Miracle coach played with Ripken

By David Dorsey
Fort Myers News Press

Fort Myers Miracle hitting coach Jim Dwyer, a former teammate of one of the greatest players of all time, has spent the past two seasons working with the rising young Miracle hitters.

During eight seasons of his 18-year playing career as a professional baseball outfielder, Dwyer teamed with Cal Ripken Jr. on the Baltimore Orioles, a team that won the 1983 World Series against Philadelphia.

At 1:30 p.m. Sunday in Cooperstown, N.Y., Ripken and former San Diego Padres outfielder Tony Gwynn will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

The ceremony will be broadcast live on ESPN Classic from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sunday.

Dwyer and Ripken were teammates from Ripken's rookie year in 1981 until 1988, when Dwyer was traded to the Minnesota Twins.

The 6-foot-4 Ripken started his career as a shortstop and then moved to third later in his career.

"He was the exact opposite of the norm there," Dwyer said of Ripken at shortstop. "He provided a lot of offense and played some great defense."

Dwyer, 57, said he has passed on what he learned from Ripken to the Miracle players. A lot of that knowledge, Dwyer said, has little to do with hitting.

"The thing he taught me more than anything was buying into the team concept and winning," Dwyer said. "That's the goal. Everything you do should be for the team."

The Miracle start a nine-game homestand at 7:05 tonight against the Tampa Yankees. After an off day Sunday, the Miracle will play host to the Dunedin Blue Jays for three games starting Monday and then the Lakeland Flying Tigers for three games starting Thursday, Aug. 2.

Before each of those games, Dwyer can be seen through the metal, chain-link fence, working with Miracle hitters in the batting cages underneath Hammond Stadium.

"Jim is one of the most knowledgeable people I've ever met in baseball," Miracle manager Kevin Boles said. "He's very knowledgeable about how pitchers are going to attack the hitters.

"The amount of time he spends with our players in the cages shows you that his work ethic is tremendous. He makes my job a lot easier."

While Ripken finished his 21-year career with 3,184 hits and a legendary record streak of 2,632 consecutive games played, Dwyer carved his spot in the game as a part-time starter and solid player off the bench.

Although Dwyer finished his career with just 719 hits, he ranked ninth all-time among major-leaguers with 100 pinch hits. He finished his career with a .260 batting average, 77 home runs, 349 RBI, 402 walks and 402 strikeouts, playing for seven teams.

"He struggled a lot his first year," Dwyer recalled of Ripken. "They just kept playing him. For the bulk of the time, he never missed an inning.

"Then one day in Toronto, we were getting blown away. His dad (then the Orioles manager) took him out in the eighth inning of the game. I was like, 'Oh my God, he's going to miss an inning.' It was unbelievable."

Dwyer spent 1997-2005 as the roving hitting instructor for the Twins before joining the Miracle staff last season.

"We're starting to pick up the pace here," Dwyer said of the season's second half. "At the beginning of the year, we had a lot of guys struggling. Then, you add a couple of guys, guys start turning around, and the hitting becomes contagious. We're starting to score some runs, and we're starting to become a threat offensively."

Boles gives some of that credit to Dwyer's presence as hitting coach.

"He's a manager's dream," Boles said. "Being a manager and having him — it's a very comfortable feeling having him on the bench next to me."

HALL OF FAME INDUCTIONS

Where: Cooperstown, N.Y.
2007 Class: Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn
When: Sunday
TV: 1:30 p.m. (ESPNCLASSIC)