
By Gary Washburn / MLB.com
http://baltimore.orioles.mlb.com/images/2003/11/10/ubpYZ5pU.jpg
Lee Mazzilli took seven years off after retiring as a player to be a full-time father. (Gail Burton/AP)
BALTIMORE -- After finishing his 14-year Major League career with a growing desire to teach, Lee Mazzilli easily could have continued managing some lower-level minor-league team in some barren town.
Mazzilli, however, arrived home after retiring from the Toronto Blue Jays in 1989 and observed his wife Dani caring for their 18-month-old daughter and newborn twins.
When asked why he took a seven-year break after his playing career, Mazzilli, just hired Friday as the Orioles manager, pointed to his family sitting to the right of the podium.
"Those guys right there," he said. "I was busy doing that."
Dani Mazzilli knew her husband wanted to begin coaching but she also needed help with their growing family.
"He could have started out in A ball, riding the buses in the minor leagues, doing what it took to become a manager," Dani said. "But when there are diapers and strollers all over the place, it was what we wanted. If he would have taken that opportunity to coach, he would have missed out."
Mazzilli was one of those rare ex-players who stepped away from the game to serve as a full-time father. Had Mazzilli not taken the seven-year break from baseball, he likely would have gotten his first chance to manage years ago. But Mazzilli sacrificed that.
"It had taken us a long time to have a family," Dani said. "And Lee, being an old-school Italian man, family was important. It was something he wanted to do. We wanted him home. And he wanted to be home. I am glad he wasn't like a lot of ex-ballplayers who miss their kids growing up."
Six years passed, and Lee was working various jobs and watching his kids sprout quickly. But Dani noticed that baseball never quite became just recreation. Lee still lived the game, even though he was two hours away from the nearest Major League ballpark in St. Petersburg, Fla. Every ballgame Lee watched on television became his personal outlet, as he attempted to manage the game and second-guess decisions from his living room.
Dani said she knew it was time for Lee to pursue his life's passion.
"He really has known his whole life this is what he wanted to do," Dani said. "He sat with Jim Leyland in Pittsburgh and Joe Torre (with the Mets). He had been home long enough, the kids and I were ready. We were not that far from Tampa. If you are not doing something you love, you are pretty miserable. And I'm not going to say he was miserable, but it was time for him to do something else. He wanted to get back into the game."
Mazzilli called on old friend Joe Torre, who had just led the New York Yankees to their first World Series title in 18 years. Torre recommended Mazzilli as manager of Single-A Tampa in 1997. Mazzilli led Tampa to the Florida State League championship series in 1998 and Double-A Norwich to the Eastern League playoffs a year later.
After four years on Torre's staff, including a World Series title in 2000, Mazzilli said he felt prepared for a big league job. And Dani has no problem with moving from Connecticut to Baltimore and 13-year-old L.J. sported an Orioles' cap and jacket to his dad's press conference.
"My husband wants to win, that's all he knows and all he wants," Dani said. "He's been fortunate enough to be part of an organization where that's all they want to do. My boy can go anywhere. He is so looking forward to being part of an organization that wants to win. The chance to manage, in a city such as this with a great baseball tradition, right now he's walking on a cloud."
Gary Washburn is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.