WORCESTER—Jim Tracy was in Marietta, OH, Saturday when he saw he had a phone message from his wife, Deb.
Tracy was a little apprehensive about opening it. Their 9-year-old Labrador retriever was in poor health and he hoped it was not bad news about the family pet. However, the message just asked him to call home as soon as he could and things were all good.
“I was thinking that she was gonna give me the report on my Labrador,” Tracy said in a phone interview, “which she did, which was a very short synopsis and then she says, ‘Are you sitting down?”
“If driving a car to a restaurant qualifies, yes I am,” Tracy said, “Then she told me about my son and I lost it, that’s for sure.”
It was not just a big moment for the Tracys. It was a big moment in baseball history as they joined Bob and Aaron Boone, George and Dick Sisler, Bob and Joel Skinner, Buddy and David Bell, and Felipe Alou and Luis Rojas in the exclusive club of father-son managers.
It was short notice, but the Tracys made it to Baltimore Sunday, without the Lab, however. Jim Tracy is sure he was more nervous than his son. He was also very gratified with what he saw.
“One thing that jumped out at me Sunday,” Tracy said, “was that when he was presented to the media, and interactions with the media were Number One, and his body language in the dugout…he was not overwhelmed or fazed with anything that was going on.
“He was ready to do whatever was asked of him, I have no doubt in my mind.”
Tracy managed the Dodgers, Pirates and Rockies. His combined major league record was 856-888 in parts of 11 seasons. Tracy was National League Manager of the Year in 2009. He took over the Rockies early in the season…sound familiar?… and they went 74-42 with him as manager, qualifying for the playoffs.
The Tracys dwelled much on the specifics for getting Chad to get to the majors either as a player or manager. The message was a simple one — be ready.
“He has never taken any shortcuts,” Jim Tracy said. “He has done it exactly the way we talked about. He was prepared for it. He didn’t know if it was ever gonna happen but, by God, if someone tapped him on the shoulder he was gonna be ready.”
Chad Tracy made his major league managerial debut in the midst of Red Sox organizational chaos, an earthquake, really.
Jim Tracy was fired several times through the years, twice as a major league manager.
“You never wish for a situation like the one that unfolded,” he said, “and you’re damn sure you have to walk in there and ask yourself the question, ‘am I prepared to do this?’ There is no doubt in my mind in what he had done leading up to Sunday afternoon.”
Chad Tracy’s experience with future Red Sox players over four-plus years in Worcester should weigh in his favor, his dad believes.
“They’re not strangers to him, and he’s not a stranger to them. It’s pretty damn good to be familiaar with the people they’ve asked you to take charge of,” Jim Tracy said.
The Tracys plan on making a trip to Fenway Park, probably fairly soon. Chad Tracy’s youngest brother, Mark, has never been there. His das has told him, “You haven’t lived until you’ve seen Fenway Park.”
Since he has a connection, chances are Mark Tracy will get a good seat.
