Bowa, 70, rises for another spring

Larry Bowa is 70 years old and proof that age is just a number. It's a number that makes a lot of us with vibrant memories of the fiery shortstop feel old, but it is still somewhat soothing to know that Bowa, at 70, is in the same place he was at 20.

Well, not exactly the same place.

At 20, after being signed as an undrafted player by Phillies scout Eddie Bockman, the Sacramento, Calif., native made his first trip to spring training in 1966. At the time, the Phillies' minor-leaguers trained in Leesburg, Fla., a two-hour drive from the big-league camp in Clearwater.

"Out in the middle of nowhere," is how Bowa described it.

Those simpler times occasionally come flooding back to Bowa. Two weeks ago, for instance, Bowa was inducted into the Sacramento Sports Hall of Fame, and he ran into his old friend Dusty Baker, the new manager of the Washington Nationals. They started talking about their humble beginnings.

"He was asking me about my first roommate," Bowa said. "I couldn't remember. I want to say Pat Skrable, who was a big-time athlete out of Bakersfield, California. It might have been Larry Hisle."

Other details are more easily recalled.

"We had wool uniforms," Bowa said. "Can you imagine wool uniforms in that heat? They'd come knock on our doors at 6 a.m. for the workouts. There were three guys to a room. It was this big hotel, and it was hot. We walked to the cafeteria, the ballpark, no cars. We had tickets for breakfast, and we'd stand in line."

It was one happy day when late in spring training Spartanburg manager Bob Wellman told the Sacramento kid that he'd be playing shortstop that season in South Carolina.

"I'll never forget him," Bowa said. "Great guy. Taught me a lot about baseball. I couldn't believe it when he told me I'd be his starting shortstop. I just went to camp wanting to make a team. Even Eddie Bockman, who was my biggest supporter, said I probably wouldn't make it to the big leagues, but I'd be a good organizational guy."

In addition to becoming a five-time all-star, Bowa has been an all-time organizational guy. Despite some contentious separations through the years, this will be his 32nd season with the Phillies, and he never looked quite right in any other uniform.

His last two offseasons have been interesting ones. Two years ago he declined a chance to be part of the Comcast SportsNet broadcast team because he wanted to remain in the dugout with his friend Ryne Sandberg. This offseason, he twice interviewed for the managerial job with the Miami Marlins and was told it was his if Don Mattingly declined. Mattingly accepted and tried to bring Bowa on board as a coach. Bowa declined and will remain manager Pete Mackanin's bench coach.

"Donnie talked to me about it, and I like him a lot," Bowa said. "But if I'm going to coach, I'm going to stay home with the organization I grew up with."

And so he made the drive south to Clearwater once again last week. On Thursday he stopped in Savannah, Ga., and on Friday he arrived in a sunny place where he has spent years of his life two months at a time.

Bowa is not sure how much longer he'll continue coaching.

"I'm taking it one year at a time," he said.

He is sure, however, that the influx of young talent made being on the field and in the dugout fun for him last season.

"I had a really good time last year, especially with the young guys during the second half of the season," Bowa said. "Jimmy [Rollins], Howie [Ryan Howard], and Ut [Chase Utley] have etched their mark on Phillies history, but Father Time catches up with everybody, and I liked working with Cesar [Hernandez], [Freddy] Galvis, [Maikel] Franco, and [Odubel] Herrera.

"And then you add in what transpired this winter. I talked to scouts from other teams, and they felt we did a tremendous job with the guys we got in trades. I'm realistic. I know there are some good teams in our division, but I'll be interested to see what we look like in April and how different we look when you come back in July."

Bowa is also looking forward to top prospect J.P. Crawford's first big-league spring training. The 70-year-old man was the Phillies' first great shortstop, and he was the manager of the team when Rollins, the next great one, came along in 2001. Now, he has a chance to coach the guy who has the potential to be better than both of them.

"I'm really looking forward to seeing him take ground balls," Bowa said, giving the predictable and perpetual nod to defense first at his favorite position. "I watched him play on the minor-league fields from afar a few times, and it looks like he has great hands and instincts. It looks like he has a great idea of the strike zone, and that's great because you see so many young kids out there just hacking. He hits the ball the other way. I don't think he's a speed demon, but he's got great instincts on the bases."

A lot more eyes will be on the 21-year-old Crawford than were on a 20-year-old Bowa in 1966. It will, in fact, be one of the most interesting things to watch in a camp that opens a week from Wednesday. Regardless of what kind of player Crawford becomes, it's unlikely he'll be throwing batting practice in the Phillies' camp in 2066.

bbrookover@phillynews.com

@brookob